Blood Heir

33

In ten years, nothing and everything about her city had changed.

Walking through the moonlit and snow-dusted streets, hidden under her thick hood, Ana almost felt as though she were in a strange dream. The memories she had of Salskoff were all from her childhood, before she had been confined to the Palace. The dachas that she’d so fondly nicknamed “gingerbread houses” as a child were still there, smoke piping cheerfully from chimneys; the marketplaces that she and Luka had frequented (under Kapitan Markov’s sharp-eyed stare) sat festooned in decorative silver sashes; tall arches with marble statues of the Deities and the Cyrilian white tiger stood proud and regal over town squares and main streets.

At this time of year, the town was alight with festivities. Silver banners of the Cyrilian white tiger hung from every door, paper snowflakes fluttered between lampposts, and candles flickered softly on each doorstep as Salskoff welcomed their patron Deity of Winter. Most of the town had likely congregated at local pubs by the Tiger’s Tail river where they could see the Palace, awaiting news of the abdication and Coronation.

Ana and Linn had changed into modest, fur-lined woolen gowns to blend in at the Coronation, Ana’s a dark shade of green and Linn’s navy blue. Under the moonlight, the Kemeiran carved a slender figure, but Ana knew beneath the furs and layers of her skirts were daggers, strapped to her ankles, arms, and waist.

They selected an empty side street that led straight to the main riverside promenade. Even from afar, Ana could tell the promenade was clogged with traffic. The lights of lampposts lanced off gilded carriages and caught on the snow-white coats of valkryfs every so often.

Ana and Linn needed somewhere quiet and dark, away from prying eyes.

Ana was glad for the cloak of night as she and Linn huddled against a corner, beneath the awning of a closed store. With a flick of her wrists, Linn summoned winds that extinguished the nearby lamps, plunging the area into darkness.

They waited. Minutes passed. And then, from far off, drawing closer, was the unmistakable sound of hoofbeats and carriage wheels.

Before Ana could even blink, Linn was gone, stealing toward the carriage like a shadow. She flitted to the back and, with acrobatic precision, slipped through the door.

Silence. Ana’s heart pounded out the moments. Her palms sweated. The carriage trundled on, the driver oblivious to what was happening inside.

And then the door swung open soundlessly. Linn’s head popped out. She held up a hand and cut a sharp signal through the night with a finger. One.

There was only one passenger inside the carriage. They needed a second invitation.

Ana motioned at Linn. You go. I’ll find another.

She could make out, in the near-total darkness, the way Linn’s silhouette tensed with consternation. Ana shook her head again and waved her hand. Go.

A slight pause, and then Linn vanished inside. The door shut without so much as a tap.

The whole affair had taken less than a minute.

Ana melted back into the shadows, watching the carriage bearing Linn roll toward the riverside promenade that led to the Palace.

It wasn’t long before another carriage appeared.

Following Linn’s strategy, she ducked behind the carriage as it rolled past and hopped onto the back. Linn had made it look effortless, but a jolt of the carriage nearly sent Ana flying, and her hands scrabbled for purchase.

Holding steady, Ana caught a breath and stretched her Affinity, searching the inside of the carriage. One body, blood warm and pulsing.

Ana opened the carriage door and swung herself inside. She had wrapped her Affinity around the woman’s neck even before she closed the door behind her. The unfortunate noblewoman twisted in her seat, choking, her face rapidly turning red.

Ana covered the woman’s mouth with her hand to stop her from making noise. She pulled at the woman’s blood until her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped against her seat. The carriage continued forward; from the outside, it would look as though nothing were amiss.

Laying the noblewoman on the carriage floor, Ana searched through the silky folds of her gown until she found what she was looking for: the invitation letter, folded in a gold-foiled envelope and scented like roses.

Though she knew the woman wasn’t dead, Ana still felt a bit guilty, looking at the unconscious figure at her feet. She parted the velvet drapes and gazed out the window.

Her heart flipped. They had turned onto the riverside promenade, and across the river, the Salskoff Palace drew into sight.

Her home was still the most beautiful thing she had ever laid eyes on. The Palace walls rose impossibly high before them, the cream-white color of bricks glittering with snow and ice. Beyond the crenellated walls, the cupolas and spires of the Salskoff Palace punctured the sky, the moonlight rendering them ghostly. Specks of light flickered among the haze of gray and white, breathing life into the palace of snow and stone.

She was home.

