The Unfailing Light

I was not expelled, much to my disappointment. I had hoped that I would create a horrible scandal and my parents would pack me off to medical school in Zurich in disgrace. But Madame Tomilov accepted my brother's apologies, and even excused me from classes for the day. "You will need to rest after such a stressful night, Katerina Alexandrovna. Sister Anna will look in on you later."

Elena, however, was in far more trouble than I. She had frightened the new kitchen girl when she tried to sneak back inside, and the poor girl had screamed, waking the entire school. Madame Tomilov sent a letter to the king and queen of Montenegro requesting that Elena return home immediately, as she had disgraced herself and the Smolny Institute for Young Noble Maidens. Grand Duchess Militza, who was already aware of her brother's imprisonment at the Fortress, had arrived early that morning to pick up Elena and her belongings.

Elena was tearful as she watched her sister's maid pack her trunk. "Katerina, I have behaved so badly to you. And to Alix and Aurora. I never believed Danilo could be so cruel. Please forgive me."

"Of course," I said, relieved that she was indeed innocent of her brother's plot, and too surprised to say anything else.

She sniffled. "It's not because of what I did, but because of Danilo. He has disgraced our entire family. I would already be on a train home if it weren't for Militza."

I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. She embraced Alix and Aurora and begged them not to forget her. Aurora promised to write and entreated Elena to do the same.

Elena asked me to tell the Bavarian princesses goodbye for her. "I cannot bear to face anyone else right now."

"Of course," I said, giving her a hug before she and her sister left.

Alix had been much luckier when she sneaked back inside the school that night, and had even managed to get a few hours of sleep. "How nice it must be to spend the entire day in bed," she grumbled, fixing her pinafore for breakfast as I finally crawled into my cot. She grinned shyly at me from the mirror, though, before she and Aurora left. "Tonight, I will tell you all about my ride home with Nicholas Alexandrovich."

I smiled back at her as I snuggled under my quilt. Perhaps, I thought, if the empress could approve of a werewolf as a daughter-in-law, she might approve of a necromancer as well.

I awoke that afternoon still feeling bruised and sore but decided I needed some fresh air. I took a walk in the Smolny gardens with the Bavarian princesses after tea. Augusta and Erzsebet were distressed to hear of Elena's departure. "But what about the Spring Ball?" Erzsebet wailed. "Elena wanted to go so badly with her sister!"

I did not think Grand Duchess Militza would be attending any balls for the next few weeks. I would not have been surprised if she accompanied her sister home to Montenegro until the scandal died down.

Augusta picked a lonely snowdrop that had bloomed earlier than all the others. "Still, Elena frightened me sometimes," she said. "Even more than the ghost in the library."

"How could you say such a thing?" Erzsebet fussed. "Elena never hurt anyone."

Not that anyone would remember. I grabbed Augusta's hand and squeezed it. She smiled back.

"Look! An imperial carriage!" Erzsebet squealed. A handsome black carriage pulled into the circular drive in front of the Smolny gates. "Do you think it's the empress? And her daughters?"

A footman approached us with a curt bow. "Duchess Katerina Alexandrovna, Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Miechen invites you to take a ride with her through the gardens."

The Bavarian princesses gasped. "Katerina! What have you done to catch the grand duchess's attention?"

"I do not know," I said, even though I knew it could not be good. "Will you tell Madame Orbellani?"

"Of course!" Augusta said excitedly. "Imagine! All the handsome young men on the street will see you riding with the grand duchess!"

"Don't be silly. No one can see inside the carriage unless they press their face to the windows," Erzsebet said. She tugged on her sister's arm. "Come along, let's go and find Madame."

I followed the footman back to the grand duchess's carriage, and he assisted me as I entered the vehicle. Grand Duchess Miechen sat like a queen, dressed in a deep-navy-blue walking dress, her gloved hands folded serenely in her lap. She nodded to me but did not smile as I sat across from her.

"Katerina Alexandrovna."

"Your Imperial Highness. Is the grand duke in better health?"

She said nothing for a moment but merely stared at me. I tried very hard not to fidget. "Yes. My husband is feeling much better, thanks to you and Dr. Badmaev. I owe his life to you, Duchess. I suppose you will consider this your debt to me repaid."

"If it pleases Your Imperial Highness."

She did not deign to answer. The grand duchess actually looked quite displeased, her lips twisted in a thin frown. "The grand duke was extremely foolish to attempt the werewolf spell, even if he did believe he was protecting the tsar. I hope the young princess of Hesse will not look unfavorably upon the Dark Court because of his ill judgment."

"I'm sure that is not the case, Your Imperial Highness," I hurried to assure her. The grand duchess Miechen had never seemed more lethal to me than she did now, when she seemed most in danger of losing her tenuous hold on the Dark Court. I knew Miechen's weaknesses, and I was a liability to her. "Princess Alix would not say or do anything that would upset the balance between the Light and Dark Courts."

The grand duchess's eyebrow rose sharply. "Wouldn't she? Does she not hunt the darkness one night a month?"

"The evil men she pursues are not under your protection, Your Imperial Highness. No one except Monsieur Sucre. He never belonged to the Light Court, did he?"

