Immanuel's Veins Read Online Free Page A

distance.”
    The man replaced his hat and stepped back, dipping his head.
    â€œThey? Who is the other?”
    â€œThe hero, you mean. Toma. Toma Nicolescu. I don’t know . . . There he is.” She pointed to another man in a similar uniform.
    Toma Nicolescu stood twenty feet from his partner, studying the crowd over a drink, which he held delicately in his left hand. His right hand rested on a sword that hung by his side. He was cavalry, she guessed. A horseman.
    â€œStay if you must, Sister,” Natasha said, “but I will not hold myself from this feast for a moment longer. See to Alek and Toma, and leave the Russians to me.” And then she was flying down the stairs.

    We had arrived at the Cantemir estate as night fell, and instead of the peaceful home of noble descent that we’d envisioned during our weeklong journey, we found a mansion crawling with lords and counts and dukes and all manner of aristocrats intent on frivolous behavior.
    This so-called Summer Ball of Delights. A ball in the country wasn’t unheard of, naturally, but considering the urgency with which Her Majesty had dispatched us to secure the estate, I was surprised to find not the slightest concern of danger here.
    But then, ordinary people rarely see real danger until the sword has fallen and they lie bloody in the street. They prefer to set their minds on phantom dangers that float through the air unseen. Ghost and devils and ridiculous religious imaginations that cannot be proven.
    Still, were they so stupid to allow such an influx of strangers into their home?
    Alek and I were shown to our quarters in the west tower, and at first I thought the servant who led us had made a mistake. We were to stay in separate rooms, each lavishly outfitted and beautifully appointed, mine with stuffed silk bedding and lavender drapes that swept across expansive windows framing the towering Carpathian peaks to the west. The velvet curtains sweeping down from an ornate ceiling like sheets of water, the overstuffed golden chair, the writing desk with lit lamp . . . it was all too much.
    I was more accustomed to a tent and the ground than this pillow before me. My first instinct was to retreat and ask Alek to exchange rooms, only to find that his was as lavish.
    I showered and shaved and dressed in the only uniform I’d packed. We were here for Her Majesty, not on the army’s time, so we wouldn’t dress in our normal military garb, but Alek insisted on dressing his part if only for this night. Women have always been attracted to the uniform.
    Honestly, I felt a bit put off by the levity of the ball.
    The old man with the crow’s warning whispered in my ear. How had he known we would come through that pass?
    Standing in the courtyard an hour later, watching the dancers step with the music, I couldn’t shake the impression that we were being watched. But I saw nothing that caused me irregular concern.
    There was a group of five Russians who’d only recently purchased the Castle Castile, which lay five miles into the mountains. The mysterious lot dressed differently—the men with long black slacks worn outside of their boots, the women with velvet gowns hiked up in the front to their knees, revealing tall leather boots. But Russia was in a bit of a renaissance now, there was no telling what kind of style or culture might emerge.
    â€œShe’s stunning,” Alek said, looking up at the balcony where the twin Cantemir sisters stood. “God bless the empress. Can you believe our fortune? I would knock a platoon over for her.”
    On balance, Alek might pose a greater risk to the peace than anyone.
    â€œWhich one?”
    â€œBoth. But the blonde wants me, I tell you.”
    â€œJust remember why we’re here,” I said.
    â€œWe’re here for her.”
    â€œFor her safety .”
    â€œCan you imagine a safer place than my arms?” He took off his hat and bowed, and I saw the brunette,