Page 152 of Crimson Oath
Tatyana felt like she might vomit the blood she’d consumed at sunset. Oleg would never steal. Never. Tatyana turned to René. “You,” she muttered. “You are exactly the type to?—”
“No, my sister. Not stolen,” a woman shouted from the edge of the crowd, and in that moment, a massive whirlwind of flower petals rose in the air, and Tatyana saw two figures flying within it.
The air turned electric as the vampires in the stands rose, a few of them shouting, another taking to the air, and still others bolting immediately from the meadow.
What. Was. Happening?
Whispers and names were thrown around the crowd.
“Tenzin!”
“It’s Zasha. It’s just like them to?—”
“No, I saw the Vecchio lad. He’s making a power grab.”
Tatyana turned to Oleg, who was watching her. He lifted his palm slightly and met her eyes. There was no surprise. No panic, and Tatyana didn’t even smell a hint of smoke.
Oleg was calm, so she tried to relax.
“Be safe, be smart, and be quiet.”
She sat and watched as the blizzard of flowers went on and on. It whirled and tossed in the air like a wild storm, and the flower crown flew from her head, sucked into the vortex of flower petals that filled the sky over the meadow.
René sighed beside her. “They are such attention hogs.”
“Who?”
The wind died down, and two vampires landed on the stage, flower petals falling around them like confetti.
If Vecchio and his mate wanted to make an entrance, they’d made a dramatic one.
The tall young vampire walked over and lifted a winking emerald-green goblet over his head. “They were not stolen, my friend. Protected.”
Tatyana could barely see the goblet from a distance. It was small, only a little larger than his palm.
As if it were one of the scripted plays, Radu stepped forward and took the green cup from Vecchio’s hand.
Then Vecchio turned to the grandstand and pointed at René. “Monsieur DuPont? If you would.”
“My turn, chérie.” René winked at her, then sauntered down the stairs and walked through the parting crowds to the stage. He strolled toward Kezia, kissed her knuckles, and when he stood, a bright yellow-gold crystal was in her hand.
Now Tenzin was the last one in the center of the stage, and in a blink, Tatyana saw a blood-red goblet held to her chest.
Tenzin was looking at Vano with a cold stare, and Tatyana realized there was someone who hated Vano way more than she did.
And that tiny, terrifying vampire looked like she was seconds away from murder.
When Tenzin spoke, her voice carried across the meadow. “Shall I tell them, Vano, how I came to have this goblet in my possession?”
Vano erupted. “Because you are a thief.” He pointed at Tenzin. “Hazar!”
Tenzin and Vecchio rose into the air, and while the Hazar gathered at a distance, no one approached to challenge them. Vecchio held a sword in his right hand, and the way the formerly friendly American was watching the circling vampires, Tatyana had zero doubt that he would murder all of them if they touched his mate.
She heard the seat next to her creak, and when she looked, Mika was sitting next to her, his eyes fixed on the drama in front of the crowd.
“I swear,” Mika said, “there is nothing that woman likes more than a hostile takeover.”
“She’s taking over?” Tatyana didn’t like that. Who was Tenzin to the Poshani? They spoke about her like her old partner, the assassin. She was a ghost. A legend. She would be a horrible terrin.
