“Beast tamer, it appears as though your monsters aren’t the only thing you’ve trained well,” the man said, cramming the bill into his pocket. As soon as his back was turned, Pelin’s face distorted in disgust, and she wiped her hand on the back of her lacy Svetskiy-style dressing gown.

“Your upyr will have to do, Dima,” the man said, stepping into the hall. Just before the door slipped shut behind him, I caught a glimpse of a broad face engulfed by an untamed black beard and the same pale eyes that, in my memory, had been filled with firelight.

Him. My vision pulsed to crimson around the edges. It was him.

I took a step toward the door, my hand already going to the hunting knife I’d slipped under my rushnyk. Before I could pull it from the sheath, Vanya grabbed my wrist and shook his head.

“Let’s go, Stanislav,” Dima’s voice called from the stairway, growing fainter with each word. “Gather up those jars and stop dawdling with your thumb up your ass. In case you forgot, we’ve got a train to catch.”

24

Every nerve within my body screamed at me to go, until it felt as if at any moment, I’d tear from my own skin. I tried to make a beeline for the door, but Vanya kept a steady grip on my wrist.

“Let go of me,” I snarled, turning around.

His green eyes flashed. “No.”

Growling, I tore free of him and reached for my hunting knife once more, my body moving on its own. I’d threaten him if I had to. Anything to get to Galina.

“Those men are armed with rifles,” Vanya hissed, and my fingers stilled. “And in the streets beyond, there will be more soldiers with rifles, and once they hear the gunfire, they’ll come here. If you act now, you’ll have all six of us killed.”

“I can’t just let them take her!”

“They won’t,” Mikhail said, pushing himself out from under the bed. With a grimace, he brushed the dust and mice droppings from his front. “We know where they’re going, Toma. All we have to do is follow and bide our time.”

Slowly, I lowered my hand. My cheeks felt scalded, and a sickening shame settled like a stone in my gut. How could I have even considered threatening Vanya, especially after I’d given him my first kiss? I needed to remember that this wasn’t the wilderness. Those soldiers were people, not animals to be hunted, and there were rules here that must be followed.

“Just trust me,” Vanya said, squeezing my shoulder gently. “We’ll save her.”

“I apologize for not being immediately forthcoming, Tsar Mikhail,” Emre said with a respectful tip of his chin. “When my daughter told me what she overheard, I thought it would be better to allow you to safely continue on your way without my family’s interference, if indeed you were the Tsar.”

“Thank you, Emre,” Mikhail said, and even as he spoke, there was a subtle change in his demeanor. His shoulders squared off and his chin lifted. His face remained fixed in an expression of careful neutrality. “I’ll remember your hospitality.”