The Little Palace had been buzzing all day with news of the newly returned spare to the throne. Alina would have had to have been deaf and blind not to notice just how excited everyone was.
“He’s so much handsomer than Vasily,” Marie giggled. “Smarter, too.”
“Sobachka has to be,” Zoya sniffed. To make up for the rumors surrounding his true parentage. He resembled the Queen, of course, but that he looked more Fjerdan than his elder brother naturally drew some questions.
“Just hope he doesn’t hear you call him that.” Alina had no qualms about standing up for Nikolai. He’d always treated her well. She’d lived at the Big Palace for several years after she’d been tested and found to be the long awaited Sun Summoner. The Tsar had muttered something about needing to keep her entirely safe, as though General Kirigan couldn’t manage that. But, then again, he had been out in the field, commanding his army and not really in the position to take care of such an important six year-old. Alina thanked her lucky stars that he’d returned and taken. Her to the Little Palace before the Tsaritsa could get her talons too deeply into her. Or fuck up her mind as she had her own children.
At any rate she and Nikolai had been close while hey were children. Even if she hadn’t seen him since he went away to school. “Anyway he’s not going to come here.” But she looked to Genya, mischief sparkling in her eyes. They could, of course, go see him. If he even remembered her.