twisted in her seat, choking, her face rapidly turning red.
Ana covered the woman’s mouth with her hand to stop her from making noise. She pulled at the woman’s blood until her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped against her seat. The carriage continued forward; from the outside, it would look as though nothing were amiss.
Laying the noblewoman on the carriage floor, Ana searched through the silky folds of her gown until she found what she was looking for: the invitation letter, folded in a gold-foiled envelope and scented like roses.
Though she knew the woman wasn’t dead, Ana still felt a bit guilty, looking at the unconscious figure at her feet. She parted the velvet drapes and gazed out the window.
Her heart flipped. They had turned onto the riverside promenade, and across the river, the Salskoff Palace drew into sight.
Her home was still the most beautiful thing she had ever laid eyes on. The Palace walls rose impossibly high before them, the cream-white color of bricks glittering with snow and ice. Beyond the crenellated walls, the cupolas and spires of the Salskoff Palace punctured the sky, the moonlight rendering them ghostly. Specks of light flickered among the haze of gray and white, breathing life into the palace of snow and stone.
She was home.
The Kateryanna Bridge was decked with banners and silver decoration. Torches blazed on either side as statues of the Deities looked down upon them, faces aglow. Ana sent a silent vow to her parents, tracing a Deys’krug on her chest. Tonight her mother gave her courage; her father gave her the strength to correct the wrongs he hadn’t.
At the end of the bridge, just outside the great gilded gates to the Palace grounds, stood a line of blue-cloaked Palace guards. Ana’s stomach twisted and she shrank back slightly. But as her eyes roamed farther down the line of carriages, she saw something that nearly made her heart stop.
To the side of the bridge barely a dozen paces away, watching the procession of carriages like hawks, were Sadov and the yaeger from the Kyrov Vyntr’makt.
As though sensing her gaze on him, the yaeger’s head snapped to her. He’d found her.
The yaeger murmured something to Sadov and began to make his way to her carriage. As the familiar pressure descended on her mind and her awareness of blood winked out like a candle, Ana knew it was too late.
She flung open the door and stumbled onto the cobblestones. Shouts filled the air all around her; boots clacked over the bridge, and she heard swords being drawn. And then hands seized her roughly from behind, hauling her back and slamming her against the bridge’s railing.
Instinctively, she grasped for her Affinity to fling off the guards holding her—and hit the yaeger’s impenetrable wall.
Ana lifted her head. And met Sadov’s eyes.
“Ah,” he said softly. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Ana tugged on her Affinity again, but the wall remained. Next to Sadov, the yaeger’s eyes narrowed.
She had walked right into their trap.
Linn. Ana darted a glance at the line of carriages proceeding steadily down the bridge, disappearing into the gates of the Palace. Either Linn’s carriage had gotten through, or it still stood waiting to reach the bridge—buying her plenty of time to run.
At least Linn would be safe.
“Let me go,” Ana snarled at the guards, twisting against their hold. “I am the Crown Princess. I demand to see my brother.”
Around her, several guards’ eyes widened, but Sadov stepped in front of her. “I knew you’d be back,” he gasped, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You’ve returned to finish what you’d intended from the start: to murder your brother just as you murdered your father.”
“No!” Ana yelled, lunging at him. The pressure in her mind increased, and she sagged to the ground.
Sadov’s eyes were cold. “My yaeger has identified you as a dangerous Affinite. You must be subdued.”
From the folds of his cloak, he retrieved a familiar vial and raised it to her, like a toast. The Deys’voshk winked in the blazing torchlight.
The guards held Ana firm against the railing of the bridge. Beneath, the Tiger’s Tail frothed and churned.
There was no way out—not unless she could get far enough from the yaeger to regain the use of her Affinity. Ana took in the guards surrounding them in all directions. She gave another useless tug at her captors. This time, though, Sadov closed the gap between them and took her chin in his hand. His nails dug into her cheeks, and Ana