The Unfailing Light (17 page)

“My lovely duchess, Katerina Alexandrovna,” Crown Prince Danilo said, taking my hand. His warm lips lingered on my skin. I tugged my hand away. “And your beautiful mother is with you.”

Maman curtsied. “Your Highness.” He did not take her hand, I noticed.

Anastasia of Montenegro, now the duchess of Leuchtenberg after her marriage to my uncle George, smiled at Maman. “Our mother is anxious to see us all home. She delivered a healthy baby boy last month, Prince Petar.”

“Please give both of your parents our warmest congratulations,” Maman said.

My brother took my bag when we reached the carriage and helped me and Maman into our seats. It was good to see them both. Petya looked as if he’d aged years since I’d seen him last. He was thinner, with several lines etched in his face that I had never noticed before. I hoped he would have time to talk to me about the Order. Maman babbled the whole ride home about the servants and Papa’s ongoing plans for his Institute of Experimental Medicine. I leaned against the window and stared out at the snow-covered streets. It had been months since I’d been outside of the school. It felt wonderful. And strange.

“I suppose you will not want to attend Miechen’s Children’s Ball,” Maman said with a sigh. “She was so looking forward to seeing you. But I told her you would probably think you were too old.”

“That’s fine, Maman. I’ll go,” I said, still gazing out the window at St. Petersburg. My city was beautiful in the winter. A new snow had fallen overnight and blanketed everything in white.

“Wonderful! You’ll have the chance to see all of your cousins,” she said, not pausing to breathe. “Of course, you’ll need some new dresses made. For evenings at the ballet too.”

Petya was staring out the window as well, and did not seem to be paying attention to a word Maman was saying. We
passed a patrol of imperial soldiers. I glanced at my brother. I was dying for a chance to talk to him alone.

Betskoi House looked the same as it always had. Papa came to the door to meet us, along with several servants. Anya was there and gave me a hug before Papa could. “Duchess! It’s so good to have you back!”

“I’ve missed you too,” I said, even though I thought she was safer here at home with my parents than she would have been at Smolny.

“How’s my girl?” Papa said, embracing me in his strong arms. His mustache tickled my cheek. He smelled wonderful, like fine tobacco and old books. “I’m so sorry things did not work out this year the way we’d planned,” he whispered.

“I’m fine, Papa. It’s all right.” I didn’t want him feeling guilty about anything. It had not been his fault. “I’ll make it to medical school one day.”

He gave me a tender squeeze before letting me go.

“Anya, is the tea ready?” Maman asked. “We are freezing to death.”

Everyone hurried inside, and I finally got Petya to myself as we lingered in the front hall. “Have you heard from George Alexandrovich?”

He frowned. “No, but I have heard several stories about him and the Order’s Inner Circle. Katerina, I wish I’d not involved you with any of this.”

“With any of what?”

“I fear you have grown too close to the grand duke, Katerina. No doubt our parents would be pleased with such a match, but I do not want to see you get hurt.” He frowned before adding, “I worry that he is too dangerous for you.”

I had to laugh. I was much more dangerous to George than he was to me. “I thank you for your concern. But what stories have you heard?”

“Katiya? Petya? Where did both of you go? The tea is ready!” Maman called to us from the top of the stairs.

I grabbed my brother’s arm as he turned to go up. “Tell me, please.”

He shook his head. “Later. I promise. But please stay away from the grand duke if you can.”

There was no way I would stay away from George. If he was in the city, I had to see him. I needed to know what the Paris wizards had done to him. If it meant endangering myself, then I didn’t care.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
 

I
was almost finished getting dressed for Miechen’s ball that Friday night when I heard Maman’s voice.

“Mon Dieu!”
She cried from her boudoir. I rushed in to see her fretting over her tarot cards.

“Maman, please do not get upset. It’s just a silly card game.” But even as I was saying this, I knew it wasn’t true.

“No!” she wailed. “He returns again and again in my readings!”

“Who does?” I sat down at the side of her chaise lounge and peeked at her cards.

“La Mort.”
She looked up at me, her face pale. “Death.”

“Maman, please put the cards away. I think you just need your rest.”

“
Mais non
, I am sure he is stalking this family.”

I looked at her more carefully. I had not seen the cold light in so long, it was strange to see the pale glow that my mother
gave off. Her cold light looked normal; I could not see anything wrong with her. “Maman, the Death card can mean so many more things than just death. It is a symbol of change.” The cards could say many different things to many different people. Even I had picked up some of the symbolism over the years. Maman tended to see the worst in her cards.

“He follows the Knight of Cups. A young man. I fear for Petya!”

I looked at the card. The young man rode a white horse. It was not my brother, but George I feared for. A clammy feeling clenched my stomach. I couldn’t wait to get to Miechen’s ball. “Maman, are you feeling well enough to go out tonight?”

“Of course, dear. Let me pull myself together.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Katiya.”

“For what?” As I looked at her more closely, I realized she too seemed years older than when I had seen her last. I was suddenly aware how warm it was in Maman’s boudoir. I wanted to open the window and let the icy breeze off the Neva River sweep through the room. Maman always did like to have her bedroom cozy to the point of suffocating. I had to have fresh air.

