In the chaos of disembarking, I’d forgotten about Elation, but she let out a soft cry as she flew above me. Without thinking, I held out my arm, and she landed, gently.
“I don’t want to leave her behind,” I said to Sasha.
“Bring the eagle,” he said. “She is tame enough with you that she will pose no problem, and I’m sure there have been stranger sights in this golden city than a girl and an eagle.”
“Thank you, Gosudar,” I said, slipping back into formal address now that there would be eyes upon us and ears to listen. But I touched my forehead to Elation’s soft feathers before smiling at the prince, and his answering smile was warm. I knew he understood how much it meant to me.
With Kharan mounted on Daichin, and Ivan and Boris on their two horses, we followed the king and queen off the pier and toward the massive wall. The king and queen had come to discuss trade with the Byzantine Empire, and so they would accompany us to the imperial palace.
Though we were still outside the city proper, the sights and sounds of the sea were alive around us: fishermen shouting instructions to one another as they brought in great nets full of fish, ox-drawn wagons rattling along as they hauled their catches in a long line toward the city, and over everything, the smell of the sea, salty and distinctive.
We headed south along the wall a little way, until there before us stood a gate, one that was everything I would expect from this extravagant city.
“The Golden Gate,” Sasha said beside me as I brought Zonsara to a halt just to stare at it for a moment.
It towered above us, so high it would take Elation quite a few breaths to fly to the top. Zonsara barely reached the third marble block, and there must have been thousands. There were three archways, but we were headed for the one in the middle—the largest. It was flanked by columns so tall I could hardly make out the details on them, though I could see they were ornate. My gaze was continually drawn upward, until there at the very top, I saw six statues: four golden elephants trumpeting in the middle and two winged female figures on either side.
“What are those statues there?” I asked Sasha, pointing to the winged figures in particular.
“Winged Victories,” he said. “They represent the fortune and triumph of the city.”
It was becoming obvious why Sasha wanted to renew his alliance with the Byzantines. Their wealth and power was clear. We passed through the gate, and then it all lay before us: a city of marble and gold.
Inside were a great number of people, and though many were dressed the same in modest linen garments that were straight and undefined, the array of colors was beautiful. Reds, oranges, yellows, blues, greens—all in intricate patterns. There were others like us, though, who were clearly from other parts of the world, indicated by the different ways we dressed. It made me feel a little less distinctive in the extravagant rubhaka I’d chosen to wear.
We rode on and on, the narrow streets and the number of people forcing us to ride single file. All around us were marble and columns and architecture I had no name for, but all were ornate and beautiful. There was a particular design that was repeated often: a peacock feather in the marble. It reminded me of something, and it took numerous sightings of it before I finally realized what it was: the firebird feather the prince kept with him.
But before I could think on that further, we arrived at the palace.
It would have been more accurate to say we arrived at a small city within Constantinople, for that is what it seemed like. There were buildings upon buildings encased within more marble walls with a gate guarded by men in armor with spears. Beyond the walls was the sea, shimmering with sun-kissed blue water.
The king and queen stopped to speak to the guards, and once we were all admitted, I saw that Sasha was quiet, that telltale muscle in his jaw flexing. I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him it would be all right, but of course I knew no such thing. Ivan and Boris rode past me, and soon Daichin walked beside Zonsara.
“We will have to watch the prince closely once inside the palace,” Kharan said, her voice quiet. “There is nothing that makes him angrier than the accusation that he killed his parents, and I wouldn’t put it past the empresses to do just that.”
I thought of the tension coiled in his muscles already and tightened my hold on the reins. We had just passed through many examples of this city’s power and strength. I wouldn’t want to put it to the test. “Perhaps I can freeze him if he cannot restrain himself,” I said, and Kharan snorted a laugh.
I was only half-joking.
We rode by yet another colossal structure, this one like two elongated horseshoes joined together. I looked at it in wonder, sure I’d never seen anything like it.
“That’s the Hippodrome,” Kharan said when she caught me staring. “The Byzantines hold races there. They actually let everyone come to watch. Like the Roman Colosseum of old.”
All was quiet now as we passed, but I could imagine what such an enormous structure sounded like when it was full of screaming people.
On and on we rode, winding past countless buildings of marble. At long last, we came to a building at the rear of the complex, with a dome for a roof and so many windows they sparkled like diamonds within the marble blocks. More guards waited, and when they caught sight of the king and queen, they marched down to greet them.
“We have come at the invitation of the Empress Zoe and the Empress Theodora,” Queen Ciara said, and the guards bowed their heads in acknowledgment.
Grooms appeared as though magically summoned, and they held the king’s and queen’s horses while they dismounted.
“Please allow us to bring your horses to the imperial stables,” the lead groom said, and soon there was a servant for every one of our mounts.
A boy a year or so younger than I came to take Zonsara. He eyed Elation warily. “The imperial palace has a mews,” he said uncertainly, but I shook my head.
“Thank you, but the eagle stays with me.”
A guard came forward, then, with more insignia upon his tunic than all the rest had. “We cannot allow you to bring such a dangerous creature into the palace. It could be a threat to the empresses.”
