One of the children ran up with a large bouquet of cheerful red and purple flowers, which she handed to Sándor, who had preceded Tatyana down the stairway and was waiting on the carpet.
Sándor took the flowers with a smile, checked them, and then handed them to Tatyana.
As she reached the ground with Rumi following behind her, she looked for her husband, but Oleg had disappeared from her sight when she descended to the tarmac. A royal-blue carpet was waiting for her at the base of the stairs, and several women in uniform were positioned nearby.
“Lady Tatyana.” A grey-haired woman in an immaculate burgundy suit stepped forward and inclined her head. “I am Marina Dashkova, Lord Oleg’s social secretary in Saint Petersburg, and it has been granted to me the honor of formally welcoming you to our city for the first time.”
“Thank you, Marina Dashkova.” Tatyana smiled. “I feel very welcome—please offer my sincere thanks to the lovely children and their parents for greeting me so warmly.” She lifted the flowers and nodded at the children on risers who were craning their necks to get a look. “And my thanks to all of your people who honored me with this very grand welcome.”
She knew she’d said the right thing when Marina Dashkova nodded, because her formal smile extended to her eyes. “It is our pleasure and our honor, Lady Tatyana.”
Tatyana stepped to the side and allowed Rumi to get off the stairs. “This is my personal secretary, Rumi. We both lookforward to exploring your beautiful city as much as possible during this busy time.”
Marina Dashkova appeared surprised but pleased. “You must only ask and I will arrange whatever tour you would like. Saint Petersburg is beautiful at night.”
“So I have heard.”
The older woman started walking down the carpet beside Tatyana. “Preparations for the wedding began as soon as your retinue arrived in the city.”
Tatyana started walking, nodding and smiling at all the humans and vampires who lined up on either side of the blue carpet. “I trust that Diana and her team are already at work.”
“Indeed they are, and they have been aided by Lord Oleg’s office, of course.” Marina extended a hand toward the long black limousine that was waiting at the end of the carpet. “If you come this way, Lord Oleg will join you for your first journey to the Iron Palace.”
Tatyana, ever a fan of preparation, knew that the Iron Palace in Saint Petersburg had its roots in land claimed and ruled by Truvor the Red when Saint Petersburg was nothing more than a trading outpost and crossroads of the Slavic, Baltic, and Scandinavian people.
It was Oleg who had built a proper palace in the eighteenth century when the center of Russian Imperial power moved to the city.
Which was also the time that Oleg started building ships.
Tatyana nodded and met the eyes of the few humans and vampires bold enough to meet her gaze as she walked through the crowd, greeting each one with a smile.
The Poshani Hazar did not bow, but they did incline their heads as she passed, and she felt their pride and approval in their rigid posture and lifted chins.
Tatyana met Sándor just before she reached the car. He spoke to her in Poshani. “Madam, the car has been checked and Lord Oleg waits inside.”
“Are you joining us?” She could already feel Oleg’s blood churning in her veins.
“Lord Oleg has requested privacy for your journey,” Sándor said. “Mika Arakis and I will be in the lead car.”
“Thank you, Sándor.” She squeezed his hand a moment before she climbed into the limousine and sat next to Oleg, who was waiting silently in the shadows.
The door closed, and Tatyana set the giant bouquet of flowers on the seat across from her. With the blacked-out windows around them and the sound from the crowd muffled, she finally felt as if she could take a breath.
She turned to her husband. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.” Something in his eyes eased, but his voice still carried a cool reserve. Nevertheless, he pulled her across the bench seat, bringing his arms around her and putting his chin on her head. “Nothing now that you are here.”
Tatyana felt his entire body relax, but she knew there was still something he was hiding.
The limousine started rolling forward. She put her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest, waiting for his head to tilt down as he pressed his rough cheek against her forehead.
Skin contact achieved, her amnis settled and evened out.
“The children’s choir was a nice touch. I felt like I was back in school.”
He laughed a little. “Marina insisted on that. They’re all children of the day staff.”
“They did well.” She lifted her foot and pointed at the flowers. “And I received flowers. You’ve never given me flowers.”
