Page 32 of Fate and Fury

Or maybe it was just her guilt.

Well, better Niko than packs of prowling Grigori who were hungry for her soul. Although at this point, perhaps her soul was compromised beyond repair.

Pushing her thoughts aside with an effort, she rummaged inside a hollowed-out tree for the straw basket and knife she’d stashed in the clearing. Kneeling in the grass, the basket beside her, she began gathering the small blue flowers, always more potent for healing when picked by starlight. As their roots came free of the soil, she whispered the same age-old prayer of gratitude she’d given the rowan trees near Drezna:For your life, that we may live, we are thankful.

Drezna…which might have fallen because of Katerina. She wondered where Sofi and Damien were right now, whether Nadia had gotten word to Rivki before Sofi had come home to find her village naught but ashes. Grief rose in her throat at the thought, threatening to choke her.

“That we may live,” said a familiar voice from the treeline. “Well, one of us, anyway. Is my presence that distasteful, then, Dimi mine?”

Katerina startled, falling backward. She landed in the patch of flowers as Niko strode into the clearing, his dark hair rumpled and his spine rod-straight with offense.

So she hadn’t been imagining his presence after all. But the fact that she hadn’t heard him coming— Well, he was a Shadow, after all, trained to move like a piece of the night. And she had been more than a bit distracted.

She scrambled to her feet, gripping the knife and brushing crumpled flowers from her shift. Despite their circumstances, Niko’s mouth twitched.

“If that’s an invitation to leave, I’m not taking it,” he said.

The moon bathed his face, accentuating the ridged scar that ran from temple to jaw. Her fingers ached to touch it, and she clenched her free hand into a fist. “Why did you follow me?”

He took a step toward her, hands shoved deep in his pockets. “Why did you run?” His words came dangerously close to a growl, all humor vanished. “The dark of night. The heart of the forest. And me, left behind. One might imagine you are seeking trouble.”

“I seek nothing but healing remedies,” she snapped, gesturing to the basket at her feet. “And the only trouble I seem to have found is you. Again.”

He stepped closer still, his jaw set hard as granite. “Why did you run from me, Katerina, no matter what happened between us? What were you thinking?”

She clutched her knife tighter—as if it would do her any good against him. “I was thinking that I needed to pick elderflower,” she said, fighting to keep the tremor from her voice. “The plant secretes its nectar late at night, when the moon is full. This is the time to harvest it.”

“Right.” Niko rolled his eyes. “And you couldn’t be troubled to tell me that, before you fled into the forest, half-dressed? Or to take me with you?”

“You’re not my keeper!”

“Am I not?” He was a foot from her now, his expression the inscrutable mask he wore to hide strong feelings and his hairso tousled, it fell into his eyes. It was tousled like that because ofher,she thought, and had to suppress a shiver. “Have I not sworn to stand between you and evil? Do I not wear your Mark on my arm—and do you not wear mine around your neck?”

“It’s an amulet, Niko,” she said, her voice steady, and for a moment felt the throb of his pulse where the necklace rested above her breasts. “Not a collar.”

He shoved his sleeve up, bearing his tattoo. “Thisis a brand, and well you know it. When you ran, I felt it burn. For all you know, there could be a horde of demons creeping closer by the moment. If something were to happen to you?—”

A wind woven from Katerina’s magic stirred the trees above them. It whispered through the grass and lifted the tendrils of her hair to brush her face, a light touch that was both promise and warning. “Is that all you care about, then? Your obligation to me? Your bloody pride? God forbid you should fail as your father did?—”

His voice came low and furious. “I told you what I care about, Katya. Run from it all you like. And I am not my father!”

Katerina had been ten when Niko’s father was exiled from the village for betraying his Dimi. During a demon attack, he’d chosen to save his Vila wife rather than stand by his Dimi’s side. In the eyes of the village, there was no greater crime. She would never forget the look on Niko’s face as he watched his father leave: shame and grief and fury, all warring for position. A year later, his mother died of heartbreak, and Niko was alone—until he became hers.

Six years after that, he’d risen above the legacy of scandal his father had left behind to become alpha of his Shadow pack. Baba had bestowed the honor after Niko had distinguished himself in battle, risking his life for his fellow Shadows, putting their well-being before his own. His pack respected him for his kill count despite his youth, and the former alpha, who had grown old,had given his approval. Niko’s pack was everything to him—the family he’d lost, the proof that he was worthy of his title and his role. Everything, that was, except Katerina.

Mirroring her mood, the wind picked up, bringing with it the scent of the rowan-fires from Kalach, where the flames burned all night to keep the demons away. Niko inhaled, shaking his head. “I’m not afraid of you, Katerina. I’m not afraid of this.”

That made one of them. Katerina thought of the look on Elena’s face when Niko had pledged to marry her, of how hurt Elena would be if she could see them now. Of how furious Baba Petrova and the Elders would be if they knew she and Niko had violated the natural order of things.Unto another each must cleave,Baba had said after their bond was forged.Strength will feed strength. Together you fight. Together you fall.

Well, she was falling now.

She looked away, scooping the basket from the ground. The wind slowed to a breeze, rifling through his hair and flattening the rough cotton of his shirt. He closed his eyes, as if feeling her touch on his skin.

“You are promised to another. And you are my Shadow, Niko. What can we ever be to each other but that?”

Niko’s eyes flickered open, their gaze wary. “You tell me. Unless…is there someone else, Katya? Someone who you?—”

Katerina pictured Maksim and Konstantin’s faces. She should say yes. But instead she swallowed hard and shook her head. “No. But what happened between us was a mistake. You know that as well as I.”

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