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    Furyborn
    Furyborn
    Furyborn
    Ebook602 pages9 hours

    Furyborn

    By Claire Legrand

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The first book in the instant New York Times bestselling series, the Empirium Trilogy!

    Furyborn is an epic YA fantasy about two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world…or doom it.

    When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and one of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed as the Blood Queen...unless the trials kill the queen first.

    One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable—until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

    As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world—and of each other.

    Perfect for:

    • Epic fantasy and dark fantasy YA readers
    • Fans of To Kill A Kingdom and Ash Princess
    • Lovers of dual POVs and epic world building
    • Those who enjoy fiction about strong girls and women

    The Empirium Trilogy:

    • Furyborn (Book 1)
    • Kingsbane (Book 2)
    • Lightbringer (Book 3)

    Praise for Furyborn:

    "Set in an immersive world of elemental magic, legendary godsbeasts, and cutthroat assassins, Claire Legrand's Furyborn is an addictive, fascinating fantasy." — Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series

    A BuzzFeed Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018

    A Goodreads Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018

    A Bustle Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018

    "A must-read." —Refinery29

    "A series to watch." —Paste Magazine

    "Visionary." —Bustle

    "One of the biggest new YA Fantasies." —Entertainment Weekly

    "Empowering." —BuzzFeed

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateMay 22, 2018
    ISBN9781492656630
    Furyborn
    Author

    Claire Legrand

    Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about the stories in her head. Now she is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including A Crown of Ivy and Glass, the Empirium Trilogy, the Edgar Award–nominated Some Kind of Happiness, the Bram Stoker Award–nominated Sawkill Girls, and The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls.

    Read more from Claire Legrand

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    Reviews for Furyborn

    3.5/5

    251 ratings20 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I had pretty high expectations for this book after how much it was talked up, and it didn't quite live up hype. Had I gone in unbiased I probably would have enjoyed it more. I think my biggest complaint was that it felt like not much happened in the book because the alternating view points were split 50/50, but they occurred in completely separate timelines. The disconnect in the two story lines made it feel like I was reading to disparate novellas that just happened to be connected at the very end. While I understand the need for this format, I felt like it detracted from the story. I am hopeful that this starts to be resolved in the next books as I do think the story has potential.
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars.

      I said in one of my updates for this book that I don't really like duel timelines. I don't like them because I typically end up liking one time period way more than the other and that's what happened in this book. I enjoyed Eliana's chapters but I didn't love Rielle that much at all. I don't really like a "character has to prove themselves through trials" plot line and that is most of Rielle's thing through this. I also just didn't really care about the relationship drama going on between Rielle, Lu, and Audric. I didn't feel the connection between Eliana and Simon either but I cared more about her plot.

      The Eliana plot was more interesting to me because it wasn't a trial plot and because I thought Eliana was a bit more compex as a character, or maybe I just enjoyed her brand of complexity more. She is kind of complex and morally grey in a very YA sort of way but I did enjoy that for what it was and it made me enjoy her chapters more. I also think it's more interesting watching characters unearth the truth about the history of their world rather than just reading about characters living through that history.

      I honestly don't know if I'll continue this series. I liked this fine I guess but I only care about what's going to happen in one half of this book and these books are longer so I'm not sure I want to invest that time. I might listen to the audiobook in the future but I've been drifting away from YA fantasy in general so we'll see if I continue. I'm glad people like this series and I am still glad I tried this one out.
    • 3/5
      Wall-to-wall angst. I should have realized from the prologue what I was getting into, but the writing and the characters were good enough that I kept reading. But 500 pages later, I wish I hadn't. There's just too much misery and doom and bad choices and torture going on here, and from the sample of the sequel at the end, it only gets worse in book 2.

