Chapter 1

The moment my sister named her three conditions, Edmund's face changed.

The elders around us went so still they hardly dared breathe.

Put kindly, Lilith was staying true to herself, refusing to let the crown grind the witch out of her.

Put plainly, she was defying royal authority and humiliating Edmund to his face.

Edmund scoffed, his question carrying the weight of a threat. "No destiny? Force?

"Whatever the crown bestows is a gift, whether it is fire or dew. So House Seyler means to defy the King!"

With the charge of rebellion hanging over him, my father knocked his forehead against the floor three times in a row. "Lilith grew up running wild in the forest, my lord. She speaks without thinking. She never meant to defy anyone. Please forgive her."

Edmund's voice went cold. "You say she did not mean it, and yet she will not take the decree at any price.

"I think House Seyler has had rebellion in mind for a long time. That is why your daughter dares to leave a royal decree standing outside her door.

"Lilith. I will ask you once. Do you take this decree, or not?"

Lilith pushed open the door of the prayer room and leaned against the vines.

Her fresh green dress set off a cool, still face with a witch's sly edge to it.

Her voice was perfectly steady, and her eyes said the crown meant nothing to her. "Duke Edmund, I have already explained what I ask.

"Agree to my three conditions and keep them, prove to God what I mean to you, and I will marry you.

"Otherwise I would rather spend my whole life in the prayer room studying magic. Even if I die in there, I will not go against God's will by accepting this decree."

Edmund laughed softly, and his voice came out cold as frost. "God's will?

"Before you worry about dying of old age in that prayer room, see whether House Seyler survives the night!"

Everyone kneeling on the floor trembled, terrified that a blade would slit their throats at any moment.

Cordelia begged Lilith through her tears, "Sweetheart, I know you have never cared for worldly things, I know all you want is your magic, but think of the rest of us!"

My father was soaked in a cold sweat, pinching his beard, unable to stop shaking. "Lilith, I am begging you. Just accept it for now."

Lilith held her chin high. She did not kneel, and she did not speak.

Edmund's eyes darkened, something lethal stirring in them.

Every heart in that hall was pounding.

Only Lilith clung to her lofty pose, to that cold disdain for the world.

I did not understand why she had to hold out, or why she would stake every life in the House on it.

All I knew was that I did not want to die.

For my mother, Mira Vale, who lay sick in the farthest attic of the estate waiting for me to bring her medicine, I could not die.

I ran forward and dropped to my knees in front of Edmund, shaking though I forced myself to look calm. "If Duke Edmund permits it, I will accept the decree in my sister's place."

The hall fell completely silent.

Edmund looked at me, and some of the anger went out of him. "Who are you?"

I kept my eyes down. Cordelia answered for me, "This is the younger daughter of the house, Rowena. She is a bastard."

She bit down hard on that last word, as though afraid Edmund might miss it.

Lilith finally stepped out from the doorway and looked at me with pity all over her face. "Why would you do this?

"Marriage is decided by God. Even if Duke Edmund and I are not meant for each other, I cannot let you be sacrificed and swallow this bitter fruit for me."

Edmund shot Lilith an irritated glance. "Sacrificed?

"I had no idea House Seyler thought of a royal marriage decree that way."