Page 122 of Crimson Oath
Tenzin had a habit of infiltrating immortal courts and blowing them up from the inside. He would call it a hobby in the same way that pyromaniacs enjoyed a pleasant campfire.
“Unless you want to create problems, I am not here,” Oleg said. “At least not yet.” He shrugged. “But I was also invited to the Vashana.”
“Hmm.” She smoothed a hand over her black tunic, and Oleg saw a neat curved sword sewn into the seam. “My partner and I were both invited.”
“I hear that you’re working with Vecchio again.”
“Yes,” Tenzin said. “But not the one you’re thinking of. My partner is the nephew.”
Benjamin Vecchio.
The powerful newborn who had been talking to Tatyana.
The newborn who had been asking about him.
Oleg pursed his lips. “Is he the one your sire turned for you?”
“That’s…” Tenzin scowled. “How do rumors like this spread?”
“Because we’re old and many of us are very bored.” He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “So it’s the nephew for you, is it? I thought you preferred women.” He was fairly certain Ludmila harbored a long-standing fascination with Tenzin even though they had never met. “My best sniper will be crushed.”
“I prefer to be alone,” Tenzin said. “But Benjamin is my partner.”
“I see.”
“I very much doubt that.” She floated toward him and inhaled deeply. “You smell of crushed roses and blood-wine.”
He could feel her amnis surrounding him, probing his space. It was… intrusive. “Are you propositioning me?” That was a frightening thought.
Tenzin lifted her lips to bare the corner of her fangs. “My attention is elsewhere these days, Varangian.”
“On your partner?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Oleg of Gardariki is known to be discreet, yet you lurk in the forest as if waiting for a lover.”
She had used his old name on purpose to remind him he was younger than her. “What a fertile imagination you have.”
“Is it Kezia?”
“Is this your business?”
She lifted her chin, and her smile grew wider. “You pique my curiosity.”
“Go about your business, Tenzin. And stay out of mine.”
“I do enjoy sparring with you.” She spotted the small fang burns on his neck. “Nice fang marks.”
He snapped his fingers and gathered fire in his hands, then let it crawl up his shoulders and circle his neck. “Please feel free to take a closer look.”
Tenzin laughed and backed away. “You should be careful. There is conflict among the Poshani.”
She was finally cutting through the bullshit. Good.
“Your partner, is he a mediator? Is that why he was invited?”
Tenzin partnering with a peacemaker was ironic to the extreme, but it would explain why she hadn’t fomented any vampire coups in a few years.
“He’s a thief.”
