The Morning Star kt-3 Page 6

  “Does this mean there is another necromancer in St. Petersburg?” I asked with a shudder. A cold dread filled my belly. There was only one other necromancer that I knew of: Princess Johanna Cantacuzene. And she was dead. Wasn’t she?

  Papa frowned. “There can be no other explanation, can there? You don’t think they could still be your creatures, do you, Katiya?”

  “Mon Dieu, no!” With the help of Dr. Badmaev, I had finally learned how to control my powers so that I would no longer create any more undead accidentally. I had most assuredly not raised anyone from the grave on purpose.

  “I will see if the Koldun knows anything, then,” my father said. “Katiya, will you tell your mother that I am headed to Vorontsov Palace?”

  “Do you want me to join you?” I asked, only half hoping he would say yes. What if George had returned to St. Petersburg? I was not ready to face him yet.

  “No, my dear,” Papa said, caressing my cheek and giving me a kind smile. “The Koldun can take care of this without you. If necessary, he will ask the tsar and the empress to return from Fredensborg early.”

  I did not bother to tell Maman why Papa was going to the palace. She would hear from Militza soon enough if any blood drinkers were involved. Maman was too busy fussing over baby Tamara to pay any attention anyway.

  “Katerina, join me outside in the park.”

  Danilo’s voice was back, and it was insistent. “Leave me in peace,” I thought irritably. I rubbed my temples, wishing I could steal up to my bedroom for a nap.

  “Katerina, I will not leave until I speak to you.”

  “We are speaking, Your Highness,” I thought sarcastically.

  But Danilo would not be put off. “I will stay here in the park until you come out of your house. It is imperative that I see you.”

  “Why?” But he refused to answer. Tired of arguing, I flung a cloak around my shoulders and went outside to find him. I told myself I would stay within view of the guards at our front gate.

  “Ah, my necromancer,” Danilo said, standing as I approached him. He had been sitting on a bench surrounded by a cluster of birch trees in the Field of Mars. It was getting late in the fall, and the trees were almost completely bare. I hoped the Betskoi House guards would still be able to see me.

  “I am not your necromancer,” I said with a tired sigh. “Please, say what you have to say so I can return to my family.”

  He took my hand in a swift but elegant move before I could step back. He held my palm up, the same palm he’d drank from several months ago at Smolni. Alarmed, I tried to pull my hand away.

  “Shhh,” he said, caressing my hand lazily.

  I was both revolted and excited at the same time.

  “I am not going to take your blood here, Katerina. But I must drink soon. I am growing too weak to fight the lich tsar’s pull any longer.”

  “What are you saying?”

  His face grew serious, his eyes haunted. “Konstantin has found me, love. The bond I share with you I also share with him. He was released the night of my ascension. Now he wants to use me to get to you. I am trying to hold him back as long as I can, but I am growing weak. I must have blood. And it must be yours, my love.”

  “No.” I pulled my hand again, and this time he let go. “How can he use you to get to me?”

  Danilo’s smile was malicious as his black eyes suddenly flashed green. His voice changed. “NECROMANCER, I WILL TAKE THIS BODY AND YOU WILL REPLACE MY BRIDE.”

  I was too terrified to move. My worst fears had been realized. The lich tsar had returned. He was standing in front of me. In Danilo’s body. “You don’t want me, Konstantin Pavlovich.”

  “I MUST HAVE A NECROMANCER. AND I WILL HAVE YOU, MY LOVE.”

  Was it Danilo or the lich tsar speaking? I was not Konstantin’s love. “The bogatyr will stop you,” I said with as much bravery as I could muster.

  “Are you so very certain?” Danilo’s eyes flashed again, and he appeared to be back in control. “Are you so sure the tsar and his son are willing to go through such enormous sacrifices again to protect you? The tsar would be safer if you were dead, Katerina. Summoning the bogatyr again could kill him.”

