“Men cheat on their wives because they’re insecure and don’t know what they want,” Anna said. “Or they fear death and want to feel young. That is also a reason.”
“And you’re saying that since Oleg is a vampire?—”
“Your husband isn’t going to die, and he’s not insecure. In fact, he’s the most arrogant man I’ve ever met, and sadly, he has reason.” Anna walked over and looked her daughter straight in the eye. “And most important, he met you one time” —she raised a single finger— “and has pursued you relentlessly ever since, even after he convinced you to marry him.”
A heavy weight in her chest disappeared. She felt foolish. “Mama?—”
“That man knows exactly what he wants, and it is you. Do you think he is going to settle for anything other than exactly what he wants?”
Tatyana sighed. “No.”
“Good. Now get out of your mood.” She waved a hand with a grimace. “It’s spoiling the air in the house.”
“Slowly.”Sándor repeated the command. “Sidestep to my rhythm, holding your axe up.”
“If my arms could get tired, they would be exhausted.”
They had been practicing her martial arts for hours, and Sándor was focusing on footwork.
As a wind vampire, her personal guard usually didn’t think much about footwork, but since Tatyana couldn’t fly, Sándor kept his lessons on the ground.
“Think of it like learning a dance,” he said. “You don’t start at full speed—you start slowly.”
“But I know these steps already.”
“Do you?” He waved an arm and nearly knocked her off her feet with a gust of air. “What about if the ground beneath you started to move?”
She snarled and swung her practice axe down, raising one arm and pulling a stream of water from the pond a short distance away.
Sándor spun around and lifted his hand, twisting Tatyana’s element into something like a water spout and pushing it back toward her.
Tatyana scooted to the edge of the pond, sinking her legs into her element and drawing more power to shove the water closer to Sándor.
In the process, she dropped her axe.
“Dammit!” She huffed out a breath as she dropped her arms, and the waterspout Sándor had been spinning over her head splashed down on her, soaking her to the skin.
“I can fight with water or I can fight with an axe,” Tatyana said. “I cannot do both.”
“You will,” Sándor said. “Let’s be honest, surati—you’re not a warrior; you’re a strategist. That doesn’t mean you can’t gain proficiency with both a weapon and your element.”
“Proficiency?” She wanted to be more than proficient.
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Just keep them busy long enough to let your Hazar reach you, and you’ll be safe.”
Sándor and her Hazar were always with her, but Tatyana had a hard time putting all her safety into the hands of anyone. She wanted to feel more secure.
Especially with Ivan lurking on the edges of her memory.
“Do you think Ivan would ever try to harm me?”
Sándor held out his hand to steady her as she walked through the mud on the edge of the pond. “Ivan Sokholov? Doubtful. That would be very stupid.” He tilted his head. “Then again, Ivan is not smart.”
“He’s not smart, is he? But he’s…” She narrowed her eyes. “He’s not dumb either.”
“He’s cunning in the way of a clever animal,” Sándor said. “He reacts and he plots, but it is shallow. He is most concerned about his survival above all else.”
“I would agree with that based on my interactions with him.”
