Ira had a lot of questions about the new ideas being brought to the Sacred Circle. The ones considered the “old ways” weren’t the ways he’d been brought up with, and he considered himself older and very well versed in all things Sacred Circle until recently. He found himself saying and doing things that didn’t make sense when he looked back on it later.
The man known as Nikita was inherently cruel. Ira didn’t understand why the others didn’t seem to see that in him. He acted kind, but he wasn’t. Everyone was afraid of him, Ira included. It was just best not to go against him. Every time Ira thought to tell Artyom he wanted to leave the council, Nikita would turn his blazing eyes on him, and Ira would cower like the others and stay silent.
Afanasiv slid out of Ira’s mind and into Artyom’s. Artyom Morozov was four years older than Ira and somewhat stern. He believed in rules and needed them to navigate through the world. Rules mattered to him. They had made it much easier to understand what he was supposed to do growing up. He didn’t have to worry about making mistakes as long as he followed rules. The Sacred Circle made sense to him. Everything he needed to know was laid out in detail for him, from the rules of his marriage to raising his children.
He wasn’t a brilliant man by any means. He didn’t think for himself. He simply followed the instructions laid out for him. There was no way he could have come up with any kind of conspiracy against the royals, although if the council set new rules for the Sacred Circle, he would follow them blindly.
It wasn’t that he was a bad man; he was a weak man. A lazy one, Afanasiv decided. He might be uncomfortable with the way Lada was being questioned, but he went along with it because Nikita and the others decreed she was immoral, although the child was the daughter of her deceased husband. If the others believed she should do as they wished in order to be cleansed, then he believed it, too. The task they asked, to ensnare Andros in marriage, was such a small thing. He was a royal and, as such, should belong to the Sacred Circle. Lada should be punished for not fulfilling that task. If the others thought so, he did as well.
Afanasiv was rather sickened by Artyom’s way of thinking. He refused to be responsible for even one small decision. He didn’t know where Lada’s child was, but he had voted to take the child from her. Disgusted, Afanasiv left his mind.
What happened to the Lycan belief that they are responsible for one another? That they hold women and children close?
There has been a mage working to destroy us, just as Xavier did his best to destroy the Carpathian people and Xayvion worked to bring the Jaguar people to extinction,Vasilisa said.A few are not all, as you well know, Siv.
That is true. Forgive me. He voted to take the child from her mother, yethe doesn’t want to be held accountable. I find that... revolting. The thought of that little girl scared, not understanding what is happening and why she isn’t with her mother, infuriates me.
Lada looks so miserable and sad. I know this is breaking Andros’ heart. She told him she wouldn’t marry him to save him. She didn’t tell him about her daughter. It was the first and only time he asked me to read her mind. He said he knew she loved him and wanted to know why she wouldn’t accept his marriage proposal.
Afanasiv had known Vasilisa had gone to Lada to console her before she left for home. He also knew she had slipped into her mind to find out why Lada had turned down Andros’ proposal of marriage. Vasilisa had been shocked to find out Lada had been given an ultimatum. If she didn’t get Andros to propose to her, she would never see her baby daughter again. She had turned him down to save him from whatever the Sacred Circle had in mind. She had already done so much to get her baby girl back, and they hadn’t returned her. She didn’t believe they would. Andros had put a plan in motion with his family.
Question the one on the end. His name is Grisha Golubev. He is always sweating and smiling. He is young to be on the council. He is a yes man if I ever saw one. He asked me out numerous times, and his mother and father went to Andros twice to ask for my hand in marriage.
Afanasiv didn’t have to be told twice. If Andros had been approached twice by Grisha Golubev’s parents for Vasilisa’s hand in marriage, then he was definitely someone Afanasiv wanted to take a much closer look at.