I could understand his reasoning, but still, I couldn’t bear to send her to an unknown mews, blinded and tied to a post. “Then I will wait outside with her.”
Sasha appeared by my side. “Of course you will not wait outside. You wanted to see the palace.”
“Weapons are permitted as long as they are kept sheathed,” the guard said, “but we cannot allow a potential weapon with wings into the throne room.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said to Sasha, while trying not to look longingly at the palace.
The sound of boots on marble announced Queen Ciara’s presence as she walked up to the guard. He looked at her, his gaze ensnared. “I can vouch for this girl that her bird will pose no danger to the empresses.”
Very slowly, the guard nodded his head.
Queen Ciara smiled. “Thank you. Now, will you show us the way to the throne room?”
She took a step back, and the guard stood blinking for a moment, his face pale. “Yes, this way,” he said, and he sounded like a man just awakening from a dream.
There was a part of me that wondered if she’d used her power just now, but I didn’t stop to analyze it. In truth, I didn’t want to know.
When the horses were taken away, we followed the guards up the steps and into the palace. If the city itself had been ornate, then the palace was extravagant. Mosaics were embedded in the walls, with images of not only the saints and Christ, but also unusual depictions. One was of two hounds catching a frightened hare, and as I had once been hunted like a rabbit myself, it made me shudder. Even the furniture was impressive: overly large and carved beautifully, containing vases studded with gemstones, sculptures wrought from precious metals, even figures carved from ivory and onyx.
As we continued to walk down the polished marble hall, we passed a forest of columns, the same peacock feather de
sign found within. But just before we reached the throne room, another mosaic stopped me. It was of the firebird; this time I was sure of it. Its wings were outstretched, and fire surrounded it. The mosaic was done in reds, oranges, and yellows, and surrounding the whole piece was gold that gleamed in the light of all the lamps.
A warm hand touched my arm, and I turned to find Sasha waiting for me.
“I may be imagining this, but it seems like this whole city has an interest in the firebird,” I said.
He gazed at the mosaic, sorrow pulling at the edges of his mouth. “This was commissioned by my mother before she left for Kiev. It was she who had an interest in it.” He walked away as though looking at the mosaic pained him, and I followed after one last glance.
Before us, the king and queen were being admitted into a room beyond a wide archway. The moment I followed them through the door, my breath caught in my throat. Soaring above me was the same dome I’d seen from outside, but now it was a ceiling of golden mosaics depicting a holy scene of Christ and the angels. From afar, the colors used were incredibly lifelike, such that it seemed like God himself was gazing down on us.
Guards and servants lined the walls, each standing in front of a marble column of the circular room. At the far end were two ivory thrones, upon which sat two empresses. One was fair and beautiful, even in her old age, and the other was younger and plain, but with kind eyes. It was hard, though, to note the features of either’s face as they were both covered head to toe in gold and precious gems. Both wore ornate golden crowns, heavily filigreed and studded with rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Their kaftans and tunics were gold and vibrant purple, with emeralds and pearls sewn directly into the silk brocade. Both of their kaftans were beautifully embroidered: the younger empress’s kaftan had a depiction of the Blessed Mother with the Christ Child, and the older empress’s kaftan had a floral scene of red roses with sharp green thorns.
Aside from their beautiful clothing, they wore matching looks of lofty indifference, as though they were carved statues themselves.
The guards first announced that we were in the presence of the Empresses Zoe and Theodora, two sisters who reigned together on the throne—I couldn’t help but admire the obvious power of these two women. We bowed or curtsied before them—some of us lower than others, according to rank. The two empresses regally nodded their heads at the king and queen, but when the guard announced Sasha’s name, a crack of emotion ran through the perfect facade of their still expressions.
“King Leif Olafsson and Queen Ciara of Mide, you are most welcome here,” the older Empress said, the one named Zoe. “We have waited for the chance to open trade with two people known the world over for their trade prowess.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Queen Ciara said with a dip of her head.
“We very much look forward to speaking to you about how we can both benefit from such an alliance; however”—her eyes narrowed at Sasha—“I don’t remember extending an invitation to the prince of Kievan Rus’.”
King Leif glanced back at Sasha. “Surely he isn’t unwelcome here. Are you not kin?”
The empress lifted her head even higher in the air. “Distantly. His grandfather was emperor once, but he is no longer living. My sister and I are from a different bloodline, and the prince is very much one of a kind.” She glanced at him pointedly. “Now.”
The implication was clear: he was alone now because his parents were dead. I thought of what Kharan had said about the prince’s temper when it came to his parents’ deaths and slid my gaze to him cautiously.
“Even the other princes—the Drevlian and Novgorodian—have cut ties with him,” the empress continued.
“Well, he is here now,” Queen Ciara said, and all eyes fell upon her. She had a way of commanding a room. “And so he will remain until we set sail again in two days. The faster you hear what he has to say, the faster he will leave.”
Empress Zoe’s face suddenly looked pinched. It was Empress Theodora, though, who next spoke. “What is it you seek, Prince Alexander?”