      I trust that there will be a happy ending eventually, but I'm not interested in putting myself through the wringer to get there. (If this sounds like the sort of thing you like, then you'll probably enjoy this book, since as I said, the writing is compelling and the characters are interesting. The trials do have a weird kind of Hunger Games YA-competition feel, extreme costumes and all, but other than that, it's a well-told miserable story.)
    • 4/5
      I'm sort of torn, at first I didn't love it and I didn't like each chapter flipping between the two characters. It felt like there were two complete plots being wedged into one book. Near the end though they both really picked up and I couldn't put the book down, and I was frequently surprised by some of the characters.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this fantasy. It had a lot going on and felt scattered at times, but the intricate, wild storyline was unique and quite addicting. I loved the characters and all the twists and turns on the way to the ending. There was romance, mystery, and magic. I highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      A strong opening to a series set in a rich fantastical world and divided between two stories set a thousand years apart. I wasn't certain how things would tie together, but it was fun reading to see the two stories start to weave together and I am excited to read the next book in the series.
    • 2/5
      It is with a heavy heart that I rate this book 2 stars. The fact that it took me an extremely long time to get through aside, I just never felt connected to this book. There was no tension, no excitement, no deep emotional ties that made me want to climb into this story and live there. This book felt like a cookie cutter Fantasy story, with nothing new or scintillating to add to the genre. I'm honestly heartbroken. I love Fantasy, I love Claire Legrand, I just don't love this particular book.
    • 3/5
      I liked it. It wasn’t one of my favorite good vs evil stories but there were parts that were good. The story is told in dual timelines, a thousand years apart. Rielle’s story didn’t interest me much. I would have preferred learning her story through someone telling it rather than a first person account. This is probably due to the fact that the book opens with how Rielle’s story ends and I didn’t really care to know how it got to that ending. I did find Eliana’s story to be more interesting. I probably could have skipped all of the Rielle backstory chapters and still got the whole gist of the story.

      Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      I was very intrigued by the storyline in "Furyborn". The idea of following two powerful young women from different time periods and the choices they make as to whether they will use their power for good or evil was interesting, to say the least.
      Rielle inadvertently exposes herself as a possible prophesied queen after saving her best friend from an assassination attempt. She is then forced to go through a series of "tests" to prove whether she is a queen of light or a queen of blood. If she fails any of the tests, it means her death.
      One thousand years later, Queen Rielle is a well-known legend to a bounty hunter named Eliana. Eliana joins forces with a rebel captain after her mother vanishes and learns more is at stake than she realized.
      There is a connection between the two women and storylines but I don't like to give away spoilers. I did find "Furyborn" to be one of those novels that is hard to get into at first but becomes more interesting the more you read. I also found it hard to connect or like the two women but the storyline drew me in enough that I didn't care. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. This is one series that I really want to continue reading and I am expecting the series to get better and better.
    • 5/5
      I LOVED this book. It had non stop action, fantasy, drama, and a touch of steam here and there. Just bummed that the next book doesn’t come out until next year. 5 ?????
    • 5/5
      Furyborn is the story of two strong young women. Rielle who also has the power over fire which she is training to control and Eliana, whose story takes place 1000 years later, Eliana is a bounty hunter who has the ability to quickly heal from most injury, a secret she fights fiercely to keep hidden.
      The way the story begins made it difficult to me to initially get into the story, It felt like I was starting a book in a series already started, like I should have been familiar with the characters and the situation. The story is told from the point of view of either Rielle or Eliana in alternating chapters. Apparently, thousands of years ago the angels were cast out and sealed behind "the gate" for what was supposed to be eternity but some have been escaping. It has been prophesied that a Sun Queen will come to lead the final battle and that there would also be a second queen the Blood Queen.
      For just a little bit I kept trying to figure out how these two characters were going to tie together until there was an "A-HA" moment when a name is mentioned and then everything fell into place and it really started to work for me. I ended up really loving the story line which was wonderfully descriptive and extremely original. I understand why I kept seeing such rave reviews! I cannot wait for the next book in the series!
    • 5/5
      Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Publisher : Sourcebooks Fire
Published May 22nd 2018
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Furyborn is a beautifully crafted story of two women fighting for the ones they love in two very different times. Rielle must prove to her people that she is the Sun Queen And has complete control over her powers, even if that's not entirely true. Over a thousand years later Eliana joins the rebels to save her mother and other women and children who have disappeared without a trace. As the story delves further into these two stories, the connection between the two women grows stronger.
I struggled a bit in the beginning of this book, as the two stories switched every other chapter. There was a bit of a disconnect but I am so glad I kept reading. It got to that point where I found myself glancing at the clock and saying I can finish this book tonight! And before I knew it, I was well into the early hours of the morning. As I piecing together the puzzle of Furyborn, I also found myself in a thought provoking dilemma. What circumstances can change a person's character? 
I really enjoy a book, especially a young adult fantasy book, that makes me question my own sense of self. How far would I go for the ones I love? How would those experiences change who I am and what I stand for? All of these things kept racing through my mind as I neared the finish line of this story. And at the end I couldn't help but sigh, knowing I have to wait for the next book to come out to have ALL the answers I want.
Furyborn has everything from a completely well built world, to characters you can't help but invest in. I highly recommend this book with only one warning of one somewhat explicit sex scene that I could have done without in a YA fantasy novel.
I was provided a copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for my honest review.

