Page 87 of Solstice

“Alexei, I wondered if you might give me a tour of the grounds. I have something I wish to discuss with you.”

Oh?

I looked from my uncle to my father. He straightened, an eyebrow going up his forehead.

“Romanov to Romanov.” Dmitri smiled, giving Father a knowing look that demanded he not ask for an invite.

“Of course,” I said. “Excuse us.”

My father didn’t like being told to fuck off at his own party, but I’d admit, a little smirk came to my face as we walked past him. I led Dmitri onto the balcony and down the steps to the backyard, my thoughts going to the funeral we’d held for my brother all those years ago. I’d first kissed Ivy by that bench over there, and then she’d slugged the shit out of me. I smiled at the memory, putting my hands in my pockets as we walked.

“How is the engagement going?” Dmitri puffed on his cigar. “Are you happy with your new wife?”

I shrugged, and maybe I was feeling nostalgic because I muttered, “There are worse people I could marry.” It was the same flimsy excuse I’d given Ivy when our parents first announced this farce.

He laughed. “She’s very beautiful. She’ll make you a man.”

She already did.

“What’s on your mind,dyadya?Is this about my phone call a few weeks ago?”

He frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Yes…and no.”

“Oh?” I lit a cigarette while we fell into a stroll. “What does that mean?”

He chuckled. “That depends on what you tell me.”

I narrowed my eyes and took a long drag on my cigarette.

“Sometimes, when your Poppy goes to sleep, I check on her in the middle of the night and she’s not there.” Dmitri shrugged. “You say you’ve come to get her, but no vehicles have been by my house.”

I cleared my throat.

“When I look into her eyes, I can see there is something else going on.” Dmitri watched me, gauging my reaction.

I swallowed down my non-surprise that she hadn’t been good about hiding what she could do.

“As a child, my nanny used to tell me stories about thevila, beautiful women that lived in the woods. They changed their form at will, teleported long distances.” Dmitri shook his head. “I’m not saying I believe in such things. But…” He stopped and turned to face me, staring down at me like he, too, could detect the truth in other people. “If I did, would you say you believed in them?”

I raked my gaze over my uncle, focusing on his stern expression. I’d never known him to be a liar, or someone to fuck with me just for the sake of fucking with me, and I did thrust this child on him with very little explanation or concern for what she’d be capable of doing to him as a result. I never said I made all the right choices. I only did what I thought was best.

“I would say I did, yes.”

“And if I asked you…is this child avila? What would you say to that?” His eyebrow shot up his forehead as he considered me.

I took another long drag on my smoke and nodded. “She’s not avila. But she’s not…from around here.”

He pursed his lips. “And you gave this child to me without telling me this?”

I let out a sardonic laugh. “I told her not to give herself away.”

“She’s not good at keeping secrets.” He tsked, continuing to walk down the riverbank. I knew that, too, as I still suspected she’d been keeping the location of the queen from us. “Oh, Alexei, I could have you killed for this.”

I chuckled. “But you won’t.”

“I won’t. It would not be fair to Ivy to deliver a corpse as a groom on her wedding day.” He shook his head. “My mother did not raise me to have such ill manners.”

“I apologize.I didn’t think she’d be living with you this long.”

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