Kingdom of Scourge and Shadow (The Sightstone Series #1)

Chapter Forty-One: Natalie

"Saint Carl for dreamers, Saint Jana for babes. Saint Roland for wanderers, Saint Paul for the lost, Saint Anna for those who wander the night. Saint Nikolaas for thieves, Saint Jude for spies. These are the saints who inhabit the night."

-Night's Saints, Rijkean nursery rhyme

***

 In the days before the heist, Natalie had compiled a wardrobe that befit the wife of a naval captain and war hero, as well as a collection of blond wigs and some face paints to help alter her appearance. It felt strange to dress in such finery again, to realize that she hadn't worn anything so nice since she'd fled Odensk. But it was even stranger to realize how uncomfortable she now felt in that finery.

As well as a new wardrobe, Jan had arranged a new identity for Natalie as well, including new papers that proclaimed her to be Mrs. Nadia Lazarov, wife of the captain of the Saroviyan naval ship Sunseeker. Aleksei's crew would even vouch for her identity, if it came down to it.

She and Aleksei had checked into the Hotel Ambassade three days before the heist to help maintain the charade of a wealthy military couple who were sightseeing in Allerstad before their appointment at the embassy. They had arranged for a suite that overlooked the canal–and thus the front of the embassy–and, after the heist, they would return to it and spend another day or two there, until they judged that the heat had died down enough and no one was suspicious of them.

Though their suite was more luxurious than anywhere Natalie had ever stayed before, she barely noticed the opulent furnishings, the tiled bathing room, or the many, many amenities the hotel offered. In the days leading up to every job she'd ever done with the Specters, her nerves built and built until she could barely think straight, only to fall away once the job began.

Aleksei did his best to take her mind off things, and the feather bed in the middle of the bedroom was the one part of the suite that she did notice–well, that and the room service menu. The hotel, she soon learned, had earned its reputation for culinary excellence, and the pastry chef made the best chocolate cake she'd ever had.

But, by the morning of the heist, her appetite had deserted her completely.

That day, Natalie woke before dawn and began to meticulously prepare. First, she selected a dress to wear, a blue silk number that she absolutely loved, and which had several hidden pockets under the wide skirts, just in case. Then, she carefully styled her wig in a fashionable updo, so much easier to do when it wasn't on her head yet.

She was just pinning up her hair so she could hide it under the wig when Aleksei strode out of the bedroom, wearing only yesterday's trousers. Natalie couldn't help but glance up at him in the mirror, and, for a moment, her nerves receded a bit. It wasn't fair that he looked so good so early in the morning.

"Good morning," he said wearily, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Did you order breakfast?"

"Mm hm," Natalie said, her mind more focused on his chest than his question. "Sitting room."

"Is there coffee?" he asked absently. "Please tell me there's coffee."

"I'm not an idiot," Natalie said dryly. "Of course there's coffee. I can't function without it, and, if I remember correctly, you're even worse."

He gave her a grin that made her insides melt, then wandered off in search of caffeine as Natalie's nerves came back with a vengeance. Her hands shook as she pinned the last strands of the wig into position, in what she was pleased to see was a decent approximation of a very fashionable hairstyle.