The Kateryanna Bridge was decked with banners and silver decoration. Torches blazed on either side as statues of the Deities looked down upon them, faces aglow. Ana sent a silent vow to her parents, tracing a Deys’krug on her chest. Tonight her mother gave her courage; her father gave her the strength to correct the wrongs he hadn’t.

At the end of the bridge, just outside the great gilded gates to the Palace grounds, stood a line of blue-cloaked Palace guards. Ana’s stomach twisted and she shrank back slightly. But as her eyes roamed farther down the line of carriages, she saw something that nearly made her heart stop.

To the side of the bridge barely a dozen paces away, watching the procession of carriages like hawks, were Sadov and the yaeger from the Kyrov Vyntr’makt.

As though sensing her gaze on him, the yaeger’s head snapped to her. He’d found her.

The yaeger murmured something to Sadov and began to make his way to her carriage. As the familiar pressure descended on her mind and her awareness of blood winked out like a candle, Ana knew it was too late.

She flung open the door and stumbled onto the cobblestones. Shouts filled the air all around her; boots clacked over the bridge, and she heard swords being drawn. And then hands seized her roughly from behind, hauling her back and slamming her against the bridge’s railing.

Instinctively, she grasped for her Affinity to fling off the guards holding her—and hit the yaeger’s impenetrable wall.

Ana lifted her head. And met Sadov’s eyes.

“Ah,” he said softly. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Ana tugged on her Affinity again, but the wall remained. Next to Sadov, the yaeger’s eyes narrowed.

She had walked right into their trap.

Linn. Ana darted a glance at the line of carriages proceeding steadily down the bridge, disappearing into the gates of the Palace. Either Linn’s carriage had gotten through, or it still stood waiting to reach the bridge—buying her plenty of time to run.

At least Linn would be safe.

“Let me go,” Ana snarled at the guards, twisting against their hold. “I am the Crown Princess. I demand to see my brother.”

Around her, several guards’ eyes widened, but Sadov stepped in front of her. “I knew you’d be back,” he gasped, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You’ve returned to finish what you’d intended from the start: to murder your brother just as you murdered your father.”

“No!” Ana yelled, lunging at him. The pressure in her mind increased, and she sagged to the ground.

Sadov’s eyes were cold. “My yaeger has identified you as a dangerous Affinite. You must be subdued.”

From the folds of his cloak, he retrieved a familiar vial and raised it to her, like a toast. The Deys’voshk winked in the blazing torchlight.

The guards held Ana firm against the railing of the bridge. Beneath, the Tiger’s Tail frothed and churned.

There was no way out—not unless she could get far enough from the yaeger to regain the use of her Affinity. Ana took in the guards surrounding them in all directions. She gave another useless tug at her captors. This time, though, Sadov closed the gap between them and took her chin in his hand. His nails dug into her cheeks, and Ana knew what was to come even before his black eyes latched on to hers.

The first wave of Sadov’s fear manipulation hit her, scattering all logical thought. Ana’s knees gave way. Her body was paralyzed; she slumped against her restraining guards, gasping for breath, the wet cobblestones of the bridge spinning before her.

“Let her be,” she dimly heard Sadov say to the guards, who released her and took a step back. Ana slumped on the ground, shaking so hard that tears dripped from her eyes. “I can control her.”

Between the ebb and flow of fear, she clung tightly to one thought; a feeling, an instinctive calling from a memory ten years past.

There was only one way out.

As another spasm of fear shot through her, Ana doubled over and gagged.

“Come here, my little monster,” Sadov crooned. “Be good, and obey me. Take the Deys’voshk, and we shall bring you to the future Empress. She wants to be your ally, not your enemy.”

Despite the trembling in her muscles, Ana grasped the railing of the bridge and heaved herself to her feet. The railing dug into her lower back as she leaned against it, her hair clinging to her sweat-slicked face. Sadov’s Affinity pressed into her, and she remembered her nightmares of tumbling over the bridge and into the Tiger’s Tail. Images of the vicious white whorls flooded her mind, and she closed her eyes against the feeling of being tossed around in that violent storm.

I am afraid.

And it was Linn’s voice that came to her then, like a blade cutting through the mist of her fear. That is when we can choose to be brave.

Ana was sobbing so hard that she thought she would break. Her hands tightened around the railing.

With the lightest tip of her weight backward, she flipped herself over the Kateryanna Bridge and plunged into the yawning depths of the icy Tiger’s Tail.