Danilo escorted me on his arm up to the first-class deck, which held the dining room, the smoking room, and the billiards room. I heard one of the passengers in the hallway mentioning a library as well. I hoped I’d be allowed some freedom while we were on board. It was obvious I could not escape back to Russia from here.
The dining saloon for the first-class passengers on the steamer was a beautiful mahogany-paneled room with heavy velvet drapes blocking out the blazing setting sun. The plush red carpet was decorated with golden medallions. An enormous chandelier swayed gently as we passed beneath it. We had been lucky to have calm seas on the Mediterranean so far.
The oyster pie and beef Wellington were both excellent, and I enjoyed dinner despite myself. Of course, it had been days since I’d had a proper meal, and the chloroform was now completely out of my body.
Danilo signaled to the waiter to refill my glass of wine. “You look beautiful tonight, Katerina.”
I was suddenly suspicious of the wine. I decided not to drink any more and sipped from my water goblet instead. Ignoring his compliment, I asked, “How long have you been planning this journey?”
“Ever since I discovered the existence of the sword.”
“How did you learn of it?”
“An ancient book of Johanna’s. And something Militza discovered during her honeymoon in Egypt.” His voice was strange again. Not quite Danilo’s, not quite Konstantin’s. He was turning into a completely new personality altogether. The thought frightened me. I would have never believed such a thing possible. “Johanna had a book about the Grigori and their years of service to Vlad Dracul. The Impaler at one time wielded the Morning Star himself.”
“How did he acquire it?” I asked as the waiter whisked our plates away and replaced them with berry compotes and a plate of cheeses and fruits.
“He stole it from the Ottoman pasha. Unfortunately, the Ottomans stole it back at Vlad’s deathbed.”
“How did the sword end up in Egypt?” I asked. The compote was heavily spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and something else I could not place.
“It’s believed to be hidden in the ruins of an ancient Coptic chapel. Or it could be hidden within the Graylands.”
Coptic? I’d never been anywhere near this far from home before. The thought filled me with despair. George would never be able to find me once we reached Egypt.
Danilo drank the last of his wine and watched me. His eyes had changed again, and now they were no longer his piercing black, nor were they the emerald green of the lich tsar’s. Instead, they’d blended to a grayish hazel. The color was startling against Danilo’s olive skin, and not unattractive. That was a disturbing thought that I pushed out of my mind as swiftly as I could.
“Come, I have a gift for you.” He reached into his coat pocket and drew out a piece of jewelry.
“That’s not necess—” I started, but then I saw what he held in his hand. “How did you get that?”
It was the Talisman of Isis. It belonged in the Vorontsov Palace with the Order of St. Lazarus. Miles away from where we were.
He smiled. “Do not concern yourself with how I obtained it. I believe it will prove extremely useful, Duchess.” He stood up behind me and placed the talisman around my neck. I shivered as his cold fingers brushed against my bare skin. As a necromancer, I was the only one who could use the talisman. It allowed me to summon undead beings to my aid. But I was loathe to do so, and I prayed that it would not be necessary.
“Why do you even need me?” I asked, thankful when he began to pace the room. It made me nervous when he stood so close to me. Konstantin had once been a sorcerer, and if he was using Danilo’s body, he would have no problem drawing upon all of his powers and using the Morning Star to fight the bogatyr.
“Why?” He stared at me with his strange hazel eyes. “Because I must have a necromancer for a bride, Katerina. You shall be the next empress of all the Russias. And the mother of the next heir to the throne.”
A wave of nausea rolled in my stomach. “I will never marry you,” I said. But I was scared and uncertain. I had no way of defending myself against him. What if he took me by force?
Danilo laughed, my thoughts crystal clear to him. “Your precious virtue is safe, Katerina. For the moment. We shall marry in St. Petersburg in front of the church patriarch and all of the Romanovs.” He stopped his pacing and walked around behind me, lifting a loose curl from my shoulder. “And then, dear Katerina,” he whispered in my ear, “then you will be mine.”
17
Danilo left me alone in the dining saloon, for which I was grateful. I wanted nothing more than to escape back to my cabin in peace. I spotted the two Grigori on the observation deck, speaking in hushed tones with the girl in the black habit. As much as I wished to retire to bed, I wanted to learn more about my traveling companions.
The full moon was high in the sky, lighting up the sea almost as bright as daylight. The moonlight also lent an unholy look to the pale, stone-faced men as I approached them. They were taller than any of the other men I’d seen on the boat, and they towered over the girl. “Why are you here with the crown prince?” I asked. “Why would you want to help him?”
The one on the right appeared to be the older of the two. “We serve the sword, Duchess. When the sword calls, we must obey.”
The girl’s smile wasn’t friendly. “We must all obey the lich tsar, including you.”
“But he doesn’t possess the sword yet,” I said. “What has convinced you to obey him now?”
She shrugged. “He has you. And you will help him find the sword soon enough.”
I turned back to the strange men. “What if the one who holds the sword is wicked? Are you still forced to serve that person?”
The elder Grigori looked down at me, his face impassive. He reminded me of the members of the Order of St. Lazarus. “The sword itself is very wicked, my lady. Do you not know who first carried the Morning Star? It was Lucifer himself. With that sword, he led the angels’ rebellion.”
I stared at him as the meaning of his words sank in. The breeze off the water had turned chilly, and my hair was beginning to fall from its carefully arranged knot. I rubbed my arms and hugged myself. What made Konstantin believe he had the power to wield Lucifer’s sword? “You are demons, then. Fallen from heaven.”
“Not demons, though they are our brethren. When the Grigori fell, they were trapped on earth in physical bodies. Not mortal, but not able to leave this plane either.”
“And you cannot die.” What a terrible army they would make. A formidable match for my own undead soldiers. No wonder Danilo wanted the Grigori on his side.
He smiled, but the gesture did not make him appear any friendlier. “No.”
His companion, the younger-looking one, said something to him in a language unfamiliar to me. Nodding, the older of the two looked back at me. “It is true. You are a necromancer and you could wield the Morning Star. But are you strong enough to command the Grigori?” The girl laughed. “I think not.”
“And who exactly are you?” I asked, whirling on her. “What has Danilo promised for your part in all of this?”
Her eyes hardened. “The crown prince has not promised anything. And what has been promised to me is not your concern.” She stalked off, leaving me alone with the Grigori.
“Are you here against your will?” I asked the younger one. When he looked at his elder and they both nodded, it gave me a little courage. They probably had as much reason to hate the crown prince as I did. “So why would you allow Danilo to command you to fight the current tsar and his family?”
“We are condemned to chaos, Duchess. It is our nature,” the elder Grigori said.