LOGINOn a whim, I try to roll him over, not expecting the iron cage of his arms to so much as shift. But he flips easily with a soft noise of surprise. I pull back, worried.“Apologies.” He smiles ruefully and taps the bandage on his face—on the side I rolled him to. “I think this will take some getting
“Oh.” I glance at Amval. Cirocco waits by his shoulder, clearly about to demand something similar. All the pressures of life suddenly descend back into place. With Kaloni dead, Amval has no rival for the crown. There’s going to be a coronation and then months of cleaning up what happened here. I’m g
Ingrid“The Goddess’ will is often far more complicated than any of us can guess,” Halit says, blood streaked on her cheek from the arrow she took to the shoulder before fleeing the altar.Laughter ripples through the temple. I know, from my second march up here, that the healthy hold up the wounded
And that is his mistake. The heartbeat he wastes on gloating gives me just enough time to slash at his unprotected throat, tearing through fur and old scar tissue.Blood waterfalls onto me, hot and fast. I wriggle out of the way before he crumples. Dead.Or at least it seems so. My halved vision mak
Amval“She will never be ready to marry my brother!” I shout as I storm into the packed temple, a sword lifted high above my head and a trail of allies collected from every corner of the palace behind me.Gasps ripple through the crowd, buoying my name forward. Ingrid turns, her jaw falling slack. T
I suck in a breath through my gritted teeth as Halit intones about the complexities of fate, how perhaps Amval dying was all part of Her cosmic plan for Cirocco and I to end up together. Maybe it was part of Her cosmic plan for me to punch a holy woman in the mouth.No. Joli is counting on me. Light
Clove and aniseed. I twist toward the smell before I can stop myself, leg pulsating.Through the trees, I can just barely make out a glimpse of auburn hair. Hazel eyes catch mine, hold for a heartbeat, then turn away.Xander wasn’t part of the battle. I searched for her, even though I promised I wou
XandraI lean against the wall of the barracks as healed troops parade before me in Dun’s Crossing’s pale blue and Tansy Beach’s rich indigo. If Father were here, he’d lecture me about my posture, about failing to stand at attention for these brave men who’ve risked so much for our kingdom. But if I
FinnThe sun is high in the sky by the time I peel my eyes open the next morning. My leg aches, but a second application of that herb shit before we finally collapsed to sleep keeps it from being the nightmare I’m sure it would be otherwise.That, and Xander’s head on my chest, her mouth open with s
Four days after that night, Father and I eat lunch on his balcony. He eats lunch, that is. I prod at a plate of reeking fish that I would have loved a week ago.“The other day, Corwyn said—” He straightens, gaze going hazy with a mind-link.Fighting in Drumtemple, a voice I don’t recognize pants. Th