    • 4/5
      This first book in a new fantasy trilogy for young adults features many elements that readers of this genre will find familiar. There are life-and-death challenges with fancy costumes a la “The Hunger Games” (along with two competing male suitors); manipulation of different types of matter at the most fundamental level by select magicians, along with a special person - a “Sun Queen” who can manipulate all of them, a la Leigh Bardugo’s “Grishaverse”; angels who make war on humans a la Laini Taylor’s "Smoke and Bone" trilogy; and so on. Thank heavens in this fantasy world there are no high schools, or I imagine we would see incognito angels there as well. But never fear; even without high schools, there are love triangles.

      All this echoing of other trilogies means there are a lot of world-building elements to digest. We do so as we follow the stories of two young women a millennium apart in time, Reille and Eliana, each of whom is suspected of being one of the two foretold queens of legend. One of these will be the “Sun Queen,” who will save the world from the angels, and one will be the “Blood Queen” who will destroy it on their behalf. It isn’t clear yet which girl is supposed to be which queen.

      And just to keep our interest elevated, there is a hot romance with a possible rival in each time period.

      Almost every chapter (they switch back and forth between the female protagonists) ends with its own cliffhanger. The book itself ends without any conclusions for either Rielle or Eliana. Readers will just have to wait for the next installment.

      Evaluation: The plot may be derivative of multiple others, but it’s still fun.
    • 3/5
      I really had such hopes for this book. Such a beautiful cover but, we all know what they say about books and their covers. I thought about giving this book two stars but I am willing to read the next book in this trilogy so I figure that should bump things up to 3- stars in reality it's probably closer to 2.50. The problem with this book was cohesion. There was a lot of potential floating around but nothing really brought it together. There were just so many pieces to this story.We start out with a prologue thing that takes place at the end of one timeline seeing everything through the eyes of a young boy named Simon. There is an evil "blood queen" giving birth and some kind of evil and omnipotent angel coming for her baby. There is a lot of info thrown at reader right away and it's quite confusing. We get the gist that angels are bad and nothing like most people's idea of angels. Apparently this queen somehow helped the angels and killed are adored husband but then again this Corien angel dude is coming for her baby so clearly there some points of contention between the angels and this Blood Queen. I digress, so back to the birth-giving queen attempts to give her baby daughter to Simon's father (the two of them being part angel and part human) so he can whisk her away to safety before that can happen fate works against them all and it ends up being Simon who has to rescue the baby. Angel/humans have the ability "travel" hundred of miles via magic threads we don't exactly know why since neither angels nor humans have this ability The queen then shatters into a bunch of light beams (still not sure what that's about) and Simon finds out the hard way that Marques (angel/humans) actually have the ability to "travel" through space AND time if they don't really know what they're doing.