  I knew he was right. But I could not believe that the tsar would kill me to keep everyone safe from Konstantin. “Stay away from me, Danilo,” I said, backing away from him. There were plenty of people walking around in the park, and the front gates of Betskoi House were in sight. Yet I did not want to cause a scene if I could help it. “If the imperial guard finds you, they will arrest you again.”

  Danilo’s black eyes gleamed. “There is no prison that can hold me, Katerina. And there is nowhere you can hide that you will be safe. Run back to your family, if it makes you feel better. Just remember the lich tsar can come after them as well.”

  I could stay and listen no longer. My heart pounding, I turned and ran back to Betskoi House.

  I made it to the front steps before I dared to look behind me. Danilo was seated once again on the bench, his hood back over his face. But I knew he was watching me. I hurried inside past the guards at the portico and slammed the front door shut, locking every bolt.

  “Is something wrong, Duchess?” the footman asked.

  “Do not, for any reason, allow any of the Montenegrin siblings to enter our house. Do you understand?” I was trembling and my voice was shaky.

  He nodded, and the brief look of surprise was carefully concealed. “Of course, Duchess.”

  I hoped to slip up to my room unnoticed, but Maman caught me on the staircase.

  “Katiya, where have you been? You look like you’ve been romping in the yard with the dogs!”

  I halfheartedly smoothed my hair and sighed. “Just getting some fresh air. But it gave me a headache and now I should go to bed early.”

  “But we are having dinner at the Vladimir Palace tonight.”

  I sighed. “Please, Maman, we should stay home.”

  “Not attend Miechen’s dinner party?” She looked at me as if I’d grown another head. “Katerina, if you are feeling poorly, I will allow you to stay home, but I wouldn’t miss Miechen’s dinner party for the world! Her French chef is divine!”

  Not divine, but probably fae, I remembered unhappily. The grand duchess always did have a passion for the exotic.

  “No one is going anywhere tonight,” Papa said as the footman let him in. He took off his hat with a frown. “Except Katerina.”

  George Alexandrovich entered the house behind him. He did not look happy either. Nevertheless, he seemed like my knight in shining armor when he clicked his heels together and said, “Katerina Alexandrovna, you must come with me immediately.”

  12

  “What has happened?” I asked, rushing back down the stairs.

  Papa put a heavy hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. “I should let the grand duke explain everything to you.” He turned to my mother and asked, “Shenia, will you have Anya begin packing a trunk for Katiya?”

  Maman gave a frightened little cry. “She must leave now? Where is she going?”

  “I’ll explain it to you in a minute, my dear. You must tell Anya to hurry. They do not have much time.” He led Maman gently up the stairs with her exclaiming the whole way.

  I looked at George, who was standing in the hall at the foot of the staircase. “Tell me what has happened,” I demanded.

  “You were right about the lich tsar. He is here, in St. Petersburg, and he’s been raising a new army of the undead.”

  “Then I need to help your father.” We would be summoning the bogatyr to fight Konstantin Pavlovich.

  George shook his head. “No. The Koldun believes it is not safe for my father to go through the ritual again. There is another weapon we think might work.”

  “And you want to leave your father unprotected to look for this weapon?”

  “He is safe, Katiya, for the time being. Both the Order of St. John and the Order of St. Lazarus are escorting him and my mother back to Gatchina tonig
ht. The Koldun is under heavy guard as well. You are the one we are concerned about.”

  “Me?” I could not help thinking Danilo’s words might be true. That I was a liability to the tsar as long as I was alive. Should I tell George that I’d just been standing in the Field of Mars speaking with the lich tsar?

  “Without your powers, Konstantin cannot fully return to life.”

  “But he’s a powerful sorcerer.” Before he’d married the blood drinker and necromancer Princess Cantacuzene, he’d been the Koldun for his elder brother, Tsar Alexander the First.

  “He is a powerful sorcerer without a physical body. He cannot perform any rituals himself.”

