Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan

Author:Emily A. Duncan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

interlude iv

TSAREVNA YEKATERINA VODYANOVA

Katya wiped the Tranavian’s blood off her hands with some measure of disgust. She almost felt bad about the whole affair, especially knowing there was a pair of Tranavians waiting at the inn who almost certainly knew the king and she would have to deal with them. But it had to be done and she did like the dramatics of it all.

“You’re just going to leave him down there?” the priestess of the small church, Pavlina, asked.

Fyodor’s scarred face was as impassive as ever.

“If he doesn’t come up in a few hours, he’s dead. Do with him what you will,” Katya said, drying off her hands. “He’s probably fine, though, and should stagger out of here in about an hour.”

Pavlina pursed her lips, disapproving.

“I’m not going to tell anyone that your church still has an altar to the old gods underneath it, and you’re not going to tell anyone that I tested a theory and carved open the king of Tranavia’s chest in your basement,” Katya said.

“Vashnya Delich’niy…”

“It’s fine.”

“If you make this war go on longer because you had a theory, the gods will never forgive you.”

“The gods,” Katya said, shrugging on her coat, “have let this war go on for too long as it is, so I honestly can’t say I’m too concerned about their forgiveness.”

That earned her another disapproving glare; she would probably have to make an awkward confession later. Not here, perhaps with a different priestess. She had terrorized this one quite enough. She’d wait till she was home. “Told off a priestess in the middle of nowhere! Carved open the king of Tranavia! Had a grand time, ultimately.” Dionisiy, her priest back home in Komyazalov, would not find it as amusing as she did.

She left before she could say anything else to make the priestess pray harder for the tsarevna’s obviously damned soul. She had to face those two damn Tranavians anyway. She had received the report of her soldiers dragging them in from the woods right as she’d entered the church and she was simply not in the mood for more Tranavians. Katya had read enough military reports to know what the pair who shadowed the king looked like; it wasn’t a far leap to assume these two were here with him.

Katya thought she’d had her heart’s fill of dramatics for the day, but when she returned to the inn and went to the room where they were keeping the Tranavians, she slammed in, shouting, “The king is dead, long live the queen!”

She enjoyed the horrified silence that followed maybe a little too much. But then the boy’s shoulders slumped in a truly agonized way and there was a pang of regret.

“Only kidding! He should be fine, if a little banged up. You’re with him, right?” She kicked the door closed, ignoring her guard Milomir’s protests. They had taken the Tranavians’ spell books; she wasn’t really in danger here.

The boy exchanged a glance with the girl. “We were searching for him, yes.

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