It frightened me that I might easily fall under his spell again. Last year, I’d willingly accepted his marriage proposal. And I’d kissed him. I couldn’t let that happen again.
It was still difficult to resist that mesmerizing pull I felt when the crown prince touched me. But not impossible. Elena giggled as I pulled my hand out of Danilo’s grasp and scowled at both of them. I could not trust either one of the Montenegrin siblings. I had no weapons on me, I could remember no new spells from A Necromancer’s Companion. I had no idea what I would do when I reached Vorontsov Palace. I only knew I could not let anything happen to Alix.
Danilo had the carriage let us out a ways down from the palace gates. It was close to midnight, and the ritual would soon begin. I almost slipped as I climbed down from the carriage without waiting for help. “Careful, beloved,” he whispered, catching me around the waist.
“Please stop calling me that.” I rolled my eyes and hurried through the trees toward the palace entrance. I had sneaked into this building before, and knew my way through its halls.
Elena and Danilo caught up with me and we crept around the back, where a black carriage was waiting. Two men stood guard. Members of the Order of St. Lazarus.
I put a hand on Danilo’s arm to stop him. “They’re just like the soldiers at Smolny.”
His grin was vicious. “Do not worry for me, Duchess.” He stepped into the shadows and I heard him whispering strange words. A mist rose up under the feet of the guards. As it rose higher, the guards were enveloped in the mist, and they fell to the ground.
I stared at the guards. The crown prince’s magic had knocked both creatures down.
“It will only stop them temporarily. We must hurry.” Danilo motioned for us to follow him.
Elena was so quiet and elegant as she followed her brother. I wondered what kinds of adventures the two siblings had had growing up in the Black Mountains of Montenegro. I had constantly harassed my older brother as a child. Petya never wanted me to play with him. I realized I was almost jealous of Elena and Danilo.
We reached the black carriage and Danilo glanced inside. He shook his head. “She’s not there. They’ve already taken her to the chapel.”
I sighed and leaned against the wall. I knew Alix’s rescue would not be easy.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
“This is impossible,” Elena said. “You can’t just walk in there, interrupt a coven of wizards, and steal their sacrificial victim.”
“She can too,” Danilo said, looking at me with what looked like admiration. “Katerina Alexandrovna can cloak herself in shadow.”
I shivered, unhappy that Danilo knew so many of my secrets. And now Elena did as well.
The crown prince took my hand and pulled the glove nearly off. His finger touched the spot where Sucre had stabbed me the night before. “Our bond works both ways, my duchess. Just as your blood gives me extra strength, my blood gives you extra power.”
I pulled my hand out of his. “No. I do not need your blood.”
Elena laughed. “You must not care enough about Alix to save her, then.”
I glared at her. “I need you to create a distraction while I find Alix.”
Danilo nodded. “Once you’ve saved her, go to Militza’s. I can send for my own carriage later.”
I shook my head. “No, we must get Alix back to Smolny. Or take her to her sister, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.”
“She is probably dancing the night away at the Yussupov Ball,” Elena said, pouting again.
“Then we go back to Smolny. Hopefully we will be able to sneak in again without anyone knowing that we left.”
Elena’s laugh was short. “Of course. A piece of cake. And Monsieur Sucre?”
“Leave him to me,” the crown prince said. He took my hand and pulled it to his lips. “Once more, for luck, my duchess.” With a wicked grin he turned my hand palm up and I felt his tongue on the wound from the night before. The tingles shot through my body again as his power increased. I felt a strange but familiar longing. At that moment, if he’d offered his blood to me again, it would have been very difficult for me to refuse.
“Katiya?” George Alexandrovich stepped out of the portico shadows. His face was much thinner, much paler than the last time I’d seen him. Had it only been a few months ago, at Christmas? It seemed like ages.
I took a step back from Danilo, but the crown prince did not let go of my hand. George’s eyes grew cold as he stared from Danilo to me.
“Where’s Alix?” I asked. “I know Monsieur Sucre brought her here.”
There was no emotion in George’s voice. “That is not your concern, Duchess. This is a private ceremony of the Order.”
Cold fury burned inside me. “It is my concern when you plan to kill my classmate and take her heart for your dark ritual. I won’t let you do it.”
George’s laugh was bitter. “Is that what this is all about?”
I pulled away from Danilo and tried to go to George. “I’ve been sick with worry for you,” I whispered. “Please tell me you weren’t going to let them hurt Alix.”
“But my dear,” George said, stepping back away from me. “Tonight is the night of my initiation. Isn’t this what you wanted?” He smiled a grim and vicious smile before he disappeared back inside the building.
I wanted to chase after him and demand an explanation, but the guards at our feet began to stir.
“Come on,” Danilo said, grabbing me and Elena by the arms. We hurried into the chapel. George was nowhere to be seen.
“So much for our well-thought-out plan,” Elena grumbled. “Any other ideas?”
“I’m still going to save Alix,” I said. “You two wait here.” I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. “Sheult Anubis.”
Nothing happened. I looked up at Elena and Danilo and started to panic.
“Try again,” Danilo said patiently. “Focus on your powers.”
I closed my eyes and imagined my cold light, coiled tightly within my belly. “Sheult Anubis.” I felt the light stir, and I pulled the shadows around me, cloaking myself with the darkness.
Elena gasped. “Mon Dieu!”
“Very good, Katerina,” Danilo said. “Now go and find your werewolf. You’ll know when the time is right to get her.”
I hurried into the Great Hall, where an unholy ritual was taking place. The room was smoky with incense. The censer hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room, burning frankincense and myrrh.
Robed men were standing in a circle, each one holding a black candle and chanting in an ancient language. It wasn’t Latin or Greek, to my knowledge. I wondered if it was Egyptian. Their hoods prevented me from recognizing any of them, although I realized the man holding a golden staff had to be the Koldun.
There was a familiar ornament at the top of the staff: the Talisman of Isis. I felt dizzy, remembering that I was the one who had given the talisman to the Order for safekeeping after the fight with Konstantin at Peterhof.
As I advanced, I kept to the dark side aisles, away from the candlelight. But I could see Alix, gagged and bound, and kneeling on the floor in the center of the circle. As quietly as I could, I moved closer. A sharp, stinging feeling coursed through me with every step. I looked down and saw the protective ring of salt they had prepared. I had touched the wizards’ protective shield. There was no way I would be able to get inside the circle to reach Alix. I could destroy the ring of salt, but then Alix would be in even greater peril.
The Koldun raised his staff and pounded it on the marble floor, silencing the others. I could hear Alix’s rapid breathing, and yet she was calm. I hoped she wasn’t planning on doing anything foolish herself. I was being foolish enough for all of us.
I could not tell at first which robed wizard was George. I slowly circled the room, looking from one candlelit face to another. Their shadows danced across the walls behind them. I found him at last standing opposite the Koldun. His gaze was intent upon his flame.