Page 87 of Crimson Oath
Katrina smiled sadly. “I got grey hair.”
“Oh, what an asshole,” Rumi said. “You never told me that’s why you broke things off with Iza.”
“He didn’t say anything,” Katrina said. “But I could see it. He was drifting away and looking at younger women.” She shrugged. “What can you do? I broke things off a year after I turned thirty-six. He’ll stay beautiful forever, like that Frenchman. I needed to move on.”
“Never try to have a real relationship with a vampire,” Desiree said. “Our mothers all tell us the same.” She looked at Tatyana. “Romantic relationships, I mean. Friendships are different.”
“Of course!” Rumi quickly added. “You know we’re only talking about the men.”
Tatyana said nothing, but her heart warmed at the idea that these women, mortal or immortal, actually considered her a friend. Or at least a possible one.
Tatyana shook her head. “I’m telling you, forget about René DuPont. I’ve met his kind before. He’s probably just another man, only looking out for himself. And you can’t see a pretty face in the dark.”
Rumi hooted. “Unless you’re a vampire.”
“Okay, you might have a point.” Tatyana smiled and started stirring the soup again.
“Have you met more handsome than him?” Desiree’s eyebrows went up. “Come on, Tanya. You don’t tell us anything about your past.”
“I have.” She’d been open with the Poshani women. Not about how she was turned, but where she grew up. “What didn’t I tell you?”
“She means your past boyfriends.” Katrina winked. “From the way you talk about men, I’m betting you were burned.”
Tatyana froze. “What?”
Radu knew about Oleg. Had he told others in the camp about her past with the fire vampire?
“Oh, come on,” Rumi said. “Who hasn’t been burned by a man?”
Oh.
Ohhh. She let out a silent breath. “Exactly. Who hasn’t been burned by a man?”
“Come on.” Katrina nudged Desiree. “She said she was in the Fire King’s court. I bet she got burned by the best there.”
Rumi laughed. “We’ve all heard the stories about Arosh.”
“Every Poshani girl knows about Arosh,” Desiree said. “I spent a few years in the Fire Court myself.” She rubbed the tips of her fingers together. “How do you think I bought my van?”
“It’s a good thing as long as you’re smart about it.” Rumi nodded. “Not all of us go to university like Katrina and get office jobs.”
Tatyana hadn’t asked, but it sounded like Katrina had a remote job of some kind in technology, working in the business offices in Warsaw when she wasn’t on the road. She’d only joined the kamvasa in the past few weeks.
“Jobs are boring,” Katrina said. “I need to know more about Tanya’s past with sexy vampires.”
“I don’t…” She smiled. “I’m not going to tell you that.”
“Oh, it was serious then.” Desiree sidled closer to her. “Now we definitely need to know.”
“He wasn’t…” Was she actually going to talk about this? “He was very possessive. Very overwhelming.”
“In a bad way?” Rumi asked, not looking up from the carrots she was chopping. “Hanzi is possessive, but he’s a pussycat if I growl at him.”
“Ah, that was the problem then,” Tatyana said. “I didn’t try growling; I’ll remember that for next time.”
All of them laughed at her, and Tatyana was hoping they’d change the subject.
No such luck.
