The intensity of Andrey’s fury forced me to make a step back, but that only prompted him to make a step forward. I clenched my fists and planted my feet into the ground. Ignoring Andrey—the bastard deserved the taste of his own medicine so much!—I looked towards Kirill.

I planned to ask him to go home, but my words died on my tongue when I saw the man’s expression. He stood at the counter, his palms clenching the polished wooden countertop, his eyes burrowing into Andrey’s back with deep indignation. I could almost hear the gritting of his teeth.

The entire situation spelled disaster in letters bigger than those in the top row on ocular tests.

As internal panic screaming filled my head, I put my hopes in Kirill’s ability to control himself (for his own sake) and looked back at Andrey. If the way his upper lip curled in a snarl, he didn’t like my long silence.

“Who. The hell. Is. Living. With you?” he slowly said through his teeth, leaning closer and closer towards me with each word.

“Why should I answer? I could’ve gathered a harem, and you still had no right to barge into my house like that and ask these questions.” I put my hands on my hips and boldly raised my chin up.

I couldn’t help but be acutely aware of Andrey’s proximity. His rage only added to his pure sexual appeal. In that way, he was like an active volcano—a fascinating show to watch, but only from far, far away.

I watched his nostrils flutter as he took a deep breath through his nose. Other people usually used deep nose-breathing to calm down, but Andrey only looked even more enraged after that, if this was even possible.

A guttural growl left his throat. “Diana, how long have you been living with him?”

I raised my brows at the change of his tune, but a movement from the side stopped me from immediately sending Andrey to walk where the sun doesn’t shine. Kirill had left the counter and was approaching Andrey with long, determined steps.

He grabbed Andrey’s shoulder. “Young man, you are very unwelcome here. Please, leave. Now.”

There was steel and anger in Kirill’s voice that didn’t fit with the sad wrinkles on his face and his knit vest that could’ve belonged to a schoolteacher.

Andrey shrug off Kirill’s grip like it was nothing and shoved the older man away. “Don’t stick your nose into others’ business,” he snarled.

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Kirill staggered two steps away before shaking his head like a bull before charging at the matador. Andrey had already turned back towards me, but I didn’t need to be a genius to predict what would happen an interruption.

Kirill would charge at Andrey, Andrey would retaliate with much more strength than Kirill could ever muster, Kirill will end up in bruises, some of the valuable antiquities will end up damaged and Andrey will still keep asking me his questions.

God, I needed JJ here, now. I could do my best to prevent the confrontation, but for Andrey to leave, I needed an actual miracle. Or vampire magic.

For the first time since JJ told me I was a witch, I regretted not learning more about my potential abilities. Maybe I could’ve hypnotised Andrey myself, then. Into believing that he was turned into a toad. Now that would’ve been a fine revenge for all his bullshit.

All these thoughts flew through my filled with panic screaming mind in a single second, and then I moved around Andrey to step in behind him and Kirill.

I lifted my hands towards the two of them, giving each of the men a good view of one of my palms. “No fighting! Especially there!” I looked back and forth between the two of them. “Kirill, I appreciate your concern, but this is, really, a personal business of mine. Andrey, what are you even thinking?! Do you know how much you will owe me if you break a single thing in there?!”

“Diana, I can’t leave you alone with this man!” Kirill protested. To my relief, he looked noticeably more composed in this moment. “He clearly doesn’t have good intentions towards you.”

“I already called the police,” I lied. The idea was probably good, but I couldn’t even remember police’s number. One-one-something?

The mention of police made Andrey blanch, to my endless amusement. I should’ve said something like that sooner. In the next moment, though, he turned back to his rage-mode.

“You are lying, Diana,” he said.

I forced myself to not flinch. “It’s not my problem that you were so busy inspecting the place that didn’t notice my call. They should arrive in a few more minutes.”

Andrey slowly shook his head. “No, you didn’t. You… You had called HIM.” His eyes narrowed. “Good.”

Uh oh. I guess sometimes Andrey woke up all these ninety-nine percents of his brain that slept the rest of the time. Oh well. I was pretty sure that there was no way for Andrey to harm JJ, or I wouldn’t have called him in the first place.

Except… There was a growing suspicion in my head. I saw the signs. I was more concentrated on other things, but…

Following the impulse in my head, I grasped Andrey’s arm, only to flinch away and make a step back. His skin was hot. Unnaturally so.

It scalded me like boiling-hot tea, but there was more to the sensation. It was like a thunderbolt ran through my hand, charging me with a restless energy that for a moment made me want to move, to run, before dissolving into nothing.

By now I knew it was a clear sign Andrey wasn’t just a human, but some supernatural creature. Not a vampire, obviously, but some kind of it. I stared at him in shock.

Why now? Why didn’t I feel anything years earlier, when we touched all the time? When did Andrey change, or when did I change?

Before I could think more about that, before confusion on Andrey’s face turned into full-blown questions, and before Kirill could come out of his state of indecision, the shop’s front door opened.

JJ stepped inside and closed his grass-green umbrella. His gaze, both amused and surprised, ran over our merry company, finally stopping at Andrey.

“Oh, my. What a pleasant surprise to meet you.”