He lifted his hand. "As long as the information doesn't come from me and I'm not breaking my vows, I don't mind what the Fates choose to show you. If they decide that you need to know, then you need to know."
Syssi understood what he meant. She'd felt the pull of destiny before, the sense of being in exactly the right place at precisely the right time. It was how she'd felt when she first met Amanda and then Kian, stumbling into the world of immortals and discovering that she was meant to be part of it.
Maybe this was another one of those moments, another thread in the tapestry the Fates were weaving.
12
MATTIE
The dim fluorescent lights of the staff kitchen hummed overhead, and the air conditioning was turning the place into a meat locker, but Mattie barely noticed any of it. She was too busy laughing at Dimitri's impression of Petrov trying to navigate Moscow at night after one too many vodkas.
"Look at her. So slender and fine," Dimitri said, his accent thickening as he mimicked his mentor's slurred voice. "Petrov hugged a lamppost, wrapping his arms around it and kissing it. I was so embarrassed that I considered leaving him there and disappearing into the night."
"Did you?"
"Of course not. I couldn't leave him like that. I tried to pry his fingers off the lamppost, but the bastard is much stronger than he looks. To convince him to let go, I told him he was hugging a serpent and not a woman."
"A serpent?"
Dimitri shrugged, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "The lamppost was painted green. He let go, and I took him home."
"Whatever works, right?" She laughed.
Mattie couldn't remember when she'd had so much fun with a guy. She could almost forget where she was and pretend that they were on a normal date in a normal city, swapping stories over coffee that was getting cold.
"Yeah," he said. "I wasn't always that lucky. Taking care of Petrov is more work than looking after a toddler."
"What would you know about toddlers?" She stood and walked to the industrial refrigerator.
"Nothing," he admitted. "I'm an only child, so I never got exposed to little ones."
So was she, but she was an orphan, and he probably wasn't.
"Are you hungry? Nadia brought good cheese from the hotel kitchen."
"There's cheese?"
"The guests get the good stuff." She rummaged through the back of the fridge and emerged triumphant with a wedge of brie and some aged cheddar. "The head chef likes Nadia." She grabbed a box of crackers from the pantry and brought everything back to the table. "Don't tell anyone. He's not supposed to let her take it, and she's not supposed to eat it. The head of housekeeping is on her case to lose weight."
"Her secret is safe with me," Dimitri said.
She spread the soft, creamy brie on several crackers and handed him a few.
"It's good," he said through a mouthful.
The cheddar was sharp and crumbly, and not as good as the brie, but it was still infinitely better than what they usually got in the staff kitchen.
He reached for another cracker, and as their fingers brushed over the box, the contact sent a little jolt through Mattie. She pulled her hand back, feeling foolish over how exciting that small touch had been.
It had been so long since she'd felt anything like this.
"Cheddar is my mother's favorite." He cut a few more slices and put them over crackers. "We used to have at least two kinds in the fridge at all times."
Apparently, cheese was not considered a bourgeois indulgence. Only sugar.
"Are you close to your parents?" she asked.
His shoulders stiffened, and his easy smile faded. "Not really." He reached for his coffee cup even though it was nearly empty.
