He looked down at the top of her head. “Do you believe I am an unreasonable man?”
Her long lashes lifted, and for a moment, he caught a glimpse ofher blue eyes looking back at him with a certain amount of anxiety. “I wouldn’t use the wordunreasonable,” she said diplomatically. “It’s just that Andros is the ruling authority here. His word is law and no one questions him. You’re every bit as dominant. It wouldn’t do for the two of you to get into any kind of a heated exchange. I’ve been handling my siblings my entire life. It might be a good idea to allow me to talk to him first.”
“Do you mean I should hide behind my lifemate’s skirts?” He kept all inflection from his voice, not allowing her to see how much the idea of Vasilisa talking to her brothers before he did really upset him. He didn’t forbid it, but it wasn’t happening, no matter how well she knew her brothers. Let them rage. They would deal with him, not her.
“I didn’t mean that at all,” she denied. “You’re twisting my words. I want them to like and accept you, Afanasiv. That’s important to me. I love my brothers. The last thing I want is a huge rift that could have been avoided if we were careful.”
“I will listen to all your brothers have to say,” he promised. “But I will not allow them to talk down to you or make you feel guilty or bad in any way. You have done nothing wrong. Without you, your siblings would be dishonored, their women most likely dead, and they would be pawns or worse for Lilith.”
“I don’t know about that,” she hedged, slowing as they came to the back entrance to the kitchen. “You were the one who did most of it. Don’t think I’m not aware how difficult it was on you. I know I would never have found a way to get them out of there.”
“You would have,” he insisted. “I know that you saved them, Vasilisa. Hopefully, they are grateful to you. Once we speak with your brothers, we must find my friends and Dimitri and Skyler. It is best we know what we are facing and why.”
“It has something to do with the power of the Dragonseeker lineage,” Vasilisa guessed. “I find it strange that so many of you have gathered in one place. Isn’t that unusual?”
“It is,” he confirmed. “As a rule, Ivory and Razvan keep tothemselves. They gifted Dimitri and Skyler with wolf pups and are helping them learn how to hunt with them. Fen, Dimitri’s blood brother, has not yet been able to be far from him since your people sentenced Dimitri to death by silver. Tatijana is his lifemate, so naturally, she travels with him. Zev is Lycan and returns often to his homeland, and his lifemate, Branislava, accompanies him. That covers everyone.”
“With the exception of you,” Vasilisa pointed out.
He didn’t want to talk about being Dragonseeker or what that meant. He had buried all those memories deep. Not just the ones of being in Lilith’s house of horrors but the ones from his childhood. Centuries upon centuries earlier. His mind shut down the moment he started to crack open that door. There were things better left alone. He found he was gripping Vasilisa’s hand just that little bit too hard.
“I’m sorry,sívamet.” He used the pad of his thumb to rub over the spots where his fingers gripped her too tight. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, I would have protested,” she assured him. She turned her hand over to thread her fingers through his. “Andros is a particularly good friend of Dimitri’s. He was terribly upset when he heard what was done to him, and he reached out right away. Things have been strange here since then. It’s difficult to know who is a friend and who isn’t anymore.”
“We discovered that a mage was hard at work undermining the Lycans in order to drive a wedge between them and start a war with the Carpathians. Who’s to say it isn’t happening a second time?” Afanasiv asked.
He opened the door and stepped back to allow her to enter first. They were using the back kitchen entrance on purpose, hoping most of those working at the palace wouldn’t see them enter. The cook and food preps turned as the cold draft hit them, smiles of greeting slowly fading as they took in Afanasiv holding hands with Vasilisa.
“Miss Vasi,” the cook greeted her. “His highness is expecting you. He said to ask you to meet him in the formal dining room if I were to see you.”
“Thank you, Clareese.”
The cook nodded, staring at Afanasiv. He allowed Vasilisa to tug him around the three big center aisles, where the food was chopped up to prepare for the banquets often held on the grounds.
He went through the kitchen double doors into the wide hallway, listening to the storm of whispers that followed them as soon as they left.
“Did you see him? They were holding hands. He isn’t from around here.” A pause. A few giggles. “He’s gorgeous. All man.” More pauses. Then one voice. “He doesn’t look like one of us. He looks more Carpathian than Lycan. She can’t be with a Carpathian. You know what will happen.”
“Hush, Randy. Don’t talk that way,” Clareese chastised. “We don’t abide that kind of thinking here. You signed an agreement when you came to work here.”
“I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking. I’m a member of the Sacred Circle and I’m proud of it. I don’t know who else is, but if you are, you should stand with me on this. One of the royals can’t possibly be with a Carpathian. That would be sacrilege.”
“Stop, Randy,” Clareese implored. “If you continue, I’ll have to report you to Andros. You’ll be sacked, and I know you need this job for your family.”
“If you dare to report me for saying and doing what’s right, you’ll receive a midnight visit from those upholding the laws of the Circle, Clareese, and you’ll be punished.”
Before Clareese could say a word, there was a stunned hush in the kitchen. Vasilisa halted abruptly. Afanasiv felt the ripple of unease that swept through the entire palace.
“How dare you threaten anyone in my employ,” a low-carrying voice snarled. Andros spoke with all the authority of a ruling king. “Do you think I don’t know what goes on in my own house? It’s your family that will be receiving a visit quite soon, and I’ll be expecting answers. If I hear one lie, your farm will be forfeit, and you will bedriven from these lands for all time. I cannot abide traitors, and my patience has grown even thinner knowing many of those pretending to follow the old ways are really in league with Lilith and her demons.”
A collective gasp went up from those in the kitchen.
“Go, Randy, before I challenge you to a fight to the death. Tell your parents I will be seeing them very soon. If they wish to leave our territory and give up your farm, they should do so before my arrival.”
Randy sputtered and tried to backtrack on the things he’d said, but there was no real way for him to do so. There was another silence and then a door slammed.
“Clareese? Are you all right?”