“Georgi! No!” There was a splash, and then a young girl shrieked with laughter.
My heart pounded in my throat as I recognized the voice.
Dariya looked at me and shrugged. “The imperial family?”
It was their estate, even if they were staying at Livadia while Massandra Palace was being finished.
“Perhaps we should have chosen another day,” I said, starting to turn around.
“Katerina Alexandrovna!” A pleased young female voice stopped me. The tsar’s eldest daughter had already seen us. “And Dariya Yevgenievna! Georgi! Nicky! Look who it is!”
Grand Duchess Xenia was dripping wet. Her older brothers behind her looked as if they’d been swimming as well.
My skin felt as if it were on fire as George Alexandrovich’s gaze swept over me. His hair was wet; a lone, limp curl fell over his forehead and my fingers itched to push it back off his beautiful face. He eyed me warily. His siblings obviously did not know he had proposed to me less than a month ago. Or that I had refused him. And I hoped he would never tell them. What good could ever come of it?
The eldest of the tsar’s sons, Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich, smiled his shy smile and gave us a polite bow. “What brings you two out here this morning?”
Just then, Maman and Aunt Zina caught up with us. They became excited when they saw the tsar’s children. “Your Imperial Highnesses!” my mother said, bowing. “We did not mean to intrude, but we had hoped to visit the caves.”
The tsarevitch took Maman’s hand gallantly and clicked his heels together. “No intrusion at all,” he said with a grin. “We were searching for a new fishing spot. Would you like for us to accompany you up the path to the main cave? It can be tricky to find.”
George looked as unhappy as I was with the suggestion. It appeared, sadly, that his passionate regard for me had already cooled. Which was for the best, I realized. But even though I knew we could never be together, I also knew that I would never love another.
“You are most kind, Your Imperial Highness,” Maman said with a slight nod.
George stepped closer to me; I could smell the sunshine and fresh air on his damp clothes. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, his sleeves rolled up to reveal tan, muscular arms that glistened with beads of water. I blushed as soon as I realized I was staring.
“Allow me to carry your basket,” he said, holding out his hand.
His fingers grazed mine as I handed the basket to him. It was like an electric current passing between us. “Of course I still feel the same,” he said in a low voice, so the others couldn’t hear. “How could you doubt that?”
My cheeks burned and I felt a strange, light fluttering in my stomach. “Forgive me, Your Imperial Highness. I had forgotten my thoughts were so transparent to you.” His telepathy was one of his faerie gifts, courtesy of his mother.
He held my elbow gently, forcing me to stay until the rest of our party had gone on ahead. His touch sent shivers up and down my entire arm. I could see Dariya talking with Grand Duchess Xenia before they disappeared on the winding forest path. No one noticed our absence.
“How have you been, Your Imperial Highness?” I didn’t know what else to say to him.
He smiled, and his face seemed to light up. “Terrible. And you?”
I didn’t answer him. “How is the Order? How are your Koldun studies?”
He sighed. “I leave for Paris next week to study with a secret circle of wizards.”
“Paris? For how long?”
“Several months, I’m afraid.”
It had always been my and Dariya’s dream to visit the City of Light. What beautiful sights the grand duke would see. “How exciting,” I said, happy for him. But I could not help feeling sad that he would be so far away.
“And you leave for Zurich soon,” he said.
I nodded and kept staring straight ahead as we walked. If I stopped to look at him now, would I change my mind about leaving?
“My father actually believes it is a good idea for you to go.”
That caused me to stop in the middle of the path. “He does?”
George shrugged. “Normally, he does not believe women should have occupations, but he feels a university education would be beneficial for you as his imperial necromancer.”
Of course. I was a valuable pawn to the tsar and his wife’s Light Court. My education would depend solely upon my usefulness to the Crown.
“Is he feeling better?” I asked. The ritual at Peterhof that had transformed our tsar into the ancient warrior of legend, the bogatyr, had been draining. For the tsar as well as for me. But Tsar Alexander possessed an almost inhuman strength. His battle with the lich tsar Konstantin had been amazing to see. And frightening.
“He is much improved,” the grand duke said. “But as a physician you may be able to discover ways for him to recover faster the next time the bogatyr is needed.”
I sighed and shook my head. “But that’s not why I want to be a doctor. I want to help all people. Not just the tsar.”
“At least he is letting you leave, is he not?”
“He does not want me anywhere near you. Neither does the empress.”
“I’m going to Paris. You wouldn’t be near me even if you stayed in St. Petersburg.” George stopped us again and grabbed my hand. “Katiya, I’m concerned for your safety. The Order has seen signs that there are other people working with Konstantin. We think someone else in St. Petersburg wants to finish what Princess Cantacuzene started. Even after all these years, there are still those who believe that Konstantin Pavlovich was the rightful heir after Alexander the First.”
“The Dekebristi, you mean.” They were the undead minions of Konstantin’s vampire clan, first raised by Princess Cantacuzene more than sixty years ago.
He nodded. “Among others.”
“But we stopped him at Peterhof.” The lich tsar had tried to defeat Tsar Alexander and had failed because I summoned the bogatyr to fight him. “He can’t come back, can he?”
George looked me in the eye. “He simply vanished that day. I’m sure Konstantin Pavlovich has been hiding away somewhere, plotting his revenge. He’s just waiting for someone else powerful enough to help him return from the dead.”
The grand duke was right, of course. What on earth had given me the idea that a weak and silly sixteen-year-old girl like me could have defeated an undead wizard? He would be back. And he would certainly come for me. “What are we going to do?” I whispered.
George frowned. “You are going to be careful. I hate that you will be so far away in Zurich. Won’t you please reconsider staying in St. Petersburg, where at least the Order will be able to look after you?”
It made sense that Konstantin would come after me. Most likely before he came after Tsar Alexander. I was the easier target. And once I was out of the way, the bogatyr could not be summoned to protect the people of St. Petersburg.
It hurt me to see the grand duke look so worried. It would be easy to choose the safer path and stay at home with my family. But there was no way I’d ever become a doctor if I remained in Russia. Our medical schools did not admit women. No thanks to the tsar and his narrow-minded education ministers.
I shook my head sadly. “I can’t live in fear. Whether he comes after me in St. Petersburg or in Zurich, nothing would be able to stop him. I want to go to medical school.”
George’s eyes narrowed. He was angry with me for being stubborn.
Without thinking, I reached for his hand and held it between both of mine. “Don’t be mad. And please don’t worry about me. The Order needs to keep the tsar safe. Konstantin is not concerned with me.” Not much, I hoped.
George’s breathing had changed when I touched his hand. He was still angry, but there was something else that flashed in his eyes as well. Something silvery and dangerous. His fae heritage. “God, Katiya,” he murmured as he dropped the picnic basket and pulled me closer to him.