Page 139 of Gemini Hunted
Gazing past him at the open door and the empty crypt hallway beyond, I frown. A fresh spurt of alarm kicks my heartbeat into overdrive. “Speaking of which, where is everyone? Ronin and Max and Ash and the whole gang. Is everyone… okay?”
Oh, sweet Mary, Mother of God. What will I do if they’re not?
“Well, they were when I left them.” Deftly V shrugs out of his uniform blazer. “Don’t fret, darling. I daresay they’ll be along. Lucius is bringing them.”
Gently (for him), he wraps his jacket around my naked shoulders. When I shove my arms through the sleeves and button it, I look like a high-class stripper (all I need are platform heels and a briefcase). But at least my boobs and butt and crotch are covered.
I seem to be struggling to string words together, but I manage a few more. “So, um, your father?”
“Indeed.” V’s voice is an absolute study, suspended somewhere between irony and suspicion. “As highly unlikely as it seems, he now appears to be on our side. Or so he claims. Just wait until you hear his proposal.”
In unison, we pivot suspiciously to study the subject of this hurried convo.
Nikolai Romanov stands perfectly still, directly before the sea dragon’s outstretched head, his straight back turned toward us, dark head tilted back to gaze up at her in silence. Even from behind, he gives Mads Mikkelsen vibes fromCasino Royalein a major way.All that’s missing is an asthma inhaler and an eye that weeps blood.
Like he feels the weight of our stare, Nikolai says into the brittle silence, “Once it’s been triggered, there’s no known counterspell to break an ossification curse.”
At his words, my formerly unpredictable dash of Valyrian foresight starts singing like a glee club. I’ve had my dark suspicions about that gene—foresight—being one of my recessives, along with clairvoyance, that got switched on, back when I claimed the Unseelie Queen’s crown in Avalon.
But now is the moment I finally know for sure.
I fold my arms across my chest for extra decency (since I’m not wearing a bra) and tell Nikolai Romanov, “That’s where you’re wrong, Le Chiffre—wrong about Mordred and Cleo both. I’m queen of the witching world for a goddamn reason. Ceres is a fertility goddess. The Horn is a fertility artifact. I’m fertile as fuck and all my alphas are in rut. There’s literally one thing, and one thingonly,my warlocks and I need to do right now.”
And my dominant alpha, bless his horrible snaky black heart, picks up what I’m putting down like it’s an Olympic relay and we’ve trained four years with a coach for this shit.
“And I’ll be fucked if I’ll do it with you watching,papochka,” Vasili says coolly. “Because therearelimits, even for despicable me. Clearly—for whatever intriguing reason—you want Cleo back, ambulatory and breathing, even knowing she’ll never be queen.”
“She’s a highly trained agent and a valuable AIB asset,” Nikolai says, dark eyes inscrutable. “Of course I want her back.”
I’m not sure I trust the guy’s reasons, but whatever. Between my foresight and my deep belief in what I need to do to save the witching races from slow extinction, not to mention this quantum superheat I’m still rocking, my mind’s made up.
Vasili hums (that’s him being unpersuaded by his untrustworthy dad, like I am) but keeps right on going. “As for Zara and myself, we want Mordred. So you’ll need to gosomewhere else, along with McSnicker and her menage and anyone else who isn’t in the royal harem who comes blundering along—and let the rest of us start fucking.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Neo
“Wow,”I say when I can finally breathe again, after finding the Vault door wide open, my cherished one finally safe and queen of the witching world inside, Mordred and Cleo both shifted and turned horribly to stone, and all the rest of our polycule (except Vasili) wrapped in each other’s arms and clustered together, glaring daggers of suspicion at V’s awful dad.
V’s clearly taken the lead on dealing with his dad, and he seems to feel he can’t be smothered in a group hug while he’s doing it.
However, V does keep a very possessive arm wrapped around Zara’s waist at all times, even while she’s shimmying back into the plaid schoolgirl skirt I’ve brought along for her.
“It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation,” Nikolai Romanov says calmly. “I’ll explain my rationale to the rest of you the way I’ve already explained it to my son.”
“Be sure to speak slowly, Le Chiffre, so those of us who aren’t in the spy business can understand.” Zara buttons her skirt and props a hand on her hip. My precious fated mate is completely naked under that skirt and V’s uniform jacket, which makes her eye-popping cleavage look amazing.
To his credit, I guess, Nikolai Romanov keeps his unreadable chocolate eyes on her face without peeking.
Somehow, he’s not even tempted by my fated mate’s incredible hotness. Despite the fact that he’s apparently straight.
It’s unnatural.
Honestly, I swear, the father is as bad as the son used to be. Nikolai Romanov must have an ice cube in his chest instead of a heart.
Maybe that’s a job requirement for being the AIB director.
“They were lovers before,” Nikolai says now, in a tone that sounds completely controlled, despite seeing all his twisty political machinations defeated and having hisprotégéeturned to stone behind him. “They can be lovers again.”
