His Dimi nodded. Bracing her hands on her knees, she struggled to her feet and made her way toward them.
Niko stepped backward, dragging Ana with him. “Don’t come too close.”
“I need to understand.”
Her voice was hoarse, clawing its way from her bruised throat, and rage surged within Niko anew. He forced himself to breathe deeply, to contain the shades that wanted nothing more than to seek revenge. “What’s to understand?” he snapped. “She tried to kill you.”
But Katerina, never one to prioritize her own self-preservation, kept on coming, with Alexei right behind her. Niko backed up all the way to the treeline, until his only option was to flee into the forest with Ana, who’d gone limp against him. He leaned against the trunk of an oak instead and tightened his grip, in case Ana was playing possum.
“Ana?” Katerina came to a stop in front of them. She peered into the other Dimi’s face, seeking answers. “What happened?”
Ana shuddered against Niko, as if waking from a deep sleep. She didn’t say a word.
“Ana?” It was Alexei this time. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Katerina, telegraphing a glance that, after all their years serving together, Niko could read clearly. If anything goes wrong, I will protect your Dimi, it meant. Even from my own.
The tension in Niko’s muscles eased the slightest bit, but Ana didn’t try to get away. If anything, she leaned against him for support.
“Alexei?” Confusion fogged her voice. “Who—where am I?”
“You’re safe.” Alexei spoke slowly, clearly, the way he might to one of the spooked horses. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Why am I being restrained? And by whom?” She twisted in Niko’s grasp, and he let her, until she was looking up at him. Her eyes were glassy, like she’d been drugged. “Niko?” Her eyebrows lowered in what he’d swear was genuine bewilderment. “Did—did I hurt someone?”
“Me.” Katerina tilted her head to the side, revealing the marks that bloomed beneath her skin. “You tried to strangle me.”
Ana shook her head against Niko’s chest. “No. I wouldn’t—I would never?—”
“But you did.” Niko bit out the words. “Why?”
“I…I don’t know.” Tears thickened her voice.
He had never heard Ana sound so uncertain. Her confidence was one of the reasons she and Katerina had always been so close; together, the two of them were a fearsome pair. A thread of sympathy for her trickled through his rage. After all, who better than he knew what it was like to do things you didn’t understand, driven by a force beyond your control?
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Alexei’s tone was urgent. “For the love of all the Saints, will you let her go now, Niko? You can see she’s not a threat.”
Grudgingly, Niko released his grip, prepared to lunge should she go for Katerina again. But Ana just stood there, her dark hair tangled and her shoulders slumped, looking like a small, perplexed child caught with her hand in a jar of sugary pryaniki.
“I mean I don’t know,” she repeated. “One moment I was keeping watch, like I was supposed to do. And the next, I was here. In between…it’s all fuzzy.”
“You don’t remember anything?” Niko asked, stepping away from the tree to stand on Katerina’s other side. Now he, Alexei, and Katerina all faced Ana, as if the Dimi were on trial.
Ana shook her head, then paused. “Snatches,” she said after a moment. “Images. I remember—I think I ran through the fire—” She lifted one foot to inspect the sole, then winced. “I must have. My feet sting, and the skin is red. But why would I do such a thing?”
“To get to me.” Katerina coughed. “I was on the opposite side of the fire. You must have run through it when you attacked me, rather than going around.”
Her voice died, and she pressed a hand to her throat, her lips compressing in pain. Niko ached to comfort her, to press his lips to every one of the bruises, to hold her and reassure himself that she was all right. He folded his arms across his chest instead, so he wouldn’t be tempted, and said, “That seems likely. When I pulled you off Katerina, there were sparks all around her. I stamped out as many as I could manage, but some of them still burn.”
He pointed, and Ana followed the line of his finger. Fiery twigs and small branches littered the campsite, in a direct line from where Ana had been keeping watch to where Katerina had slept.
Ana bit her lip. “But…why would I do such a thing? I swear, Katerina, I am loyal to you. I would never want to hurt you. You’re like a sister to me.”
Her voice broke, and next to Niko, Katerina flinched. “As you are to me,” she said. “I believe you. But there has to be a reason.”
“I don’t know,” Ana said again, scrubbing a hand across her face. She dropped it and began picking at the bark of the oak, shredding bits of it between her fingers. “I can see flashes, if I really try. Running through the fire, not caring if it burned me. And then gripping something soft in my hands…squeezing…” The color leached from her olive skin, turning her complexion ashen. “Saints and demons, Katerina. Was that your throat?”
No one answered her.
Ana sank to the ground, keening. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so, so sorry.” Tears rolled down her face. “I could have killed you. My best friend, and you would’ve been dead at my hands.” Her gaze flicked upward, toward Niko. “And you could have killed me. I wouldn’t have blamed you.”
