“I see.”
“Would you like me to show you to the room where the tailors are working?”
Would he like to see Tatyana partially undressed and standing in the middle of a room full of people waiting on her?
“Yes,” Oleg said. “I would like that very much.”
He started toward the door, and Rumi put a hand up slightly before they left.
“Yes?”
The woman was a rabid guard dog for Tatyana. Oleg approved.
Rumi’s voice was barely audible. “How long will this indifferent public charade continue?”
“A fair question.” He took a deep breath and also kept his voice low. “I suspect that after one or two years, civility will be expected, and after that, public affection can grow.”
“She’s not deceptive by nature. This subterfuge has worn on her. It’s even harder to maintain in public.”
“I know that.”
“Yet you have no problem with lies.”
Interesting. What did the human truly want to know? “I don’t utilize them often because I don’t need to, but no. Lying to strangers does not bother me.”
She lifted her chin. “Lying tostrangers?”
“Yes.” He nodded at her. “You are not a stranger, so what do you really want to ask? Tell me, and I will be honest.”
“Is she in danger?”
“Yes.” He shrugged. “Always. That is the nature of vampire life and particularly of vampire leaders.”
It wasn’t the answer Rumi had wanted. “She is yourwife. I thought you were supposed to protect her.”
“I will protect her with my own life.” Oleg spoke nothing but the truth. “But I cannot always be at her side, nor would she want it. That is why I had no objections to the Poshani sending a large group of Hazar into my territory even though normally that would be considered an insult.”
It was also one benefit of a political marriage. Poshani forces in his territory could be excused should they be seen as a condition of the contract.
Rumi nodded slightly. “Sándor would die for her too. So would I.”
“Because she is your leader but also your friend,” Oleg said. “Like those in my druzhina.”
She looked him in the eye, a feat for anyone, especially a human. “So we understand each other, Oleg?”
He did not truly know what she had gained from the conversation, but he wanted to see his wife. “Of course. We would both protect her, though obviously I am more capable than you are to commit violence on her behalf.”
“And that is the only reason you’ll always be safe from my hand.”
So this was a threat from the human woman? That was fair.
“I am flattered.” Oleg glanced at the clock over the mantel. “We should go.”
Rumi finally turned and walked out of Tatyana’s suite and down the hall, turning right at the gallery and heading toward one of the small concert halls built into Tatyana’s wing of the palace.
Two of Sándor’s men were guarding the double doors. They nodded at Rumi as they passed. The look they sent Oleg wasn’t outwardly hostile, but it was suspicious.
He said nothing, mostly because Rumi opened the double doors and all words were stolen by the sight of Tatyana draped in a gold silk sarafan, the traditional garment she would wear for their state wedding.
