Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“I hate to break it to you,” Afanasiv said, “but I know your language. That isn’t going to work on me. Just come at me one at a time.”
The three rushed him.
“Or not,” he said, once again moving with blurring speed.
Afanasiv felt the berserker’s rush of excitement rising. No matter how hard he tried to push it down, it came storming back more powerful than ever. The thick scars on his soul called out to the demon in him, declaring he had waited far too long in this world, and sooner or later he would have to pay the consequences. He didn’t like his lifemate seeing him as one of the demons—and she would. He might be smooth wielding the sword, but he was still just as cruelly cunning. He dispatched the last three demons and waited for Vasilisa’s blue flame to incinerate them so they wouldn’t rise again.
Afanasiv and Vasilisa went back to the first portal so she could make certain that it was closed for all time and sealed both above and below. He held out his hand to her and nodded in the direction of the palace. “Shall we?”
There was the slightest of hesitations. Vasilisa put her hand in his. “Yes.”
CHAPTER
11
Afanasiv allowed his lifemate a full day and night of rest before waking her to take her back to the palace, where he knew her brothers had expected her to be. He didn’t much care what they expected or how angry they were, as long as they kept their anger centered on him and didn’t allow it to spill over to their sister. More than anything, he wanted to be alone with her so they could work out the kinks of being a new couple, but he understood her better than she knew.
Vasilisa was uncomfortable with the idea of a physical relationship with him until she felt wholly accepted by him. The lifemate bond made it especially difficult to prove to his woman that he wanted her for herself and not just because fate had decreed that they be together. He wasn’t going to complicate things further by forcing her to accept him when she wasn’t ready.
“Andros can come across as very arrogant and rude,” Vasilisa whispered as they ascended the steps leading to the back part of the palace. “Please have patience with him.”
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 of her blue eyes looking back at him with a certain amount of anxiety. “I wouldn’t use the word unreasonable,” 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 to themselves. 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.”