The Unfailing Light

Aurora and Elena had French lessons at this hour, and then they would be going to lunch. Alix was in music class. Our room would be empty for hours, I hoped.



I had tried listening for George's voice many times at night, while I lay in bed, but there was never any message from him. As I did not share his faerie gift for telepathy, I really did not expect it. Perhaps today would be different. Even if I could not receive a reply from him, I hoped he would hear my thoughts, and at least become aware of the danger Petya mentioned in his letter.



I crawled into bed and slipped under the covers, knowing that if anyone did come in, they'd assume I was feeling poorly. I really wanted to be left alone. I desperately needed the sleep, anyway. I only hoped I could stay awake long enough to get my message to George. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the grand duke's beautiful face. George Alexandrovich, Your Imperial Highness, I have urgent news for you. My brother, Pyotr of Oldenburg, sends this message. There is treachery within the Order. He says the tsar is in danger. I hesitated, then added, Please be careful.



There was, of course, no reply. I heard nothing but the distant clanging of the chapel bells. Even the halls of Smolny were quiet. I felt a little foolish, but I continued. George Alexandrovich, Your Imperial Highness-



"He cannot hear you, my love."



My blood turned cold. I bolted up straight in bed, looking around my room in terror. The voice in my head was not that of George. But it was familiar just the same. Get out of my head, Danilo.



The Montenegrin crown prince's laugh made me shiver with disgust. "The empress was very wise when she cast the spell over your school. Do you think she knew it would prevent you from communicating with her son?"



I sighed. You know no such thing. Why is it that you can hear me, then? And that I can hear you?



"A Vladiki's blood bond is more powerful than any other magic, my dear. Even your empress's fae charms. And now you cannot warn your dear grand duke of the danger his family is in. I'm sure of it. And at a time when the threat is far worse than your brother realizes." His voice was taunting. He enjoyed telling me this news.



I wanted to scream. What do you know of the Order? I don't believe anything you say to me, Danilo.



"I know much more than you do. Much more than you ever will. Not all of the wizards in the Order are loyal to the tsar."



Who is the traitor? You must tell the tsar this!



"Why should I?" Danilo asked lazily.



Your parents are still allies of His Imperial Majesty, are they not? Who are the wizards working for?



He laughed again, filling me with frustration. "Like my sister, I still have my secrets, Katerina. Even after we are married, you will not be allowed to know everything."



I was desperate and decided to ignore his last remark. Danilo, please warn the tsar. You must find a way to get word to the grand duke. Or help me find a way to break through the empress's spell.



"As much as I love chatting with you, I must go, Katerina Alexandrovna."



Danilo, please! I could not believe I was begging him for anything.



But he was gone. There was nothing left but the silence of my room, only the sound of the soft rustle of my bedcovers as I sat up. It frightened me to realize just how powerful the blood bond between us must be. I could not trust him to seek out the grand duke and deliver my warning. I would have to find another way.



"Mon Dieu! I cannot take it anymore!" Elena's voice shouted over the stomping of her shoes.



The door to our room burst open, slamming into the dresser beside it. Elena rushed in and threw her books on her bed. She stopped and stared at me. "What are you doing here?"



"I was not feeling well. Must you shriek like that? The headmistress can probably hear you from her office."



Elena sighed as she flopped down on her bed. "Princess Aurora drives me insane with the superior airs that she puts on! She got the highest mark on our French exam this morning, and Madame Tomilov gave her a bonbon!"



"And what is wrong with that?"



Elena lowered her voice. "And Alix is even worse."



"She is just shy."



Elena snorted. "No, she is a snob. Just because her grandmother is the queen of England. Bah! Katiya, you know as well as I do that the Hessian princess is ... different. She will never be like us."



I looked at Elena with disbelief. I hated it when she likened my powers to hers. "I don't see that as a bad thing. Erzsebet and Augusta are not like us either."



Elena stood up and paced back and forth. "But the Bavarians do not count. They are blissfully ignorant of the things that go on in the dark of St. Petersburg. They know nothing of vampires or faeries. They will live happy lives never aware of the creatures that live alongside of them."



"And you are saying that Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt is one of these ... creatures?"



Elena stopped pacing and sat down again on her cot. "I'm saying there is something not right about her. She is always watching me. Judging me, as if she knows my secrets. She knows and she is not afraid."



"Are you certain?" It occurred to me now that Princess Alix had often looked at me in a similar fashion. "How could she know our secrets if she was not ... unnatural as well?" I could not believe Elena had become my confidante.



Elena shrugged. "We must be on our guard around her. Perhaps we can find out more about her and her family."



Besides the fact that she came from Germany and her sister was married to one of the tsar's brothers, I knew little about Princess Alix. I'd been invited on an ice-skating outing with her and her sister and the imperial children last winter, but she'd been very shy. I knew she did not speak much French or Russian, but spoke fluent English. She was also secretly in love with the tsarevitch.



My own undead creature, Count Chermenensky, had called her a monster, I remembered. The memory of the day I'd met the undead count made me blink back angry tears. Why had he reacted so strangely to Princess Alix? She was not a ghoul like the count. Whatever she was, surely she was not a danger to any of us, trapped behind the empress's spell.



I woke up that night to hear Elena restless and muttering in her sleep. Her moaning did not wake Aurora or Alix, thankfully. The silvery light of the full moon brightened up our room, and I snuggled down deeper in my blankets, glad that she was not able to turn into a moth. I worried, though, what would happen to her without a transformation. Would she still need to get blood in her human form? Would she seek it from one of her roommates?



"The veshtizas are not true vampires, as the Vladiki are." Again, the crown prince's thoughts floated into my head strong and clear. I wondered if it was due to the full moon that it was so much easier to hear him now.



What does that mean? I hated to encourage Danilo, but I wanted to know more about his sister's powers.



"It is not necessary for her survival to drink blood. A veshtiza gains her magic powers from blood, which she can only gather at the full moon in moth form. But it does not harm her if she does not change." Danilo's laugh was low and velvety in my head.



"Of course, it does not make her a happy person when she does not get to change. The empress's spell will make my sister a difficult person to live with."



Does she know? How are you aware of the empress's spell?



His laugh sickened my stomach. "Duchess, I know most of your secrets. We are bound, remember?"



I shuddered, wishing once again there was a way to remove the blood bond between us. I could not let the crown prince know all of my secrets. But how could I undo the fact that he had drunk my blood in order to complete his own ascension ritual? It had all been part of his parents' plan to make him as powerful a blood drinker as his father, the Montenegrin king. The king had received his own powers from drinking the queen's blood. Queen Milena had spent years searching for a necromancer bride for her eldest son. Unfortunately, the bride she had chosen was me.



"And no, Elena does not know of the empress's spell." Danilo's thoughts continued to invade my head. "I would not tell her if I were you."



I breathed a small sigh of relief. Thank you, Danilo.



He laughed again and I tried to ignore the way it made the hair on the back of my neck tingle. "Pleasant dreams, my love."