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Back The Empress Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1853
  4. PART I
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. 1854
  42. PART II
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. FIFTY-THREE
  60. FIFTY-FOUR
  61. FIFTY-FIVE
  62. FIFTY-SIX
  63. FIFTY-SEVEN
  64. FIFTY-EIGHT
  65. FIFTY-NINE
  66. SIXTY
  67. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  68. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Every time Helene went out with her sisters after that, her mother would remind her: the only way to keep them safe was to stop acting feral and start behaving.

Helene promised herself then that she wouldn’t encourage childish behavior anymore, not in herself and not in Sisi. It was the only way to keep her sister safe. But no matter what Helene did, Sisi kept being wild. And every time she was, she got hurt. Proving Mother’s point over and over, carving it into Helene’s heart.

Now, that wildness was going to get her landed in a convent—or worse, an asylum.

Helene pressed her hand against her chest at the thought, as if she could crush the fear of it if she pressed hard enough. She took the last couple steps to the bed, climbed in, and put a hand on Sisi’s shoulder, leaning over to try and look her in the eye. Sisi might be shutting the rest of the world out, but Helene needed her to know she was on her side. Sisi’s eyes were closed, though, her lips parted slightly. Asleep in the middle of the day—a surprise. Sisi always slept like the dead, so she probably hadn’t even heard Helene come in.

Relief loosened the knot in Helene’s chest. Sleep was good. Sleep could heal so many ills. She lowered herself gently beside Sisi, curled around her warm back. I love you, Sisi. I’m trying my best to look after you.

She hoped that when her sister woke, she would finally understand. The more you fought, the more you hurt. But when you embraced life for what it was … well, Helene’s life had become safer and her prospects brighter.

Her heart delighted in that thought. She still could hardly believe it. If all went according to plan, she was going to be empress. The foreign dignitaries: she’d be the one to charm them. The royal line: she’d be the one to extend it. Empress Helene. Her Majesty Helene. That’s what life rewarded you with when you let go of childish things, learned to hold your tongue, and listened to your mother—however ridiculous she might sound.

The first letter, the first invitation to a new life, had come months ago now, not so long after Helene had started pouring her heart into etiquette lessons and French literature. Archduchess Sophie—the emperor’s mother and Helene’s aunt—had written to her personally. She said she thought it would be a perfect match, that Helene had blossomed into exactly the kind of person Habsburg needed. Helene’s head was still full of the letter, each line read so many times that she could recite it by heart.