Page 30 of Crimson Oath
A moving safe house.
For vampires?
Tatyana felt her heart pick up, and Sibella’s blood wasn’t the only thing exciting her now. She lowered her head to Sibella’s throat and slid her fangs into the human’s neck.
Her blood was sweet and hot, sliding down Tatyana’s throat like nectar. She put her arm around Sibella’s back and drew her close, supporting her body as the young woman went limp in her arms.
Tatyana was going to drink fully that night.
And then Sibella was going to tell her more.
Kato was waitingfor Tatyana in Arosh’s main hall when she finished feeding. The Fire King was seeing guests and holding court that night, settling disputes from vampires under his aegis, welcoming guests, and accepting gifts and tribute that poured in from Siberia to Central Asia.
“Good evening.” She sat next to Kato and glanced to his right. “No Alexander tonight?”
“He’s sleeping.” Kato put his arm across the back of Tatyana’s chair. “Arosh was looking for you earlier.”
“Oh?”
“Samson told him that you’d gone into the city again,” Kato murmured. “He wasn’t pleased, but he didn’t say anything to Samson.”
Because she was one of Samson’s favorites, and Tatyana wasbeginning to feel like her being friends with Samson was more of a liability for the wind vampire than a gift.
Two vampires stood in front of Arosh in the middle of the room, both with their heads bowed respectfully, as Arosh heard their dispute about a small river valley they both claimed in Chagan Basin.
“I’m looking at options right now.” Tatyana kept her voice as low as her mentor’s. “I might have an idea.”
“Keep in mind, I am your teacher,” Kato said. “I am willing to extend my connections.”
“In Greece?” Tatyana had always wanted to see the Greek Islands.
“Not Greece. I have extended clan in the Americas,” Kato said. “But if youareinterested in Greece, I have a ceremonial seat in the court of Alitea. That is an option.”
Alitea was a hidden island in the Mediterranean and a very old seat of power for ancient immortals. “Alitea sounds?—”
“Of course, if you want to go to Alitea, you’ll be under Saba’s aegis.”
Tatyana remembered the ancient vampire who made even Oleg afraid.
No, thank you.
“I think there may be an option closer to home,” she whispered. “Do you know about the kamvasa?”
Kato was silent for a long time. “I know about it. I have never been a guest.”
She felt Arosh’s eyes on her when two representatives who looked like businessmen walked forward and spoke quietly to him.
Disputes were heard publicly, but they looked more like representatives from another court. They turned their heads and glanced in her direction.
“They’re from Alina’s court in Tbilisi,” Kato murmured. “Oleg recently visited Alina to discuss common interests. And possibly you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I spend time here instead of jetting off with wind vampires and playing on my computer.”
“I am not playing—” Tatyana swallowed her words when a vampire in front of them whipped his head around and looked straight at her.
“There is reality, and there is perception of reality.” Kato spoke in his teaching voice. “Tell me which is more important for you in this moment.”
