Page 11 of My Wild Horse King

“None taken,” Dad says. “They all thought my great-uncle was mad for even reading them, much less believing any part of them.”

“We do need to leave soon, if we’re going to try to make that New York flight,” Aleks says. “Speaking of that, apparently Katerina wants to come with us to the United States.”

“Absolutely not,” Adriana says. “She’s untrustworthy, and frankly, she creeps me out.”

“You’re just saying that because she keeps gazing longingly at your fiancé.” Mirdza’s smirking.

“That’s not the only reason,” Adriana says. “We freed her, and she’s done nothing but spend days and days hiding in her room.” She arches one imperious brow. “It’s not normal, and it’s certainly not the behavior of someone trustworthy.” She glares at me. “I’m not sure why you told her we were evengoingto the States.”

I sigh. “I shouldn’t have said it, I suppose, but she surprised me.”

Adriana leans forward, her eyes crazy, and makes a clawing motion in my direction. “Like a spider,” she whispers. Then she shakes her head. “She can’t come.”

“I think she might have information we need,” Grigoriy says. “She was with Leonid for a long time, and she may understand things we would miss.”

“But she’s right that we can’t trust her,” Mirdza says.

“I agree,” Grigoriy says. “But you don’t have to trust someone to learn from them.”

I hate the idea, but after a few more minutes of talking, we decide to send my dad back to John with the promise that I’ll follow as soon as possible, and the six of us rush to catch our flight.

After buying a ticket for Katerina Yurovsky, the enemy in our midst.

She’s packed and ready to go as we rush to the vehicles, and we’re stuck taking two, since we have eight people who all need to head for the airport. Dad comes in our vehicle, and I’m legitimately worried that Adriana might try to claw Katerina’s luminous eyes out, so I suggest that Katerina ride with us too, leaving the twins to take Grigoriy’s car.

“They’re a strange pair,” Katerina says, watching Alexei and Adriana loading their belongings into the back of the SUV.

“I don’t think so,” I say.

“They are,” Aleks says. “But I think that’s why they work.” He’s smiling.

“What does that mean?” Katerina looks ready to pounce on him from behind, and I regret suggesting she ride with us.

Aleks responds half-heartedly, the majority of his attention on the drive as we head out for the airport. “Alexei’s always been too serious for his own good, and he’s inflexible. His whole world has been black and white, good and bad. Adriana drags him by his collar into the real world.”

“The world should be black and white,” Katerina says. “And Alexei was one of the good ones. He made things better.” Her lip curls. “She makes them worse.”

“She’s my best friend’s sister,” I say. “Watch what you say.”

When I turn back, Katerina’s watching me with a disturbingly blank face. “You think Adriana makes the world better?” The way Katerina says her name. . .like it’s being pulled out of her with great pain. It makes me wonder why she loves Alexei so very much.

It also makes me really think about my answer before giving it. “Adriana takes a very imperfect, very inequitable world, and she forces it to make space for her,” I say. “I think someone like you, someone for whom the world has always been paved in gold bricks, will struggle to understand her or the way Alexei and Adriana fit together.”

I wonder what kind of training allows her to remain so expressionless. “Gold bricks.” She frowns. “You think someone who twists the world for her own gain is a good match for the rightful leader of Russia? He’s our shining golden prince, and he has a responsibility to his people, to keep them safe and make Russia the best place it can be.”

I roll my eyes. “And that’s your problem.” I crane my neck around so I’m staring right at her. “To you, Alexei Romanov is some kind of totem, honor bound to fulfill his great destiny. To Adriana, he’s aman.”

Katerina looks sideways, now staring at Aleksandr instead of Alexei. “She’s a perfect match for you, Aleks.” Her sideways smile creeps me out even more than her impassive expression did. “She’s impartial while still giving no quarter, and remaining loyal. I like her.”

It shouldn’t, but somehow, her assessment of me makes me hate her a little less.

I’m not exactly looking forward to the long flight to New York City, but I’m prepared to try and pry out whatever information I can along the way. If Katerina continues to surprise me, perhaps it won’t be quite as bad as I thought. By the time we reach the airport, I’ve started to come up with the rough elements of a plan. We’ll land in New York, check into a hotel, and while Katerina’s recovering from jet lag, I’ll go to see my brother. That way, she won’t need to find out anything that she doesn’t have to know, like where exactly he lives.

“Once we reach New York,” she says, “do we have far to travel? I know the United States is very large.”

“No, Gustav’s in New York City,” my dad helpfully offers. “In fact, you’ll probably see signs for his company all over.”

Before I can stop him, my dad goes and does it.

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