The Flaming Tsar and the Magicborn

The Cries That Pierce in the Night

Nicholas knew it would be a bad day when a servant woke him with the words, “Your presence has been requested.”

He got out of bed and went to his office, where several men and women were waiting. Yet, he did not see Leo or Sir David standing among them, which was certainly odd. “What is going on?” he said. “And why do I not see Leo or his father among you?”

“I suppose you haven’t heard,” said Lord Stanimir Serebryakov.

“Heard what?” said Nicholas.

“Sir David tells us that his granddaughter Vavara Smirnov had delivered a daughter this morning,” said Lord Stanimir. “Her name is Talia.”

“That poor child,” said Lady Klara Yozhikova. “She’s barely a few hours old and already she is the heir to the Smirnov fortune. Such a sad thing her father’s family was slain by those werewolves before they had a chance to meet her.”

“Such a shame,” said Lady Emiley Ivansova.

“What are you talking about?” Nicholas snapped as he glared at the lords and ladies. “You have exactly five seconds to explain to me what’s going on or else...”

Just then, Count Simon walked into the room with tears in his eyes. Everyone turned to stare at him. He said, “Begging your mercies, Your Grace, but I haven’t stopped crying since I found out that over 100 of my descendants were massacred last night. And your Magorious Hoffelbax was behind it, no doubt.”

“He most certainly was,” said Lord Yusuf Glovsky.

“And that monster had the nerve to plant a wolf cub in the belly of Lady Serafima Turgeevna,” said Lady Klara. “I’m sure old George Shapiro and his daughter Slavena would have wept to hear of that poor girl’s fate.”

“I wouldn’t know, as that poor girl is hiding at Shapiro Manor with only her aunt and sister helping her,” said Maria as she brought in food and drinks. “The rest of the family is attempting to cover it up by claiming that she’s got a touch of the fever, which I don’t doubt given her mother’s poor health, but they’re not fooling anyone. Serra is pregnant, for better or worse, and we can only hope that she doesn’t suffer the same fate her mother suffered when Raina was born.”

“I would hope so,” said Nicholas as he recalled Lady Slavena Shapiro. She had been an invalid for many years, even during her marriage to Leo Trichenberg. The marriage was seen as bad move, as Leo already had three bastard daughters and Slavena was the daughter of a member of the imperial court. Milorad was born in the same year as Lara and Serafima. Nicholas had played with the children as he had played with Emaria, Radmila, and Vavara.

Yet when he witnessed the death of Slavena in 1883 (18 months after Raina was born), Nicholas knew that that had been when the fallout between his father and Leo had truly begun.

Nicholas said, “I will visit Vladimir this afternoon; he will obviously be angry and bitter over the news of his father’s death and will want to exact his vengeance upon Magorious. I highly doubt he will want to talk about his new baby.” Simon nodded in agreement. “And I will launch a full-scale investigation into how and why the massacre happened, even if we already know the answers to the questions the people will ask regarding the deaths of the Smirnovs.” To several guards standing at the door, he said, “I need to send a small team to Clovervale Manor to see if there are any survivors of the massacre, which I highly doubt.”

With that, Nicholas called the meeting to an end and went to his wife’s sitting room. Alexandra had previously announced that their second child would be born the next year, and Nicholas felt nervous, knowing that Olga was his firstborn daughter and he wouldn’t dare set her aside for a son. Plus, Alexandra had arranged for a visit with her grandmother, Queen Victoria, which would happen in a few days.