Instead of answering my question directly, she countered, "And neither do you, Katerina Alexandrovna. You must remember that, no matter whom you love."

It was the cold, hard truth. Regardless of the fact that I tried to use my dark powers only to help people, the empress would never look upon me as a daughter-in-law. She would always see me as a tainted, Dark Court creature. And she and the tsar would never allow me to even dream of a future with George Alexandrovich. I looked away through the window, at the gray and barren gardens passing by. "I shall never forget, Your Imperial Highness. May I return to my friends, please?"

The grand duchess smiled at me, her tiny fangs showing. "There is hope for you yet, my dear. Your young man is in line for the position of Koldun one day, once my Vladimir is gone. A Koldun is almost as powerful as the tsar. It is much easier for a Light Court member to fall into the shadow of the Dark Court."

Was that what had happened to her husband? I felt nauseous at the thought. "I would never let that happen to George Alexandrovich."

The grand duchess's smile was malicious. "It's too late, Katerina. His descent has already begun."

"Mon Dieu, no!" I could not listen to her anymore. The carriage had just pulled into the circular drive, but had not come to a complete stop. I opened the carriage door anyway, not bothering to wait for a footman, and flung myself out.

"Duchess!" the dark faerie called to me. "You'll break your neck doing such foolish things. Remember, our accounts are now balanced. But I am sure we will see each other again soon."

I did not look back, but instead ran until I reached the front door of the institute. I kept running up the stairs. I was out of breath and almost collided into Madame Orbellani.

"Katerina Alexandrovna! We have been looking all over for you! Madame Tomilov has a visitor in her parlor who wishes to speak with you. You must hurry!"

It was the tsar's eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, with her lady-in-waiting. I stopped as I entered the parlor, making a hasty and clumsy curtsy. She smiled, her gloved hands clutching a small purse anxiously. "Katerina Alexandrovich, I am so happy to see you. I come with a message from my mother and father. The imperial family is indebted to you for your recent bravery. I told Mama that I wanted to come and thank you personally, Duchess. I only wish I could be as brave and strong as you."

I blushed. But I also heard what she was not saying, that even though the grand duchess had wanted to come to Smolny, the empress did not wish to see me. I smiled tightly. "You are too kind, Your Imperial Highness. My life is to serve the tsar and the empress."

She took a step forward, and shyly grabbed my hand. "I am not supposed to tell you this, but George is feverish from his injuries. He ... has been asking for you, although my parents forbid him to have any visitors. I thought that perhaps if I could bring him some encouraging message from you, it would allow him to rest more comfortably?"

I turned pale. "Injuries? He did seem unwell...." I felt weak and the grand duchess's lady-in-waiting was kind enough to help me to a chair before I slid to the floor. "He assured me he was fine when I last spoke with him."

The grand duchess frowned. "It seems that the duel between him and Crown Prince Danilo was not the usual sort of duel," she said, glancing at her lady-in-waiting. "Anna, could you please find a glass of water or some tea for the duchess? She still looks unwell."

"Of course, Your Imperial Highness." Anna curtsied and smiled at me before hurrying out of the parlor.

Xenia Alexandrovna sat down in the chair next to mine. "It is some sort of magical wound, Katerina. The court doctors do not know what to do. It's as if the very life is draining slowly out of my brother."

"Mon Dieu," I whispered. "Has Dr. Badmaev seen him?"

"I do not recognize that name."

"He is a Tibetan, and attends the grand duke and grand duchess Vladimir. He has great skill in illnesses that are ... not usual. Your brother knows who he is."

Xenia Alexandrovna nodded. "I will mention his name to my parents, but if he attends the Dark Court ..."

"He tends to all, I believe," I said, knowing her mother would be extremely suspicious of the Tibetan doctor. "Please give your brother my warmest wishes for his health."

"And your affection?" she asked hopefully.

I blushed. "Yes. Please tell him that ... that I hope to see him soon."

Anna returned just then, with a servant carrying a tea tray. The grand duchess stood up. "Thank you, but we must be leaving. Goodbye, Katerina Alexandrovna. I hope we see each other again before too long."

"As do I, Your Imperial Highness." I stood and curtsied to her again.

She smiled warmly, and impulsively embraced me. "I have great hopes for you and Georgi," she whispered. "And for Alix and Nicky as well. Give her my best wishes, won't you?"

"Of course, Your Imperial Highness."

As soon as the grand duchess left with her lady-in-waiting, I sank back into the chair, taking the cup of tea from the kitchen servant gratefully. How had George hid his injuries from me? How could I have been so stupid?

The empress's spell had been recast after Elena's and my escape. There was no way I could reach George, now that I was back at the institute. I did not know what plans the tsar had for me, but I had made my own decision. I would be graduating from Smolny in a few months and there was nothing the imperial family could do to keep me here after that. I had fought off Konstantin in the Graylands, and there was no way the tsar could say I still needed protection. I would ask Dr. Badmaev to forgive my rudeness at Christmas and beg him to accept me as his pupil. My mother would probably not approve, but then again, she did not have to know of it. I would do everything in my power to take care of my grand duke. He needed me now.