Page 79 of The Crown's Fate
Vika tried to charm the door to unlock. But her bracelet singed her immediately, and she cried out and crumpled on the front steps.
She clutched her wrist and pressed it onto the ice on the step in an attempt to cool it faster. The pain would subside soon, for it was only a brief burn like touching a hot pan, but she sucked air through her teeth while the hurt faded.
Damn you, Yuliana. And Pasha, too.Vika was chained to the tsardom, but they’d forbidden her from using the very magic that provided the basis for why she was chained in the first place. Like this, Vika wasn’t a dragon on a leash; they’d rendered her a mere lizard.
And yet, she knew she had been the one who’d taken the vow to the crown. She had been the one who wanted to be Imperial Enchanter. Under no circumstances would shehave given up her ability to use magic, even knowing that the power came at a steep price.
Vika would just have to create her own destiny with what she had. She knocked on the door again.
It opened and the footman reappeared. “You’re still here.”
“Yes, and I’m not going away until I can see His Imperial Highness.”
The footman frowned but said, “At least I don’t have to chase you down to deliver this. His Imperial Highness, in all his magnanimity, has a message for you.” He clearly disapproved of Nikolai’s supposed “magnanimity,” though, for the footman hurled a note card at Vika. It ricocheted off her coat and into the snow. Then he slammed the door again.
Unbelievable.
Still, Vika fumbled for the note in the snow.
I cannot be seen associating with you. I am sure you understand why.
But it doesn’t mean we cannot meet where circumstances are not quite so real.
Close your eyes. Feel the magic.
And find me there.
—N
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Vika tried to shut off her brain andfeelthe magic, as Nikolai had instructed. She used to do that more often when she was younger, but ever since the Game began, she’d found herself thinking more and feeling less.
She closed her eyes. She didn’t need to enchant anything to sense the presence of magic that already existed. Even normal people, if they were aware enough, would be able to identify what was ordinary and what was extraordinary. They just hadn’t had the practice to know the difference.
The invisible string that connected Vika to Nikolai twitched. She let her feet follow, and she tripped a little down the steps, along the canal, through the streets toward the bay.
Toward Letniy Isle.
Of course. Nikolai’s benches were there, and where else were circumstances less real than there, where dreams constituted a reality in which a shadow boy had lived?
Despite everything that had happened, Letniy Isle wasthe place that still tethered them together.
Or it could be a trap.
Vika stood on the banks of the Neva a moment more. It would be wiser not to go.
But sometimes, destiny pulls so taut, one follows no matter what the consequences might be. Besides, caution was not part of Vika’s vocabulary.
Well, perhaps a tiny bit of caution would be smart, given that she didn’t have use of magic right now. She rang the bell again.
The footman opened the door and didn’t even bother to speak this time. He simply arched a brow.
“Could I borrow a quill and ink?” Vika asked.
“If you have a response for His Imperial Highness, I can simply relay it to him.”
“No, I’d rather write it down.”
