My eyes opened very slowly, I could still feel the soft carpet under my cheek. Light filtered in through my eyelids. Gently I sat up, the room was light, the fire had died down.

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

Evie was gone.

I leapt to my feet, and ran to the door. It was still locked, the key was still in my pocket. Shit where was she?

The bed was exactly as we'd left it, she was under none of the tables. That was all that was in the room.

That was it.

There was no trace of her.

All of a sudden there was pounding on the door, the other end of the room from me.

"Rili I really need to talk to you right now." Fana shouted. "I will break the door down if I have to this time because it's quite fucking urgent." Shit. OK. He couldn't know that I'd lost her to thin air. Fana pounded on the door again.

I swallowed a lump which was beginning to choke me and took steps towards the door. Just quickly slip in and out, lock the door again, keep the key.

"I'm coming God damn it." I shouted when he began a third round of knocking. Jamming the key into the lock, I elbowed the door open, shutting it quickly behind me, and locking it again. When I turned, Fana was looking at me a little sadly.

"Finally." He cracked a smile which didn't seem real. "Father really needs to talk to you."

I let him lead me down the corridors, trying to figure out exactly how a whole human could escape a locked room, all of it without waking me.

Fana pushed open the door to father, mother, Tristan, Farall and Fenester sitting around the table, all of them looked forebodingly glum.

"Come in, Gavrila." Father spoke, his voice a deep rumble. I kept my eyes on him whilst maneuvering myself to sit down with Tristan. Fana hung about awkwardly by the mantlepiece.

Warily, I cast my eyes over the assembled company. "What's going on?"

Mother sat forward on her chair, her fingers twisting her wedding ring. "Gavrila you know that we love you unconditionally, we'd never make any move unless we were sure it's the right thing."

"What's going on?" I asked again, not liking the hint of fear in my mother's eyes. "I don't have time to sit around and - neither do you, Trist, you need to get to Ottilie and father..."

Father held up a hand and caught me off.

"It's not real." Tristan murmured from beside me. I looked up at him, he kept his eyes on his knees. "Ottilie is safe. Kent never took her, none of this happened. The blueprints, nothing."

"What the hell?" I looked across to Fana, he was staring gloomily at the fire. "Father what is going on?"

Father sighed and set down a rather large measure of whiskey. "I have been worried lately, Gavrila, about your commitment."

"My commitment to what-"

"Your priorities have been... Not what they should be. You've been off your guard, because of this girl."

I chuffed. "Oh what are you accusing her of now? Ever since I said -"

"I have not been wholly opposed to her." Father interjected yet again. "But you will be king soon, and I needed to make sure you focused on what was most important when I am not around."

"What do you mean?" I whispered, a childlike fear coating my throat and settling at the base of my spine.

Mother put her hand on father's. "Afanasy's blueprints were never stolen, they're still in his room now. You father and General Fenester have already negotiated with the Definis rebels and we've trebled their food supply. Ottilie Turner is alive and well, she always was."

My legs stretched themselves out and I realised I was standing. "So... So you lied to me? You all lied to me?"

"We tested your priorities, your Highness." Fenester stood too, opposite me, his fists at his side, his chin raised. "Whether to prevent an uprising which could trigger civil war, to protect an imminent threat to your family and all the nobles you should hold dear, to save the life of a close and innocent family friend, or of a mere stranger. You chose the latter."

I tried to make myself taller than Fenester, I balled my fists at my side, raised my chin. "Well what else could I do?" I spat. "There was no way I could-"

"We know, Gavrila." Mother spoke softly, still perched beside father. "We don't blame you at all."

"Just you cannot succeed me with your priorities the way they are. As your mother said, we don't blame you, it's who you are, but your sensibilities are too gentle to be a king."

Gravity forced me back down onto the sofa. "So, so what? I'll learn. I'll follow you in every way to learn to let people I care for be murdered. I'll do it I swear." The true nature of what he was saying hit me. "Just don't take my future away from me. Please."

Mother moved over to sit next to me. "We've been training you for Eighteen years, Ganechka, all your life. You can't unlearn who you are. You are a wonderful person and I hope you never change how you act. You need to remember that. Your father and I love you so much for who you are."

I shook my head again. "No. No I can learn to play the king. I can learn. I promise you I can."

"These things can't be learned in a matter of days, son." Father murmured from his seat.

My eyes shot up to him. He was cradling his glass. His hands were shaking.

"What's, what's that supposed to mean?" I stuttered. "Father are you..."

Mother squeezed my hand. I shook my head, I shook it again and I shook it again because the fear of that thought wouldn't go away.

"I'm dying, son." Father rumbled.