The Gathering Storm kt-1

by Robin Bridges

  I had finally decided that Elena could not be responsible for all the poisonings. It was happening all over the city, not just at the Smolny Institute. But I knew she was involved somehow.

  “Do not worry,” Dr. Kruglevski told me, patting me on the shoulder and giving me a new medical journal to borrow. This issue contained an article about sterile and clean techniques in the hospital setting. I took the journal back to Smolny with me and read the entire thing from cover to cover before dinner. The book Princess Cantacuzene had given me I still refused to open.

  When I had a chance to speak with my cousin alone, I told her about Dr. Kruglevski’s discovery. She deserved to know what kind of poison had made her ill.

  “Hemlock! But how would Elena get a hold of such a thing?”

  We were whispering together on our way to geography class. Elena glared at us as she brushed past us. I shook my head. “I don’t think she was acting alone,” I said. “There are people being poisoned throughout the city, the doctor says.”

  “By her and her sisters?” Dariya asked suspiciously. “Why would they be poisoning so many people?”

  “Princess Cantacuzene wants me to find out,” I said unhappily. “She said we need to be able to prove to the tsar that he is in danger.”

  Dariya frowned. “Do you think they could have caused the train wreck at Borki last fall?”

  “How?” I couldn’t imagine the Montenegrin princesses being capable of causing such a horrible accident. Besides, I’d overheard my father saying it had most assuredly been due to the train’s traveling at unsafe speeds. The Montenegrins could not have achieved such destruction merely with their poison.

  “Please be careful,” my cousin begged. “Princess Cantacuzene has no right to ask you to spy on Elena and her siblings.”

  “If I don’t do it, who will?” I asked. We had reached our classroom, where Madame Metcherskey hurried us all into our seats before Dariya could answer.

  The Bavarian princesses had returned to St. Petersburg, their mourning period for their uncle, Crown Prince Rudolfe, officially over. Erzsebet told me her grandmother the empress Sissi had gone completely mad with grief over her son’s death. She walked the halls of the palace spouting morbid poetry. Erzsebet was more than happy to get back to the institute, but Augusta would have preferred to stay on. Dariya and I tried to raise her spirits with card games and gossip.

  “Tell us about the infamous Black Ball,” Erzsebet said that evening as we sat in the Smolny parlor, playing a game of tarock.

  “It was beautiful, with everyone in black dresses!” Elena said. “The ladies’ diamonds and pearls showed up like moons and stars against the night sky. The ballroom looked celestial.”

  Aurora Demidova nodded. “Princess Yussopova wore a pearl that was larger than her hand!” she exclaimed.

  “And the music was wonderful,” I added, studying my cards carefully.

  “I danced with the tsarevitch. He was very, very sweet.” Elena sighed. “Such beautiful blue eyes he has. And Katerina danced with my brother twice!”

  Erzsebet and Augusta teased me mercilessly for this. “You are almost engaged now! What did your mother say?”

  I rolled my eyes, thinking of my father’s words on the carriage ride home that night. I did not want to share that with Elena, who would know my parents were taking Prince Danilo’s suit very seriously.

  Augusta said shyly, “I should have liked to dance with every last cadet from the Corps des Pages. They look so handsome in their dress regiments!”

  “Then you shall dance with every last one of them next week, at the grand duchess Marie Pavlovna’s ball,” Elena said. “It is a children’s ball, so you will both be allowed to attend.”

  “Oooh!” Augusta said, smiling. “I shall dance all night long! I shall wear a beautiful white dress embroidered with diamonds, and ermine, and velvet slippers with diamonds on my feet.”