  “But he could possess someone else and use their body,” I suggested.

  George stared at me, and I realized neither he nor the Koldun had thought of this possibility. “He could not pick just any body to possess,” George said. “It would have to be someone to whom he was closely linked. Like you.” He put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed them gently. “But you will be safe, I promise. I’m taking you to Gatchina tonight. The palace is built like a fortress. No one can get to you there.”

  “I can’t go with you alone!”

  “Your brother is going as a chaperone,” he said with a grim smile. “And my parents will be there soon as well.”

  That did not make me feel any better. How could I face his parents now? I’d chosen medicine over marriage to their son. The empress might be happy that I would not become a daughter-in-law, but like the tsar, she did not believe women should become doctors.

  “And Xenia will be delighted to have you. She has been lonely since her Greek cousins left.”

  One more thing for the empress to be displeased with. I was certain to be labeled an inappropriate influence on the grand duchess.

  “And what about this weapon you’re seeking?”

  “It’s an ancient sword, rumored to command a magical army when held by a necromancer.”

  “You want me to use the sword?” I asked.

  George laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. We just want to keep the sword from falling into Konstantin’s hands.”

  I was irritated by his dismissive tone. I’d never wielded a heavy sword before, but I had taken fencing with Petya when we were young. Our tutor had often told me I was the better pupil. “Fine,” I said at last. If it was the tsar’s will to lock me up as a prisoner, there was nothing I could do.

  “You must be ready to leave immediately, Katiya. We are expected at Gatchina by nightfall.”

  I excused myself and returned to my room to help Anya pack. How long did they expect me to stay? I got down on my hands and knees and pulled A Necromancer’s Companion from under my bed. Would I have need of the book at the palace? Or should I take my medical texts to study? I decided to take both.

  “Katiya?” Maman came sweeping into my room. “Dearest, Papa has told me you are going to be a houseguest of the empress at Gatchina for a few days. Have you reconsidered the grand duke’s proposal?”

  “No, Maman.” I closed my trunk and went to embrace her. “I don’t think the empress would be happy with a Dark Court daughter-in-law.”

  “And why not? You know very well that just because she is from the Light Court of the North does not mean all Romanovs must marry Light Court. My Romanov mother married a Dark Court husband. Twice, actually.”

  I smiled. It was such a simple thing to Maman. She was still dreaming about Romanov grandbabies. “I will be home as soon as I can.” If the tsar ever decided to let me go.

  “Whatever for? Enjoy your stay, darling. And give my warm regards to the empress.”

  “Of course.”

  Papa came to my doorway as well. “The grand duke is getting anxious, Katiya. Are you ready?”

  I ran to his arms and hugged him with all my strength. “Please be careful, Papa. And look after Maman.” Danilo had planted a seed of doubt in my mind. Would the tsar find some way of dispatching me in order to protect himself from Konstantin? I tried to shrug off the ridiculous suspicion but found I couldn’t. Perhaps the tsar would not stoop so low, but I knew the Koldun would. He’d had no qualms about sacrificing Princess Alix when he believed it would protect the tsar. And Alix still had not forgiven him.

  “Of course, my dear,” Papa said. “Petya will be joining you later this evening. He is currently out on patrols with his regiment.” I already knew this. The Preobrajensky Guard was out searching for more of the undead.

  I took one last look around my room, making sure I’d remembered everything. I did not know if I’d be able to send for anything I’d forgotten. Papa helped me carry my trunk downstairs, despite Maman’s protests that we had servants for that very purpose.

  George was looking at his watch unhappily. He glanced up as we descended the staircase. “Very good,” he said. “My driver can take the trunk from here.”

  I followed him silently to the carriage, thanking him only when he helped me inside. It would be a long drive to Gatchina, which was nearly thirty miles outside of St. Petersburg.

