Page 105 of Fate and Fury

Niko’s hands were all over her, tracing her shape as if trying to memorize it, his lips hot on her neck, her collarbone, the hollow of her throat. As if reading her thoughts, he drew back shakily to focus on her face. His gray eyes were wide and dark,their pupils blown wide. Moonlight gleamed in their depths. “I want you,” he said simply. “But not here.”

“Not here,” she agreed, sparing a rueful glance for the ruined altar. “And not now, either, alas. But when we have time—” The word caught in her throat, thinking of the six months he was doomed to spend below ground. How, half a year from now, she would be forced to lose him once more.

She willed herself not to dwell on it. After all, she’d worked a miracle once. Surely, with him by her side and the Darkness defeated, with the knowledge of the Magiya at their fingertips, she would be able to do it again.

Niko was staring at her, his gaze quizzical. She cleared her throat. “When we have time, my Shadow,” she vowed, “I’ll show you what you mean to me. And you’ll know you’re exactly where you belong. By my side, no matter what threatens to come between us.”

He smiled at her then, a genuine, wicked grin laced with hard-won happiness. “I look forward to it,” he said, tucking a wayward lock of hair behind her ear.

She reached for him, and he took both of her hands in his. They sat, facing each other, cheeks wet with tears yet unable to stop smiling, and Katerina wished she could stay here in this moment, with him, forever.

But then Niko tensed, his hands gripping hers. “Speaking of time, how long was I in the Underworld, Katya? Because Gadreel…he has a plan.”

The moment was effectively shattered. “Must we speak of him and his machinations? I’ve only just gotten you back. Can’t we have two minutes of peace?”

Her Shadow shook his head. “I wish we could. But we have to talk about this. To stop him, before it’s too late.”

Katerina heaved a resigned sigh. “I know his plan.” She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “He wishes to use me to power his realmand defeat Sammael once and for all. To become the ruler of the Underworld. That’s one of the reasons Sammael struck our deal; with you by my side, he knows I’ll be better able to fight. Well, that and the fact that he wants you gone. As much as a demon can, I think he loves Elena.” Katerina shuddered. “He wants her for himself. You’re a…what did he say?An unfortunate inconvenience.”

“Oh, he wants her, all right,” Niko muttered. “But?—”

She interrupted him, not wanting to hear more about the demon’s lust for the woman who had betrayed them all so terribly. Who had condemned Katerina for loving Niko even as she fled into the arms of a damned creature, killing her Shadow and forging an alliance that had nearly destroyed Kalach.

“Gadreel hasn’t caught me yet, even though I never took another Shadow. Baba wanted me to, but the Kniaz sent word he wanted to bond me to one of the unattached Shadows in Rivki. I hated the idea, but it bought me time.” She offered Niko a tentative smile. “Kniaz Sergey is meant to arrive tonight, actually, with the Shadow in tow. I would have come to you earlier, but Sammael told me that if Elena agreed to let you go at all, the magic would only work if it took place on the night of the false Bone Moon?—”

Niko had been listening to her with an expression of dawning horror. He yanked his hands free and leapt to his feet. “Katerina, are you saying the Kniaz is coming to Kalach now? Tonight?”

“Well, yes,” she said, “which is why we should leave this horrible place. I don’t know if we can make it all the way to the Magiya, given the unrest, but once, you agreed to run with me, so…”

He shook his head. “No, Katerina, you don’t understand. All this time, Gadreel’s had Kniaz Sergey chained in the dungeon of his estate. It’s a trick, don’t you see? He knew the Kniaz wouldwant you to join the Druzhina, even without me. He’s been holding the man captive.”

Katerina stared at him, bewildered. “No, I…that can’t be. Andrei came to Kalach a few days ago, to tell us Kniaz Sergey would be arriving tonight. Why would he say such a thing, if the Kniaz had been imprisoned? And how could Gadreel breach Rivki? How could he cross the moat, much less get past the Druzhina and the Vodyanoy?”

Niko paced the stones of the altar, running his hands through his hair. “The wards are badly weakened. That night in the clearing, when I…when Elena…” His throat worked. “When you banished us to the Underworld, Gadreel told me that he…marked the Kniaz somehow. He can control him, like a puppet. Kniaz Sergey speaks, but it’s the demon’s words he utters.”

A shiver ran through Katerina’s body. “Are you saying that the Kniaz is…is …”

“He’s controlled by Gadreel.” Niko snatched his shirt from the ground, buttoning it with hasty fingers. “If Kniaz Sergey is coming to Kalach, then Gadreel will be nearby to make sure the nobleman does his bidding. You saw how Sammael breached the wards without the Shadows smelling him. Now that Gadreel knows it’s possible, I’m sure he’ll do the same. If he arrives at the village to find you gone…”

“He’ll do his best to raze it to the ground.” Katerina stood, panic making her heart race. “He should be there any minute, if he isn’t already. They…they were making preparations when I left. It’s how I was able to get away.” She wrapped her arms around herself, glancing upward. “The moon has fully risen. If he was biding his time, waiting to attack…”

“He and his minions will be at their strongest now, with the veil between the worlds at its thinnest.” Niko shook his head. “No wonder he chose tonight to arrive.”

Terror choked Katerina’s voice. “He’s the one who killed my mother, Niko. I remember that now. And I—I abandoned Kalach to his wrath?—”

“Not yet. We would know if he’d arrived, Katya. His anger will be something terrible.”

Katerina shuddered at the thought. “Maybe we can get there before he does. To stop this. But Niko…if we don’t…” She swallowed hard. “If he takes me, it won’t only be Kalach that falls. Perhaps I’ll be able to drive back the Darkness, with your aid. But after that, if he gets his hands on my powers…the world will burn.”

Niko’s gaze was steady. “We can’t think about that,” he said. “Katya, we can’t desert them.”

As terrified as she felt, Katerina knew he was right. Better for Baba and the Elders to rage at her, to condemn her for dealing with a demon and bringing Niko back, than to be responsible for the deaths of everyone in the village. Not if she could save them. “Let’s go,” she said.

Niko gave a short, sharp nod. And then they were running, shoving through the bushes that led away from the clearing and Niko’s now-empty grave, sprinting down the tree-lined path that led back to Kalach. Katerina prayed desperately that they would be in time. That they wouldn’t arrive to see their friends slaughtered or the village decimated by the Darkness. That she wouldn’t have to look at Ana’s bloodied face—Ana, who had risked everything for her…

They were a quarter-mile from the village when a roar split the air: the embodiment of pure rage, bending the trees in its wake. Above the treetops, orange-red flames bloomed. Katerina prayed these were the rowan-fires, somehow stoked to a fever blaze. But then her lungs filled with the cloying, unmistakable scent of human flesh aflame. Even this far away, shrieks filled the air, borne toward them on the wind.

“No,” she whispered. “No!”

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