Flames of Redemption by Jamie A. Waters

Author:Jamie A. Waters [Waters, Jamie A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9996647-9-7
Publisher: Jamie Waters

Sergei heard Valentina’s laughter as he walked down the hall and couldn’t help but smile. It had been years since he last heard her laugh like that. The fact that Yuri was the one who brought it about was just another reminder of everything he’d missed. He’d been the one who used to make her laugh more often than not, teasing or tickling her until she begged him to stop. Yuri had slid into that role a little too comfortably, but Sergei couldn’t exactly blame him. They all had a soft spot for Valentina. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he called her the heart of their family.

Sergei entered the living area to find Lars pacing back and forth while speaking on a commlink call.

“An hour’s fine,” Lars said, glancing over at Sergei. “I believe it’ll just be the five of us here.” He paused for a minute. “Great. I’ll take care of it.”

Sergei arched an eyebrow. “Lunch arrangements?”

“Yeah,” Lars said, closing his commlink and slipping it back into his pocket. “They’re sending someone to set everything up. Alec doesn’t know how to do anything simple. It’ll be Alec, Ariana, and Brant joining us. I told Alec everyone would be more comfortable if we limited the number of people.”

Sergei nodded. “That would be best.”

Lars darted a glance down the hall. “I was surprised Nikolai even agreed to come here. I think it’s helped ease some of the tensions though.”

Sergei shrugged. “We’ll see. I believe Alec’s decision to bring Ariana along will do much to help pave the way.”

“I think so too,” Lars agreed. “Alec says she’s excited to meet everyone. She wants to get to know Valentina better.”

Sergei made a noncommittal noise. That would be an interesting friendship pairing, if it happened. Ariana was all naïve innocence, whereas Valentina was… not. “I came out to see if you had a table they can use to set up their equipment.”

“Sure,” Lars said, motioning for him to follow. “They can set it up in one of my empty rooms, if that’s easier.”

“I think just placing a table in one of their bedrooms would be sufficient,” Sergei said as they entered a large storage area where several furnishings had been pushed along one of the walls. Lars gestured for him to pick something out. Sergei stepped forward and began pulling out chairs to get closer to the tables.

“Now that we’re alone, I wanted to ask you something about Valentina,” Lars began, moving aside a small nightstand.

Sergei picked up another chair. “You may ask. I may or may not answer.”

“Did she say anything about the truth barrier?”

Sergei glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”

“She shouldn’t have been able to feel anything,” Lars explained. “Alec was wondering if she might have some trace abilities. Only our people tend to feel energy manipulation. When Alec asked her, he thought she might have dodged the question. She didn’t outright deny it.”

Sergei turned back to the furniture. “She is not one of your people.”

Lars frowned. “Are you sure about that? I’ve wondered about you too.

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