Page 66 of Fate and Fury

It had not occurred to Elena that Sammael might want her as a man wanted a woman. He had attacked Gadreel when the other demon had even insinuated as much. The knowledge of it broke over her like a wave on a hot day: terrifying, but also exhilarating. Her own husband felt no desire for her. It was refreshing to find someone who did, even if that someone was a damned soul. “And what, pray tell, is a demon’s word worth?” she said into the dark.

His laugh was a serrated blade, scraping along her skin. “Ah, there you have me, Elena Lisova. I swear it on my pride, then,on the yearning I have for power—to defeat Gadreel, who lusts after the Dimi you detest—on the depth of the Darkness that eats all things. For a demon such as myself, there is no greater bond. And if you wish me to transform back into a moth, I will do so without question.”

Elena considered this. “No, thank you,” she said. “Moths cannot talk, and I find myself very much in need of conversation.”

He dipped his head; she could see that much. “Your wish is my command.”

“You lied to me.” She clenched the quilt in her fist. “You let me believe Alyona herself told me of Niko’s infidelity.”

Sammael sighed. “I could tell you it is my nature; demons lie. I could lead us into a discussion of semantics, and tell you it was more a matter of trickery than falsehood. Both are true. However, both are also less than you deserve. So I will tell you once again that I am sorry, and hope it will suffice.”

“You did me a favor.” Elena let go of the quilt and sat up straight, her back against the wall. “Why, though, could you not have told me the truth after we got to know each other? I would have understood.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps I thought you would not forgive me, Elena. Even a kind nature such as yours must have its limits.”

She wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks. “It does indeed. And Katerina has breached them. Niko has gone to meet her, I’m sure of it. I’d hoped to spend my wedding night differently, but what greater glory can there be than wrenching him free of her grip at last? I’m strong enough. I know I am. With you by my side, I can rival her power. I can set him free.”

Sammael took her hands in his, his aim unerring despite the dark. As he’d promised, there was nothing of desire in his touch—just the strength of a partner in arms, the finality of a contractsealed. When he spoke, she felt the weight of his words on her skin.

“I am, as always, at your service.”

35

KATERINA

Weeks had passed since Niko’s betrothal. So much had changed. And yet here Katerina was, gathering elderflower in the forest, a mile outside Kalach, like she’d been after the first time she and Niko had kissed.

She shouldn’t be out here. But she hadn’t been able to think of anyplace else to go.

If the Darkness came for her now, she might welcome it. The thought of sitting alone in the cottage she and Niko used to share while he undid Elena’s wedding dress one hook at a time, pressing his lips to her skin, filled Katerina’s vision with a red haze. She’d been afraid the sheer rage and misery of it would make her burn the house down. So she’d escaped the wedding revelry as soon as she could and come here, to the clearing, where she’d ignited a circle of rowan-fires to keep the demons away and bent to her work.

She would make a life without Niko in her bed, without his lips on hers and his arms wrapped around her. She would find a way to have him at her side as her Shadow, and nothing more. It was what he wanted. She had to honor it. Even if it shattered her.

Or maybe she would leave him behind and go to the Magiya on her own. If she couldn’t have Niko, then at least she could try to reverse the prophecy and save Iriska.

And if she felt him near right now, if she imagined he was with her here as he’d been weeks before, then that was her weakness. She wouldn’t think about what he was doing at this very moment, if he lay naked in bed beside Elena, her blond hair fanned across his chest and his head propped on his hand, looking at her the way he always used to look at Katerina?—

“I leave you alone for one evening, and this is where I find you. Honestly, Katya. Have you no sense of self-preservation at all?”

Her head snapped up. There he was, standing at the treeline just like he’d been weeks ago, still in the ceremonial white he’d worn to marry Elena. The silver guelder roses on his collar set off his eyes, making them gleam like the Kalchek coins the children tossed into the village fountain on Wishing Day. By the light of the moon, his irises were flat, impenetrable disks, giving nothing away. With his black hair and pale skin, he looked as if he’d been carved from the night itself.

Katerina’s heart clenched. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve something to say.”

She dumped the flowers into the basket with such force that most of them flew out again, tumbling into the grass. “Doubtless Elena would have something to say as well, if she knew you were here. Perhaps it is you whose sense of self-preservation has gone for a short stroll off a high cliff. Can you not leave me in peace?”

“Maybe I missed you.”

Katerina regarded him in his wedding white, leaning against one of the oak trees that guarded the clearing with his ankles crossed as if he hadn’t a care in the world, and wanted to smack him. She settled for sending a spray of dirt up from the ground, sullying his clothes.

His lips quirked. “Missed me too, I see.”

“That part of our lives is done.” Spurring the flames of the rowan-fires higher, she blocked his passage. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Let me by, Katya. Please.”

“I see no reason why I should.”

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