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Unclaimed(7)







Chapter Four





ZARI





That night, Katarina and I met in a private room in one of the resort’s restaurants. One of Alexandru’s guards accompanied me, and I watched silently as he performed a spell that would ensure whatever Katarina and I spoke of in this room, no one would hear.

The guard walked back to us and held out an empty chalice.

Katarina reached down, and I blinked when she came up with a pocketknife. Where could she have hidden that, I wondered absently. She was dressed in a one-shouldered tight-fitting gown, and I hadn’t even seen the barest outline of a knife under the silk.

I had dressed for the occasion, too, but next to her and her C-cups, I looked more like a boy pretending to be a girl.

Katarina noticed my gaze on her knife. As if she sensed my curiosity, she explained, “I hid it in one of my shoes.”

I frowned.

“I literally step on it all the time.”

What?

Pulling the knife out of its sheath, she said, “This one, I use for ordinary stuff.” She pricked her finger with the tip of the blade and a drop of her blood fell into the chalice.

I gulped. This was ordinary stuff for her?

“The knife on my left foot, on the other hand, that’s for killing demons. Its blade is dipped with poison.” As she spoke, Katarina twirled the knife in her hand before handing it to me, with the blade pointed at her for my safety.

I hesitated. Who knew if she had used preternatural powers to trick me into thinking that this was the same knife?

“Lady Zari.” Katarina’s voice was gentle. “Do you truly believe your Master would ever like someone able to commit cold-blooded murder without just cause?”

I took the knife from her hand. Pricking myself made me suck in my breath, and I was shaking by the time the guard walked away with my blood. “Thank you,” I mumbled as I gave the blade back to her.

The guard completed the spell with our blood and bowed to us afterwards before leaving. When we were alone, Katarina asked, “Alexandru says you wanted to talk to me?”

Something about her voice made me look at her. She hadn’t been…as cold as this before, when we first met.

“Are you actually angry with me?”

Reaching for her wine, she asked lightly, “Why do you sound so shocked?”

I shrugged awkwardly. “Probably because, I dunno…maybe because you’re centuries old, I’m eighteen, and it’s like getting mad at a baby?”

She laughed. “Oh, Lady Zari. You of all people should know that love has the power to make children of us all. Brats really, with the way it can make us selfish, greedy, and…” Her voice lowered a notch. “Shameless.”

My cheeks burned at the subtle dig, but I didn’t deny it. I had been shameless in the way I had blown up on Alexandru, and I would only act more like a kid if I couldn’t make myself accept that.

I said stiffly, “That’s not what I want to talk about.”

“I know.”

Again, she surprised me. “Y-you do?”

She nodded. “It’s been clear to me from the first day that you’re the type who dislikes confrontations.”

I tried not to grimace.

“You’re the type who’d rather suffer in silence than admit someone’s hurt you.”

“Congratulations then,” I said flatly. “You’ve got me all figured out.”

Her lips curved. “I do.” She paused. “Which is why I also know the only reason you’d want to talk to me is because of your visions.” Her eyes remained steady on me as she asked, “You’ve seen me, haven’t you?”

“Yes.” I was pale and shaking in my seat, doing my best not to remember, doing my best not to surrender to the crushing weight of guilt.

Silence.

“And it’s not good.”

Her voice was so calm. How could she sound so calm when I realize now that she really had figured me out, that she knew what I had to say even without me speaking a word? How?

“I’m sorry.” I choked the words out.

“I doubt it’s your fault.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand—”

“No, Lady Zari. It’s not your fault.” Her voice turned gentle, and I remembered then that she wasn’t just the woman who I was jealous of. She was also a hunter, bound to protect the innocent, and a healer, committed to saving lives.

I remembered that she was a good person, and it was because of me a good person like her would die.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” My voice was thick with unshed tears. If Katarina weren’t going to seek comfort in tears, then I wouldn’t either.

“Lady Zari, I mean it. I’ve been around long enough to know the truth. If Death wishes to claim me, it will, and there’s no stopping it.”