      From this point on the story is split up into 2 timelines one that begins two years prior to the prologue bit of writing and the second timeline takes place 1018 years afterward. Honestly ai don't know what all would be considered spoilers so I'm just going to leave off from the plotline from here on out but basically we have these two timelines both of which you can tell are suppose to be action packed but are somehow seem to be boring. There some very ACOTAResque trials that go down and a very deadly female assassin. Familiar sounding right? Then there are angels and saints thrown into the mix and that just ends up being more confusing than anything else because they are nothing like any idea of angels or saints I've ever heard of so it really serves no purpose to give them those titles other than to confuse us. I mean people have pretty sturdy ideas of what angels and saints are and they all typically connect to some idea of a God but there is no God like being in this book so it just gets annoying. Also there's a prophecy thrown into the mix and at the end there's the most ridiculous romantic plot that literally comes from out of nowhere. Let me tell you I'm a big romance fan, typically speaking I am always down for some romance but some foreshadowing a little lead up , something to make it understandable is required. In any enemies to lovers storyline the "to" is required also. So anyway as bitchtastic as this review may seem I would be willing to read the next installment in this trilogy in the hopes that maybe the author and the editors could get things rolling a little more smoothly because I do believe this story has some decent potential. It just started out pretty rocky and slow.
    • 3/5
      One of the most hyped books of 2018, with not one, but two versions of early review copies sent out to reviewers and booksellers months in advance, some with a special promo box, 'Furyborn' has been primed for its release for (I'm hazarding a guess) about 8 months now. Every blogger and reviewer I know has wanted to get their hands on a copy of this book to read and review (and likely have the 'one with the artwork on the cover' in their permanent collection) because it is THE book on everyone's blog, and the 'must-read fantasy series of 2018', according to blurb on the back of the book. The publicity campaign has done a rip-roaringly good job to get everyone on board. So does it live up to the hype? Those are high stakes these days when YA fantasy is the genre to reel everyone in.

      The premise is grand: two young women, one thousand years apart from each other, hold the immense power that will either save their world or doom it. Each one is either the queen of light and salvation, or the queen of blood and destruction, according to prophecy: which one is the Sun Queen, and who is the Blood Queen?
      Rielle Dardenne must endure seven trials to test her magic, which she has been hiding since was a child, and prove herself to be in control of her elemental powers, or she will be executed. Then, some thousand years later, Eliana Ferracora is the counterpart to would-be Queen Rielle. She is a bounty hunter and assassin, known as the ‘Dread of Orline’, and she goes on a mission to find her mother who has been taken along with countless other women, in the violent empire of Ventera. Eliana has had to join a rebel captain, the ‘Wolf’, to get to the heart of the disappearances. And while Rielle knew of her powers for many years, Eliana is just coming to terms with her magic, the power that her body has to heal itself. These two storylines and timelines alternate back and forth throughout the novel, between Rielle and Eliana, and don’t seem to relate to each other; the only thing binding them together throughout is talk of the Sun and Blood Queen .

      So I’ll be honest: it was really hard for me to connect to ‘Furyborn’, and I dipped in and out of the book for a while and read several complete other books at the same time, which is unusual for me. It’s only at about halfway through the book that I became more invested in the story and the characters (and then only somewhat), and then I reserved my time solely to this book. For a long book (512 pages), having to read half of it to get invested, is close to reading a whole shorter-length YA novel, so that’s a lot of reading to try and see what all the fuss is about. It’s not to say there wasn’t any action happening on those pages; it just felt like it wasn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t even put my finger on why I felt like the action wasn't ‘happening’, but I rarely ever skim through words on a page but sometimes I wanted to because the same stuff seemed to keep repeating itself.
      I was also getting tired of the back and forth between the two storylines; maybe if the reader got to sit with one of the characters longer, a better connection could be felt. I personally felt like you never are given a true feeling for the actual relationships in this book because you can never stay with them long enough to connect with them.
      Both lead characters lack the real spunk or inner beauty that I feel they needed to shine through as deserved heroines, so maybe that was what held me back from truly loving their stories. I didn’t feel like either of them were pulling me through to the finish line.

      Despite the world-building and the pretty fascinating underbelly of this novel built on dark angels and visions, which are pretty good openings for some amazing subplots, as well as the thrilling opening to the book ‘An End, and a Beginning’, I don’t feel like ‘Furyborn’ delivered for me.
      Legrand is a dynamic author and her lyrical writing skills make much of what you read look like poetry. But I don’t like feeling as though a book is 100 pages longer than it needs to be, just so a book is an ‘epic fantasy novel’. I also wanted more time to get to know these characters so I could connect to them. I hate feeling like I’m writing all of this and it will be an unpopular opinion, but I think this could have been so much better, because this was a ‘big one’, but I’ll be reaching, not for the sequel of this, but for Legrand’s ‘Sawkill Girls’ next.
    • 4/5
      Angels, wraiths and wickedness!

