Free The Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges Page B

princesses.
    “
Mon Dieu
, Katerina!” Augusta hurried back to me and helped me to stand.
    “I must have tripped over a stone or something,” I said unsteadily. Every inch of my body throbbed. How powerful was the empress’s magic? Could it actually kill me?
    “Did you twist your ankle?” Erzsebet asked with concern.
    “I just … I think I need to go inside and lie down,” I said. I was shaking with both fright and anger. I hated the idea of being trapped. Even if it was for my own protection.
    “If you aren’t feeling well by dinnertime, we’ll be happy to sneak some food to you,” Augusta said. “There will be mushroom soup tonight! And mutton pie!”
    I thanked them, but by the time I reached our room, the effects of the spell were beginning to fade. I was still shaken and had a lingering headache, but I was otherwise unhurt. I really just needed a quiet, empty room in which to collect my thoughts, and I realized that my dormitory room, with Alix and Elena and Aurora all sniping at each other, would not be quiet enough.
    I wandered the halls until I found myself in the library, which was nothing more than a drafty parlor with one small bookcase stacked with books. I’d read the hundred or so books over and over again in the years since I’d begun attending Smolny. It was not a large collection, but then, ladies of the aristocracy were not generally encouraged to read too much. Or to improve their minds. There were plenty of the classics here for Madame Tomilov to ensure we were exposed to fine literature, but that was enough for her.
    I passed over the poems and stories of Alexander Pushkin, which I had read so often I could quote them by heart, and settled down in the chair with the tattered copy of Euripides’s plays to reread
Iphigenia in Tauris
. I wondered if Madame Orbellani could find a copy of the play in its original Greek for me. I was anxious to practice my Greek and Latin once more. Especially after meeting Dr. Bokova. I’d always known the medical courses would be difficult, but I did not want to be remiss in any of my preparations. And since I had a year to wait, I decided I was going to make the most of it.
    And steep in tears the mournful song
,
    Notes, which to the dead belong
;
    Dismal notes, attuned to woe
,
    By Pluto in the realms below
.
    I heard a whisper, or maybe it was just the exhalation of a breath behind me. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I jumped up out of my chair, and looked around the room. No one was there with me. And yet I could feel a presence. The person was very close. Too close. I shut the book and placed it back on the shelf, feeling compelled to leave.
    Was it the empress’s spell? Did she know that I had tested her magical barrier? I felt a horrible sense of guilt, but the presence did not feel like fae. It felt cold, like death. But ever since returning to Smolny, I could no longer see anyone’s cold light.
    The moment I stepped into the hallway, the strange feeling passed. I looked into the empty library again, almost curious enough to reenter the room, but I felt a strong resistance.There was something in that room that did not want me in there.
    In all my years at the Smolny Institute, I had never encountered anything like this before. It was a presence, but did not seem like a person. It was cold, but gave off no cold light that I could see. My heart started to pound in my chest. I wondered if Konstantin had been able to get past the empress’s spell somehow. What could I do?
    As I hurried away down the hall, I felt a little bit foolish. There was no reason for the lich tsar to come looking for me here. And no reason for the empress’s spell not to hold fast. Still, I was spooked, and did not want to be alone anymore. I decided to join the others for dinner.
    I noticed Princess Alix limping slightly as she headed toward the dining hall. “Are you all right?” I asked.
    “It’s nothing,” she said. “I’m fine. I was just taking a walk