Masquerade [Kuskovo Estate]

[Sofia Vasilieva]

Alina Marveet

Alina bit her lip, visibly torn with the secrecy, though she offered no protest. Could they not at least contrive to ask Iason to a dinner at their home? He was here as a guest after all, and they might naturally make his acquaintance over the course of the night. Surely, if such an important soul must be protected from the world, then to have him nestled between two of the Custody’s most important families would be a boon to the Ascendancy – and a mark of their loyalty. But even as she thought it she knew it was a foolish risk, and not a decision she would ever take without her father and husband’s approval. Love softened her gaze, for Maksim appealed to the one thing that would soothe even her most ardent stubbornness. Family.

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Sofia Vasilieva

Sofia gave an airy and charming laugh, utterly dismissive of the notion that Colette would ever enact an actual betrayal of their friendship, though she glanced slyly at Zixin after, an amused smile on her generous lips. Adrian’s joking accusation was not wrong – it was indeed a familial trait. And not one she would apologise for. He’d be as foolish to cross her as any woman who thought she could steal his attention.

“Our Colette outshines every other woman here. Perhaps it’s you who ought to be concerned, Adrian,” she jested in return. His message had been clear, but his impartiality didn’t impress her. She didn’t hold much esteem for a man who couldn't even be bothered to be jealous, and until he proved himself otherwise, Adrian Kane was not here to pull his own strings – tonight he was nothing more than Colette’s date. As such she noted the champagne, and it placated her that he at least took her meaning and would play his part. Ultimately, Sofia only cared that nothing spoiled Colette’s evening, or disrupted the pathway to her ambitions in Moscow. If Adrian proved a substandard match, there was plenty of time to get rid of him later.

“Miss Moreau joins us from New York, here on behalf of Congresswoman Avalon,” she added to Zixin, though she didn’t imagine he’d much care for the information unless he was abreast of the CCD’s relations with America – they said it was ripe to fall, after all. Presumably Adrian already knew Colette’s reasons, though Sofia’s sharp gaze did move to absorb any reaction the stoic mask of his face offered to the contrary. The faintest flutter of her brow suggested she found it remiss he had not offered the information himself, though of course Sofia had no problems shining a light on a dear friend’s importance so that she did not seem gauche by having to do it for herself.

“Zixin is newly arrived himself,” she continued smoothly, “though he has been making himself quite at home already in our fair city. I would not dare spoil the enticing mystery he presents to us all by saying more. One to watch, I’m sure.” She smiled. The look she gave him might have been purely admiring, but for the sweet hint of territorial venom. The sparkling glamour of the evening was a veneer, and they both knew it; the diamonds she wore were as bloody as the scarlet red of his ruby mask. But she considered him a player on the board; from Sofia, that was quite the compliment.

Her posture shifted minutely when she spied Myshelov’s approach, so that when he descended in a cloud of charm, she was primed to welcome Moscow’s own Patron into their midst. A round of introductions and niceties followed, before he claimed her for the dance she’d made him promise. “How could I not indulge my favourite uncle?” she laughed as she let him take her hand. It was politics of course, but her favour was genuine; she had a genuine soft spot for his expertly ruthless and genial manner, and of course beyond the Ascendancy himself, he was the most powerful man in the Dominance. She glanced at Zixin for his reaction, but it was towards beautiful Colette that she turned Myshelov’s attention before they departed for the dancefloor. “You must spare some time for Colette later. She is the absolute belle of our ball don’t you think?”