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Members of the Order were stationed around the Gothic Chapel We were oodness!" he said "We must hurry"

I took a step back, startled to see the silvery white wolf sitting quietly by the tsarevitch

"Isn&039;t it beautiful?" he asked "It just showed up this evening It won&039;t come inside the chapel, but it won&039;t leave either" The Gothic Chapel was a tiny square building with beautiful rose s on each side This was the imperial family&039;s private chapel when they stayed at Peterhof

Inside, the e tightly "Katerina Alexandrovna," she addressed me I knew she was terrified for her husband

I curtsied low "Your Imperial Majesties" I forced n&039;s eyes

The tsar stared at me hard Even seated in an ordinary wooden chair, he seeht ht There was a reason he was called Sasha the Bear by the Dark Court "The time has come for you to accept your responsibilities as a princess of the is to the Dark Court, you still owe your all egiance to me, your tsar"

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," I whispered

"A necroatyr when Russia has need of hirand duke, whose face betrayed nothing "I have the gift

-or curse," I said "But I do not know the ritual"

"The patriarch will instruct you," the tsar answered

It was alrin Vladiki Three priests stood chanting in front of the icon-covered doors Only they hite robes, with golden e a smoky haze

A heavy wooden chest was carried into the chapel by two young pages

I was sprinkled with holy water, then anointed with oill as the patriarch chanted prayers over me He did the same with the tsar and his sons, only the prayers for the, stood up stiffly The ees opened the chest and the patriarch lifted out a bundle wrapped in linen Inside the linen was a jeweled medal ion

I shuddered Another talisman

The patriarch&039;s voice boo the paths of the dead, place your left hand upon the amulet of His Iht hand in the hand of His In Emperor, Alexander Alexandrovich"

It was the same medal, a Maltese Cross, the symbol of the Order of St

John of Jerusale not to shake or tre as soh me from the amulet into the tsar&039;s hand But I was thankful this ritual did not require my blood

The tsar let out a roar as the cold hit hirippedevenwas coo of rand duke, who put out his hands to steady e sword that looked very old And very deadly

The heavy wooden doors to the chapel burst open A bitterly cold wind blew in, extinguishing all the candles

The patriarch continued his chanting The other priests rang bells and sprinkled more holy water on the tsar, now in of the cross, the patriarch stepped back A holy light blazed within the tsar&039;s eyes I dropped to atyr storardens "Konstantin Pavlovich!" he bell owed "You are no longer welcoe Alexandrovich helped ht burned in his eyes as well A holy light I never wanted to taint with my curse I hurried after them to the arched doorway and looked out

Konstantin the Deathless stood unnaturally tall, like the bogatyr Closing in behind hihts of the Order of St John of Jerusaleift for her valy man in his time Death, and undeath, had not been kind to his body either "Alexander Alexandrovich, stand down, or you and your sons will die horribly," he warned "As did your guards"

"Mon Dieu!" I whispered Could it be that every last one of the tsar&039;sthe chapel had been killed?

"Your I shouted as he ran toward us He had arrived in a carriage with Danilo

Queen Milena stepped out of the carriage after thee wrapped around her neck She had been fed upon No doubt by both father and son

I did not see Militza, whoall her shaky new influence to keep the va control of theed the Montenegrin king, who took a position safe behind his wife The tsar raised his sword high and glared at Konstantin the Deathless "No blood drinker will ever sit on the throne of Russia," he declared

The tsarevitch and the grand duke held their swords ready I was frightened for thes bared

Danilo stood sleam in his eye He did not bother to raise his sword as an undead soldier advanced toward him

Queen Milena muttered some kind of incantation under her breath and the undead soldier fell to the ground, motionless The queen turned toward ht with Except the spell of shadows My gift of necromancy would be no help on this battlefield I shuddered

A low rumble alerted me that ere about to have coe!" I shouted, praying that protocol infractions were forgivable in the middle of a life-or-death battle

"The undead!"

The undead soldiers trampled toward us I wanted to cry when I saw the poor creatures, but I knew they shared no such hu and were under the control of the false tsar

"KILL THEM ALL!" Konstantin Pavlovich snarled, adding what sounded like a spell in an ancient language He was locked in coer than the lich tsar, was not as fast

Konstantin had already drawn first blood, piercing the bogatyr&039;s shoulder

One of the undead tried to pull ht It was Prince Deed for

Queen Milena lay on the ground, too weak to get up after expending all her powers, but she sle with the undead prince She drew soown It was the Talis around her neck