Page 168 of The Harbinger

“Scribe.”

Catherine blanched, and she clutched the glass of red wine in her hands a little tighter. “You’ve been gone a long time, Nikolai. How was your hiatus this year?”

“Productive.” He inclined his head with a smirk. “Where is that fine young girl tonight?”

I leaned into Catherine as she went to speak. “Leave.”

Her eyes widened, her forehead wrinkling as she gave in to the order. But before she could turn and walk away, I bent down and spoke in her ear. “I don’t want to cut out your tongue, but if you continue wagging it, I’ll take pleasure in doing so. This will be our last conversation on the matter. Am I clear?”

She nodded her head rapidly, and I let her arm slip from my hand before returning to Nikolai.

“Katya is around here—”

He shook his head. “No. No. The girl you had at your office a few weeks back.”

I tipped my head back in acknowledgment. “Mia. She isn’t feeling well.”

“A shame. I was hoping to see her again.”

My blood simmered as my heart leaped in my chest. “What for?”

“Just a little something Viktor Rasmadov said when she wouldn’t entertain them.”

“Viktor is a fool. He would’ve never laid hands on her.”

A sly smile curled his lips.

“Why are you smiling?”

He took a sip of his wine, then frowned with resignation. “It seems you have found yourself a replacement?”

“Never. Mia isn’t—” A hard hand came down on my shoulder with a squeeze and a slight shake.

“High Priest,” Nikolai said, bowing his head in respect.

“Scribe. I’m afraid I need my son.”

“Of course.”

Nikolai walked away as I shrugged his hand off my shoulder.

“Where is she?”

“Why is everyone so interested in Mia tonight, I wonder?”

“Because she’s newandan outsider living within these walls on land passed down for centuries. Do you have any plans for initiation, or is something else going on?”

He hadn’t changed his intrigue since I’d confronted him at the grocer, which led to my reasoning for making our binding permanent. He wouldn’t get his hands on her. She was mine. “She’s bound to me. Her initiation isn’t required.”

Ruslan chuckled, his glass of water nearly spilling over, then grabbed me by the shoulder and steered me to a quieter corner in the garden. “We’ve been in this world for far too long to know that if she’s chosen, it wouldn’t matter your bond.”

“She isn’t.”

“Have you had her retested as I told you to do?”

I shook my head. “There’s no need.”

“She has the mark.”

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