Petra studied the map more closely. “The mountains aren’t far from Krumlov.”
“Ah.” The spider stood over Austria. One leg arched up to rub his tin head. “I see.”
“Well, I don’t,” said Tomik. “Krumlov’s a nice part of Bohemia, sure, but unless you plan on sightseeing, I really don’t understand your sudden interest in it.”
“A friend of mine lives there,” said Petra.
“Iris December, the Sixth Countess of Krumlov, is not exactly your friend,” said Astrophil.
“She helped me once.”
“And very likely regretted it.”
“I trust her.”
“Be that as it may, the countess’s home is in Krumlov, but she lives in Prince Rodolfo’s palace.”
Petra frowned. “Maybe not anymore.”
Tomik looked at her. “Is this something your mind-magic is telling you?”
Petra smoothed a finger over the sketched triangles that represented the Novohrad Mountains. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “It’s hard to know what’s magic, and what’s just hope. Sometimes they feel exactly the same.”
Tomik studied her, then the map. “So, Iris is an aristocrat.”
“A powerful one,” said Astrophil. “Her nephew is the prince’s cousin, and if Bohemia were not part of the Hapsburg Empire, Lucas December would be its king.”
“All right.” Tomik rolled up the map. “We’ll dress warmly.”
“But—”
“Petra’s right, Astro.”
“She most certainly is not.”
“We need information before we get even close to Prague. Iris can help us.”
“If she is there!” Astrophil wrung four legs. “This is a terrible idea. You will freeze! And the mountains are dangerous, very dangerous. I have read all about it.”
“Good,” said Petra. “Then you can help us prepare. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
* * *
NEEL STAGGERED into his bedchamber. He found Arun standing near a window, looking out into the night, his hands folded behind his back.
“Nice view, ain’t it?” Neel said. “That is, when there’s light to see it.”
Arun spun around, and his eyes went wide. “Your Majesty, what happened to you?”
Neel didn’t want to think about what he looked like. He had bruises and scrapes everywhere. Reddish dust was smeared across his shirt, and his gold-threaded trousers were in shreds. He sighed. “I wrestled a bear.”
His adviser choked.
“Don’t worry,” said Neel. “I won.”
“King Indraneel—”
“Neel.” He stamped his foot.
“—you must see a doctor. You are bleeding, and you need—”
“No. You need to tell me what you are doing in my room in the middle of the night.”
“A message came, an urgent one, from the Riven silk merchants.”
The Riven brothers were part of a chain of gadje merchants the Roma trusted to pass information along, and the Rivens traded with Bohemia. Any news from that country that could make its way to the Vatra had to come from one source, the only free Roma left in Bohemia: Neel’s sister. Sadie, who was half gadje, and whose skin was light enough that she could pass for white. Sadie, who was a chambermaid in Prince Rodolfo’s castle.
“My sis,” Neel whispered. “She sent a message for me?”
Arun shook his head. “News travels slowly. She can’t possibly know you’re here, or that Queen Iona is dead, or that you’re now king of the Roma. Her message was for the queen.”
“Well, you’re going to send a message back. You’re going to tell Sadie of the Lovari to get out of that cursed country now, right now.”
“Your Majesty—”
“I’m summoning her to the Vatra. Got that? By order of the king.”
“Your Majesty, you are not listening to me. Surely you want to know the information she risked her life to discover.”
Neel fell silent.
“The numbers of Gray Men are growing,” Arun said. “Prince Rodolfo seems to be building an army of them.”
Neel stared. He’d never seen a Gray Man, but Petra had described their horror: their scaled skin, their speed, their poisonous tongues, and the eyes that were the only trace of what they had once been—humans.
“That’s not all,” Arun said. “Until recently, the prince’s prisons were full—packed, because of his decision to jail every Roma in his country. Sadie says that now there are rows of empty cells. The imprisoned Roma are disappearing.”
It took Neel a moment to find his voice. “Are you saying that Prince Rodolfo is turning Roma into monsters?”
* * *
ASTROPHIL TRIPPED and fell off the table when Neel slammed open the door to Petra’s room. “Manners!” the spider scolded the king, scrambling onto the tips of his legs.
“Neel.” Petra gasped.
“What happened to you?” said Tomik.
Neel rubbed at his dirty forehead, his expression wild. Then he paused and noticed the half-packed bags on the floor.
“We’ve decided to leave tomorrow,” Petra said. She started to explain their plan.
Neel shook his head. “Sorry, Pet. I can’t come with you.”
12
A Nighttime Visit
NEEL TOLD THEM Sadie’s news. “I know I said I’d go, and I may be a snaky liar sometimes, but I hate not keeping my word. I’m not the type of fellow to break a promise. Not to you. But I guess … I guess I have to. ’Cause my ma’s right. What I do—or don’t do—as king will affect all the Roma. It’ll affect Sadie, too. I can’t run away from that. If I leave with you now, part of me will be running away from this.” He spread his arms wide, as if they could hold the entire island. “This … responsibility.”
“Neel—” Petra began.
He cut her off. “I’m sorry. I’ll do anything to make you see that, d’you hear? I’ll—”
“I understand,” she said.
Neel was silent. Tomik was, too, because he wasn’t sure he did understand. If he made a promise to Petra, he would keep it, no matter what.