Page 24 of Fate and Fury

Closing her eyes, she tried to memorize him: his hard chest, the carved muscle of his upper arm as it encircled her, the silken brush of his hair against her cheek. His familiar mint-and-blade-oil scent, undergirded with the garlic-and-ginger paste she’d dabbed on the scratches from the Grigori blades. He smelled, she thought, like a meal that might arise and stab you through the heart if you looked at it the wrong way. A smile lifted her lips at the thought.

Beneath her, her vicious meal of a Shadow shifted his weight. His muscles tensed, ready to spring into action, but his fingers in her hair were gentle, his touch soothing. Despite the worries that plagued her mind and the desire that heated her body, she drifted off to sleep at last, safe in her Shadow’s arms.

13

KATERINA

When Katerina woke up, the sun had crested the trees and Niko was no longer beside her. The rowan-fires were still burning, though lower now, and Niko stood next to one of them, talking in soothing tones to?—

“Mika!” She leapt up, wincing as her injured leg took her weight. Hobbling over to the mare, she threw her arms around her horse’s neck. “Niko, where did you find her?”

She could hear the smile in her Shadow’s voice. “She found us. I dozed off for a bit before sunrise and woke to her nosing at my face. I suppose she thought I wasn’t doing my duty.”

Katerina drew back, still hugging Mika, and shot him a glare. “Did you sleep at all?”

He waved a dirt-smudged hand. “I slept enough. Don’t worry about me. Worry about your horse. She looks…” His voice trailed off, but the concern in it had gotten Katerina’s attention. Reluctantly, she stepped away from Mika, giving her mare the once-over.

Mika’s mane was singed, her sides heaving. There were shallow gouges along her flanks, as if she’d shoved her waythrough branches and undergrowth. Her eyes were wide, the whites showing all around the irises. But she stood steady under Katerina’s touch, and when Niko offered her some dried apples from Baba’s satchel, she took them eagerly enough.

“Troitze?” Katerina said, hardly daring to look at Niko.

He shook his head, his shoulders slumping. Katerina knew how much he loved the big, stubborn stallion. “No sign of him. Which is too bad, because he could’ve carried us both. But Mika will carry you, and I’ll walk beside her. It’s better than what I’d expected.”

“She can carry us both for a short way,” Katerina argued. “I know her. She’s strong.”

“Maybe,” Niko said, sounding doubtful.

“Where do you expect she’s been all night?”

He looked the mare up and down and then sighed. “Nowhere good. Come on, Katya. It’s time to leave.”

The tripback to Kalach felt as if it took a thousand years. True to Katerina’s word, Mika was able to carry them both for some time, but Niko didn’t want to risk tiring her, and so he walked next to the mare for a good deal of the way, his hand on her reins.

Katerina feared another Grigori attack, especially with the Bone Moon getting ever closer, but none befell them. There were no villages between Drezna and Kalach, just the road that wound through the woods and mountain passes. It was a wary journey, and Katerina’s decimation of the bridge required them to take the long way home. When at last they smelled the rowan-fires that signaled the approach to Kalach, a weight slid off her shoulders.

Their village still stood. Whatever plague had been loosed upon Iriska, it hadn’t reached Kalach…at least, not yet.

It was late afternoon, the day before the Bone Moon was set to rise, and Oriel and Galdrich were patrolling, one on either side of the iron gates that marked the main entrance to the village. The two Shadows came to attention as Katerina and Niko approached, her on the mare’s back, him holding Mika’s bridle. They dipped their heads in recognition of their alpha’s return, then lifted them again in greeting. Dismay dawned on their faces as they noted Troitze’s absence and Katerina’s wounded leg. But when they asked about the Trials, Niko shook his head. “You’ll hear soon enough,” he said. “Katerina and I need to speak with Baba.”

Katerina led Mika to the stables and gave the horse an apple and a grateful pat before turning to Niko. “There isn’t time to clean up, is there?” she said, her tone rueful.

He wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek. “I wish there were. But no. Come on.”

They made their way past the farrier’s and the blacksmith shop, then onto the cobblestone path that took them past the orchard and toward the small cottage where Baba Petrova lived. Without discussion, they’d chosen the most out–of-the-way route, the better to avoid questions about their battered appearance, Katerina’s limp, and the results of the Trials. But luck wasn’t with them today, because children played alongside the path, tended by Vila—including Elena. Even from a distance, the golden gleam of her hair was unmistakable, as was the joy that broke across her face when Niko and Katerina approached.

She hurried toward them, her green-and-white dress swishing against her legs. “You’re back—both of you!” she said, skidding to a halt in front of them. “Oh, I’ve been so worried. You’re strong, of course, but anything could happen at the Trials.I burned incense at my shrine, asking for your safe return. And my prayers were answered. Thank the Saints, you’re here!”

She stepped forward to embrace Niko, and Katerina braced herself for the inevitable twist in her gut. But Niko caught Elena by the wrists and held her still. “I’m filthy,” he said as puzzlement knitted her blond brows. “We’ve come straight from the road.”

The Vila’s smile dimmed, but she nodded in understanding as Niko let her go. “Of course.” Her cornflower-blue gaze slid sideways, taking Katerina in for the first time. It darkened with concern, and Katerina felt like a terrible person. “Here I am, chattering away, and…are youinjured?Could Rivki’s healers not at least patch you up before you got on the road home, or did something happen on the way? Niko, are you hurt?”

Behind her, the children Elena was meant to be tending were staring at Niko and Katerina, eyes wide, no doubt imagining that the two had returned from a glorious mission. When Katerina was small, she’d envisioned Rivki as a place of incredible riches, with its gold-domed churches and noblefolk dressed in fine fabrics. Only later had she come to understand it was a prison for the likes of her.

She cleared her throat, not wanting to frighten them. “We’re fine. But we need to see Baba, Elena. Something’s happened, and she needs to know about it at once.”

“But…” Elena said doubtfully, her gaze flicking between the two of them. “Yourleg,Katerina. And Niko…your arms…”

“Just defensive wounds.” He offered her a conciliatory smile. “I’m whole. Katerina’s right, though; we need to talk to Baba. And,” he said, gesturing behind her, “I think your charges are getting restless.”

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