Page 99 of The Crown's Fate
His touch lingered for a moment. As if Nikolai was considering whether to stay.
And then he inhaled sharply and pulled his fingers away. “I should go.”
“No, wait.” She glanced down at the leaves.
“You promised.”
“I won’t—”
“If I stay longer, I’ll know whether they’re good or bad based on how you react.” He kissed her on the top of her head, and she threw herself into his arms once more.
“Good-bye,” she murmured into his chest.And do the right thing,she thought.I know you can.
“À la prochaine,” he said as he broke away. He crossed the room in three long strides and took his coat and top hat off their hooks. He didn’t look back as he slipped out the door.
Renata ran to the window. A white rat sat perched outside on the ledge, watching her with unblinking red eyes.
“Shoo,” Renata said, banging on the glass, but the rat did not move.
A minute later, though, Nikolai descended the front steps and onto the icy street below, and Renata forgot about the rat. The morning was still an infant, swaddled in nighttime black. Nikolai disappeared quickly into its dark folds.
Only then did Renata sink onto his bed with the teacup cradled in her hands.
She stared. And stared some more. She imagined theleaves moving, willed them to.
They wouldn’t budge. Fate was not so easily manipulated.
Renata whimpered, both frustrated and disappointed, as she fell back all the way onto Nikolai’s bed, the cup—with its stubborn leaves—still in her hands.
“À la prochaine,” he had said.Until next time.
But it was impossible to tell if she would ever see Nikolai again. For the leaves were a tangled pile of pitch black in the inner circle of the cup, and the saffron thread hung separate, away from the rest.
What did it mean? Had Vika’s leaves not mattered? Or did they somehow make sense together?
The only thing Renata knew for sure about today was this: there would be death, lots of it, and it was going to be a tragic mess.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
The sun had barely risen when Vika stood outside the Winter Palace, its grand green walls and white columns muted, washed out in the early light. Soon, the troops would be asked to pledge their allegiance to Pasha. Soon, many of them would refuse.
Vika adjusted her gloves.
At that moment, Poslannik skittered across the icy cobblestones, up the side of Vika’s gown, and onto her shoulder. He panted, having run across half of Saint Petersburg to reach her.
Her tiny messenger reported everything he’d seen at Nikolai’s house, ending with Renata falling backward onto the bed in despair.
No ... She must’ve failed in changing Nikolai’s leaves.Vika squeezed her eyes shut.
“I wish there were a way I could save both Pasha and Nikolai,” she said to Poslannik. “I would give anything for that to be true.”
Poslannik nuzzled against the woolly scarf around her neck.
Be careful what you wish for,Vika had once warned Pasha.
But she didn’t heed her own advice.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