That’s his father, the grinning one sitting beside him,Vasilisa added.His name is Vovo.She gave a little shudder.Even if Grisha had been the nicest man in the world, I wouldn’t have married him just because of his parents. His mother is sitting in the front row beside Polina. Her name is Belka. She smiles just like Grisha does. It gives me the creeps.
Afanasiv slipped easily into Grisha’s mind. The man was filled with lewd thoughts of Vasilisa. He was certain he would end up withher. His parents had promised him, and they always came through with their promises. They were getting Andros out of the way. Even if Lada did come through, and Grisha didn’t think the woman had a chance in hell of landing the royal, his brilliant parents had already found a way to get rid of Vasilisa’s brother. Afanasiv was unfamiliar with some of the visuals in Grisha’s mind.
My lady, join me. Ignore his rude ideas of what he would like to do to you. I do not understand what he means by his parents finding a way to get rid of Andros. There is a site where oil can be found, but it isn’t one worth pouring money into. Any Lycan would know that.
Vasilisa was too much of a lady to comment on the disgusting visuals Grisha had in his mind when it came to her. She moved right past them and went on to explore the site where the oil had been discovered.
This is an old discovery. It is in the middle of the preserve Dimitri claimed. He had the government inspect it so his permits would be clear. The Golubevs must be the ones who wrote to the government and got them all stirred up again. A government agent, I believe he is an interrogator, Nikolay Sokolov, is staying at the inn with three other agents. Sokolov served with Andros. He mentioned that he thought our family were royals and that many of the people up here followed us. No one would ever say such a thing unless they were trying to get us in trouble. That would be treason. I’m certain Sokolov was sent here to find out if those rumors are true and if there is oil worth collecting.
Grisha didn’t send for the agents,Afanasiv said.Let me check his grinning father. He continues to stare at your brother as if he expects him to fall over in a faint any moment.
Don’t think my brother hasn’t noticed. Andros is saving him for last.
Afanasiv entered Vovo Golubev’s mind without preamble, sliding in fast. He didn’t try to disguise the fact that he was there. He let Vovo feel bees buzzing in his mind as he moved around. Vovo’s head came up, and the grin slowly disappeared from his face. A look of alarm replaced that smirk.
“Is something wrong?” Vasilisa asked in an angelic voice. It was the first time she had spoken aloud to anyone in the room, and Andros stopped his interrogation to give her the floor.
She gestured toward Grisha, then Vovo, Belka, and then around the room. “I’m so sorry, I’ve been so rude not to introduce my husband, Afanasiv Belan Dragonseeker.”
There was an audible gasp from the Lycans in the room. She smiled serenely. “He is one of the ancients from the monastery in the Carpathian Mountains. There is little he cannot see or do, so together we make a formidable team to add to the protection of our people. I guarded his soul carefully. It was a shock to my family, but they understand what an honor it is to have him as one of us.”
Andros nodded his head, looking more regal than ever. “We hear lies. The land talks to us. The Dragonseeker not only hears lies, the land speaks to him. He is a child of Mother Earth, but he can simply look into your mind to see whether or not you have committed treason. Or stolen a child.”
Vasilisa took up the commentary, looking directly at Grisha. “He can read the vile thoughts of a perverted man who would lust after his wife and wish to do rather disgusting things to her. Or he can see into the mind of another man who committed treason by selling out his king to a government agent in order to remove him so there was no obstacle in his son’s path to get what he desired most. He could read in a woman’s mind that she helped hatch a plot against a sister, another woman and mother, trying to force her to compromise the king by kidnapping her child. The three of you sicken me. You are guilty of treason, and that is punishable by death. I accuse you of this crime against my brother and Lada Belov.”
Belka shook her head. “This is lies. All lies. We had nothing to do with such a thing. We would never betray the royal family.”
“Belka, do not speak, you only make it worse,” Vovo snapped.
“He’s correct,” Grigor said. “We can hear lies. Everyone in this room can hear them. Siv, please continue with your examination.”
“Please find my daughter,” Lada pleaded.