Page 6 of Crimson Oath
But by then Tatyana was fairly sure that if Oleg was going to kill her and her mother, he would have found a way. Even though her mother had been in Oleg’s territory, he’d basically ignored her.
Tatyana rubbed her temple. “You weresafein Kherson. That’s why I sent you there.”
Talking to Anna couldn’t provoke headaches anymore, but her mother could try. And she tried very hard.
“I’m safe here,” Anna said. “Your vampire didn’t do anything to me.”
“He’s not my vampire, Mama.”
“In fact, he said he has someone watching the farm.”
“Watching the farm?”
“Yes, for my safety.”
Her mother actually sounded reassured.
By Oleg. The fire vampire.
Tatyana had considered sending her mother to Romania or Turkey, somewhere out of Oleg’s territory, but her mother would have been even more miserable somewhere that no one spoke her language.
And Tatyana wasn’t completely sure how far Oleg’s territory stretched. Sometimes it seemed like it was endless.
From what she’d learned while hiding in Arosh’s court, OlegSokolov, vampire lord of the Kievan Rus, controlled the territory from the Caucasus Mountains and east of the Volga River, skirting the edge of the Caspian Sea north to Siberia and clear over to Mongolia.
Butcontrolcould be a very loose term.
In the immortal world, powers were constantly shifting, and it was all Tatyana could do to keep track of who ruled what territory and how strict that control was.
The vampire world operated more like medieval city-states than modern governments, and the past year and a half had been one lesson after another in going with the flow.
“He said he was going back to Odesa,” Anna said.
Tatyana frowned. “Arosh?”
“Who is Arosh?” Anna asked. “I’m talking about your vampire.”
Of course her mother was still talking about Oleg. “Right.”
“Who is Arosh? There is a different vampire now?”
“Arosh is the one I’m working for at the moment.” It wasn’t exactly true, but it was enough to satisfy her mother, who would be stressed if she didn’t think Tatyana had a job.
“Good. That’s good to keep busy, Tanya.”
Work tires you, but it’s better to be tired than stupid. She could hear her grandfather’s words in her mind.
Tatyanawasn’tworking for Arosh; she didn’t need money. Maybe ever again.
She’d calculated the value of the gold and jewelry she’d taken from Oleg, and it was enough to keep her comfortable for a very long time.
If she lived past a century, she might need to work some things out, but she was frugal by nature. She wasn’t prone to lavish displays like Oleg, and she didn’t have anyone to support except her mother.
Every now and then, a pang of guilt hit her about the theft of the gold bars and jewelry, but Oleg himself had told her the treasure she’d taken belonged to her sire Zara, who was dead.
So it didn’t count as stealing.
Technically.
