Eager, I asked, “What did Kazimir say?”
Nikolay did a deeper voice as if to imitate my lion. “‘When they bury me, my statue will be bigger, and it will be a lion roaring down over the crowd.’”
That’s so Kazimir.
Nikolay shifted back to his normal voice. “I was going to ask Kazimir what he meant, but then his mother cried out. He finally turned away from the statue and rushed to her. He must’ve held her the rest of the day—”
In Russian, Kazimir interrupted Nikolay’s story. The words were fast and low; I couldn’t capture them like usual. Nikolay retorted back, and still none of the words made any sense. He snorted, rose, and took his chair over to where he’d been sitting. His swan tailed behind him.
Hey, I never got to meet her.
Kazimir must’ve noticed my confused look. “Sorry, but it was time for Nikolay to go.”
“Nikolay was telling me how he met you.”
“He was going on and on about the past. Once he starts, he will never end.”
I lowered my voice. “Do you trust him?”
“I do, but I trusted many others who betrayed me in the end.”
“When you were talking to Nikolay a few seconds ago, I didn’t understand what you were saying. Not that I’m a pro at Russian, but did you go into a different dialect?”
“Sorry. I hadn’t realized that.” Kazimir grinned. “It’s fenya. It’s slang and broken Russian. One used among…criminals. Peddlers. My father would call it blatnov which was slang for ‘criminal.’”
“It barely sounded like Russian.”
“There’s some Greek and Yiddish in it.”
“Do you think I should learn it?”
“No. Only a few from my generation speak it. Mainly it’s men from Igor and my father’s age that still use it.”
“Fenya?”
“Yes.” He held a silly grin. “You’re learning a lot tonight.”
“I am, and I’m going to try and learn this fenya too.”
“There’s no need. You won’t be around the type of people who can speak it.”
“It would be your men.” I gestured to the guests in the ball room. “I could speak it to your brothers.”
Kazimir appeared uneasy. “No. This is a language that was created from labor camps and thieves. They should only speak Russian or English around you.”
I made a note to learn fenya anyway. There were so many things to figure out in this world. The more I learned, the more it could help me navigate.
Chapter 3
Emily
The servers brought out champagne and hors d’oeuvres. When everyone had a glass, Kazimir rose and held his up. Surprised, I raised my glass in the air with everyone else. The rock band slowly paused in the middle of a song.
“Thank you, brothers!” Kazimir’s voice boomed over the ballroom. My body tensed from the sound. I’d been so used to the romantic side of my lion. It had been a long time since I’d heard him roar. “Thank you for coming. Thank you for fighting with me all these years.”
The crowd got rowdy. Although they were in tuxedos, I could see the street in them. One guy in the far back yelled out something about blood. Others laughed.
“Yes, my brothers, and thank you for spilling all the blood. We’ve made a lot of cities glow red in our time.” Kazimir smirked. “And there will be more blood to spill.”
Everyone paused. Humor left most of their faces. A few wives stirred.
“But now is not that time.” Kazimir gave me his hand. The crowd relaxed. He gently guided me to stand next to him. “Tonight, we celebrate the death of traitors.”
I rose. My heart boomed in my ears.
“Tonight, we celebrate a new friend to the brotherhood.” Kazimir’s words rose in the air. “Meet Emily from New York, a woman who has saved me more than once and helped me kill many.”
I swallowed as all attention turned to me.
“Take your time.” Kazimir held an edge in those words as if the statement held double meaning. “Look at her face. Know it.”
I held a smile on my face but on the inside, I was cringing.
Listen, Kaz. They don’t need to be staring at me all night.
“She is to be protected as we protect all those we love.”
I spied Zahkar grabbing his wife’s hand and nodding.
“If something happens to her…” Kazimir switched to that earlier language—fenya.
I couldn’t catch the words. He spoke so fast. A few men widened their eyes at his statements. Nikolay grinned and shook his head. I did my best not to look confused, but it was difficult as another man wiped new sweat that had beaded on his face.
That’s not fair, Kaz. I don’t know what you’re saying.
“Cheers.” Kazimir finished and took a drink from his glass.
Everyone followed although a few appeared nervous as fuck when they took their sips. The rest cheered.
Kazimir signaled the rock band. Crucifix returned to playing, but this time they did a soft ballad.
“We should dance. Enough have talked to you.” Kazimir’s face brightened as he set his glass down.