  As we rolled out of the driveway, he leaned over and picked up my hand, pressing it to his lips. I closed my eyes. It was the same hand Danilo had claimed earlier. Why couldn’t I simply choose to be a good wife to George? But I knew I would never be happy just staying at home and raising a family. Maman had her charities and her social obligations, but I wanted more than the life she had with Papa. I wanted George and I wanted my medical degree too. I wanted everything.

  “Katiya, I have a plan.”

  I opened my eyes. George was caressing my hand with his thumb and looking extremely serious. I realized we were alone in the carriage on a dark night. The quarters suddenly seemed much smaller. “What are you saying?”

  “We are not going to Gatchina. We are going to Paris. We will be married and you can attend whichever medical university you wish.”

  I stared at him incredulously. “Have you gone mad? What about your parents?”

  “Do you think I will be happy if I continue to obey their every wish for the rest of my life? This is my life, and yours. And I want both of us to be happy. Together.”

  “Did you just decide this?” I asked. “I thought your parents were waiting for me at Gatchina.”

  “They are.” He smiled. “But I began to make plans of my own last night, when the guards notified us that the crown prince had returned to St. Petersburg.”

  “What does this have to do with Danilo?”

  George held my hands up between us, the silvery fae sparkle in his eyes flashing in the darkness. “I know he’s been in contact with you. And I know you are frightened of him. He will always thirst for your blood, Katiya. The bond between you two must be severed somehow. I don’t know if it’s even possible while both of you are alive.”

  I felt chilled. “Are you saying you want the crown prince dead?”

  George let out a frustrated breath. “That would make our lives simpler, wouldn’t it? But no. I just do not want him anywhere around you. I’m taking you to Paris, where I can keep you safe.”

  I’d always wanted to see Paris. But not like this, running off in the night like a thief. And certainly not without the tsar’s permission.

  “We have passports,” George said.

  “But mine is issued under my father’s name.”

  “Not any longer. You are listed under mine, as my wife.”

  Women and young girls were not allowed to leave Russia without their father’s or husband’s permission. I found it barbaric that even at the end of the nineteenth century, I was considered a man’s property. Still, the thought of running away from all of our problems sounded so tempting.

  George was stroking my hand again. “We’ll be married before we reach the border. An Orthodox priest will meet us in Riga at dawn.”

  I leaned back and closed my eyes again. I knew my parents had a country estate near Riga. “What if our families come after us? And the imperial guard? Or even worse, Konstantin?”


  “Trust me,” George said, his mouth suddenly very close to my ear. My body flooded with a tingling warmth. His lips moved from my earlobe to my cheek and then down my jawline. His hands cupped my face, pulling me toward him. I kept my eyes closed and dwelled solely on the physical sensations. My fingers brushed over the medals on his coat, the golden fringe on his shoulders.

  “Katiya,” he murmured. “Once we’re on the train, we’ll have a whole night to amuse ourselves. What will we do?”

  I blushed. “Sleep, I’m sure.”

  He laughed softly. “Duchess, I love you so.”

  It felt so good to hear his laugh. At that moment, I knew I would risk everything to have a life with him, just as he was risking everything for me. “I love you too,” I whispered, pulling him back to me.

  13

  I insisted we sleep in separate berths, for I was terrified that the train would be stopped and boarded by the imperial guards or that our families would find us.

  George was more concerned about the lich tsar. He insisted on sleeping in the berth below mine. I’d never slept so close to a boy before. Just knowing that he was lying beneath me, listening to his breathing all night long, filled me with fear and excitement. I was terrified and anxious for what the morning would bring. And I wondered and fantasized about our sleeping arrangements the following night.

  The rocking of the train lulled me to sleep much faster than I’d expected. I dreamed of the lich tsar and his wife, Princess Cantacuzene. She was laughing at me and telling me that my time was up.

  I awoke to bright sunshine and the sound of George coughing. Immediately, I pulled on my robe and slipped out of my sleeping berth. I needed to find him something to drink.