the cost to her, not when she thought it might help him.
You said he was a teacher. Is he friends with Anatolie? Did you have the feeling they went way back?
They definitely knew each other very well, that’s why it was so disgusting when I realized he was sleeping with Crina.
Isai thought that over. If Xavier had raised his oldest son in secret, while the rest of the world thought him dead, he would have needed help. Someone had taken care of Anatolie while he was young. Xavier would never have cared for a child. He might have used female mages, but someone had to be consistent in the child’s life. Who was the dependable person in Anatolie’s life, because Isai would bet it wasn’t Xavier.
He kept his eye on Josh and Mike as they kicked dead carcasses aside and chopped down at the still lethal, half-burned animals as they lay dazed yet still trying to snap with teeth and tear with claws.
Can you show me their interaction?
Julija hesitated again, just for a moment, and then she opened her mind more fully to him. He realized she always kept herself a little guarded. She didn’t want him to witness those years of humiliation, the times Barnabas had had her with her father’s full consent. He’d always wondered why her father would allow Barnabas to keep control over his food source. Anatolie needed Julija, yet he had helped in Barnabas’s cruel conspiracy.
The memory was a short one. She was called into her father’s study. It was a place she wasn’t invited often, and she went cautiously. The door was already partially opened, and she looked in. Barnabas was turned toward her. Isai studied the man.
He wasn’t particularly tall, yet he was tall enough. He had broad shoulders, but not so much that anyone would notice. He had a muscular physique, but not with obvious muscles. He wore a suit and it sat well on him. Anyone looking at him would think he was wealthy and high up if not the president of some company. Power clung to him and confidence radiated easily. He didn’t look like a man who would show off. He would allow others to do so.
He smiled at Julija and held out his hand to her. Isai’s belly immediately knotted. The smile was smooth, practiced and didn’t quite reach his flat, cold eyes, but when he looked at Julija, there was something there. Interest. A spark? A flair of need?
“There she is.”
Anatolie stepped forward when his daughter stopped abruptly and took a step backward. “Get in here, Julija,” he snarled. He glanced at the other man and when he did, he turned his head slightly.
Isai forced himself to freeze the memory right there. His woman was trembling. There was fear on her face. Clearly, Barnabas enjoyed her fear. His gaze had sharpened, and he had the look of a vicious, cruel tyrant who hurt others for his own pleasure. It was there, stamped on his face, for the world to see. Julija saw and she feared him.
What of Anatolie? Isai studied him. Julija’s father at first appeared to be a man in control of everything around him. He was in his place of power. One didn’t go to his study casually. He would reign there, mete out his brand of justice and dictate to family, friends and anyone who might work for him. He wore a suit that cost a fortune and he wore it well. His hair was shorter than most mages’, which surprised Isai. There was power in hair, a kind of radar system. One could pick up whispers of trouble when needed.
The desk behind him was solid, made of mahogany, the color nearly a slashing red. More power symbols. A crystal decanter was half full of amber liquid and four cut crystal glasses sat on the tray surrounding it. Everywhere one looked were small signs of opulence. Anatolie indulged himself.
Isai kept coming back to that small head turn, the one where he glanced back at Barnabas. Something about it bothered him. He brought the frame of memory closer to him. What was it? What was he seeing that hadn’t quite registered?
He’s sweating, Julija. Do you see that? There are tiny beads of sweat trickling down his face. You weren’t taking Barnabas’s offered hand. He feared you would be rude.
The two campers had come back to him. Josh crouched down and then sat on the ground. “This sucks. The bodies stink.” His body was bleeding in