“I have come because this empire was once an ally of Kievan Rus’. We are in the midst of a war—the boyars are being overwhelmed, their land seized, their people taken and sold by the very men who should be protecting them—and our enemies move ever closer to Kiev. Soon, we will be overtaken.”
Empress Zoe lifted her eyebrows as if to say, And so? “Forgive me, Prince Alexander, but I fail to see why I should lend you aid and risk my own people. As you said, my empire was once allied with yours. But then a Byzantine princess—your mother—was assassinated. Her line has been severed. The party responsible should bear the burden.”
My gaze flicked to Sasha’s, my heart constricting at the empress’s harsh words.
“As the son of a Byzantine princess, I am requesting your help,” the prince said, and I could see by the set of his shoulders that it was a blow to his pride to have to continue to ask for help, but he did it for his people.
“Even if I recognized you as such and we could determine that you are entirely innocent, what would my empire have to gain through alliance with yours? By your own account, it seems you have nearly been overtaken.”
“Because my enemies aren’t the only ones who have people with power fighting for them,” he said, tension evident in the stiffness of his shoulders. “We would fight on behalf of the Byzantine Empire should we be called to arms.”
I glanced at Kharan to see if she was surprised by Sasha’s words, but she only continued to look at the empress. Was Kharan willing to fight for the Byzantines?
Empress Zoe smiled, but it was a cold, mean gesture. “I have heard whispers that you were amassing your own army, but I doubt very much you have found people with the same scope of power as the Drevlian and Novgorodians have, nor so many.”
I stared at the prince, unable to help myself. Ice burned across my body, freezing my skin. Would he mention me and tell her of my cold fire? What would she say then?
“Then you refuse to uphold the alliance forged when my mother married my father?” he said, and the ice receded—marginally.
“Our alliance died with them.”
The prince’s hands curled into fists beside me, and very slowly, I reached out to touch his arm. Peace, I thought. Heat radiated off him, and my body answered with a biting cold that poured from my skin.
His voice sounded restrained as he answered. “Then I have one last request.” He waited for a moment until she nodded once before continuing. “I would like to speak to anyone who knew my mother, and especially those considered to know her best.”
She tilted her head at him from the throne. “Hm. Are you planning a coup?”
“I have my reasons for wanting to seek them out,” he said, his voice barely more civil than a growl, “but you have my word I mean no harm to anyone in this city.”
“How reassuring it is to have your word on that,” Empress Zoe said, “because prince or no prince, you’d be arrested and tried for murder just like anyone else.”
Peace, I thought again as his arm twitched beneath my hand.
“I understand,” he said with what sounded like great effort to be civil.
On her throne, Empress Theodora stirred. “There is someone in the palace who knew your mother well. Aemilia, a servant who was once handmaiden to the princess.”
She nodded toward a nearby hovering servant, who hurried to her side. She whispered something to him, and he strode away purposefully.
Empress Zoe shot her sister a glare.
“Thank you, Empress,” Sasha said, and this time he sounded sincere.
The empress’s gaze fell upon me, rooting me in place. “You there, girl. You are very brazen to bring a bird of prey such as that into our throne room. Though it seems tame enough.”
Elation watched the empress without blinking, but stayed motionless.
“She will pose no harm, Empress,” I said, pulling the arm that Elation was currently perched on closer to my chest.
&n
bsp; “That is a relief that my sister and I will not be attacked in our own palace.” She turned to the nearest guard. “I’m surprised one of the guards didn’t stop you bringing such a weapon here.” Her voice rang out across the throne room, filled with disparagement.
The guards said nothing, but I saw a few shift uncomfortably. It reminded me of the lead guard we’d encountered before we entered the palace, and it confirmed that Queen Ciara had influenced the guard’s decision about Elation.
“Now then,” Empress Zoe said, turning back to the king and queen and very clearly dismissing Sasha, “tell us what you’ve brought.”
While the king and queen regaled the empresses with all the goods they’d brought for trade on the other heavily laden knarr, the rest of us followed Sasha to an alcove to wait for the handmaiden.
“You did well bearing the empress’s provocation,” Kharan said to Sasha, her arms crossed over her chest.
Sasha glanced at me. “Katya had a hand in keeping me calm. I felt the anger rise in me like smoke from a fire, but then it was like it was doused by cold water.”
I was taken aback. Had I truly been able to influence him as I’d imagined? Though it must have been the same as when I was able to lower his fever.
“Say the word, Gosudar, and I will gladly show these empresses just how powerful the prince of Kievan Rus’ is,” Boris said, with a mad grin.
“You’re a fool,” Ivan said in a growl. “Be silent. That’s how you’ll help us best.”
Boris let out a petulant grunt but said no more.
Before long, the servant returned with the handmaiden. She was young, though still older than I, with dark hair and eyes and dressed in a beautifully embroidered linen tunic in the Roman style with a gold pin to hold it in place. When I looked closer, I realized the pin was of a firebird with wings outstretched.
Through the White Wood Page 23
