The Russian prince held very still.
His face realigned itself very subtly. He was almost impossibly beautiful now.
“We haven’t been properly introduced,” he said to Matilda. “I am Prince Konstantin Berezin. Who do I have the honor of addressing?”
“I’m Matilda Harrison, of House Harrison.”
“It is a pleasure, Matilda.” He bowed his head. “I’m very sorry my actions led to your father being injured. It was not my intention to include him in this affair. I ask your forgiveness and hope you will allow me to make amends.”
Wow. He read Matilda in a split second. Most people wouldn’t talk to a ten-year-old that way, but somehow, he figured out that Matilda was an adult in a child’s body.
“Are you a real prince?”
“Yes. My uncle is the emperor, and he often tells me that I’m his favorite nephew.”
Matilda considered this. “Are you?”
“I suspect my uncle tells that to all of his nephews when he wants us to do something for him.”
She raised her chin. “I accept your apology. Sgt. Teddy thinks you smell like a bear.”
He nodded. “My House has a long affinity with bears. You might say we’re practically family.”
And what the hell did that mean?
Matilda squinted at him, then turned to me. “The scent has been acquired.”
“Thank you, Matilda.”
“Clearly, I’m in The Jungle Book,” Konstantin said. “I have met the wolves, the bear, and the panther.”
“Don’t worry, there’s no python.”
He gave me an odd look. “I already met her.”
“What?” I asked.
“Never mind. I was being frivolous.”
“Being frivolous is not a good idea,” Matilda said. “My father tells me that killing is an inevitable part of being a Prime. If you break the rules, I will kill you.”
“Consider me properly warned.” Konstantin nodded.
The golden retriever trotted forward and sat, staring at Konstantin with a happy canine grin.
“This is Rooster,” Matilda said. “She will be your watcher.”
“Of all the dogs available to you, you chose to assign me a golden retriever?” Konstantin’s eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch.
“Please change shape, Your Highness,” Matilda said.
Konstantin’s face blurred, and Alessandro sat in his place. It was a perfect impersonation, down to the narrow cut on Alessandro’s chin, which he got fighting Buller.
Rooster exploded into barks. She wasn’t just loud. She was deafening.
“Dear God,” Konstantin yelled over the noise, “it’s like being punched in the eardrums.”
“Change back, please,” Matilda ordered.
Konstantin reappeared. Rooster fell silent and panted at him.
“Rooster barks at 112 decibels,” Matilda informed him. “She can continue to bark for hours without straining herself. If you change shape, she will bark. If you attempt to escape, she will bark. If you try to separate from her in any way . . .”
“She will bark?” Konstantin asked.
“Yes. If she barks for longer than one minute, the electronic sensor in her collar will send an alert. Cutting the collar or removing it will also trigger an alert.” Matilda stared at him. “If anything happens to Rooster or her collar, I will know. I will come. I will bring friends. I hope we understand each other.”
“Crystal clear,” he told her.
“Please follow me now,” Matilda told him. “I’ve been asked to familiarize you with the layout of the Compound.”
“I’d be delighted,” he told her.
The two of them walked down the path, flanked by a bear and an arcane tentacled tiger. Rooster trotted after them, her gaze fixed on Konstantin.
Patricia came out of the office and stood beside me. “Is that wise?”
“We can’t contain him, and we can’t keep him locked up. Might as well let him wander, supervised.”
Patricia sighed. “We are being watched.”
“We knew that.”
“No, Arkan kept an eye on us. They’d buzz us with a drone once in a while or put some cameras on random trees just outside the property line, which we would find and take down. Now he has two active watch posts. One is on Orduna’s ranch, watching our front gate, and the other is on the Reading property, watching our driveway. They have us under 24-hour surveillance.”
“It can’t be helped. It can be an advantage in certain circumstances.”