“You always seem to calm me down. I’ve missed you so much.” She looked up at me and smiled, and I saw that her cold light had indeed changed a little. I never could see auras, so I had no idea what color surrounded her, but I remembered what Dr. Badmaev had told me long ago. And what Princess Cantacuzene had said to me as well. Maman had dabbled in the occult for so long, her protective glamour had worn thin. It would not take much for her to see the truth about the Dark and Light Courts. How hysterical
would she become if she learned that vampires and dark lich tsars had already returned to St. Petersburg? That her own daughter had the power to raise the dead? I wanted to put off her knowing that for as long as possible. Never would be fine with me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
 

T
he Children’s Ball held at the Vladimir Palace was the signature event of the Christmas season for the Dark Court. The imperial family was always invited as a courtesy, but they knew they were not totally welcome. Nevertheless, the empress delighted in stealing the spotlight from Grand Duchess Miechen every chance she could.

The enormous ballroom was ablaze with candlelight. A string quartet in the middle of the room played selections from Tchaikovsky’s ballet,
Swan Lake
. I looked all over the ballroom for signs the imperial family had arrived.

Maman had engaged the famed dressmaker Madame Olga to come to Betskoi House and fit me for a new gown. It was a dark-blue velvet dress the color of midnight. Pearls had been sewn into the bodice, in the same teardrop shapes that adorned my
kokoshnik
. This was the lowest-cut neckline Maman had ever let me wear.

Petya escorted both Maman and myself up the curving
marble staircase at the Vladimir Palace, warning me softly that the grand duke would probably be in attendance. I shivered, partly from the bareness of my shoulders as my wrap was taken at the front door and partly from excitement. Even with the formal pearly-white kidskin gloves that covered my arms, I was still cold. My heart beat faster. I could not wait to see him. To hear his voice again.

I wondered if he could hear my thoughts, now that I was no longer hidden away at Smolny. Surely, he could, if he were close by. But what if he had not returned to St. Petersburg after all?

“George?” I whispered to myself, as I searched through the twirling young people. I was stopped by Miechen’s eldest son, the young Grand Duke Kyril.

He bowed very seriously. “Katerina Alexandrovna, my mother has been asking for you. Will you come with me?”

I smiled politely at him, wishing he hadn’t spotted me so soon. “Of course.” There was no sign of the imperial family. What if the empress had decided not to make an appearance at the Dark Court gathering tonight?

Grand Duchess Miechen was talking with Aunt Zina. At a nod of Miechen’s head, my aunt curtsied to her and left. “Young Duchess, it is good to see you again.”

I curtsied low. “I have been at Smolny these last few months.”

Her blue-violet eyes narrowed at me. “I am aware of the empress’s spell. It was I who convinced her to let you return to your mother for Christmas holidays.”

“I am extremely grateful, Your Imperial Highness. I have missed my family very much.”

“And how are your studies going?”

I did not know if she was merely being polite, as the empress had been when she asked me at Smolny, or if she was truly interested. I took a deep breath and decided to confide in the grand duchess. “Your Imperial Highness, it is not safe at the institute. For the past few months, the girls have been terrorized by a ghost. We thought it was Marija of Montenegro until recently.”

The grand duchess frowned. “How did the ghost get past the empress’s spell?”

“She has probably been at the institute for many years, but perhaps the spell agitated her.”

“I suppose that is possible,” the grand duchess said, deep in her own thoughts.

I quickly explained all the incidents with the ghost over the past few months.

The grand duchess shook her head. “How intriguing. I wish I’d known about the ghost sooner.”

“I hoped to do something about her myself, but the empress’s spell prevents me from seeing the cold light. I am helpless.”

“Then the ghost should be helpless as well. She must be incredibly powerful if the empress’s spell does not affect her.” Miechen smiled maliciously. “Or the empress is not as powerful as she claims?”

I shivered.

“How many people know about the ghost?” Grand Duchess Miechen asked.

“The instructors deny that she exists, but most of the girls have seen or heard her. The servants as well. I wish I knew who she was. Maybe I would be able to reason with her.”

The grand duchess shook her head. “I would advise against that, Katerina. I will make my own inquiries about the ghost. Meanwhile, I am responsible for your safety while you are home these next few weeks. My spells are not quite as powerful as those of the empress, so I expect that you will not go looking for danger to test my protection.” She looked as if she would have rather eaten dirt than admit to any such weakness.

“Of course, Your Imperial Highness.”

“And now, you will owe me a favor, for I have bestowed this gift upon you.”

“I understand, Your Imperial Highness,” I said, curtsying again unhappily. A debt owed to the Dark Court was not a good thing. She knew she could not ask me to deliberately betray the tsar or the empress, but she could do any number of things to make their lives difficult. And mine in the process.

“Do not worry, Katerina. I will not call upon this favor this evening. I believe there is a handsome young gentleman waiting to speak with you in the winter garden.” Her needle-sharp teeth flashed as she smiled at me.

She knew. She knew that George was seeing me in secret without his mother’s knowledge. “You should probably hurry, before anyone else decides to take a walk in the garden room this evening.” The Dark Court faerie was actually encouraging us. That could not be a good thing.

I curtsied one last time and tried not to look like I was rushing toward her tropical indoor garden room. I would have run if I could.

“George?” I whispered as loud as I dared. And he was there, sitting on a stone bench beneath two very large palm trees,
partially hidden from view. No one would find us in here unless they knew where to look. “George!”