head from her neck. Blood spurted everywhere. The vampire let go of the doctor’s body and they both slumped to the floor.
“It’s my fault!” I sobbed. “I never should have told him to take a nap. And I never should have left him next to a vampire. I should have known she wasn’t truly dead.”
“Katerina,” the grand duke said, his voice tired. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. “You are not to blame.”
“Your Imperial Highness,” Rudolf said nervously. “We have the results back from the toxicology report on Princess Cantacuzene. It was not hemlock, as we first believed, but frankincense.”
“Where the devil would someone get that?”
I pulled the small brown bottle out of my purse and opened it. “Badmaev,” I said. “The Tibetan doctor.” I held the bottle up for the grand duke to see, the heavy scent of frankincense filling the air. “But I don’t understand. Dr. Badmaev said this counteracts hemlock poisoning from veshtizas. Would it harm a vampire that was not a veshtiza? I thought the princess was another kind of vampire.”
“Obviously, its effects were not permanent on her,” the grand duke said as he took the antidote from me. “Perhaps it is poison to all vampires. Or perhaps she is a different kind of veshtiza. Doctor, can you close off this room until General Tcherevine’s men arrive?”
“Of course, Your Imperial Highness,” Rudolf said.
The grand duke turned back to me. “Duchess, you will be safest if you come with me. We need to discover who poisoned the princess in the first place, and why.”
“It was negligence on my part that caused the doctor’s death. He was looking so tired that I convinced him to lie down for a rest in the morgue. I should have known that Princess Cantacuzene would—”
“Would what? Return from the dead?”
I sighed and stared out the window. “She was a blood drinker. Who would have wanted to poison her?”
“Can you think of anyone powerful enough to match Princess Ruxandra as her rival?”
I shook my head. “The only enemies she ever spoke of were the Montenegrins. She believed Princess Militza wanted to take over the St. Petersburg bloodline.”
“What did the princess do when she awoke?”
I had to think for a moment. Everything had happened so fast. “I was holding her hand, and she opened her eyes and said, ‘They have taken the talisman.’ ”
The grand duke looked puzzled. “Has she ever mentioned a talisman before?”
“Not to me.”
We had approached the clinic and herbal shop of Dr. Pyotr Badmaev. The grand duke looked at the sign on the door, which said all patients were welcome regardless of method of payment.
“Are you ready?” he asked me. “Or do you need a minute?”
I took a deep breath. “I am fine. But thank you for asking.” He was such an agreeable young man when he tried hard.
He smiled, his faerie blue eyes lighting up. “You can be rather agreeable too, Duchess, at times.”
I blushed. I had forgotten about his gift. I thought something very rude about him, and he just laughed out loud. “You should stay here in the carriage. I shall return as soon as the doctor tells me who bought the frankincense.”
I nodded. Then I suddenly remembered. “Your Imperial Highness, she said something else when she awoke.”
“Princess Cantacuzene?”
“Yes, she said to protect the Dekebristi.”
“The Dekebristi?” The grand duke’s face went pale. “Katerina, are you sure?”
I nodded. “I know everyone says the Dekebristi are gone, but what if they aren’t? What if the vampires brought them back?”
He sighed and rubbed his temples. “It means that we know who she was raising the undead army for. Stay here. I will speak with the Tibetan doctor and then we must hurry back to the palace. I must speak with my father immediately.”
His face was grim, but he touched my cheek with the back of his hand, only for a moment, before leaving the carriage. My heart began to palpitate. My legs felt weak and shaky. The grand duke caused the strangest effects on my body.
That was the last thing I thought before the grand duke stepped inside the clinic and everything went black.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
I woke up in someone’s warm, strong arms with my head pounding. The grand duke? I had the tiniest happy feeling inside. Then I looked up and was immediately disappointed. And frightened.
It was the crown prince Danilo. I had not known he was back in St. Petersburg. “What am I going to do with you, Katerina Alexandrovna?” he said, a menacing smile on his face. “I leave you alone briefly and you are off gallivanting in another man’s carriage.”
“What did you do to me?” I tried to sit up and look around but the crown prince held me fast. The only thing I could see was that I was now in a different carriage. Even the horses’ hooves sounded different on the street. Were we still in St. Petersburg? “You must let me go.”
“Must I, my love?” He stroked my hair. He laughed when I flinched. “We are leaving for Cetinje tonight, for my birthday celebration. Your mother has already been notified and has been invited to join us. She believes you are leaving on the train with my sisters. Your father has already given me your passport papers.”
“You cannot do this.” I tried to struggle, but it was no use. The pain in the back of my head throbbed. I wondered if the grand duke could hear my thoughts. Your Imperial Highness? George? I was desperately trying to stay conscious. But the pain in my head was so intense my eyes closed again.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
When I awoke, I was in a private compartment on a train. “The Sleeping Beauty!” Elena snickered from the sleeping berth above me.
My head still pounded. I shut my eyes again, praying this would all go away. “Where are we?” I whispered.
“Two hours from my homeland,” Elena said.
The swaying of the train did nothing to help my head. “I have to go back,” I said.
“There will be no going back, Katerina,” she said softly. “You belong in Cetinje, at Danilo’s side. He needs a powerful bride and you are the most powerful, and richest, necromancer in St. Petersburg.”
I realized my hands were tied. The ropes were cutting into my wrists. I’d never felt less powerful in my life. I began to panic. “Please, Elena. I have no wish to marry your brother.”
Elena laughed.
I was growing more frightened by the minute, but I decided on another approach. “Who poisoned Cantacuzene?
Was it Militza?”
“You think you are a clever girl, Katerina.” Elena crawled out of the sleeping bunk and smiled. “Just wait until you meet my mother.”
I smelled fresh air as we stepped down off the train. Prince Danilo held a protective arm around my waist, leading me to the royal family’s carriage. Several villagers waved and clapped, held back by guards with bayonets. “They have come to see their future crown princess,” Danilo whispered in my ear. “Give them a royal smile.”
