Page 28 of Tiger's Tale
Stacia spoke first. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Is this some sort of joke, Nik?” Veru asked. “Because I don’t find it funny.”
Almost in perfect synchrony, the soldiers stepped off the dais, their armor clinking in harmony, and they drew their swords.
Stacia held up a hand. “Captain Kostya, hold. Don’t throw them out just yet. I want to hear what they have to say for themselves.”
Thankfully for Nik, the Death Draughtsman stepped forward to speak first. As for him, he was speechless. He knew Veru, and she was livid. He’d betrayed her, and he wouldn’t be forgiven—he could read it on her face. There would be no accepting of his proposal today. The blood in his veins turned to ice. Frantically, he searched his mind for a way out, a way to save himself from the terrible mistake he’d made. If he was very, very lucky, she wouldn’t have him sent to the northernmost border to freeze to death.
“I understand your confusion,” the Death Draughtsman began. “My son has lived with you for many years in disguise, and this must seem like a terrible deception on his part. But I ask you please to bear him no malice. We were in hiding, you see. Something, as royals, I’m sure you can understand, even though you are still young girls in your tender years.”
Nik would have groaned and slapped his face if he could. Did he not hear how he was talking down to the tsarevnas? Just because they were female, and young, did not mean they were ignorant or needed a man to explain the way of things. The best thing for Nik to do would be to prostrate himself before them. He was about to do just that when he noticed how the four soldiers had lowered their swords and stood erect, staring into nothing, their eyes glazed over.
He started sweating again, wondering if the man was going to hurt the twins. Quickly he turned his attention to them, trying to warn them with a glance, but they weren’t paying him any mind. Were they also falling victim to the same spell? Nik inhaled, smelling magic at work. What could he do? His magic was nothing compared to this man’s.Would he kill them while they sat there on their thrones?Perhaps he would just mesmerize them like he was doing with the soldiers.
Nik wondered how long such a thing worked. Was it permanent? Maybe it only lasted as long as he was in the same room. He narrowed his eyes then, no longer sweating but curious, trying to figure out how the man was using his power. Trying to discern its limitations. Would he use his magic to force them to obey? To marry them? Nik was sick at the very thought. He wanted Veru, yes. But not that way.
As he watched the sisters, half-listening to the dialogue of the Death Draughtsman as he went on fabricating his falsehoods about their past and heard their questions coupled with his answers, he studied them for any signs of falling under his thrall and found none. The soldiers, on the other hand, not only appeared to be completely senseless but entirely unaware of their surroundings. What’s more, his new “father” didn’t seem to be paying the soldiers any further attention whatsoever, instead focusing all his efforts on the twins.
The more the man talked, the more frustrated he appeared to become. Nik tuned back in to their conversation and heard Veru say, “So you’re proposing we marry the two of you? And the benefit to us would bewhat, exactly?”
Stacia snorted. “Why are you even asking? Thereisno benefit to us. We don’t need your money, such as it is. You think we are donkeys to lead us out onto the ice? Nyet.”
“Perhaps the young lady is forgetting my considerable powers and the favors granted that allowed a final farewell to occur between her and her mama? Also, keep in mind an alliance with us will be favorable in other ways. Remember: neither of us possess a desire to rule. We are both in agreement that the two of you are as perspicacious as you are lovely and are therefore much more apt to leadership. Should you choose us for mates, we are prepared to sign over all rights and responsibilities to the empire as well as all decision-making to the two of you.”
Stacia sat back in her chair and crossed a long leg. Apparently, that statement had caught her attention. But Nik could see the naked doubt on her face. He didn’t blame her. After removing an invisible speck from her skirt, she said, “Is that so?”
“Absolutely,” the man mumbled distractedly.
Magic swirled in the room so thickly that Nik could almost taste it. The soldiers swayed in danger of falling over. Nik took a step toward the man and saw his eyes had gone black and beads of sweat dotted his brow.
“Are... are you quite well?” Nik asked him.
The man turned to Nik, tearing his eyes from the sisters. “I don’t understand,” he said. “There’s something about this family. They resist my powers.”
Nik nodded and took a few steps back, watching the man closely as he clutched at a token hanging about his neck and sputtering, continued. “In... in addition, should the coffers ever need filling to fund various wars, pay wages, feed the hungry or the winter-stricken, or whatever pet project the two of you decide to take under your wing”—Nik saw both the twins tense up at his words again—“you need never worry over funding. I will set no limit to the bounds of your cupidity. As your husbands, it will be within our power to grant you any amount of coin for any purchases you choose to make. The fact is, you need husbands to stabilize the empire, and we are offering you an option you might be able to live with. All we ask is that you consider us.”
Veru leaned forward then and simpered, blinking her long lashes. She sighed dreamily. “Could I wear a golden train? I’ve always wanted to have a golden train on my wedding dress.”
Nik knew they were in serious trouble if she was putting on a show.
“Absolutely, my dear. Anything you like. All I ask in return...” He glanced over at Nik, who had been continuously edging away from the man little by little. “Allweask in return,” he continued, “is that you help us attempt to locate these three charms.”
He held up a copy of the drawing he’d made for Nik. It was very detailed. Nik still had his own copy that he kept with his magical items in his hidden stash in the woods.
“Charms?” Stacia asked, her interest revived. “May we see your drawing?”
“Of course,” the man replied with a winning smile.
He approached the thrones, and that’s when the sisters finally noticed that their Royal Guard were frozen in place. But soldiers themselves, they simply gave one another a slight nod. Inside the thrones were hidden compartments. They pressed a button to ring a secret bell for other Guardsmen, and, at the same time, knives dropped from beneath the arms of the chairs and were quickly hidden behind their voluminous skirts or slipped into their boots.
Stacia took the paper from the man, who bowed and stepped back down from the dais, staring hopefully into the faces of the tsarevnas for any sign of recognition. Gazing long and hard at each charm, Stacia took in each one, nodded to the man, and then passed it along to Veru, who added comments such as, “Aren’t they so pretty?” and “Are they made of gold or silver?”
Though the twins were very good actresses and adept at hiding information from those they did not wish to share it with, the knowledge of the charms wasn’t something they could keep secret, at least not for long. Nik knew both of them far too well. It would only be a matter of time before he found out what they were hiding. The question then would be: Where did his loyalty lie?
Attempting to dismiss the man, Stacia said, “You have given us much to think about. May we keep a copy of this, consult with one another, and give you our answer within the week? You may, of course, remain here if you wish. Arrangements can be made for the two of you to stay in our guesthouse.”
The Death Draughtsman smiled, bowed, and replied, “That would be very acceptable. Isn’t that right, son?” He walked up to Nik and clapped him on the shoulder. The twins rose and turned, parting the curtain to leave. It was Veru who touched the charm hidden on a chain under the neckline of her dress. When she did, the shadow man felt the magic of the amulet like a wave.
