Page 103 of The Tsarina's Favorite
The leader of this group readjusted his shoulders and resumed his prior confidence.“You, creature, are not named in the warrant.This is not your concern.”
“I will not leave her,” I told him.
He nodded and then gestured another of the guards over.He whispered instructions into the young man’s ear.The second guard listened, gave a wary glance at me, and then departed the room.
Alaina put her hand on my back while we waited in our silent standoff.Eventually, she replaced her hand with her forehead.And though our wait was not of long duration, a lifetime of terror passed before the clicking of shoes accompanied by boots approached the bedroom.
“I charged you with a standard assignment,” came the well-known voice, shrill and dour as ever.
“My apologies, Your Majesty,” the head guard said before she was even in the room.“But I needed additional instruction on how you wanted us to handle your firebird.”
I had considered separating from Alaina before the tsarina entered, but that would leave Alaina exposed.And behaving as if I had done anything wrong would send the wrong message.As little as I liked Alaina looking weak, especially in front of the tsarina, it served her best to let me bear the brunt of the tsarina’s displeasure.
“My firebird?”But as she asked, she stepped into the room and stopped.Her gaze landed upon us, and the flickering fire revealed the rapid succession of emotions that crossed her face.When she finally regained control, her eyes narrowed.“I wondered why she mentioned you.”
“I put her up to it.”I slid from the bed, pushing blankets out of my way, and took several steps toward the tsarina.
“Why would you do that?”
“I want to leave.”Several more steps brought me to stand directly before her.“I played upon the princess’ own desire for home that I might accompany her.”
“She believed you?”
“It didn’t take much.”I cast Alaina a glance before returning my attention to the tsarina.“A few kind words on occasion, the illusion of friendship....All resulted in the betterment of my condition.”
“You lied to me?”Alaina’s voice trembled behind me.
“I didn’t lie about one thing,” I said, not bothering to turn around to address Alaina.“I didn’t lie about how much I wished to be away from the tsarina.”
“To the point of bedding her?”the tsarina asked.“You’ll fuck anyone.”
“I fuck you, don’t I?”
The tsarina took a step back from me, too stunned to be angry.Yet.The yet brewed in the air like a storm.
“A wedding would be a fitting opening to the winter festivities.”A soulless grin spread across the tsarina’s face.She tilted her head at me.“You like weddings, after all, my dear.I will host it.And I have a beautiful palace all ready for you.”
“Whose wedding?”Alaina asked.
“Yours,” the tsarina said.“I will not harbor a whore in my court.But with you married to the monster you’ve been sleeping with, all is forgiven.”
The tsarina intended to humiliate Alaina by making her stand beside me in public ceremony.And nothing would be forgiven.
“I will have to plan the particulars.There’s always so much to do with weddings, and there’s so little time!You can join the procession through the city.And then a magical wedding night at the ice palace.”
The ice palace.The ice palace that the Royal Academy had warned her against using it due to freezing temperatures.
“We will surely die,” I said.
“Not necessarily.”She thought about it for a moment.“If you fuck all night, you might live.But probably not.”She turned to the head guard.“Post guards outside the windows and outside the doors.We would not want our little love birds to be disturbed now, would we?I have wedding preparations to oversee.”
The guards filed out after the tsarina departed and took their places at the doorway that led out of the apartments, closing the mangled doors behind them.Not even moments after the last guard left the bedroom did voices from other guards float up to the princess’ windows.
We had been issued a shared death sentence.
“She knew you spoke.”
I kept my back to Alaina.I could have lied.Lies came so easily now.But I didn’t want to.All I had ever wanted was authenticity.
