Nikolai shrugged. They had had this conversation in many different variations before. But the fact of the matter was, there was no other way for Pasha to patronize a place like this. Besides, if the men at the table knew it was the tsesarevich who was usurping their table, they would gladly relocate. That line of logic, however, had never appeased Pasha’s guilt.
Nursultan charged around the corner and into the kitchen, where the boys stood. “Your table is ready. If you want beer, grab a mug yourselves.” He pointed at the shelf beside them, then turned and disappeared back into the commotion of the tavern.
Pasha bounced on his toes. Nikolai almost smiled. When Nikolai had first spoken to Nursultan about bringing in an esteemed customer for whom anonymity was of the utmost importance, he had guaranteed that he would treat whoever it was in exactly the same manner as his other patrons (special booth notwithstanding). And Nursultan had followed through, every time, down to barking at them to bus their own tables. Pasha adored it. If he had his way, he would be at the Magpie and the Fox every night.
Nikolai paused. What if he hadn’t come to the tavern? If he’d continued to ignore Pasha until the Game was done, would Pasha find himself a new friend? Someone else common and poor? Sometimes Nikolai wondered if that was the reason Pasha liked him, because he was different from everyone else in Pasha’s blue-blooded world.
No, it’s more than that, Nikolai thought. Isn’t it?
“Are you coming?” Pasha asked, practically bounding in the direction of the table. He might as well have had springs in the soles of his boots.
“Not if you’re going to call attention to yourself like that.”
Pasha threw his arm around Nikolai’s shoulder and winked, but the springs in his feet retracted. “Good point. I would be completely ungrounded without you.”
And as easily as that, Nikolai’s doubts about their friendship receded. For now.
They slunk into their booth in the back corner, steins in hand. Not a second later, Nursultan slid a pitcher of beer onto the table, its contents sloshing but not overflowing, along with two short glasses and an ice-cold bottle of vodka. With a thunk, he set down a cutting board filled with rye bread, smoked fish, and cucumber pickles. Then he grunted and stamped away.
Nikolai poured a shot of vodka for each of them, while Pasha filled their beer glasses. Then Nikolai raised his vodka and said, “Tvoe zdarovye.” To your health. At a tavern like the Magpie and the Fox, one toasted in Russian, not French. The boys knocked back their shots and chased them with sips of beer. Pasha grinned and bit into a pickle.
“So are you going to tell me why you dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night?” Nikolai asked as he piled smoked sturgeon onto a slice of bread.
“You weren’t sleeping.”
“Perhaps I was.”
“Not unless you sleep in a starched shirt, cravat, and waistcoat. I could see your clothes full well from the street.”
“Damn you and your observations.”
Pasha laughed. Then the jest fell away, and he leaned into the table. The flickering candlelight in the tavern cast harsh shadows across his face. “Things are happening, Nikolai.”
Nikolai set down his bread and leaned away from the table, pressing himself against the booth’s wall. “What things?”
“The refacing of Nevsky Prospect. The Neva Fountain. The Canal of Colors.”
Was that what the city’s residents were calling their moves? Nikolai’s scar flared at the reminder of the Game.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it,” Pasha said. “Have you even left your room in the past week? Or are you keeping something from me?”
Nikolai poked at his bread. “Yes. And no. I mean to say, yes, I have left my room and even the house, and no, I’m not keeping anything from you.”
“Hmm.” Pasha scrutinized him. Nikolai charmed his own face so that Pasha wouldn’t be able to see the falsehood on him.
“All right,” Pasha said. “If you have, indeed, left the Zakrevsky prison, then you know what I’m talking about, yes?”
“The preparations for your birthday. Yes, I’ve seen them. The mechanics are impressive.”
“Chyort.”
Nikolai arched a brow. Pasha rarely cursed, especially not in Russian. (Nikolai was also unconvinced that Pasha was saying it correctly, but what did they know? They spoke mainly French.)
Pasha was unapologetic for the profanity. “Mechanics? That’s an utter lie, and you know it. This is enchantment, Nikolai. No one else recognizes it because they don’t know it exists. Russia used to be full of magic, but then it faded away because people either started fearing it or stopped believing in it. For example, did you know that the forests and lakes used to be rife with faeries and nymphs? But they’ve died out from neglect and disbelief.
“And yet,” he continued, “you saw that girl in the forest on Ovchinin Island, whether you’ll admit it or not. Tell me you believe me, that magic is real. Tell me I’m not losing my mind.”