Nikolai watched his father go. He had to wonder at the mad ambition that had brought him here, that had driven him to pursue the crown when he might have had a hundred other lives. He might have left the future of Ravka to his brother. He might have gotten to be someone’s son. He could have loved whom he wanted to, married whom he wished to—assuming the vexing creature said yes. But all those lives were gone, vanished at each crossroads, with each choice he’d made. He’d given them up for Ravka. Would it be worth it in the end?

He didn’t know. But he wasn’t going to stand by a gate and brood over it.

“Zoya,” he called, as he jogged back to her and the guards. “Have you ever heard of something called gerkenig?”

“I believe it’s a stew,” said Count Kirigin. “Made with halibut?”

“It’s not a stew,” said Nikolai. “At least, not that I know of. But it’s given me an idea.”

Zoya tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. “Is it a formula for quadrupling the amount of titanium we have?”

“Afraid not. This is a formula for blood.”

“Our blood or the Fjerdans’?”

“Saving ours, spilling theirs.”

It would mean sending Zoya away again. It would mean taking a tremendous gamble. Arkesk or the permafrost? If the Fjerdans couldn’t decide where to strike, maybe he could make the decision for them.

Nikolai began the long walk back to the laboratory. Dawn was coming and he had a mission to prepare for. He would write a letter for Zoya too, ask her to take care of Linnea Opjer if he didn’t survive, tell her all the things he hadn’t said on that damned airship and that he wasn’t fool enough to turn around and say now. He didn’t pause and his steps didn’t falter.

He would not look backward either.

35

NINA

YLVA FOUND THEM IN NINA’S BED, gowns half on, a rumple of silk and mouths bruised from kissing.

She stood frozen in the doorway and then said, “Your father is already on base and we’re expected at the airfield in an hour. Pack a small bag and wear warm clothing. And Hanne, for Djel’s sake, cover that mark on your neck.”

As soon as the door shut, Nina and Hanne burst into nervous laughter, but it didn’t last.

“They’re going to send me back to the convent,” Hanne said.

Nina snorted. “To live in isolation with a big group of women? That’s the last place they’ll send you.”