"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 tonight. 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.