"The Vikings," Kazimir continued, "burned their dead on ships. Great wooden vessels pushed out to sea, set ablaze so the souls of warriors could sail to Valhalla."
He took another pull of his cigar. "Can you imagine? Watching the ship drift into the darkness, flames climbing the mast, knowing your father or your brother or even your king was inside. Knowing the fire was carrying them somewhere you couldn't follow."
I said nothing.
Just listened.
Watched.
Counted his men in my peripheral vision.
Noted how Reo had shifted two steps closer.
Calculated how fast I could get a blade into the Lion's throat if this shifted to violence.
"The Romans burned their emperors." He turned his head slightly, glancing at me. "Pyres so tall they could be seen from every corner of the city. They believed the fire transformedthem. That when the flames finally died, the man who had ruled them was no longer mortal."
His smile sharpened. "He had become a god."
Interesting.
Kazimir wanted me impressed. Wanted me to see him as an equal—a fellow scholar of death. That need told me more than his entire historical speech.
Okay. You’re smart. We knew that. One can’t grab the Bratva’s throne with just muscle alone. But what could you want from me, while I’m at war?
The Lion didn't need allies. He had the entire Russian Bratva at his command. Thousands upon thousands of men. Billions in resources. Influence that stretched across continents. And he damn sure had control of all those Russian nukes.
So why was he here?
Why land on my island uninvited during a war that had nothing to do with him?
Why stand beside my pyre and recite history like a professor seeking approval from a student?
Within me, the dragon stirred again, and then suddenly. . .understanding began to crystallize.
Hold on. Perhaps. . .he wants something he can't take by force. Something only I can give him.
That realization shifted everything.
My pulse hummed.
What do you need, Lion, that only I can give?
I kept my face neutral.
Kept watching.
And waited for him to finally show his hand.
The smoke thickened in front of us, caught by another shift in the wind, and I had to turn my face away to breathe.
When I looked back, Kazimir had turned fully toward me, those deadly eyes studying me with an intensity that made myskin prickle. "Every civilization. Every empire. Every corner of the world, from the beginning of time until now."
Civilization? Empires? Hmmm.
He spread his arms, cigar in one hand, the pyre blazing behind him like a throne of fire. "Men have always burned men."
He let those words hang in the air between us.
