“Evie!” the empress exclaimed as we stepped through the doorway. She rose from her seat, a huge sofa upholstered in umber velveteen. Her turquoise gown glowed like a gem against her olive skin. “You look divine.”

I glanced at my simple gray silk dress. “Do I?”

“Of course.” She crossed the room, gathered my hands together, and squeezed. “I am so, em, delighted you are here. Come. Let me introduce you.”

Tereza tugged me forward. A girl several years younger than me, but with Tereza’s coloring and bone structure, rose from her seat and dropped in a neat bow. Instead of the empress’s complicated coiffeur, the girl wore her hair in a thick black braid trailing over her shoulder, hanging nearly to her ribs. Rather than a gown, she wore a pair of elegant black trousers and a velvet waistcoat dyed a deep bloody red.

A girl after my own heart. I glanced at my own dress and frowned.

“My sister.” Tereza gestured to the girl. “Karolina.”

I ducked into a curtsey, but when I came up, the girl’s attention had shifted somewhere behind me, and a furious blush blazed in her cheeks. “Hello, Gideon.”

Tereza huffed, pinched her sister’s shoulder, and stomped her foot. “You’re standing before a queen, Karolina. Show your respect.”

Biting my lips so I wouldn’t gape at them or laugh, I stepped aside, turning to observe Karolina and Gideon at the same time. “I take it the two of you have already met?”

Gideon’s gaze darted away, landing on an empty space unoccupied by curious women. He cleared his throat and tucked his hair behind his ear. “The lady is a frequent visitor at the stables.” His expression soured. “But she failed to mention she was the princess.”

Karolina rolled her eyes. “Where’s the fun in that?” She spoke Inselgrish comfortably, and her Bonhemmish accent was nearly imperceptible.

Tereza’s mouth thinned into a strained line. “You live to, em, torment me. Evie, is this the right word? Torment?”

I chuckled. “Yes, I think, so. Gideon’s purpose in life is similar. He enjoys annoying me as well.”

My companion sniffed and shifted his weight. I ignored him and scanned the room, which was paneled in pale oak and filled with bookshelves, a billiards table, a pianoforte, and a green felted games table. “Is Otokar not joining us?” I asked.

“He will be here shortly. He had work to finish in his laboratory.” Tereza motioned to the room, gesturing at all it encompassed. “In the meantime, which do you prefer? Music, or games?”

I glanced at Gideon, noting how his attention had settled on the felted table. “I’m not much good with musical instruments,” I said.

“You sing, though,” Gideon said. “I’ve heard you.”

My eyes popped wide. “You have?”

“You used to sing to yourself all the time at Fallstaff.” He winked. “You have a nice voice.”

I tugged at the bodice of my dress, which had suddenly grown tight and hot. “How about a game? We can talk and play at the same time.” I narrowed my eyes at Gideon. “And no one will be put on the spot.”

“I adore prist,” Karolina said, already taking a seat at the table. “Does anyone else know how to play?”

Gideon cleared his throat. “It’s typically not a lady’s game.”

“If you haven’t noticed, I don’t care much for the things that are typical for a lady.”

“You and Evie should be great friends, then. You both harbor such similar philosophies.”

Crossing the room, I joined Karolina at the table and scowled at Gideon. I’d heard of prist. It was a betting game popular in gambling dens. “I don’t know the rules, but I’m suddenly very interested. You wouldn’t mind teaching me, Karolina?”

The princess let loose a mischievous grin, wagging her eyebrows as she opened a box packed with a collection of oblong white tiles about the same length as the first two joints of my index finger. Colorful dots adorned either end of each tile. “Sure, I don’t mind. But remember...” She stacked the tiles with expert, nimble fingers. “You asked for it.”

With a dramatic sigh, Tereza crossed the room and dropped into a chair across from mine. “Highly improper,” she muttered.

Karolina dealt the tiles, one at a time, around the table. “Proper is boring.”

Gideon eased into his seat and caught my attention. He raised an eyebrow.

“She’s right,” I said. “Proper is boring.”

Tereza’s sullenness disappeared and she laughed. “Who torments whom, Evie?”

“Well....” I grinned. “Perhaps I can give as well as I can take.”

Otokar arrived after Karolina explained the rules and we had played several hands. He’d brought the promised chocolate torte, and after a momentary dessert break, we returned to the gaming table. The Magician took Tereza’s place, and the empress played tunes on the pianoforte, some old and somber, some new and upbeat. Karolina ordered coffee and digestifs, and we drank and gambled until my head swam.

“Have you been to the circus?” Karolina asked as she dealt tiles for another round. I eyed my dwindling pile of betting chips and my nearly empty brandy and wondered how much longer I could last, both in the game and in sobriety. “I went for the matinee show yesterday with my friend, Kazi.”

“Was it wonderful?” I asked, wishing I had the time and means to attend.

“The aerialists were all right, I suppose.” She scrunched her nose. “No trick riders though. What’s a circus without trick riders?”

“Trick riders?”

She arranged her face into a beleaguered expression, as though my question annoyed her. “Did you live in a closet all your life, Evie? Trick riders, you know, riding a horse while standing on its back, or standing on two horses at once. That sort of thing.”

I blinked at her wide-eyed. “Two horses at once?”

She nodded. “One foot on each horse’s back. I saw it once, at a show in Pisha. I would be a fabulous trick rider, wouldn’t I, Gideon? You’ve seen what Mika and I can do.”

My attention cut to the solemn young man beside me. He glanced up from his tiles, mouth slightly open, brow furrowed. “What have I seen?”

She batted her lashes at him. “You’ve seen how well I ride. Mika and I would make a wonderful circus act.”

In the rear of the room, Tereza plunked a heavy dissonant cord and we all flinched. “Karolina, stop being, em, směšný.” She snapped her fingers at Otokar and he translated: “Ridiculous.”

“Yes, ridiculous.” Her brow and mouth creased into a series of sour lines. “A princess as a spectacle in a common show.” She shook her head and her black curls bobbed.

“I would perform incognito, of course.” The princess raised her chin and sniffed. “No one would know who I was.”

“You talk of foolishness.”

“Sometimes it’s fun to be a little foolish.” Karolina’s gaze settled on my companion again. “Don’t you agree, Gideon?”

He squinted at her as if studying a new animal specimen, and I choked down a giggle. “Some of us don’t have that luxury,” he grumbled.

She rolled her eyes. “How unfortunate.”

Otokar broke in, setting down two tiles and sliding them toward Karolina. “Deal two more for me. I need to win the next hand, or I will be out of the game for good.”