  I was glad to see the young princess cheered a little. She had looked so glum earlier. As much as it pained me to dress up again for yet another ball, I caught myself wondering if the grand duke George would be there. Not that I hoped he would dance with me, but I did need to speak with him. About my undead friend.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The gown I wore to Miechen’s ball was white, of course, with a pale blue ribbon around the waist and tiny seed pearls sewn into the bodice with silver thread. I had the same diamond earrings I’d worn to Le Bal Noir and a delicate silver tissue wrap. I could not find the obsidian ring, despite turning my room at home upside down. It had not been in my jewelry box at Smolny either. I resolved to be strong if I saw the crown prince. I promised myself I would not fall under his spell so easily.

  The empress and her family were not in attendance at Miechen’s ball. I heard whispered rumors that she and the grand duchess were feuding again. I would not see Grand Duke George, so I had no way of knowing if he had found the count.

  Prince Danilo was his charming self again, daring to ask me for a third dance, which I declined with a smile. “We mustn’t!” I said as he took my arm and strolled through the fragrant jardinière with me. “The old ladies will talk and my mother will know, and I will never hear the end of it.”

  Being with the prince again made me forget everything else. There was something I needed to do that evening, but for the life of me, I could not remember what.

  He handed me a cup of warmed wine from the samovar. “Why should you care what the old hags say? Their world does not concern you; I have seen that in your eyes. You would rather be anywhere else than here. Tell me, Duchess,” he said, his black eyes burning into mine as his fingertips gently rubbed the inside of my wrist. “Tell me where you would rather be tonight. Tell me, and I will take you there at once.”

  I tried hard not to tremble; I was afraid he could hear my heart pounding in my throat. I was falling under the prince’s spell all over again. And it felt delicious.

  I could think of nowhere on earth I would rather be at that moment, and I told the prince so.

  He smiled and whispered, “I am glad,” before kissing me.

  Mon Dieu! He kissed me! And I kissed him back. His grip on my hands tightened. I could have sworn I heard his heart pounding too.

  I broke away first, dazed, with my legs feeling weak. His arms circled me and held me up. He smiled down at me. “Katerina, I want to bring you back to Montenegro and make you my bride. I shall speak to your father in the morning, yes?”

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly without stopping to think. What would my father say? I did not care. All I cared about was the prince holding me in his arms. I sighed happily, resting my head on his shoulder. His hand caressed the back of my neck. I trembled all over again.

  “Katiya! I have been looking all over for you!” Dariya shouted as she hurried toward us. She stared at me and the crown prince in shock. “Where have you been?”

  I blushed, still foggy. I could not think to answer her. I was in Danilo’s arms. How had that happened?

  “Katiya, please come with me back to the ball,” Dariya entreated. “Your mother is looking for you.” She glared at Danilo.

  “That’s all right,” I said, smiling slowly. “Do not worry about me.”

  “But—”

  I looked back up into Danilo’s eyes, still smiling. I was hopelessly lost.

  “I found something that belongs to you, Katiya,” my cousin said. “Come and talk to me if you’d like it back.” Dariya gave me a frustrated look before storming off.

  “We must rejoin the others, my love,” the prince said, sighing heavily. “Will you tell your mother that we have talked?”

  “Of course,” I said, leaving his embrace to walk back to the ballroom. I took his arm with a smile, suddenly feeling shy.

  “Shall I bring her a gift tomorrow when I come to visit? Does she like flowers?”

  “Roses,” I said, not really paying attention to what he was saying. I was intoxicated by the sound of his voice, by his warm touch, by hi
s hypnotic eyes. He led me back to my Bavarian friends, but I honestly cannot remember anything more about the ball other than Prince Danilo’s standing at my side throughout the evening. He had whispered, “Do not dance with anyone else tonight,” low enough that no one else could hear. And I did not dance any more after that. Who else could I have danced with? I didn’t think there was another soul in the world who could make me feel like the prince did. Wasn’t that love?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The next morning I slept late, exhausted from the previous night. It all seemed a blur. Wasn’t I to do something today?

  I dragged myself out of bed with a horrible migraine and rang for Anya to bring tea. Then crawled back into bed.