      The fantastical story of two women separated by generations who contain within themselves the power to manipulate the elements.
      Figures of legendary powers who will either save or destroy their world.
      The plot alternates chapter by chapter from Reille Dardenne to Eliana Ferracora, separated by a thousand years, having in common the legends of the prophesied queens of light and blood.
      Reille hides from herself the truth about her powers until she must let them blast forward to save her best friend Audric.
      Eliana too hides in plain sight with her brother Remy Ferracora (a rather extraordinary young boy) and mother.
      Eliana or Dread, who carries the knife, Arabeth, is an assassin who is thrust into a further world of fear and darkness when girls and young women start disappearing. What she discovers is shocking, insane and monstrous.
      Certainly a world full of darkness and despair that draws you in.

      A NetGalley ARC
    • 4/5
      This is the first book in the Empirium trilogy and was a well done fantasy story. While I enjoyed the story and characters I didn’t really like how the story was formatted.

      I struggle to designate this as YA because of same fairly explicit sex scenes; the characters do seem to be in the older teens, early 20's so maybe this is more of a new adult series.

      This book alternates chapters between two different strong female characters. One is in the past and one is 1000 years in the future. Honestly this format didn't work very well for this book. While both stories are engaging on their own, there weren't enough common elements to switch back and forth between them. The constant switching between stories ends up being jarring and disrupts the flow of the story a lot.

      The above format works well for a book like The Bone Witch. In the Bone Witch the present story impacts the story we hear from the past and ties things together nicely while slowly unveiling a mystery. This book doesn't do that and would have been much better if we had read Rielle's story first and then Eliana's story second...rather than jumping back and forth.

      This story was engaging. I enjoyed the world-building and the characters. There's quite a bit of action here as well. I thought the costume descriptions before Rielle's trials was a bit hokey (it was very Hunger Games and makes it seem like Legrand is hoping movie rights will be picked up for this series).

      I am unsure whether or not I will continue with the series. I really disliked the way the book switched between these two characters when the stories were fairly separate. If the next book is formatted this way I probably won't read it.

      Overall this is a promising start to a new epic fantasy series featuring strong female characters. I really disliked the format of how each chapter switched between a different story/book and forced the reader to jump back and forth.
    • 4/5
      One of those books which brings to mind the wisdom of Mr. Dean Winchester: "Angels are kind of dicks."

      Okay, that's kind of flip and implies a lightness that this book doesn't possess. This is dark, intense stuff with shades of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel novels (though with less sex) and Goblet of Fire and even Marie Lu's Young Elites. I'll be waiting eagerly for Book 2, even knowing things will get worse for Eliana before they get better—and, judging by the prologue, for Rielle they can only get worse, never better.
    • 5/5
      This novel will publish May 22, 2018. It is a fantasy novel.

      Angels are not to be trusted. They have been banished behind a great gate. The gate cannot hold; eventually they will escape. Legend has it that two queens will emerge--one of blood to destroy and one of light to save the people from the angels..

      Rielle, Audric, and Ludivine have all grown up together, knowing that Audric and Ludivine will marry to bring families together and strengthen the kingdom. All of that is in the future. They happily enjoy each other’s company until everything changes in moments. Rielle has been closely watched by her father and her tutor, Tal, to keep her powers under control. If she loses control, she can destroy. The problem is that Rielle is a bit headstrong and would like more freedom. One fateful day, Rielle and Audric decide to masquerade as riders in a race. When spies infiltrate the race, Rielle’s powers are discovered. Is she the sun queen legend has foretold?

      Eliana lives 1000 years after Queen Rielle. The legend has become merely stories by this time although some still believe, including Eliana’s brother, Remy, who collects the stories. Eliana kills to survive and hides any guilt--only Remy knows her secrets and suspects her guilt. When women begin to be taken in the night, Eliana determines to find what is happening with help from her best friend, Harkan. During her investigation, Eliana life changes when she joins the group she has worked against and discovers what’s truly going on.

