Page 38 of Fate and Fury

Ana was staring at her, dark eyes wide, and Katerina set her shoulders, refusing to show fear. “No point in dawdling. Wouldn’t want to keep them waiting for me, after all.”

She lengthened her stride, stepping in front of Ana and Alexei. Making a disapproving noise low in his throat, Niko nonetheless did the same, so that he stalked alongside her, one hand resting easily on the hilt of his favored blade. “Katya,” he said quietly, so that Alexei and Ana wouldn’t hear. “Whatever they want, state your terms in response. I’ll not let them take you—or us—against your will.”

Katerina gave a sharp nod. She’d hoped she would have more time before a summons came. But clearly she’d been deluding herself.

The path opened up into the village square, revealing three men clad in the gold-trimmed garments that marked them as the Kniaz’s favored squires. They sat atop horses that were finer than any in Kalach—a golden palomino, an onyx stallion, a blue-speckled, muscled roan. The men were equally impressive: bearded and broad, with an unyielding set to their shoulders that indicated they were used to getting what they wanted. Before them stood Baba Petrova and the five village Elders.

A crowd of villagers gathered at the edge of the square, murmuring in confusion and alarm. And to their right, with the Vila not on child-minding duty this morning, stood Elena and her closest friend, Alyona.

The Vila’s eyes went at once to Niko, as if to assure herself that he was all right. But Niko didn’t notice. His attention was fixed on the men on horseback. A deep, subterranean growl rumbled in his chest.

“Where is the Dimi you call Katerina Ivanova?” the man on the palomino said, his tone imperious. He must be their leader, she thought, his beard woven with the red-and-purple ribbons that denoted his higher rank. “I won’t ask again.”

Next to Katerina, Niko snarled. “He cannot call you like a dog!”

Katerina refrained from remarking on the irony of this statement. She strode forward, shoulders back and head high. “I’m right here,” she said, her voice ringing out in the cool spring air. “Cease harassing the citizens of Kalach and state your business.”

She didn’t dare look at Niko, but next to her, she could sense the amusement baking off of him. Well, let him be amused, then.She had no intention of bowing to these men’s wishes, no matter how fine their garments or how demanding their tone.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lara, a fellow Dimi, and Ilya, her Shadow, heading Katerina’s way, closing ranks with her and Niko. Joining them were Svetlana and Luka, a Dimi and Shadow pair beside whom Katerina and Niko had fought many times. On their heels came the other seventeen Dimi and Shadow pairings that were of age to fight. The three unbonded Shadows who had lost their Dimis in battle—Valentin, Pyotr, and Mikhail—accompanied them.

Niko gave a low hum of approval in reaction to the welcome presence of his black dog’s pack. But Katerina didn’t feel soothed. If these men were here for her, then all the other Shadows and Dimis in the world would do her no good. Their gesture was symbolic, nothing more—for if Katerina intended to kill these men, she could do so easily, calling fire to her hand and unleashing it upon them. No, this was a matter of politics. She could not harm these men without bringing down the Kniaz’s wrath upon Kalach.

“Ourbusiness,” the leader said, imbuing the word with scorn. “Why, our business is you, Dimi Ivanova. I thought I made that clear.”

The insolence in his voice was unmistakable, and Niko growled louder, a hair-raising, threatening sound. He bared his teeth at the man, and next to him, Alexei tensed in solidarity.

“Niko,” Katerina said quietly. “Hold.”

“He cannot speak that way to you!”

“No,” she said, stepping forward, away from her Shadow and their friends. “He cannot.”

Perhaps she would have restrained herself, had it not been for the expression on Elena’s face: lovestruck, as if seeing Niko’s protective Shadow nature rise to the surface was a gift just for her. As if she were imagining what it would be like for him toprotecther,not Katerina. As if all her dreams were coming true at last.

She had no right to take her anger out on Elena; the Vila was betrothed to Niko, after all. But the arrogant man who had spoken to her as if she were his vassal was another story.

At the Trials, she’d had to hide what she was capable of. But after what had happened on the road to Drezna, there was no hiding anymore. And if she didn’t have to conceal what she was, then by the Saints, she would use it to her advantage.

Letting an unpleasant smile lift her lips, she sent her magic out, heat curling through the space between her and the men on horseback. It gripped the leader by the back of the neck, scorching him, and his eyes went wide. “You—you dare…? Let me go!”

“I will,” Katerina said calmly, the smile widening, “as soon as you address me with the respect I deserve.”

Behind her, Ana snickered. Baba Petrova, far less amused, said, “Katerina! Think about what you’re doing, for once in your life. Think about who these men are. Who they represent.”

“I know well who they represent.” Katerina tightened the grip of her magic, and had the satisfaction of watching the man squirm. His mouth fell open, and a gasp of pain escaped him. “But I don’t bend the knee for vassals. Address me with respect, servant of the Kniaz. Or ride back the way you’ve come, empty-handed.”

Baba Petrova raised her hands to her face, presumably to hide her dismay at Katerina’s attitude. But before those gnarled hands hid her expression, Katerina could have sworn she detected the slightest glimpse of pride.

Next to her, Niko’s growl had tempered into a deep-throated chuckle. “You heard the lady,” he said. “What will it be?”

The man scowled, red-faced and furious. Sighing, Katerina summoned the wind and commanded it to shake him, like akitten in the grip of an angry beast. His horse shifted under him uneasily, and behind him, the two men who accompanied him looked as if they would like nothing more than to flee. Katerina couldn’t blame them.

“Dimi Ivanova!” Elder Dykstrova snapped. “Leave off toying with him. You’ve made your point.”

“Fine,” Katerina said, and lifted a lazy hand. The wind died down immediately, and the heat retreated. “Feel better?” she said as the man’s body stilled.

He shot her a furious glance, then opened and closed his mouth twice before he spoke. He looked, Katerina thought, like one of the giant goldfish she’d seen in the moat that surrounded the Kniaz’s castle. “How dare you?” he snarled again when he got his breath.

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