They looked at me as if I were insane. And not just for breaking protocol by not using the king’s title.
“Please?”
“What are you thinking, cousin?” Adriana asked suspiciously.
“This is the place we saw in your vision in the mirror. If that vision was accurate, there’s a secret room somewhere close at hand. We can hide the evidence until after you’re safely married.”
She gave me a doubtful look before meeting Dahlmar’s eyes. Face set with grim determination, he strode back to the kneeler and took his place. Seconds later, she joined him. She took a breath and her eyes unfocused for a moment; I guessed she was recalling the details of the vision. Then, as she had in that vision, Adriana reached out to press the small protuberance at the base of the kneeler.
With the grinding of stone upon stone, a door appeared in the far wall, behind the display of votive candles.
Everyone turned to stare at me in wide-eyed wonder. Even Igor looked impressed. Wow. Alrighty then. Trying not to act too startled that my shot in the dark had worked, I poked my head into the secret room. “Gunnar,” Adriana ordered, “go with her. Let nothing harm her.”
I waited for Thorsen to join me and we went through the door, which was marked with an ornate cross that matched the one Adriana wore.
It was a small room, not much larger than a walk-in closet. The walls were the same white marble of the church foyer; three of them were lined with shelves. At the sight of what rested on those shelves, all I could think was whoa.
“Impressive,” Thorsen whispered. Whispering seemed proper, for the shelves were filled with treasures. There were paintings, many wrapped in cloth, others left bare; jewel boxes and caskets; crowns; gold and silver altar implements—all crowded together without any kind of order.
Dahlmar started to rise, and I heard the faint creak of stone. “Um, please don’t. I don’t want to get trapped in here.”
He growled in frustration but didn’t move. “I want to see!”
Remembering my quick history lessons about Rusland, I answered, “It’s the missing state treasures, Your Highness. The ones that disappeared during the war. I’m guessing that all of them are here.”
We stepped back out of the room. The minute we did, King Dahlmar rose. Smooth as silk, the cross slid back into place, concealing the door so perfectly I would never have guessed there was anything unusual about the wall. The craftsmanship was amazing. So was the concealing magic. As a paranormal creature, I can usually sense all kinds of magic, but I’d never have twigged onto this. Wow. Just, wow.
From the look on his face, King Dahlmar was about to order someone to kneel so he could get a look inside the closet. Before he could say anything, though, I spoke up.
“Okay,” I said briskly. “I suggest we put the corpse and Arkad … whoever the spawn is, in the room until after the wedding. Um, Lars … would you mind watching over them? We can’t risk him getting away.”
Lars gave a brisk nod of agreement. With Thorsen present, I really wasn’t sure who was in charge, but everybody was still looking at me, so I kept talking, making up a plan as I went along. I said to Feliks, “If you will go ahead with the betrothal, I’ll use some of the cloths they wrapped the paintings in to clean up the mess as best I can.”
I took a good look at the bride and groom and realized that they’d both been spattered with blood when Adriana had shot Anton. On Dahlmar, it was mostly invisible—in a few spots the glitter of his medals was dimmed—but on Adriana’s lovely gown even a tiny scattering of red seemed screamingly bright and obvious. “Oh, there’s blood on Adriana’s dress.…”
“I have a beauty enhancement charm left,” Natasha said.
I blinked at her somewhat stupidly. She was gorgeous, why on earth would she need—
Sensing my confusion, she explained as she rummaged in the hidden pocket of her jacket. “You are both sirens. I am not. I thought I might need some help in such company.”
Sergei shook his head, his dark eyes bright. “You are perfect as you are, Princess. Then again, you always are.”
I raised an eyebrow at that one, but it certainly made a favorable impression on Natasha, judging by her blush. Then again, maybe he’d known her for years and was just now speaking up. How would I know?
“Thank you, Sergei.” Natasha shot him a smile as she handed the charm disk to Adriana, who wasted no time cracking it open. Immediately the stains on her wedding dress disappeared, as did the small wrinkles from where she had been kneeling. The lines of strain around her eyes disappeared as well. She looked perfect. It might be an illusion, but it was a damned good one.
What is taking so long, niece? Queen Lopaka’s imperious voice intruded on my thoughts. Normally she’s gentle, but now she was worried and irritated.
We’ve had a bit of a … complication. Everything is fine. But we need another minute or two, and Arkady and Olga won’t be attending.
There was a pause but then she answered smoothly. I will warn the musical director. You are sure Adriana is all right? Her voice in my head is very faint.
I looked at my hand. No wonder the queen had been able to reach me through the privacy shields. She gave me her ring.
Oh. The queen’s mental voice didn’t sound any too pleased about that. I hoped I hadn’t gotten Adriana in trouble with her mother. But I didn’t have time to worry about that now. As she’d so aptly pointed out, we were running late.
“Let’s go, folks. The queen just told me the natives are getting restless.”
King Dahlmar and Adriana knelt. The priest crowned them, wrapped their hands together with ribbon, and spoke his part very quickly before unwrapping their hands and moving out of the way.
Adriana hit the secret button again. When the door appeared, Lars and Thorsen dragged Anton’s corpse and the struggling spawn into the secret room.
Sergei, Natasha, and I set to work grabbing rags and cleaning blood from the foyer floor and furnishings.
The results weren’t perfect, but when we threw the bloodied rags into the treasure closet and closed the entrance, I looked around carefully. If you hadn’t known what had happened, you probably wouldn’t notice, particularly with the crowds of people that would be soon passing through.
“It will do,” Adriana assured me. “Now, everyone take your places.”
Igor came up beside me, taking my arm. “Do I look okay?” I asked.
“You look lovely,” he assured me. “No blood anywhere.”
“Oh good.”
35
The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. Of course there were questions raised about where Olga and Arkady had gone, but Igor lied beautifully, telling everyone that the prince and his daughter had insisted on standing guard over the newly discovered treasures. We’d actually left Gunnar Thorsen outside the secret room; Igor had cast an illusion on him to make him look like Prince Arkady.
It seemed like a thin excuse to me; after all, the treasures had been safely hidden for many years without anyone guarding them. But if anyone doubted Igor, they didn’t say anything. Probably because there were too many other things going on.
It was finally done. King Dahlmar and Queen Adriana were now fully wed in the eyes of the church and by the laws of both of their countries. I was out of a job and I couldn’t have been more elated.
Dahlmar and Adriana had left the reception early. By the smiles of some of the guests as the newlyweds departed, people thought they were getting an early start on their honeymoon, but I knew they were going to take care of questioning Arkady and to finish tidying up what had happened earlier. I expected Thorsen, Igor, and Creede’s people had already cleaned out the treasure closet and conveyed the hidden riches, the corpse, and the prisoner to their appropriate destinations. I wasn’t in the loop anymore and, God help me, I didn’t want to be.