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I had not been sure what Popova might bring, but each of these men’s skills exceeded my expectations. Seemed my sister’s demand and Dimitri’s actions had provided us with a team of mages and thieves.
“There can’t be many in Tal with your expertise.” I did not hide my gratitude as I met their eyes. When I came to Popova, she flashed her gilded teeth.
“I collect the unusual and valuable our rules try to crush,” she said with pride. “For all that Morovara and I don’t see eye to eye, I believe the time has come to show we’re not the helpless commoners theytake us for. You should know what your own city hides, girl, when you talk again to our king.”
“I won’t—”
Pyre shook his head. “No point in arguing. She’s always right. One of the reasons I could not stay married to her. Need a win once in a while. Speaking of, should we be on our way?”
Full dark had settled, Spirits should have fully risen, and the palace party should be in full swing. I nodded. Time to make our appearance.
“Girl,” Popova called after me. “When you see the boy again, tell him I have something of his. If he pays well enough, I might even return it.”
There was no time to question her words or repeat that I was unlikely to have a chance to deliver her message. And even if I could, I was not getting between her and the king of Tal.
Lumi watched as I changed behind a bush into a dress. Then three rebels and two girls, one alive and one dead, strode through abandoned streets dressed for what should have been a night of celebration. If spotted inside the palace, we wanted to be mistaken for guests, not thieves. Again, I wore one of Lana’s finest dresses—which she had handed over without a word, the gold fabric twirling around my legs.
Doors creaked open and curtains lifted as we passed. I let Lumi lead our way and prayed to the Goddess she was the only Spirit to walk these streets tonight.
The people with blades strapped to their sides and metal canes in their hands discreetly nodded in our direction and raised their hands as if asking for my dead sister’s blessing as we passed. Rebels ready for when Ealhswip and the undead approached the palace. Perhaps volunteers like Pyre and Maksim.The ones who had accepted Lumi’s pamphlets and were willing to fight for a better Tal. This was not the battle they’d anticipated, but I knew in my bones that if we lost tonight, there would be no future ones.
Between them, I spotted white-dressed women—Morovara’s people taking their ancient war out of the shadows.
The rebels had only been asked to slow the undead while the priestesses they protected freed the Spirits. And if they saw anyone living on Ealhswip’s side, kill them. That was the plan we made in the predawn dark, but seeing the crowd thicken as we got higher up Palace Road—feeling the rising chords of discontent—I worried the disgruntled masses would turn violent when the first blows landed and the bloodbath that would come. There was little to tell disgruntled commoners apart from those in on Ealhswip’s plot.
There was also nothing else that could be done, so women older and wiser than me had said. This was not a game of King’s Conquest, but the roll of a die.
Walking, I shared the melody of peace and kindness with those around me. Perhaps it would make a difference. It was too late to do anything more than hope.
Lumi dissolved, though her hand remained in mine, allowing us to pretend to be revelers or discontents like any other. All the unknowns spun inside me.
We did not know how many undead had been raised.
Or when they would come.
Or what protections Dimitri had putinto place—if any after mocking my words.
At the end of Palace Road, coaches and lamps lined the street. The palace gates stood open and uniformed guards checked each person who entered.
The festival air filled the night, cheers and music flowing out from the gardens as I recognized the towering shape blocking the road. Hope flared. Koshka had been in the prison, come for my death and resurrection, could Yahontov also have survived?
He would let us inside for surely Dimitri had told him I was still alive. Perhaps he had been in charge of searching the tunnels. Getting inside the palace would be easier than I could have anticipated.
I raised my hand in greeting, already speeding my steps, when my sister’s insubstantial hand turned to ice in mine.
“They’re dead and hers,” she said. “See.”
And as if her words opened my eyes, I noticed the guards’ jerky movements when they patrolled the wall. Yahontov standing unnaturally still in the gate. The broken notes in the music of Tal. My blood turned as cold as my sister’s magic as I realized he had not made it out alive.
Dimitri had complained more than once of city patrols going missing. He had accused the rebels and I had only questioned what Ealhswip needed the Spirits for, neither guessing the bodies might be as important.
No one realized the dead already walked among them. And why would they?In the tunnels, the undead had worn rags, their flesh rotting. Were those early attempts? Or did it not matter what the manual labor looked like? Why had I thought those were the best Ealhswip could do?
I’d seen a sliver of her power and assumed I understood.
Grabbing Maksim with my other hand, I pulled us behind an empty coach, and whispered, “We’re too late. The gates are blocked.”
Pyre bent around the carriage. “They look open to me.”
