Chapter 6
6
KATERINA
T he blood drained from Katerina’s face. Next to her, Niko gave a low growl, so quiet that if Katerina hadn’t felt its vibration, she might not have noticed it at all. It was his warning growl, meant to herald impending danger.
Every eye on the crowd was on her, including the Kniaz’s and the Druzhina’s. This was supposed to be an honor, not a nightmare. She had to act like it.
She straightened her spine, letting a small smile lift her lips, as if this were no more than her due. On her left, Trina gave an angry, disbelieving snort, and Katerina cut her eyes at the other Dimi. “So much for choking on your dust,” she said, just loud enough for Trina to hear.
The look Trina leveled her with was murderous, but Katerina ignored it, fixing her gaze firmly on the Kniaz. Trina Samarin was the least of her problems.
She had let Baba Petrova down. Regardless of whether the Kniaz had seen the extent of what she’d done, she had performed too well. She’d lied, failed to be the mediocre Dimi she’d promised to be, and with it, she’d endangered Kalach. Who knew how bad the growing Grigori threat might be a year from now, by the time of the second round of Trials and the Reaping? Katerina and her Shadow were Kalach’s best hope of protection, and now her carelessness might have doomed them all.
Shame flushed her face, and Niko growled again, this time responding to the upward tick of her heartbeat. His hand closed around hers, the fingertips rough from years of bladework, and he pulled her forward, raising their joined hands in a gesture of triumph.
The crowd rose to their feet, roaring in approval, but the Druzhina didn’t cheer. Flanking the Kniaz, they regarded Niko and Katerina with identical grim expressions. Katerina couldn’t blame them: if she and Niko succeeded at the Trials next year, they would be Reaped, unseating one of the Druzhina pairings. Katerina was just making enemies left and right today.
Niko lowered their joined hands, tugging Katerina back into line. He relinquished his grip, and she missed his touch. He grounded her, and she needed that right now, badly.
If anyone had seen through to the truth of what she’d done, it would be the Druzhina. And now, she had to face them. What would they do to her? Reap her and Niko on the spot? Haul them both away? Send riders to Kalach to punish Baba and the rest?
Nausea swept Katerina at the thought, and she had to fight to keep a poker face as the two pairings who had failed the Trials were dismissed. They filed out of the arena, heads lowered. The hunch of their shoulders and the slant of their backs broadcasted shame, and a part of Katerina was grateful not to be among their ranks, even though she mourned the loss of control that had led her here. How could she regret it, though, if it meant Niko lived?
How could she not?
The crowd began to filter down through the amphitheater, streaming toward the doors carved into the stone. The victors would have to wait until the arena had emptied, then pay their respects to the Druzhina and the Kniaz. Baba Petrova had drilled the protocol into Katerina, just in case. She knew the names of each of the Guard and their abilities, who saw eye contact as an insult and who demanded to be the first to initiate a handshake. She knew that she had to curtsy to the Kniaz, whereas Niko had to bow. What she didn’t know was how to reconcile her failure with Kalach’s survival. What would she do if the Druzhina saw right through her?
Katerina stood, her stomach churning, as she watched the crowd file out. The Kniaz rose, making his way down onto the floor of the arena with his consort, and the Druzhina followed. They formed a receiving line, each of the fifty Shadow and Dimi pairs facing each other. Trina and Fyodor turned, the closest and thus the first to make their way toward the waiting Guard, and Katerina and Niko followed, Sofi and Damien on their heels.
When it was their turn, Katerina stepped forward to greet the head of the Druzhina, holding her breath. “Dimi Novikova,” she said, inclining her head in a gesture of respect.
After a long, tense moment, the older Dimi nodded back at her, the slightest brush of her witchwind brushing Katerina’s hand in greeting. Katerina let a hint of her witchfire rise in response, the other Dimi’s wind feeding it. Then she closed her hand around the flame, extinguishing it as Baba had taught her.
Dimi Novikova didn’t smile at Katerina, or welcome her to Rivki. But she didn’t demand to know why Katerina possessed the ability to buckle the earth or call the wind, either. Katerina’s chest expanded with a deep, relieved breath. Had she gotten away with it, after all?
Turning from the older Dimi, she moved through the receiving line, Niko behind her. None of them spoke to her beyond what politeness required, but to her chagrin, Shadow Berezin began interrogating Niko about a particular bit of clever bladework. She had no choice but to leave him and move forward, fearing exposure with each step and craving the security of having her Shadow at her back, until at last she cleared the gauntlet and felt her pulse slow.
But her relief was short-lived as she came face-to-face with Kniaz Sergey, eyeing her like he’d like to undress her right here on the sand; and his consort, glaring as if she’d take great pleasure in stabbing Katerina through the heart.