“Your leg!” I exclaim, leaning away from Konstantin.
Sofiya pumps her lashes up and down. “What about it?”
Wait…did I dream cutting it off?
No. She’s just pullingyourleg.
I blink up at Konstantin, then grin,Clever wordplay, mate.
Though his smile isn’t wide, it reaches deep. Into him. Into me. Binding us closer still.
“Just need to fashion myself a cane. Actually…” Sofiya’s green eyes spark. “I could fashion a sleigh and some harnesses?—”
“We arenotflying reindeer,” Aodhan harrumphs.
“It’s not aterribleidea,” I say.
“It depends where we’ve ended up.” Konstantin glances out the windows that give onto pure gloom. “If we’re in the middle of Garaglace, then a sleigh ride will prove tricky. When you flew in, Sofiya, did you use the tunnel, or?—”
“The tunnel.” She says just as the ground begins to shake.
Adrenaline floods my veins.What now?
Whatever it is—Konstantin’s thumb sweeps a caress over mine—we’ll face it together this time.
56
ISLA
The vibrations turn into squeals. Thankfully, not human ones.
“Ilya,” Konstantin and Aodhan breathe out in unison.
“Can you stand, Iz?” Aodhan asks. Once she nods, he flashes out of the wagon. A heartbeat later, he’s reshaping into flesh. “It’s Ilya. He’s safe.”
“I told you,” Ksenia lisps.
“You also told us Mestyla was a talisman-hungry bitch,” Aodhan snarls. “Not exactly a source of reliable intel anymore.”
That thins her lips. “I don’t want to see him.” She cuts her glare to her lap, cloaked once again in the lavender dress she must’ve plucked off her sister’s back, seeing as the relics of Izolda’s stripes are the color of wisteria.
“Can’t understand why.” Sarcasm drips from Aodhan’s voice.
She swings her face toward Konstantin. “You said you were waiting for Iz to wake up. She’s awake. Trial me here.Endme here.”
“I’ll do it,” Mestyla offers.
“I’ll help,” Sofiya volunteers.
A storm of loathing and hurt shrouds Izolda’s sunny stare. “You’d just be giving her the easy way out. She doesn’t deserve to fade into oblivion. She deserves to look our mother, our brother, our grandparents, our people in the eye and witness the devastation that her senseless ambition caused.”
“Senseless?” Ksenia’s shock reverberates through the rank coffin. “I wastryingto bring about change. I was?—”
“STOP!” Izolda shrieks, tears bursting down her freckled cheeks. She sweeps them away. “Stop trying to justify your powerplay!”
Aodhan inserts himself between the sisters and turns to cup Izolda’s slender jaw. “Kohanosh, help Sofiya climb off the train.”
“I’m not a cripp—” Sofiya switches her tune at Aodhan’s pointed stare. “Yes, I’m actually indireneed of help.”
