✵ SWEETER THAN HONEY ― nikolai lantsov ✵

Yi

I squint at him. "So what's your angle?"

He straightens. "You won't be seeing Nikolai anymore. At all."

"You don't get to decide that―"

"Oh, I do. Otherwise, I'll have my father send you out as one of the scouts in the Second Army until the wedding. Nikolai will come on his knees to get the King to retract the order. He'll be humiliated." Vasily's smile sickens me.

"Saints," I whisper, eyes widening. "You were the one who suggested to the King that I be wed to you." The memories flash in my mind immediately.

The jabs he sent towards Nikolai when we first arrived, the way he watched us so warily. We walked right into his trap with every little kiss and touch.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself for the worst. "What else, Vasily?"

"You will attend social events with me."

"We're preparing to fight the Darkling," I argue. "There isn't time for that."

"You don't really have a choice," he warns me.

I glare at him. "This is ridiculous. I'm not going to just stop seeing Nikolai."

Vasily laughs. "Do you know what keeps my dear brother in line?" He holds my gaze. "I'm sure he's told you just how infuriating he was as a child. He could never stay in one place. He had a friend. A pathetic peasant named Dominik. And for each prank Nikolai pulled, Dominik was lashed twenty times. That certainly taught my brother to behave."

"What are you insinuating?" I ask, desperately wanting to leave.

"The King certainly can't lash you. But he can do worse, Princess Yizhi. He can make Nikolai watch to teach him a lesson if need be. If I give the word." He takes a step forward and I take a step back, eliciting a sickly smile from him.

"Do we have a deal?" Vasily holds out his hand.

I release a heavy exhale.

"Fine," I spit out, raising my eyebrows with a scornful half-smile. "Leave Nikolai alone, and we have a deal."

I shake his hand.

---

NEEDLESS TO SAY, in the dead of night, I sneak into the Grand Palace.

It isn't as though I'm going to outright make Nikolai suffer for my own gain, but he deserves to know why I won't be able to spend as much time with him. And maybe part of me is hoping that he'll have some kind of solution to this sticky, less-than-adequate mess.

I stalk through the hallways, the moonlight spilling in through the gorgeous stained glass windows that are taller than Tolya. My footsteps are always clumsy and loud, but I've used my ability to meld soft, plushy carpet onto the soles of my boots. It feels like stepping on moss every time my foot hits the ground, but it's effective and that's what matters.

I round the corner into the hallway where Vasily and I spoke earlier today, passing the door to the very room he practically kidnapped me into entering.

This time, I'm uninterrupted as I reach the entrance to Nikolai's bedroom.

I suspect he's asleep, unless I'm horribly wrong. Either way, my arrival will be a surprise for him. I let the carpet on the soles of my boots dissolve into the marble floors before testing Nikolai's doorknob.

Locked, as presumed.

I close my eyes and use my ability to feel the inside of the lock, every small twist and turn and gear within the tiny knob. Then I hear a tiny click and the door opens a crack, completely silent. It seems the King and Queen enjoy keeping their doors oiled.