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I tried to forget about the terrible dreareeted us all and provided a wonderful welcoain "I have a present for you," she told ive it to you e are alone" I&039;d already written a thank-you note to her parents for the onyx box But I still did not knoho had sent the tarot card-whether Militza had added the card to the gift Or perhaps the crown prince himself

My cousin, who seemed a little paler since I&039;d seen her at the Christmas Ball, rolled her eyes "What superstitious trinkets are you trying to scare Katiya with now?" she asked

A shudder ran through me as I remembered that Elena had taken a strand of my hair back to Cetinje with her What had she done with it?

She ignored Dariya and laughed Her eyes seehter since her trip hohtic Elena had been dabbling in over the holiday What rituals did the Montenegrins practice in their kingdom? I took a nervous sip of my water

After dessert had been served, one of the Bavarian princesses leaned over and whispered, "We heard about the tragedy at the Blessing of the Waters How sad!"

I nodded "It was Count Cherretted my unkind words to hiain My poor brother was still grief-stricken

The girls were horrified to hear this "We spoke with hiusta said "How terrible!"

Elena shrugged, finishing her le at thethem deep in conversation, I slid my tart onto Erzsebet&039;s plate

"Merci, Katerina," she said happily

After dinner, we returned to our rooet ready for bed Elena pulled a small silver box out of her trunk "Happy Christmas, Katerina!" She opened the box as she held it out to me Inside was a lock of black hair

"Go on, take it!" she said, nudging me

I stared at the black curl, tied with a leather cord "What is that?" I had an o in the pit of my stomach

"Danilo&039;s, of course! It&039;s yours now"