“Tell him,” Konstantin said to Valeriya. “Tell him what you saw.”
I looked at her expectantly.
“The attack on our village was not random; it was an assassination. I heard the screams. They woke me. I crept up to the village and watched from a hill, hoping there would be survivors I could lead to safety. But the humans were very deliberate. They circled the village and ensured that no one got away. Then they went through the homes methodically and killed every man, woman, and child they found.”
I shuddered, seeing my father again. My mother. My brother. Dear God, I couldn't even remember his name.
“They've come for us, my love,” my father's voice had been grim but there was something else that I hadn't recognized as a child—weary acceptance.
“Misha, come here!” My mother clasped me close as my father pulled up the floorboards that seamlessly hid the trap door. “Do not make a sound, no matter what you hear. You stay down there until it's silent. Understand?”
“Yes, Mama.”
They tucked me in that tiny space and then they leaned in and kissed me. Mama, Papa, and . . . Rodi.My brother's name had been Rodian!
“I love you,” they all said. They were the last words my family said to me.
And then all I heard was screaming for what seemed like an eternity. Screaming and then an even more terrible silence. And then Nikolay.
“Misha,” Konstantin whispered as he pulled me into a hug. “I've got you, swanling. I've got you.”
I pushed away from him and swiped at my eyes as I straightened and met Valeriya's stare. “Tell me all of it.”
She nodded approvingly. “When everyone was dead, a flock of Larchs arrived, all of them with black plumage. The humans exclaimed and pointed, but not in fear, it was more like anticipation. And when the Larchs landed, the humans approached them with lowered weapons. In fact, they spoke with the Larchs. I did not hear the whole exchange, but it looked as if they were expecting payment; the human leader extended his hand. And when the Larchs began to slaughter the humans, one of them cried the wordtraitors.”
“Niko . . . Nikolay was . . .”
“He was leading those Larchs. I saw him myself, killing as brutally as his soldiers.”
“So, he orchestrated the death of my parents and then killed the assassins. Is that what you're saying?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And the military log? Nikolay was the one who adjusted the time?”
“We believe that Andrei recorded it properly, then was ordered to adjust it,” Dmitry said. “It explains his sudden advancement to a member of the aristocracy.”
“A reward,” I concluded.
“Yes,” Kon said.
“And my poor Sofia was caught in the middle,” Olga said.
“Olga, I'm so sorry.” I got up and went to hug her.
She clutched me tightly for a moment, then sniffed and straightened, much as I had done earlier. “You are the king we need. Do not let her death be in vain.”
I stepped back and looked around the room. I stared at those faces again, then at the books on the table. Then at Konstantin. How could I leave with him if I were the leader of a revolution? But how could I say no to my people? How could I let my family down? Not avenge them? And Niko . . .
“He saved me,” I said. “Nikolay found me and brought me here.”
“He saved you after he killed your family,” Konstantin said.
“But that makes no sense. Why would he do that? Why kill an entire village, then spare me?”
“Because you were so very lovely,” Nikolay said as he stepped into the kitchen. “I simply couldn't bring myself to kill you.”
Chapter Forty
