Page 50 of Kazimir

She straightened her spine. “Retracted. I can deploy them if required.”

Nikolay steered the conversation to the heart of the matter. “If Sariel comes, what is our strategy?”

“This is the question,” I said. “Which is why I have summoned you. Maksym what have you heard? I feel that Sariel is almost acting as a rogue at this point. Devon was cast down without due cause. He cast her out without an actual trial; he was a jury of one. Her crime was thwarting his sexual advances. That is not true insubordination. He only seeks her now because she has been missed in her ranks. If he can destroy her, he’ll not have to worry about her ever being found and can just say that she deserted of her own will.”

Maksym’s network is vast. “My people say he’s got a small army; maybe fifteen strong. But they are enough to cause significant damage if we are unprepared. He is an archangel and wields great power.”

Taras’s voice was a low, measured thing. “I don’t understand why so many would risk so much for one man?”

I laughed. “A third of all the angels thought it was a great idea to follow Lucifer. Don’t underestimate the seduction of power.”

Ryder’s voice cut in. “So we can assume they won’t come in with guns blazing, or wings doing whatever they do. They’ll likely take a more stealthy approach. Honestly, a large-scale attack might have been easier to defend. At least we’d see them coming.”

“What do you think svetoch, based on what you know about Sariel?”

Devon sat back down, contemplating. “He will definitely try to infiltrate the ranks. I’d guess he’ll likely try to get to me through the club.”

“We must deal with the threat. There will be no lockdown.”

Bohdan leaned in, elbows on knees. “And the staff? Can we trust them?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Tilden will purge the weak links.”

Lucia reached over and squeezed Ryder’s hand, then addressed Devon directly. “Why do you trust my father? Why not run?”

Devon’s eyes were steady and unwavering. “Because he is the first person in my life who has ever given me a choice.”

That silenced the room. Even I felt the weight of it.

Maksym nodded, then offered a rare, genuine smile. “You have our loyalty.”

One by one, the rest echoed him: Bohdan, with a sly wink; Nikolay, with a bow; Taras, with a single word—“Da.” Lucia, with a wild, bright laugh jumped up and gave an embrace that nearly tackled Devon to the floor.

For a long moment, the room hummed with something I had not felt since Luba’s funeral: unity. The old magic, the thing that had made us a family even when war and betrayal threatened to tear us apart.

I looked at Devon, at the shock of her hair, the stubborn tilt of her chin, the thin line of old scars down her arms. She met my gaze, and in that moment I knew—she belonged here, in the center of the storm.

The Kozlovs would stand against heaven itself.

And with the certainty of our name I knew we would win.

In the aftermath, the grand room’s tension ebbed like a receding tide. Devon—my mate, my miracle, my glorious complication—stood at the center of the cyclone, unruffled by the cosmic scale of the war we’d just plotted. Her gaze moved from face to face, fearless and bright, as if cataloguing each sibling for future reference. My children orbited her at their own cautious distance, as if the smallest misstep would send the entire Kozlov dynasty into disarray.

But Devon smiled—a real smile, not the brittle mask she’d worn since she’d arrived. “I have about a million questions, but if I start, we’ll be here until next week,” she said. “So I’ll just pick the easiest one: How does a vampire family run?”

She aimed the question at Nikolay, who fielded it with a warmth that always caught me off guard. “Trial and error,” he said, and steepled his fingers. “Mostly error. But we are old and resilient. Our father’s rules have kept us alive.”

“Oh!” She almost shouted. “Sorry. I just thought of something. I’ve gotten used to the nighttime schedule, but I’ve seen you all operate in the daytime. You don’t seem to be drained of energy or have sensitivity to sunlight. Is it a myth that vampires will burn in the sun?”

“This is a valid question,” I told her. “And I will explain. It is true that vampires must take rest during daylight hours. They will feel a bit of an energy drain during the time between sunrise and sunset; although it is a myth that they are weakened to the point of incapacitation. Sunlight, however, is deadly. But for born vampires, neither is a weakness. Born vampires is just as the term implies. My children were conceived by their mothers and myself and carried to term, then born as infants. They were not turned as adults. Only the sovereign line of vampires are born.”

“Also,” Bohdan chimed in, “we are close knit and it is fortunate that we like as well as love each other.”

Maksym’s mouth twitched—his version of a laugh. “The first rule was always: protect the family. At all costs.”

“Even above the House?” Devon asked, eyes intent.

Maksym nodded. “Always. We have survived centuries because we put blood before power.”