“We still have hope of preventing bloodshed,” the prince replied. “If Valko abdicates, no lives will be lost.” His gaze riveted to mine, and I swallowed, knowing what he saw in me. I was the hope he spoke of, the last means of attaining his dream for freedom and peace.
The count watched us, but I didn’t sense Anton’s faith spread to him. Nicolai only reflected my own lack of confidence. There could be no drawn-out persuasion with the emperor now. I had one day to make Valko see that the fate of the people was better entrusted in their own hands, when they were anything but trustworthy right now. And I had to do it before they marched here and made my task even more impossible.
“If everything goes as planned,” Anton continued, “the emperor will call off the battle and give the government to the people. But I want all people represented. I need to know how many nobles are on our side. We can’t risk a civil war.”
“There aren’t many.” Nicolai gave a shrug of apology. “There hasn’t been enough time to convince them—and this wasn’t what I promised. They agreed to stand in support of some rights for the peasants and serfs, not to be stripped of their own lands and titles, which will surely happen if the people take the government so quickly. It will be chaos, Anton. There has to be a better way. If this is what we have to offer the nobility, I’m afraid you will be standing alone.”
The prince crossed his arms and gave the count a long look. “And what about you, Nicolai. Will you stand by me if no one else does?”
The amethyst on the count’s finger trembled. “I . . . of course I will.”
Anton’s eyes narrowed. He moved forward, closing in on his friend. “No matter what happens, no harm is to come to Sonya, do you understand?”
The prince’s foreboding stabbed my chest. What did he mean? How could Nicolai harm me?
Coming nose to nose with the count, Anton said, “At all costs, she must remain uncompromised. If not, you will find my retribution swift. I am not above violence if the cause is truly justified.” An image surged through my mind: Anton holding a dagger, ready to strike Valko when he threatened me on the night of the ball. “I have many allies who would be eager to assist me,” he added. “Am I clear?”
I didn’t know if Anton was bluffing about his many allies, but Nicolai shifted back a step. His ring quivered harder as if he was sick with the palsy. “Yes.”
“Then we should return to the council meeting, though we mustn’t draw suspicion by doing so together. Nicolai, you enter first. Sonya, you join him a few minutes. When I feel it is safe to arrive, I will come last.”
“Very well,” Nicolai said, as if the order of appearance in the council chamber was the only decent plan we’d concocted. He bowed and wasted no time in exiting the room.
I stared at the door he shut and tried to make sense of what had just happened. “Why did you threaten him like that?” I turned on Anton. “That’s not like you—you who believes everyone should be free to make their choice without coercion.”
He didn’t answer, only took me by the elbow and hurried me to the nearest window.
“What are you doing?” I asked. My pulse raced with his sudden anxiety. I frowned at the window frame stretching from the floor to an arched point near the ceiling. The curtains rustled as he planted me in front of them. Why had he brought me here?
“It doesn’t matter what happens to me,” Anton said, “but you must live.” His aura was fierce and blazed along my spine. “Without you, all is lost.”
My brow creased. “Well, you must live, too.” I didn’t understand what had come over him. “You’re not leaving, are you?” My legs went weak at the thought.
“I will stay with you as long as possible.”
Why did he make it sound like there would be a time we must inevitably part? “If it comes to it, you will fight,” I said. A command, not a question. “If you mean to tell me by all of this you won’t even raise up arms to defend yourself, then I will.” He wasn’t the only one with a penchant for protectiveness. “I will take your saber and be your shield.”
He grinned at me sadly. The dust in the glow from the window gilded the edges of his face, as it did that day in the council meeting. Somehow it made him look holy and already distant, despite how close we stood together. “You will be wonderful,” he said, and I knew he meant something else entirely. “You were born to do this.”
I placed my hand on his chest. “Anton . . .”
At my touch, he stiffened and a look of heavy resolve fell upon him. “Though you were not born to be with me.” He stepped back and created more space between us.
My hand dropped, my fingers curling with hurt. “I thought you believed in equality. Why am I not good enough for you?”
“Sonya . . .” His brows hitched up in pain. “Have I ever made you feel that way? Equality is an ideal but rarely the truth. In all respects, you are my better.”