The Rest is Riddles

Chapter 16: Spies and Secrets

"You're sure he said he had a contact in the palace? In Sengilach? Those were his exact words?"

When at last she could recount no more, Nikolay left—whether to relay her warning to the tsar or to call a war council, Jane didn't know—and Jane was finally, finally allowed to sleep.

The next day was a haze of sleep and potions. She wasn't allowed to stand, her magical reserves were dangerously low, and the healing potions she was forced to drink were incredibly soporific. Jane vaguely registered a parade of visitors - Kir's worried face—Casimir's pale one—Drazan, Olesya, the tsar, and Nikolay, but it was hard to know where reality ended and her fevered dreams began. The healer told her they were a side effect of the magic-replenishing potion, but that didn't make it any easier to re-visit the battlefield, or to relive Phillip's rescue—again and again and again...

When at last these fever dreams subsided, Jane dreamed of the gods.

She was in a long room with many mirrors. In the center of the room, the goddess Avdotya sat at a table, eating ice cream from a parfait glass. Her golden locks spilled around her face like wood shavings. Her plump mouth smirked at Jane.

"I see you have survived my godstest! Well... Divna designed it, but technically it was mine. What a dramatic and admirable escape. Would you like some ice cream?"

"No, thank you."

Avdotya pouted. "I want to get you to open up about yourself! You're so frustratingly close-mouthed."

"What do you want to know?"

"What do you think of Prince Kir now?" She leaned forward, eager, like one of Jane's gossipy aunts. "You never talk with anyone about your feelings."

"I've been too busy recovering from the godstest to talk about my feelings. My feet were half-destroyed. I've mostly been asleep."

"I told Divna she shouldn't have made the test so violent." Avdotya pouted. "Your brother and Casimir would be an adorable couple to ship, if only Phillip wasn't in a coma. So very tragic. I always did love that boy."

Jane's insides twisted. "Is my brother really sick?"

Avdotya sighed, her many chins wiggling ponderously. "See for yourself."

Jane's eyes flew open.

It was midday, judging by the sunlight. She was in the palace's healing rooms, and the goddess Avdotya was nowhere in sight.

She felt a surge of irritation. Why did her emotions always seem blunted whenever she dreamed of the gods? She would have liked to give Avdotya a piece of her mind!

Jane looked around. The other half of the infirmary was walled off by a curtain. Beyond the curtain, she saw the shadow of a second bed and a tall figure moving beside it. Jane tested her weight on the floor and shuffled forward, wincing as pain lanced through her bandaged feet.

"Phillip?"

But it was Casimir who emerged. "You shouldn't be up yet," he said softly.

His eyes were very red. His hair was tousled, as though he hadn't slept in days. Jane's breath caught in her throat.

"Phillip's—he's not—"

"He still lives. Here, come and see him."

Deep shadows lined Phillip's eyes, but his face had regained some of its color. His right arm was bandaged, and a cast encased one of his legs. He breathed slowly and evenly.

"Will he be all right?"

"I hope so. But he hasn't woken since he arrived, despite all our healing spells, so I can't be sure. Some prison cells have curses that trigger when the victim escapes. Based on your report, he grew less and less lucid the longer he had been out of his cell - if that is the case, I don't know..."