And here it is... the last book in the trilogy. I took up reading it with both excitement and sadness. Excitement of course because I get to see how this thrilling story ends, but  the sadness was because of the ending. After the ~350 pages in front of me, there would be no more to read. But, let's get through it.

The story starts just where the last book left off. The city of Moscow is burning and people are looking for someone to blame. Father Konstantin, spurred on by Medved, readily takes up the story that it's all the witch's fault. And so Vasya, not knowing what else to do in order to spare her family, surrenders herself to the mob. They beat her and the priest even slays her (and my) beloved horse Solovey. Dejected, Vasya is lead to the river where she is to be burned as a witch.

An unexpected chyert comes to her aid, but she refuses to join him, running away with Olya's servant who takes her on the road to Midnight. There, Vasya wanders but thankfully manages to find friends who lead her to the house by the lake. She takes refuge there and learns more about her ancestry, and her powers. We are introduced to more characters, like Pozhar - a mare that is actually a firebird, the same one that burned down Moscow; or Ded Grib - a mushroom that joins Vasya's cause. Polunochnitsa is also a bigger character here and her method of being helpful is... questionable. Still, they are all interesting, all with distinct personalities and I have a place in my heart for them all.

But things are just getting stared. Medved is wrecking havoc in Moscow and Morozko seems to have sacrificed his freedom in order to let his brother out so he might come to Vasya's aid. The winter king is bound somewhere "beyond recall: long ago and far away and deep in the dark that does not change". She does manage to get to him, and it is one of my favorite moments in the book. Their romance is a slow-burn, but a really good one, and I always appreciated how much he respected her, let her make her own choices, despite not wanting her to get involved in any of it.

On the other side, there is another war in Russia: between the Rus' and the Tatars. The conflict is unavoidable when their last resort at putting it off is thwarted by Medved's scheming. Dmitrii is preparing for war, and Sasha is trying to keep his place as the Grand Prince's advisor. The Golden Horse far outnumbers the army of the Rus' but they must march on and fight for freedom, for survival. All of Russia must come together: men and cheryeti alike, to save the soil that bore them.

I loved this book as a conclusion to the story, and it is so obvious how planned they are, how much research the author has done in order to make the whole world seem real. Vasya is much more mature, less reckless here - and I truly appreciate that she has learned from her mistakes, because there were some things I wanted to yell about in the last book. She really comes into her own, but must pace herself and be careful, because in this universe magic makes you go mad. I truly appreciate that there music be some kind of sacrifice for everything, that she is not just given these powers. It makes her story seem more human, and more realistic, despite the world it is set in.

Another thing I appreciate is how no one got the point to any of it. The fight between Medved and Morozko has always been the forefront, always the good vs the bad. But who decides this? How do we know who is good and who is bad, really? This twist really stunned me, because no one can tell this to Vasya, she has to come to understand it on her own. The whole point was to unite against a common enemy, not squabble among each other like children. And when Vasya realizes this, everything falls into place.

The ending is bitter-sweet. Vasya notes that they might have reached their goal, but the price was too high. Still, life goes on and, going forward, she can only try to keep the peace, keep the whole of Rus' united. Now, having read all of the story, I simply cannot find the adequate words to describe how much I love it. Please, go read it, immerse yourself in this amazing world that makes me want to book a ticked to Russia and go wandering the snow-covered forests, looking for a winter-king.