Page 58 of Emerald Vices

Andrey folds his napkin in his lap. “Fine.”

“Do you want some potatoes?” I blurt. It’s not my most elegant conversation starter, but Andrey nods, so it must not be all bad.

I load his plate and pass it to him. His lips move as if to say, “Thank you,” but no sound comes out.

Aunt Annie catches my eye with a questioning gaze and a raised brow.

I shrug. I don’t have any more answers than she does. With a sigh, she drops it and turns her attention to Misha. “How were your lessons today, young man?”

“Ugh, can we talk about something else?”

I haven’t forgotten about the snippet of what I overheard him and Andrey discussing, but I won’t embarrass him by prodding if he isn’t ready for me to know. I want him to want to come to me about it.

“I caught the last bit of your lesson,” I pipe up. “You did great!”

Misha scowls. “Since when is a C-minus great?”

“Since it’s not an F.” I toss my napkin at him. “And stop feeding Remi under the table. He’s already had his dinner.”

Misha grins sheepishly at me. “I didn’t think you could see that.”

“I see everything.” With a nervous laugh, I add, “So there’s no point hiding things from me.”

If he catches what I’m trying to get at, he shows no sign of it. He just ducks under the table to pet the whining dog.

I look over at Andrey. At some point in the last few minutes, his face softened. He’s still pale, still tired, but he looks more alive with every passing second.

He doesn’t say much, but he stays with us for dessert. When the dessert plates are cleared away, I’m almost reluctant to stand up. I have no idea what magic brought and kept him at this table, but I’m worried we won’t find it again for a long time.

For once, it doesn’t feel hard to be near him. I want to hold onto it for as long as I can.

But then Misha yawns. “Okay, time for bed,” I announce. “You have an early lesson tomorrow morning.”

“Can I skip it?” he groans.

“Only if you want to say goodbye to those C-minuses.”

“I hear a C-minus is ‘great,’” he sasses. “No one will care if I’m only good tomorrow. How do Ds sound?”

“Like I’m too tired to deal with you tonight.” I ruffle his hair and push him and Remi towards the stairs. “Goodnight, boys.”

I watch Misha slip another potato to Remi before they climb the stairs together. Then Aunt Annie pulls me in for a hug before she makes her way to bed, too.

When I turn around and find Andrey standing in the doorway behind me, I jump.

“Um, well—” Every thought that pops into my head makes ‘Do you want some potatoes?’ sound like Shakespeare, so I lift my hand in a wave. “—goodnight.”

I climb the stairs, aware of the sound of his footsteps behind me. Then again, his room is just a few doors down from mine. It’s not like he’s following me.

“Natalia.”

My breath catches in my throat at the same time I feel Andrey’s on my neck. He’s standing right behind me—only inches away—wearing that oaky musk like a suit of armor.

I swallow. “It was nice to have you with us for dinner.”

“It was a pleasant evening.”

‘Pleasant’ isn’t exactly ‘sexually-charged’ or ‘two enthusiastic thumbs up,’ but it’s better than nothing. And nothing is what I’m used to.

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