and ducked inside. “You might be interested to know what I dreamt about,” I said when they’d climbed in after me. “Though it wasn’t Ola this time, not directly.”
Vasily wrapped his arms around me. “What was the dream?”
“I was visited by the Unseen World—but not the syla. They called themselves rusalki. They claimed the syla sent them to give me a message.”
“Rusalki?” Belphagor’s brow wrinkled with concern. “No wonder you nearly drowned.”
“You’ve heard of them?”
“I’ve never heard of them appearing in Heaven before, but they’re not known for their altruism. I believe their specialty is tempting men to their deaths. I’m surprised your friends would send any kind of message through them.”
“It seems they had no other way of contacting me. But they told me I would visit the Midnight Court on the eve of Ivan Kupala.”
Belphagor frowned. “There’s no way you can do that, Nazkia. The stakes are too high for you to be running off to the world of Man in the middle of all this.”
“I have no intention of running off. But they seemed to know something of Ola. If there’s a chance the syla know where she is, I can’t ignore them. They knew the last time she disappeared, and I didn’t pay attention. She’d be with us now if I’d listened carefully. I’d have found her at Solovetsky.” I ran my hand through my damp hair. “If one of us needs to go below in order to get her back…” I paused. Belphagor was giving me a peculiar look.
Vasily directed a sullen glare at the airspirit. “You might as well tell her.”
I glanced from one to the other. “Tell me what?”
“Bel’s planning to fall. He’s going back with Love.”
Belphagor sighed at my expression of dismay. “I wasn’t going to tell you until we got to Elysium. It’s not like I’m abandoning you— either of you—I just need to see someone. Take care of some unfinished business. It should only take me a few days.”
“It should work out perfectly,” Vasily snapped. “He’ll be right there at the Midnight Court anyway. He’s going to see that sodding leshi, Misha.”
“I never said I was going to see Misha.”
“And you never said you weren’t. You see? He won’t even deny it.”
“There’s just no talking to you, Vasya.” Belphagor turned on his side and faced the wall of the tent. “But if you need me to, Nazkia, yes, I can go to the Midnight Court.”
“Ha!” Vasily flipped over to face the other side, and I was stuck between them in more ways than one. At least the source of their tension was clear. I couldn’t blame Vasily for being bristly over Misha. The ability of the syla’s “Little Brother” to charm a man seemed almost equal to Aeval’s. The last time Belphagor had encountered him, Misha had nearly convinced him to stay with him in the Unseen World forever.
Over the next several days, we made good time along the shores of Superna and I was surprised to discover support among the peasants of the eastern Firmament. If they knew of me at all, I’d expected it would be as Bloody Anazakia, the scapegoat Aeval invented to take the blame for her own crimes. Instead, they came out of the fields and villages to see the procession full of excitement and welcome, with shouts of “Long live Queen Anazakia! Long live the true queen of Heaven!” This grand reception meant word of my move on Elysium preceded us, making our timetable more urgent and putting the troops on guard against the first signs of opposition.
We reached the tip of Lake Superna in just over ten days and would soon be heading into the more populated urban areas surrounding Iriy, where I had no idea what kind of reception to expect. With both loyalists and anti-monarchists to contend with, we’d be lucky if there were any support for me at all.
As we made camp, I was conscious of the fact that this was the eve of Ivan Kupala. If the syla were still expecting me in the Unseen World, it couldn’t have
Vasily wrapped his arms around me. “What was the dream?”
“I was visited by the Unseen World—but not the syla. They called themselves rusalki. They claimed the syla sent them to give me a message.”
“Rusalki?” Belphagor’s brow wrinkled with concern. “No wonder you nearly drowned.”
“You’ve heard of them?”
“I’ve never heard of them appearing in Heaven before, but they’re not known for their altruism. I believe their specialty is tempting men to their deaths. I’m surprised your friends would send any kind of message through them.”
“It seems they had no other way of contacting me. But they told me I would visit the Midnight Court on the eve of Ivan Kupala.”
Belphagor frowned. “There’s no way you can do that, Nazkia. The stakes are too high for you to be running off to the world of Man in the middle of all this.”
“I have no intention of running off. But they seemed to know something of Ola. If there’s a chance the syla know where she is, I can’t ignore them. They knew the last time she disappeared, and I didn’t pay attention. She’d be with us now if I’d listened carefully. I’d have found her at Solovetsky.” I ran my hand through my damp hair. “If one of us needs to go below in order to get her back…” I paused. Belphagor was giving me a peculiar look.
Vasily directed a sullen glare at the airspirit. “You might as well tell her.”
I glanced from one to the other. “Tell me what?”
“Bel’s planning to fall. He’s going back with Love.”
Belphagor sighed at my expression of dismay. “I wasn’t going to tell you until we got to Elysium. It’s not like I’m abandoning you— either of you—I just need to see someone. Take care of some unfinished business. It should only take me a few days.”
“It should work out perfectly,” Vasily snapped. “He’ll be right there at the Midnight Court anyway. He’s going to see that sodding leshi, Misha.”
“I never said I was going to see Misha.”
“And you never said you weren’t. You see? He won’t even deny it.”
“There’s just no talking to you, Vasya.” Belphagor turned on his side and faced the wall of the tent. “But if you need me to, Nazkia, yes, I can go to the Midnight Court.”
“Ha!” Vasily flipped over to face the other side, and I was stuck between them in more ways than one. At least the source of their tension was clear. I couldn’t blame Vasily for being bristly over Misha. The ability of the syla’s “Little Brother” to charm a man seemed almost equal to Aeval’s. The last time Belphagor had encountered him, Misha had nearly convinced him to stay with him in the Unseen World forever.
Over the next several days, we made good time along the shores of Superna and I was surprised to discover support among the peasants of the eastern Firmament. If they knew of me at all, I’d expected it would be as Bloody Anazakia, the scapegoat Aeval invented to take the blame for her own crimes. Instead, they came out of the fields and villages to see the procession full of excitement and welcome, with shouts of “Long live Queen Anazakia! Long live the true queen of Heaven!” This grand reception meant word of my move on Elysium preceded us, making our timetable more urgent and putting the troops on guard against the first signs of opposition.
We reached the tip of Lake Superna in just over ten days and would soon be heading into the more populated urban areas surrounding Iriy, where I had no idea what kind of reception to expect. With both loyalists and anti-monarchists to contend with, we’d be lucky if there were any support for me at all.
As we made camp, I was conscious of the fact that this was the eve of Ivan Kupala. If the syla were still expecting me in the Unseen World, it couldn’t have
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