I awoke with a throbbing headache and a feeling of dread in my stomach. I was on a train. With Crown Prince Danilo. "What have you done?" I screamed at him, which made my head hurt a thousand times worse. The pain brought tears to my eyes. Or perhaps it was the fact that he'd stolen me away from my fiance. What would George think? That I'd had a change of heart? I squeezed my eyes shut. Perhaps he could hear my thoughts and would be able to come for me.
"You belong to me now, necromancer." Danilo's voice was deadly soft, not like the lich tsar's had been earlier. And yet I still knew it was Konstantin speaking. He'd claimed Danilo's body.
"Danilo, can you still hear me?" I pleaded. "I know you must be in there. Fight him!"
The crown prince slapped me across the face with such force I was knocked back against the wooden panel behind me. I saw stars.
I heard a young female voice laughing and opened my eyes. A girl sat across from me, not far from Danilo, dressed in the black habit of an Orthodox sister. The headdress she wore was simple and covered her hair. The girl's soft, gray eyes glittered dangerously. Was she fae or some more-dreaded creature? I'd have to be wary of her.
"Where are we?" I asked. The bright afternoon sunlight stung my eyes.
"Almost to Trieste," the crown prince said. "The chloroform kept you sleeping for almost two days. I am sure you must be hungry, Duchess. I will have them bring you a tray." He nodded at the girl, who slipped out of our cabin.
"Who is she?" I asked the crown prince.
"She is your chaperone, and that is all you need to know at the moment. When she brings you dinner, you must eat."
I shook my head, and the tiny cabin began to spin. I did not want food. I wanted a bath. And a bed. In my own home in St. Petersburg.
George. I blushed as I realized I should have been a married woman by now. Two days? Had my grand duke tried to look for me? Trieste, Georgi, I thought as hard as I could, hoping he could hear my thoughts from hundreds of miles away. He's taking me to Trieste.
I received another slap to the face as the veiled girl returned. "There is no reason for you to tell the tsar's son where you are, my love. He will not bother to come looking for you now that I have you."
"I don't believe you," I said. But deep in my heart I was frightened by Danilo's words. George would want nothing to do with me if he thought the crown prince had compromised me in any way. And since I'd been unconscious for so long, he would not have been able to hear my thoughts. My hands were bound tightly together; I had no hope of escaping, and no way to defend myself against Danilo.
No, against Konstantin, I corrected myself mentally. Danilo's greatest fear had been that the lich tsar would use their bond and possess his body. I did not know which of them was my greater enemy. The lich tsar inhabiting a powerful Vladiki's body would be unstoppable. All he needed was a necromancer bride and his return to power would be complete.
"Yes, you will become my bride, Katerina. Not the grand duke's." He was able to read my thoughts so easily. My head hurt far too much for me to focus on keeping him out.
"Why are you taking me to Trieste?" I asked. "Why not back to Montenegro?"
"All in good time, my love. I would not want you to give away our secrets to the tsar's men."
I stopped trying to hold on to consciousness as the train rocked gently. I couldn't fight the oblivion any longer.
