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
At the front edge, Vedran’s brow knits in concentration. He is weaving a massive spell with the help of one woman in the village who knew a few charms. It doesn’t have to hold for long—just long enough for us to launch all our ships before anyone on the far side notices we’re moving—but clearly, eve
Andrija sits at the opposite end, already looking sullen, likely because it wasn’t his idea to call the meeting in the first place. Finn stands against the wall, and his eyes light up when he sees me. The two seats before him are clearly set aside for us, but he is learning; if he sat, Denidor would
XandraMorning arrives far too quickly for how late I tumbled into bed. Sunlight pries at my eyelids, and the waking-up noises of the people around our small room hammer on my eardrums. Slowly, I sit up.My first thought is, I have to relieve myself.My second is, Where is Finn?The covers next to m
XandraFinn’s eyes burn into mine, that impossible blue, cold as ice and hot as the center of a flame. My heart aches. Another spasm wracks me.They are just like Hana described. A wave of agony, rippling through my abdomen, so potent I can barely think. The pain of the scratches Corwyn left behind







