Page 30 of My Wild Horse King

“Why would he?” Adriana asks. “What does Leonid want?”

“Whatever it is, he can’t have it,” Alexei says. “We won’t negotiate with him.”

“It would be nice to know what he wants, though,” Adriana says. “No one knows his next move, and we have no idea why he’s having these trials and executions.”

Politics I don’t care about and more magic I don’t understand. Fabulous. At least it sparked some internal debate, even if it makes no sense to me. “I’m going to get some extra pillows and blankets,” I say.

But before I can walk off, Katerina speaks. “He told me that if Alexei will renounce his relationship with Adriana and marry me instead, Leonid will return his powers to him.”

Wow. Weird stuff just keeps coming. “He wants you to marry Alexei, instead of Adriana?” I can’t help lifting my eyebrows. “The guy you’ve been eyeing like he’s a vat of Ben & Jerry’s all night? That’s convenient.”

“A vat of. . . Huh?” Katerina looks like she would happily spear me. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What’s Ben & Jerry’s?” Mirdza asks.

“Never mind,” I say. “None of this is my problem.”

“Why would Leonid want Alexei to dump Adriana and marry you?” Kristiana’s eyeing Katerina strangely, like they’re not friends at all. I suppose when she has to choose between Adriana and someone else, there’s no contest. For a split second, I almost pity this Katerina person. No one seems to like her.

I’ve been there.

But then I remember that she wrecked my entire night, and she may have single-handedly ruined Trifecta’s IPO and I’m back to hating her again.

“Leonid has known me for a long time,” Katerina says. “I’m not a wild card.” She shrugs. “Anyway, that’s the deal. I told him you’d never take it, but that’s?—”

“You’re right.” Alexei wraps an arm around Adriana’s shoulder and drags her closer. “I would never, not in a million years, leave Adriana and marry you. Not if it eradicated the threat of Leonid and restored all his powers to me. Not if the entire world hung in the balance. Not even if it would bring my family back again.”

I have no idea what happened to his family, but that was a pretty savage burn. Nothing in the world would convince him to leave Adriana for Katerina.Nothing.I’m not sure whether it’s a strong declaration of love for Adriana (which I don’t really understand. She was always a high-strung mess.) or whether it’s a clear message about how much he dislikes Katerina.

Either way, it’s not great when your vat of ice cream denounces you entirely and completely. Katerina looks, predictably, wrecked.

“Hey, Katerina,” I say. “Why don’t you help me with the blankets and pillows?”

She follows me out of the family room and down the hall to the linen closet, but once we reach it, and I open a cabinet, she doubles over, her hands wrapping around her waist, and starts gulping in air in great, heaving breaths. Suddenly, she’s bawling. Tears rolling down her face, sobs wracking her body.

I called her over here thinking she might want to get away from the others, not so that she could completely break down and I would be stuck here comforting her. Without any idea what to do, I awkwardly pat her back. “There, there.”

My mom died when I was young. No one taught me what to do with women when they flip out. I start to try and back away slowly, but her hand shoots out and closes around my wrist like a vise. Around ragged breaths, she manages to snap, “You will stay here.”

I suppose I’m her cover for this complete mental breakdown. “I take it that didn’t go as planned.”

She straightens lightning quick, her eyes flashing. “None of that was planned.”

“Look, I know you like Alexei. I doubt there’s anyone who has seen us all in the same room today who hasn’t cracked that puzzle. But the thing is, Adriana’s?—”

“Don’t.” She shakes her head. “You don’t have to try and make me feel better.”

“Oh.” I snort. “I wasn’t. I was going to warn you. Adriana’s straight-up insane. I’d back away from anyone who likes her slowly, and I would never turn toward them again. She’s likely to carve your eyes out of your skull and eat them, and if they like that kind of energy, that’s not someone you want.”

Katerina laughs. The sound isn’t sad and desperate and painful. It’s actually kind of nice, like a firm handshake or a hug. I didn’t expect that kind of laugh from this woman who flies to new continents for men who are engaged to crazy women. “Thanks.”

“Uh, sure.” Then I remember we’re supposed to be getting extra pillows and blankets. Katerina gets herself together enough to help me, and we make it back to the kitchen when I realize that everyone’s huddled around some small screen, transfixed.

It’s someone’s phone.

The tinny sound’s coming from the speakers of the device. “—who until today had been the last official dictator in Europe, leading the country of Belarus for more than twenty-eight years.”

I freeze. “What is it?”

---