“She’s a little taller than I am,” I went on, “much more pretty, and in love with a boy named Yuri.”
Pia burst into a giggle, and then sighed, shaking her head. “It isn’t funny, Sonya. I stole the pie to share with you, but Cook caught me.” My shoulders fell as her aura did. She set her brow against the cow’s girth. “I’ve been demoted to dairymaid for a week. I’ll die if Yuri’s parents find out. It’s humiliating enough that he knows.”
I leaned into the fence. “What happened yesterday morning? Why were you late to work?”
She squeezed out three more sprays of milk. “I overslept.” With a little grin, she added, “Yuri had the night off, so we went walking by the river.”
I nodded, careful to keep my mouth shut as to why the emperor had sent Yuri and the other guards away. I didn’t want Pia to know I had kissed Valko. So much for what I’d told her two nights ago: Friends share secrets.
“Yuri said we can marry in two years if he saves enough money,” Pia continued, but her smile faded. “His parents won’t support us. They still hope he’ll change his mind and marry the nobleman’s daughter.”
“But he won’t, will he?” I asked, trusting I knew the answer as well as she did.
Pia dropped the cow’s udders and turned around on her stool to face me. Her lip quivered. “Two years is a lifetime, Sonya.”
I felt the aching of her heart, the coldness in her hands from milking cows on a frigid morning, the despair weighing her down at being held back from what she wanted most.
She sniffed and swiped a finger under her eye. “I’m sorry. What a thoughtless friend I am.” Sitting up straighter, Pia managed a smile. “I want to hear all about Anton’s visit to your rooms. That’s why I was bringing the pie.”
I tucked the library books to my chest. “First of all, I don’t wish to talk about the prince.”
“But—”
“He isn’t interested in me, Pia.” She frowned, but I continued, “Secondly, you don’t have to steal a pie to come visit me. I hope you know our friendship doesn’t require food. And thirdly, I hope you do pay a visit—whenever you can—because I have a proposition for you.” She arched a brow, and I lifted my stack of books on top of the fence. “I’m going to teach you how to read.”
Her eyes rounded, and the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen stretched across her face.
My gut twisted, marring the moment with guilt. “And before you go thinking I’m sweeter than frosted beignets, I should warn you, I have an ulterior motive.”
“What is it?” Her eyes narrowed mischievously. “My help with convincing the prince of Riaznin of your secret, burning affection for him?”
“No.” I gave what I hoped was the most definitive of eye rolls. “Your help as I practice my ability. If you haven’t noticed, I’m seriously lacking in training and would like to keep my head attached to my neck.”
“Your neck is rather ravishing. I’m sure the prince would agree.”
“Pia.”
She giggled. “I’ll come tonight.”
After we’d made all the arrangements for regular study, I wandered past the barnyard toward the stables. With the sun higher in the sky and no clouds in sight, the air was beginning to warm. The snow crunched beneath my feet, having melted to a reasonable depth. Perhaps spring would come. Riaznin’s winters were so long and harsh, a change in seasons often seemed impossible. For the moment, though, I believed in the best, and I had Pia to thank. The prospect of us helping each other made my worries over Valko and Anton shrink to a surmountable size, a much healthier way of dealing with my insecurities than the torture session I’d had with the figurine of Feya last night.
As I walked inside the stables, my gaze fell to my feet as I kicked up straw. Raina was still penned up in her stall. When she saw me, she came to my open hand, even though I didn’t bear an apple. I petted her mane. “Don’t you ever get a chance to run?”
“Not very often, poor mare,” someone answered. I whirled around to find the emperor. He stood a pace behind me, as if he’d followed me inside.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “What are you doing here?” He raised his brows, and I briefly closed my eyes and curtsied. “Forgive me, Your Imperial Majesty. You just surprised me.”
“I thought my aura might have alerted you.” He came to my side and reached up to stroke Raina himself.
I touched my cheeks, which were surely flushed, and shook my head. “At times, your aura is too similar to my own. It makes it hard to tell the difference.”
His lips curved. The emperor wasn’t dressed in a fine kaftan, just a gray wool coat to keep out the chill. “Then I’m not the only one who needed a little respite this morning?”
I smiled back at him. “No, you are not.”
We smoothed the mare down together in companionable silence. Then my heart leapt, my only warning before Valko removed his hand from the horse to touch my braid. His fingers gently traveled down it to the center of my back.