SWNOVELS The Poisoned Princess: Chapter 25
DIMITRI
Something is up. As the men finish up their food, I can see Igor eyeing me. Once he’s done eating, I finish the rest of my stew quickly and follow him out the front door. He walks over to the firepit, taking a seat on a log near it. For a second, I stay near the doorway, because I have a sudden feeling that I’m not going to like whatever he has to say to me.
He waits me out. Finally, I take a deep breath and walk over to the seat beside him.
“Kostya and I have been talking,” he begins. I know immediately where this is going.
“No.” I say, making Igor chuckle. Except there’s no humor in that sound.
“You know that’s not how this works.”
I do, but I don’t have to like it.
“This was the plan from the beginning. If we’re at a point where our mission can be discovered, you have to go back.”
“I can’t just leave all of you—”
“No, you just don’t want to leave Ivanka. But in order for her to be safe, you know what you have to do.”
Of course I do. It’s why I’m dreading it so much. But what Igor is saying is that I need to travel back to our kingdom, to set more of our plan into motion. I always expected I’d have to go back, but I hoped we would be able to breach the castle and take the queen off the throne without resorting to any kind of political scandal. But we don’t have enough support on our side; she still holds too many nobles under her thumb. And Ivanka—well, the original plan was to kidnap her if we found out she was someone the queen cherished. But now, I have no idea how Ivanka plays into all of this, except that I want to keep her as far away from the queen as possible.
“It’s a three-day journey one way,” I say.
Igor nods. “You and Arseniy will leave in the morning.”
That surprises me. I expect him to send Kostya with me. He grunts a little at my look, feeding another log to the fire before he speaks again.
“I thought you’d feel safer if Kostya stayed here to watch over Ivanka.”
Such a simple statement, but clearly Igor knows me better than I know myself, because I realize I do feel better having Kostya near her.
“It’s time, Dimitri. You know it is.”
And I do. Everything we’ve worked toward is about to come to fruition. I want to finish strong, to make this kingdom and my home a better place to live. But I hate the fact that I have to leave Ivanka to do it.
By the time I head back inside, everyone is ready for bed. I wash up and then climb the ladder to the loft. One candle is burning on the table, and Ivanka is sitting in the middle of her bed, Kroshka cuddled in her lap. They both look over at me as I come upstairs, and Ivanka gives me a small smile, while Kroshka is wearing her typical judgmental glare. Here I thought the bunny and I were starting to see more eye to eye.
“Everything okay?” Ivanka asks. I nod, trying to keep my eyes off the bunny. It feels like Kroshka can see through my lie. Kroshka’s eyes follow my every move, as I take a seat on my own bed, facing Ivanka. She watches me steadily like she also has things to say to me, but she’s waiting on me to speak first. It’s better I tell her now, rather than wait till morning. But I don’t want to.
“Arseniy and I will be leaving early in the morning. We’ll be gone for much longer this time. We have some business to take care of in a nearby kingdom.”
“You’ll be traveling as far as another kingdom? Are you well enough for that?” She glances at my collarbone and then back up to my face.
“I’m fine, Zvyozdachka. You don’t need to worry.”
She sighs, but doesn’t speak up right away. We’re playing this game again, but it feels like the rules have changed.
“Why do you call me that?” she asks, her voice barely a whisper. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees as I peer at her. She doesn’t meet my eyes at first, but when I don’t say anything, she finally huffs and looks up, making a little face at me. I chuckle and reach over to grab her hand, running my thumb over her knuckles.
“Because you are a pretty and shiny sparkle in a very dark sky.” I lift her hand to my lips, placing a soft kiss against the back of her hand. She sighs in contentment.
“Do you really have to go?” she asks, her attention on where my fingers are wrapped around her own.
“Da. It’s important that I go.”
She nods and after a moment, she tugs her hands back.
“Then I think we should get some rest, so you can be at your best in the morning.” She moves Kroshka carefully off her lap, before lying down and tugging her covers over her. The bunny rearranges herself to curl up against Ivanka’s side while still watching me. Whatever understanding Kroshka and I might’ve had is gone, because I can feel the bunny judging me silently. I don’t think it’s my imagination when I say Kroshka just narrowed her eyes at me, before giving me a quick up and down glance. There’s a chance that I might be slightly scared of this creature.
Hastily, I pull my shirt over my head and climb into bed as well. After blowing out the candle, I settle against the pillows, staring into darkness. At first, I think Ivanka has gone to sleep, but then her voice reaches out to me.
“Promise you’ll be careful,” she whispers. I didn’t think I had anything left in my heart that I haven’t given this girl already, but I swear a chunk of it cracks at her soft words. There’s only one thing I can do.
“I promise.”
IVANKA
This time when the dream comes, I know it’s happening. I’m in the exact same place as before, just a few meters away from my father’s old room. Instead of trying to get in, I head directly for the queen’s rooms.
She’s in there like she was before, and I wait for her to turn so I can see her face. She’s wearing a skintight, floor-length gown that flairs out at the very bottom, leaving her shoulders and much of her back exposed. This appears to be a different version of the queen, but when she speaks, I hear the familiar tilt to her voice. This must be a more recent occurrence.
As I watch, she picks up the mirror and turns it so she can look into it, before saying,
“Tell me, pretty looking-glass,
Nothing but the truth, I ask:
Who in all the world is fairest
And has beauty of the rarest?”
The mirror ripples just like last time, and the now-familiar male voice rings out clear across the way.
“You are fair, I can’t deny.
But where Seven Knights go riding
In a green oak grove residing
Humbly lives a person who
Is more beautiful than you.”
My whole body jerks as the words register. No, no, no. She can’t know where I am. But it seems that she does. Whatever magic is in that mirror, it tells her the truth. And the truth is that I’m not dead and I have not left this kingdom. What will happen if she comes and finds me? What’s going to happen to her maiden who had clearly lied to her? What about the men? I am putting them in so much danger by staying near them.
The sound of her rage fills the air as she spins around. I catch a glimpse of her face and know its her, but even though I’ve seen her recently, somehow she now seems even younger.
“I’ll have to do something about that,” the queen spits out, right before I’m yanked out of there.
“Ivanka, wake up,” Dimitri’s voice penetrates my subconsciousness, and then I’m sitting up and reaching for him in the same moment. He doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around me and hold me as I shake. I have no idea when what I saw happened. Is she on her way here now? What will she do when she finds me? So many questions race through my mind as Dimitri runs a comforting hand up and down my back. The shaking subsides, and I finally pull away to meet his gaze in the dark.
“Are you okay?” he asks. I simply nod, because it’s all I can do. But I don’t let go of him just yet. It seems even more important to hold onto him right now, knowing this is probably the last time. Because what his leaving gives me is a perfect way to get out of here with the least amount of trouble. I can head into one of the villages until I figure out a way to get back into the castle. If the kingdom thinks I’m ill, then maybe there’s a way to prove that I’m not, to show my face to as many people as possible, and to keep the queen from simply trying to kill me again. There must be advisors on the council that were loyal to my father. If I talk to them—something I have never been allowed to do since the queen took the throne—then maybe I can find allies among them. It’s not enough, but it’s a beginning.
I just hope I’m not too late—that what I saw was a premonition and not a memory.