As Vladim moved to turn the locks, I heard Genya whisper. "You definitely owe me a kiss after all this, Don't think I won't hold you to it."
I laughed lightly. "We'll see."
"There is no seeing, you will, if I have to be the one to do it then so be...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE NEXT MORNING, I WOKE TO AN EMPTY BED and to Tolya at my bedside.
"I found Sergei," he said.
"Was he missing?"
"All last night."
I dressed in the clean clothes that had been left for me: tunic, trousers, new boots, and a thick wool kefta in Summoner blue, lined with red fox fur, its cuffs embroidered in blue and gold. Nikolai always came prepared.
I let Tolya lead me down the stairs to the boiler level and to one of the darkened water rooms. Instantly, I regretted my choice of clothing; it was miserably hot. With the strength that I had, and my somewhat renewed sun-summoning powers, I cast a glow of light inside. Sergei was seated up against the wall near one of the big metal tanks, his knees pressed to his chest.
"Sergei?"
He squinted and turned his head away. Tolya and I exchanged a glance.
I patted his big arm. "Go find your breakfast," I said, my own stomach growling.
When Tolya had gone, I dimmed the light and went to sit beside Sergei. "What are you doing down here?"
"Too big up there," he mumbled. "Too high."
There was more to it than that, more to him letting Genya's name slip, and I couldn't ignore it anymore. We'd never had a chance to talk about the disaster at the Little Palace. Or maybe there'd been opportunities and I'd avoided them. I wanted to apologize for Marie's death, for putting her in danger, for not being there to save her. The fault was both my and Alina's for her death in the first place. But what words were there for that kind of failure? What words could fill the hole where a living girl with chestnut curls and a lilting giggle had been?
"I miss Marie too," I said finally. "And the others."
He buried his face in his arms. "I was never afraid before, not really. Now I'm scared all the time. I can't make it stop."
I put my arm around him. "We're all scared. It's not something to be ashamed of."
"I just want to feel safe again."
His shoulders were shaking. I wished I had Nikolai's gift for finding the right words.
"Sergei," I said, not sure if I was about to make matters better or worse, "Nikolai has camps on the ground, some in Tsibeya and a little farther south. There are stations for the smugglers, away from most of the fighting. If he agrees to it, would you prefer to be assigned there? You could work as a Healer. Or maybe just rest for a while?"
