Masquerade [Kuskovo Estate]

[Sofia Vasilieva]

Sofia Vasilieva

She was showing off, and enjoying it to her core. The game was political, Zixin’s introduction among them performed with intention, but it didn’t mean it couldn’t be enjoyed – and all the more so for the attention garnered with him on her arm. Her touches were all incidental but unapologetically proprietorial, and expected as much in return. She was looking forward to pulling him onto the dancefloor later. In the meantime the acid of his tongue was genuinely appreciated, met with sly glances and cruel mirth in return. She welcomed both the intimacy of his breath by her ear and the possessive, showy secrecy, but he’d be remiss to assume she hated him any less for his manipulations on the bridge. Forgiveness was not in Sofia’s vocabulary. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t benefit from an alliance.

While they mingled amongst the guests, her gaze skimmed over Cyrena only once, offering acknowledgement and not much more. And she only got that much because she was a Marveet. They could have been friends once – Sofia, more than anyone, understood the unfair world they lived in on account of their sex  – but the woman was a straight up bitch without a shred of loyalty. That she was Maksim-adjacent was all that protected her from Sofia’s talons and convinced her to be civil instead. Though she only needed an excuse. The whole family were fucking snakes.

Her demeanour changed by the time she veered them towards Colette. She treated her dearest friendships with an unyielding grip of possessiveness, and though Colette was new into that circle, as new as she was to Moscow itself, it was with genuine warmth that Sofia sought her out. Her red lips pursed a pleased smile for the compliment, and she leaned to give a welcoming kiss to her cheek – an act that might as well have placed a crown on the other woman’s head for all it denoted acceptance into Sofia’s inner circle. Afterwards her gaze turned to assess the man Colette brought with her tonight. She’d never flirt with a girlfriend’s date, so it was not an appreciative look for all that his appearance might have deserved it. But she’d certainly judge him.

The formality of a handshake was a little gauche given the setting, and frankly it was insultingly sexless, but she was also a woman with both feet planted firmly in a man’s world. With the superficiality of her glamorous life and her spheres of social influence it was easy to forget that Sofia wielded sex appeal and femininity like silk on a steel fist. She played her part to perfection. But she had no intention of being relegated to the role of wife and mother, as Alina seemed so content with. So her grip was surprisingly firm, the cut of her eye sharp in return.

Adrian was not important, nor influential, but he was the sort of ruthless businessman who knew where the bodies were buried – metaphorically speaking. Or so she might guess by the amount of discrete real estate he owned all over the city. As such her reception was cool but not unfriendly. The fact he was here on dear Colette’s arm was always going to make it a tall bar for Sofia’s favour, but the bubbly heiress was too sweet to disappoint by being entirely dismissive. Adrian was an acceptable choice. For a first try.

She smiled genially for the empty congratulations, though the flick of her eyes then suggested she had witnessed exactly who won the silent contest between the two men. "The secret of their marriage is quite simple," she confided, as though Adrian had shown interest in such wisdom. "My father treats my mother like a goddess. And she would never suffer another woman to look at him twice.” She said it with rote amusement, the kind often repeated at these functions, but of course it wasn’t so very far away from the truth. The indomitable pillar of the Vasiliev family was rather the point of the whole thing. And beneath the charming humour of her viperish nature, was the smallest mote of gentle warning. Sofia would act for the benefit of her friends much as she would act for herself, and it was in Adrian’s best interests that Colette gave a glowing review of their date.