The Crown's Game (The Crown's Game, #1)

by Evelyn Skye

out onto the Neva. Sure enough, out in the river, the enchanter floated on what looked like a raft of sea foam. He reached the shores of Vasilyevsky Island, on the other side of the Neva, before Vika could use the water to reel him back in. Not that she had the stomach to do it again. Her conscience was still waterlogged from the first attempt to drown him. The crowd along shore realized the boy was all right and that the waterworks show was over. As they dispersed, they murmured their approval that the festivities for the tsesarevich were beginning ahead of schedule. They bounced as they walked, anticipating what other surprises the tsar had in store. And they wondered if the Neva Fountain would turn on again. The Neva Fountain, eh? How nice that they’ve already given it a name. Vika smiled despite her morally dubious insides. Or perhaps she smiled because of them. She did not want to know which. She looked again across the Neva to the other enchanter. He seemed to be staring straight back at her. And then he tipped his top hat, as if saying, Nice try. Thank you for the amusement. Have a wonderful day. Why, that arrogant, insufferable . . . argh! “It’s not like you managed to kill me either,” Vika said, even though he couldn’t hear her. All right. So the other enchanter had survived. Vika had created the Neva Fountain, which, enchanted once, would now retain the charms in the water and be able to replicate the show on its own, every hour. But she’d set out to far better t...