  My mother burst into my room, shouting and crying. “Katerina Alexandra Marija! Why did you not tell your maman? Shame on you, you wicked girl!” But she was crying tears of joy. “Who do you think has just left your father’s study?” She sat down on my bed, causing it to shake. I felt nauseated.

  Suddenly, I remembered. I sat straight up, feeling as if the room were spinning. “Oh, Maman, what have I done?” I burst out.

  The smile on her face faded. “You have consented to marry the crown prince Danilo of Montenegro. He has just received permission from your father. It took plenty of convincing on my part, I’ll have you know. Anya, bring Katiya some cold water, please. She looks ill.”

  “Oh, poor Papa. He said he didn’t want me to leave Russia.”

  “Yes, but a crown prince cannot be expected to simply pack up and move to his new wife’s country. You will become queen someday. You must get to know your new country and its people.”

  “Queen?” The consort of the Vladiki. How had I gotten seduced into this? Had I been drugged the previous night? Or was it just that I was infatuated with the first young man to pay attention to me? Mon Dieu, I’d let him kiss me! I had kissed him back! There was truly no way to refuse the prince now.

  “But I don’t want to be a queen,” I said, a lump catching in my throat. “I want to be a doctor.”

  “Enough of that nonsense,” Maman said. “We have so much work to do. We shall plan a trip to Cetinje within the next month to meet Prince Danilo’s parents. I shall have to order a new wardrobe for you. And for myself.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Why don’t you try to rest some more, dear? You do look rather pale.”

  “I do?” Had the prince drunk my blood the night before? No, he’d not become a blood drinker yet, at least not according to Princess Canta— Oh, mon Dieu, what would she say when she heard about the engagement? Zut and merde. What had I done with my ring? I remembered Dariya telling me she had something that I had lost. It must have been the ring. I hoped she still had it.

  I flopped back down on the bed, covering my head with a pillow. “Merde! Merde! Merde!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  I returned to Smolny on Monday. My parents had decided I would finish out the school year before my marriage in the fall. The prince would turn eighteen in June, and I would turn seventeen in October. My father forbade a wedding before my seventeenth birthday and would have postponed it until my thirtieth if not for Maman. I tried to ignore all the attention at school, but everyone congratulated me and asked about the moment the prince had proposed. I had to tell my story over and over, making the kiss seem much more chaste than it had actually felt.

  My cousin was furious with me. “How could you be so stupid, Katiya?” She grabbed my hand and placed the obsidian ring in my palm. “I found this on the floor by your cot. If only you’d been wearing it at the ball!”

  I felt miserable. “I will think of something,” I told her. “There has to be a way.”

  As soon as I could slip off, I visited Princess Cantacuzene. I dreaded telling her about the engagement. She swept into her parlor in a bloodred tea gown. “I believe congratulations are in order, my dear,” Princess Cantacuzene said, kissing me on the cheek.

  “I know you are disappointed in me, but I have not—”

  “Disappointed?” She laughed. “Why, my dear, it’s the cleverest idea possible! You will be able to go to Cetinje and murder the prince in your marriage bed! It is perfect!”

  It must have been one of her off days. “Your Highness, the marriage isn’t to be until October, long after the prince’s ascension. Besides, if I murdered him in our bridal bed, wouldn’t I be the only suspect in his death?”

  “Remember your gift?” The madness was returning in her eyes. “You have the power of life and death. A necromancer can not only raise the dead, but can also destroy the living. Your blasphemous prince is still one of the living until his ascension. You must destroy him before he becomes one of the immortals. Before he can harm the tsar.”

  “I don’t know how.” And I didn’t ever want to know either. I promised myself I would never kill anyone, no matter how evil the person was. “Your Highness, you spoke to me before of ghouls and revenants. How are they created?”

  She frowned. “Have you not been studying the text I gave you?”

