Page 116 of Blood Mosaic

His boyar dove into the water, cutting through the waves faster even than the speedboat Oleg was riding.

It was fifteen minutes later when they pulled up close enough to board the ship. Oleg jumped onto the side, grabbing the rungs of a ladder and climbing easily up to the deck. He nodded at the men and women he passed, most of whom smelled of blood and gore.

It was satisfying but not what he wanted.

Blood trails led to crumpled human bodies. Not a vampire took a breath as he passed.

Oleg met Mika at the last open door and said nothing when he saw the vampire’s reddened eyes.

Mika led him down to a hold that reeked of blood, and no one said a word as Oleg took in the scene.

Someone had found a sheet somewhere and covered her body, but Oleg felt the rage gather and burst out when he smelled Elene’s blood.

So much blood.

Toomuch blood.

His fire burst out in rage and agony, and he cursed in words that no one had spoken in centuries.

Mika walked toward him, but Oleg put a hand up as flame raged around him. He smelled his own hair singing from the ferocity of the angry inferno.

His people shouted and ran from the hold as the room filled with fire.

And Mika stood in a corner, bloody tears running down his cheeks as he drew the water in the damp hold toward himself so that Oleg’s flames would not burn him alive.

Oleg didn’t know how long his fire raged, but he found himself kneeling beside Elene’s body, lifeless but warm from his fire. The remnants of his clothes were smoking and falling into ash. His skin was burning but his element had died back.

And Elene was just as dead.

He gathered her broken body into his arms and rocked her as his rage cooled and grief wracked his soul. He wept with no shame over a woman who had been his dearest friend.

After some time, Mika walked over; Oleg could see his old friend’s pain was as great as his.

“If there had been even a hint of life,” Mika said, “I would have tried to turn her.”

“She would have hated us.”

Mika whispered, “I wouldn’t have cared.”

Oleg blinked back the bloody tears that dripped onto the white sheet that covered Elene. “No sign of Tatyana?”

“According to the captain, Zara took her and left about an hour ago. He didn’t know where she was going. I used amnis; he was telling the truth.”

“She wants her money back.” And Tatyana was the one who could find it.

“It sounds like Tatyana may be injured, but she’s alive. Zara said something about getting her medical attention.”

So Tatyana was injured but alive. For now.

But Zara would die. She was already dead.

There was no place in the world his daughter could go that Oleg would not find her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Tatyana woke to fire eating through her veins. She screamed in agony, wailing in confusion and pain.

Someone threw a bucket of water on her; then a door slammed. The water crawled over her skin, spreading and soothing the angry, itching sensation that covered her.

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