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5
Vladik's face hit the rubber mat so hard, his ears rang. He tasted blood but managed to haul himself upright once more.
"Where is your head at today?" Kaspian demanded, hands on his hips. He was the biggest gargoyle that Vladik had ever met and ran a gym in one of the rougher sides of the city. He was the only other gargoyle in Moscow, and Vladik had needed to see someone from home even if he was destined to be getting his ass kicked all night.
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to mention it to anyone. I'm under orders," Vladik said, retying his sweaty hair. Kaspian's braid wasn't even a little bit messy. One would think having hair almost to his ass would be dangerous in a fight, but they would be wrong.
Vladik was a good warrior, a hard-ass by nature. Kaspian was a level all on his own. He had spent most of his life with the nomadic gargoyle tribe on the Mongolian Steppes, and it had shaped him in more ways than one.
Usually, Kitezh sent their young warriors to the nomads for a season to harden them up. Kaspian had loved it and stayed for years. As a result, he was a little more feral around the edges than the others.
Vladik liked to tease him that he was a Dothraki wannabe, but only when Kaspian was in a good mood. He kicked his ass often enough.
"Orders, is it? Something to do with Misha?" Kaspian asked.
Vladik reached for his water bottle. "Something indeed. I've had an interesting few days."
He ended up telling Kaspian about the entire mess. Vladik had few friends, but Kaspian was definitely one of them. He could trust the other gargoyle not to blab to anyone. Kaspian was a loner as much as Vladik was. By the time he was done, Kaspian was frowning.
"Well, you're in the shit, aren't you? I guess this explains why you wanted an after-hours session tonight," he said. He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his brow. "You made out with a lost princess, and now you have to try and save her from her tower. What's your game plan here?"
"I'm trying to convince her to trust me. We've been chatting a little via text, but I can't be sure that Maxim doesn't have someone monitoring her phone. She's going to sneak out again. She’s just waiting a few days to let things calm down,” Vladik replied.
It had been four days, and he was going insane watching her and unable to touch her. His inner beast was fighting not to try and smash his way into the building to get her out.
"Okay, so as soon as she's free, you're going to kidnap her and take her back to Irina? Simple plan. I like it." Vladik stared at him and said nothing. Kaspian groaned. "You're not going to kidnap her even though your high priestess has given you a direct order. What the fuck, Vladik?"
"If I take her like that, Maxim's going to go mental. I'll never be able to get Misha out. If I can convince Zori to help, I have a chance of getting them both," Vladik replied. It was all he'd been thinking about for days. "They gave up on Misha years ago, but I can't. He's my only blood family. I'm going crazy wanting to protect Zori, but Maxim isn't torturing her. She's trapped yes, but she's treated well. Goddess knows what state Misha is in. I can't—"
Kaspian's big hands rested on his shoulders. "Breathe, little brother. You're ranting. You don't have to justify this to me. I would do the same thing."
"You would? Because I feel like I'm betraying everyone just by thinking it," he replied.
Kaspian let out a sigh, and his golden eyes softened. "Look, I know you're loyal to them. The high priestess has her own priorities. She wants her granddaughter and that want blinds her to everything else. She's not considering that Misha is a part of her clan, her family, as well. Do you think Zori will risk helping you?"
"I don't know. I only know that I have to try. Misha wouldn't give up on me, so I can't give up on him. If he's dead, I need that proof and closure."
Vladik had considered his brother's death many times over the last years, but until he saw his still body with his own eyes, he had no choice but to follow every lead through.
Kaspian nodded. "Do you need anything from me? I'm with you on this. You know that."
"Thank you. I might need you to help back up my story to Zori. I don't want her to think that she's going crazy. Maxim really made her believe Alisa had some kind of degenerative brain disease."
Kaspian's growl said it all. "Fuck, he's a piece of shit. We need to end that fucker once and for all. If Zori's been raised by him, you might have a hard task getting her to betray him."
"I know. Any suggestions?" Vladik asked.
"Be a charming motherfucker. I know you have it in you somewhere," Kaspian teased.
"I must if I got her nipple in my mouth that quickly."
"Poor girl is probably too hard up to care. I can't wait to meet her. She sounds like she needs a real male to—"
Kaspian's head rocked back as Vladik's fist smacked him hard in the jaw. He stumbled back a bit and then grinned through bloody teeth.
"There it is. I’ve been waiting for a bit of fire all goddamn night. You still want to get in the princess's panties, do you? What makes you think you got a chance once you get her home and every male in Kitezh is going to want to mate her?"
Vladik tackled Kaspian to the ground, and they wrestled across the mats. He wasn't saying anything Vladik hadn't said to himself over and over again in the past few days. Zori deserved someone better than him, but he couldn't help craving her. He wasn't going to give her up without a fight.
