instead.”
The entire scene looked pretty and fun . . . and fake.
Who knew if that fl irty young man even liked the lady— or
if he liked ladies at all. Kestrel wasn’t the only person at
court who planned to marry someone she didn’t want.
Kestrel could see the emperor seated in the patio’s center
next to the largest brazier, surrounded by senators. At the
far end of the patio, near the hedge maze, Verex hunched
97
—-1
—0
—+1
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 97
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 97
9/25/14 2:52 PM
9/25/14 2:52 PM
over a Borderlands table. His back was to Kestrel. The east-
SKI
O
ern princess sat across from him, her expression gentle as
she executed a merciless move.
The Herrani hadn’t been invited to this exclusive event.
Kestrel needn’t worry about meeting Arin’s gaze . . . or not
MARIE RUTK
meeting his gaze.
Then again, he might come anyway. It would be like
him to turn up uninvited.
Wouldn’t it?
Kestrel found that she had come close to a tree. Her
hands were on its bark. It was silver; smooth and papery in
places, rough in others. She had been running fi ngers over
the bark’s striations and knots the way she’d seen blind
people come to understand an object. When she thought
of this, she realized that she was trying to understand
whether she wanted to see Arin here in the Winter Garden
or not. And that was a fool’s question. It was pure, punish-
ing foolishness, the mere consideration of either possibility,
when she had already decided that neither should matter.
So it did not matter that her short nails had found a
split in the bark. It did not matter that she was ner vous as
she peeled away a strip of bark in one long curl. Or that she
was unhappy, unrolling the strip like a scroll with a blank
message she couldn’t read.
Then she looked at the bark and thought of Thrynne’s
stripped skin. She dropped the bark. It fl uttered to the
ground. Kestrel lifted her eyes and saw the emperor again.
She emerged from the poison trees. Her footfalls were
-1—
quiet on the path. The fi rst group of courtiers, clustered
0—
98
around a brazier, didn’t notice her arrival.
+1—
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 98
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 98
9/25/14 2:52 PM
9/25/14 2:52 PM
Lady Maris, the Senate leader’s daughter, was murmur-
ing something that unleashed fl urries of breathless giggling
CRIME
from her friends.
’S
“—they all looked like that, I’d free them, too,” Maris
was saying. “Or make him my slave.”
Kestrel deliberately stepped on a fallen twig. It snapped.
THE WINNER
Maris glanced up. Her friends went pale and their
laughter died, but Maris’s eyes were defi ant. “Chocolate,
Lady Kestrel?” she off ered. “It’s hot.”
“Yes, thank you.” Kestrel joined the ladies. They made
room, edging away.
Maris lifted the chocolate pot from its stand over the
brazier and poured for Kestrel, who accepted the tiny cup
and sipped. It wasn’t until the chocolate scalded her tongue
that Kestrel knew the exact degree of her anger. It sim-
mered: dark and bitter and somehow even sweet. Kestrel
smiled. “Lady Maris, your father is looking very well. He’s
so tan. Has your family been somewhere sunny?”
“Oh, don’t talk to me about it!” Maris gave a little dra-
matic mew. “It is too, too horrible!”
The other ladies relaxed, relieved that Kestrel seemed
to have no interest in being vengeful. And why should she?
their expressions seemed to say. It had been a bit of harm-
less gossip. In fact, Lady Kestrel ought to be pleased to hear
compliments about the Herrani governor. It couldn’t have
been so bad being his captive, now could it? The ladies saw
quite another side to that Jadis coin.
Kestrel watched them think this through, and shrug
their furred shoulders, and drink their chocolate.
—-1
“Can you believe that my father sailed to the southern
99
—0
—+1
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd
The entire scene looked pretty and fun . . . and fake.
Who knew if that fl irty young man even liked the lady— or
if he liked ladies at all. Kestrel wasn’t the only person at
court who planned to marry someone she didn’t want.
Kestrel could see the emperor seated in the patio’s center
next to the largest brazier, surrounded by senators. At the
far end of the patio, near the hedge maze, Verex hunched
97
—-1
—0
—+1
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 97
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 97
9/25/14 2:52 PM
9/25/14 2:52 PM
over a Borderlands table. His back was to Kestrel. The east-
SKI
O
ern princess sat across from him, her expression gentle as
she executed a merciless move.
The Herrani hadn’t been invited to this exclusive event.
Kestrel needn’t worry about meeting Arin’s gaze . . . or not
MARIE RUTK
meeting his gaze.
Then again, he might come anyway. It would be like
him to turn up uninvited.
Wouldn’t it?
Kestrel found that she had come close to a tree. Her
hands were on its bark. It was silver; smooth and papery in
places, rough in others. She had been running fi ngers over
the bark’s striations and knots the way she’d seen blind
people come to understand an object. When she thought
of this, she realized that she was trying to understand
whether she wanted to see Arin here in the Winter Garden
or not. And that was a fool’s question. It was pure, punish-
ing foolishness, the mere consideration of either possibility,
when she had already decided that neither should matter.
So it did not matter that her short nails had found a
split in the bark. It did not matter that she was ner vous as
she peeled away a strip of bark in one long curl. Or that she
was unhappy, unrolling the strip like a scroll with a blank
message she couldn’t read.
Then she looked at the bark and thought of Thrynne’s
stripped skin. She dropped the bark. It fl uttered to the
ground. Kestrel lifted her eyes and saw the emperor again.
She emerged from the poison trees. Her footfalls were
-1—
quiet on the path. The fi rst group of courtiers, clustered
0—
98
around a brazier, didn’t notice her arrival.
+1—
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 98
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd 98
9/25/14 2:52 PM
9/25/14 2:52 PM
Lady Maris, the Senate leader’s daughter, was murmur-
ing something that unleashed fl urries of breathless giggling
CRIME
from her friends.
’S
“—they all looked like that, I’d free them, too,” Maris
was saying. “Or make him my slave.”
Kestrel deliberately stepped on a fallen twig. It snapped.
THE WINNER
Maris glanced up. Her friends went pale and their
laughter died, but Maris’s eyes were defi ant. “Chocolate,
Lady Kestrel?” she off ered. “It’s hot.”
“Yes, thank you.” Kestrel joined the ladies. They made
room, edging away.
Maris lifted the chocolate pot from its stand over the
brazier and poured for Kestrel, who accepted the tiny cup
and sipped. It wasn’t until the chocolate scalded her tongue
that Kestrel knew the exact degree of her anger. It sim-
mered: dark and bitter and somehow even sweet. Kestrel
smiled. “Lady Maris, your father is looking very well. He’s
so tan. Has your family been somewhere sunny?”
“Oh, don’t talk to me about it!” Maris gave a little dra-
matic mew. “It is too, too horrible!”
The other ladies relaxed, relieved that Kestrel seemed
to have no interest in being vengeful. And why should she?
their expressions seemed to say. It had been a bit of harm-
less gossip. In fact, Lady Kestrel ought to be pleased to hear
compliments about the Herrani governor. It couldn’t have
been so bad being his captive, now could it? The ladies saw
quite another side to that Jadis coin.
Kestrel watched them think this through, and shrug
their furred shoulders, and drink their chocolate.
—-1
“Can you believe that my father sailed to the southern
99
—0
—+1
135-58876_ch01_2P.indd
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