Page 15 of My Wild Horse King

“Ah. That’s it. You think ifyoucan be the one who fixes him. . .” His smile broadens. “You have never been creative, not a day in your life. Ah, Katerina. You’re so predictable, and just like the dozen other times you’ve sacrificed yourself for him, you could serve him his powers on a silver platter and he still won’t evennoticeyou.”

I set my jaw. “Will you release his powers or not?”

“It doesn’t really matter to me, you know,” Leonid says. “My power is unchanged, whether I release his back to him or refuse.”

“Right,” I say. “Giving them back costs you nothing—you’ll still be the only person who can wield all three powers combined.” I can’t help thinking of the bale of hay—which could be most anything on earth—and shuddering.

“You know that I don’t do things for nothing.” Leonid steps toward me, the angle of his mouth sharp, and the glance in his eyes predatory. “So what are you offering that I need?”

“I—well.”

He steps closer still, and as he draws right up next to me, a chill runs up my spine. “Nothing.” His voice is a bare whisper now. “There is nothing you have, Katerina, that I want.”

“The one person who could ruin your plans, the one person who could take it all away. . .” I swallow.

His eyes go hard. Dead. “You should not bring him up.”

“If his claim has priority. . .”

“She didn’t say it did,” he says. “She said itmight.”

“But if itdoes.” I wait. He must have been thinking about that night, the pleading with Baba Yaga, and how pathetic he was. The trouble, she told us, was that she’s gifted her power to humans twice, and she’s not sure exactly how the magic will interact. . . And if it was Gustav’s family that had supervisory access to all five powers, which it must be since Kristiana’s a null, then they won’t know who draws from the higher point until they go head-to-head.

“You may struggle to believe this,” Leonid says, “but I don’t want to attack him. I hope he stays hidden away, head in the sand, forever.”

“You’re right,” I say. “I don’t believe you.” That’s not something Leonid would ever count on. Nothing in his life has ever gone his way. He’s the kind of person who takes care of problems before they can attack. “I know you’ve been looking for him, but you’ll never find him.”

“Oh?” He drops to his seat next to me then, putting all his weight on the bale of hay he recently reconstructed. “Then you tell me what exactly you’re offering in exchange for the restoration of your boyfriend’s magical powers.”

“He isn’t my boyfriend, as you well know.” I sigh. “But what I’m offering is the information you need to locate and eliminate the threat. I’m offering Gustav’srealname.”

Leonid’s face doesn’t shift a single hair. “His real name.” He snorts. “And you’d give that to me? I doubt Alexei would thank you for it. In his mind, this man is the only one who might restore his magic. No?”

“We both know you’re going to find him eventually. What I’m really offering you istime. You’ll be able to locate him before they can prepare him. You could reach him before they hide him or teach him or. . .”

“You tell me his name, and I can fly to America and explode him into a million tiny pieces. Is that what you’re suggesting?”

“Or something less grotesque, yes.” I can’t help cringing a little.

“His death would be on your hands.” He frowns. “You’re really fine with that?”

“Like I said.” My tone is tight. “He was going to die from the moment he was born. I’m just accelerating the timetable a bit.”

“But think how upset your boyfriend will be when. . .” He stands. “Oh. You don’t want me to restore his powersright now, do you?” He smiles. “You want me to do it. . .when you tell me to do it. You want to take the credit for saving him.”

I shrug. “I mean, it helps you too. Think about it. Alexei has been using the water powers for years and years, taught by his father who was an expert as well. He’s proficient. And with Aleksandr and Grigoriy, they’d make a formidable opponent. But if you can attack now, eliminate their possible trump card, and then return to Russia, leaving Alexei his powers as a show of good faith. . .”

“Then you could claim credit, and you’d be a hero, and you’d be able to keep him away from me to keep him safe.” He shrugs. “It’s not your worst plan.”

“So?”

“I’ll do it,” he says.

I wanted it to work. I thought it might, even. But I’m still a little shocked when it does. I mean, he’s actually saying that he’ll just give Alexei his powers back, and more than that, he’ll let me claim credit for it. A bubbly sort of joy escapes in the form of a giggle-laugh.

“Wow, that was a strange noise,” Leonid says. “Well, you better pay me.”

“The name of the brother is?—”

---