Raven Girl

Chapter 34

Nadine woke in chains. Her body felt bruised, battered, defeated. She sat bolt upright – and frowned. She'd expected to find herself in a cell, but she was in the room she'd been brought to before setting out on the mission. She was in Arkanovsk, in the Palace, in the soft bed.

That didn't change the fact that her hands were shackled. She groaned and collapsed onto her back. Elias's words from a lifetime ago came back to her. Stop twisting them, they'll just get tighter. She didn't twist them this time.

Ares. Tears stung her eyes. His wing – his beautiful, magnificent wing – had been shredded by that arrow. The way he had screamed in pain still tore her insides apart. Then the crushing cold had claimed them, and she'd tried to reach for him.

Gylfi. Regina. Elias. Were they dead or alive? Was Ares alive? How had she survived the avalanche?

"It's over," Nadine whispered, gazing up at the ceiling. Her voice was hoarse, and she wondered how long she'd been unconscious. It was over, and they had destroyed the sceptre and the shrikes... but had still lost the battle.

Nadine wondered how her death sentence would be carried out. Surely Kostin would want to make a spectacle of it. At least he would never get his hands on the sceptre. She hoped Gylfi, wherever he was, had found out if Sven had managed to get home safely. And she hoped the Easfallians hadn't put Elias back in the dark tomb – he would most likely slit his own throat before going there again.

Gavriil. He was so close to her now. Nadine remembered how she'd escaped the last time she'd been in the room, and guessed that the shackles were there for precisely that reason.

So Nadine didn't get up. She didn't move at all. She lay there for hours. When servants – or guards, she didn't know – opened her door, she pretended to be asleep. Like Ragnar and his dragon rider friends, she was done fighting.

For two days, Nadine refused to eat or move. She pretended to sleep whenever anyone entered, and when that didn't work, she clamped her mouth shut tightly and just stared at the servants with blank eyes. She felt her stomach aching with hunger, felt herself weakening, but she was done. She was so, so done.

On the second day, there was a light tap on the door. This got Nadine's guard up immediately. No one knocked.

"Nadine? It's me, Regina. Can I come in?"

Nadine chuckled, staring at the wall. "No, now's not a good time. I'm busy. Come back tomorrow."

Regina opened the door and walked inside. Frowning, Nadine scrutinised her. Of course she wasn't being punished. Of course. Daddy's girl was safe and well-cared for. Regina's wounds had been seen to – the scratch on her cheek had scabbed, but she wasn't hiding it with makeup. She wore flowing robes once again. She sat gingerly on the bed beside Nadine.

"Enjoying the comforts of home again, Regina?" Nadine said dully.

Regina flushed. "No, actually. Nadine, I was lying when I gave that speech to my father – surely you know that."

"I don't know what to think anymore." She paused, then asked, "Ares?" She was scared to hear the answer.

"Alive," Regina said quietly. "But being held in chains in one of the Palace courtyards. I'm still trying to find out which one. I've been allowed to come to this room but most places are now restricted for me."

"Right. Elias and Gylfi?"

"In their rooms, too."

"Why haven't they been taken back to their countries?"

Regina shook her head slowly. "I have no idea. I wish I knew what my father was planning."

Nadine huffed. "Why don't you ask him?"

Regina smiled bitterly. "If only I could."

"So why has he let you see me? We could be plotting together."

"I think he knows there's no way out of this. Nadine, I came to tell you, that apparently there's going to be some kind of stately dinner tonight. We're all attending."

Nadine tried to figure out what that would mean. "Is he going to kill us in front of people?"

Regina flinched. "I don't know. I'll get the servants to send you something to wear."

Nadine scowled. "I'm not a puppet. He can't dress me up and make me dance."

"You want to rot in this room forever? It might help us. We might find out information."

"Maybe."

"Nadine, please at least eat something. You can't give up." Regina placed her hands on Nadine's. Her eyes were very dark. "You can't."

Regina left her, closing the door behind her. Nadine heard the movements of the guards posted outside.

Slowly, she got out of bed.