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Nikolai had still not come to see me by the time the sun blazed dully in the sky and I gave up waiting by the window side.

What time was it? I must have been sitting by the window sill for hours, looking down at the line of tin-armored guards that marched up and down the stone pavement of the lot when the knock came on the door.

“Miss Lady? Prince Nikolai urgently requests your presence at the royal dining hall. I’m here to help you dress,” Judith whispered, her eyes seeming to me to be wider than they usually were.

I hopped down from the high gold...