  “I do not intend to study it!” I stood up, shaking. “Please forgive me, Your Highness, but I only ask because I believe there is a revenant loose in the city.” I was surprised to feel my eyes flooding with tears. “I believe I may have created him. I swear before God I do not want to do it again.”

  The princess stared at me with her piercing black eyes. Her hair, piled up on her head in a bun, was streaked with silver, but I could tell it had been Gypsy black when she was younger. She was still a beautiful woman at her advanced age. “Dear Katerina Alexandrovich,” she said. “It is quite impossible to raise the undead without consciously working at it. Do not worry your head about such things. Tell me, where did you see this revenant?”

  “In the woods near Smolny, at the park at Tauride.” I sat back down on the settee, gratefully accepting a cup of tea from my hostess. “Thank you.”

  “Did he see you? Did he try to say anything to you?” The princess took her tea and sat opposite me in a large overstuffed chintz chair, watching me closely.

  “Yes, he called me mistress and said I had called him. He never tried to hurt me, and I wasn’t afraid of him.” I sipped my tea mournfully. “I just felt so sorry for him.”

  “That is impossible,” the princess said softly. “It simply cannot be.” She grabbed my hand, staring at the obsidian ring. I knew I would not take it off again.

  There was a strange look in the princess’s eyes. Fright, I thought. But no, it was simply astonishment.

  “I am so sorry, Your Highness. Please help me understand. I do not want this to happen again.”

  “No, of course you wouldn’t, my child.” She set her teacup down on her table and rang the bell for her servant. “Come, Katerina Alexandrovna. We must go and see the grand duchess Maria Pavlovna, immediately.” She asked her servant to send for her carriage.

  I felt all the blood drain from my face. A cold, clammy sensation clenched my belly. “Miechen? You wish to tell Miechen about my curse?”

  Princess Cantacuzene smiled, hustling me out the door and into her carriage. “We’re going to tell her about your gift and your revenant. My dear, we are going to tell her everything.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  I fretted all through the ride across town to the Vladimir Palace. It was an enormous residence, not far from our own home on Millionaya Street. We walked through ornately arched hallways, up the marble stairs, past several silent and impeccably dressed servants. The grand duchess received us in her parlor, opulently decorated in shades of deepest red. She did not look happy to see Princess Cantacuzene. Or me. Her smile was cold, but polite. “Princess Cantacuzene, Katerina Alexandrovna, it is always a pleasure.”

  We all sat down as the servants provided tea from the samovar.

  Princess Cantacuzene stirred the spoon in her cup slowly. “Katerina Alexandrovna has been telling me the most interesting stories,” she said. “My dear, won’t you tell the grand duchess?”

  I did
n’t know where to begin. I felt small, like a little child. I wanted to go home. Or back to Smolny. Instead, I took a deep breath and told Grand Duchess Miechen everything.

  Princess Cantacuzene sat with a fiendish gleam in her eye as she watched Miechen’s face. The grand duchess looked as astonished as the princess had. She also looked furious.

  When I finished telling her about Count Chermenensky, I was in tears. Again. Miechen stood up and stared out the window across the frozen Neva River. The spires of the Pyotr and Pavel Fortress could be seen in the distance. “Ruxandra Mikhailovna, you should not have brought her here,” Miechen said as she turned to face us.

  I didn’t think I’d ever heard Princess Cantacuzene’s first name before. I wasn’t even sure if Maman knew it. Why did she and Miechen suddenly seem to hate each other so much?

  “We want nothing more to do with your kind,” Miechen went on. “The family cannot be involved with this.”

  Princess Cantacuzene laughed. “Grand Duchess, your family is already involved. Perhaps I should have taken the poor girl to the empress instead?”

  Miechen’s lips pursed into a thin line. She appeared cold and calculating. “And what is the extent of my family’s involvement, Your Highness?”

  “The Dekebristi are returning,” the princess said. She was calmly stirring her tea. It looked as if she was enjoying herself, while I sat wondering what the grand duchess meant when she’d said “your kind.”