      As this is book one, the novel ends with a cliffhanger. I could not put this book down. The chapters alternate between Rielle and Eliana. Their lives are so different, but in both, the common people are in need of help from the strong. Good isn’t always light and evil isn’t always dark--nothing can be assumed to represent the stereotype, but I will say the evil ones are truly evil. Enjoy!
    • 3/5
      This is the very long first installment of a trilogy about heroines with more magical powers than they know what to do with. The chapters alternate between the stories of Rielle and Eliana, both dealing with struggles to manage their power against forces of evil. For my taste, in spite of the maps included, the book took much too long to make sense of the kingdoms, the political structure, the relationships, and the connections between stories. I found myself skipping impatiently over the opening quotes of each chapter, and I became more focused on Eliana's story. It wasn't a deal-breaker that I didn't like the main characters, since often that makes a book more interesting. It was just that it all took too long and was unnecessarily complicated, and I didn't really care about what happened to either Rielle or Eliana.

    Book preview

    Furyborn - Claire Legrand

    1

    Rielle

    Lord Commander Dardenne came to me in the middle of the night, his daughter in his arms. They smelled of fire; their clothes were singed. He could hardly speak. I had never seen the man afraid before. He thrust Rielle into my arms and said, ‘Help us. Help her. Don’t let them take her from me.’

    —Testimony of Grand Magister Taliesin Belounnon, on Lady Rielle Dardenne’s involvement in the Boon Chase massacre

    April 29, Year 998 of the Second Age

    TWO YEARS EARLIER

    Rielle Dardenne hurried into Tal’s office and dropped the sparrow’s message onto his desk.

    Princess Runa is dead, she announced.

    She wouldn’t describe her mood as excited exactly, but her own kingdom, Celdaria, and their northeastern neighbor, Borsvall, had lived in a state of tension for so many decades that it was hardly noteworthy when, say, a Celdarian merchant ship sank off Borsvall’s coast or patrols came to blows near the border.

    But a murdered Borsvall princess? That was news. And Rielle wanted to dissect every piece of it.

    Tal let out a sigh, set down his pen, and dragged his ink-smudged hands through his messy blond hair. The polished golden flame pinned to his lapel winked in the sunlight.

    Perhaps, Tal suggested, turning a look on Rielle that was not quite disapproval and not quite amusement, you should consider looking less thrilled about a princess’s murder?

    She slid into the chair across from him. I’m not happy about it or anything. I’m simply intrigued. Rielle pulled the slip of paper back across the desk and read over the inked words once more. So you do think it was assassination? Audric thinks so.

    Promise me you won’t do anything stupid today, Rielle.

    She smiled sweetly at him. When have I ever done anything stupid?

    He quirked an eyebrow. The city guard is on high alert. I want you here, safe in the temple, in case anything happens. He took the message from her, scanning its contents. How did you get this, anyway? No, wait. I know. Audric gave it to you.

    Rielle stiffened. Audric keeps me informed. He’s a good friend. Where’s the harm in that?

    Tal didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to.

    If you have something to say to me, she snapped, color climbing up her cheeks, then just say it. Or else let’s begin our lesson.

    Tal watched her a moment longer, then turned to pick up four enormous books sitting on the shelf behind him.

    Here, he said, ignoring the mutinous expression on her face. I’ve marked some passages for you to read. Today will be devoted to quiet study. And I’ll test you later, so don’t even think about skimming.

    Rielle narrowed her eyes at the book on the top of the stack. "A Concise History of the Second Age, Volume I: The Aftermath of the Angelic Wars. She made a face. This hardly looks concise."

    It’s all a matter of perspective, he said, returning to the papers on his desk.

    Rielle’s favorite place in Tal’s office was the window seat overlooking the main temple courtyard. It was piled high with scarlet cushions lined in gold piping, and when she sat there, dangling her legs out into the sun, she could almost forget that there was an enormous world beyond the temple and her city—a world she would never see.

    She settled by the window, kicked off her boots, hiked up her heavy lace-trimmed skirts, and rested her bare feet on the sill. The spring sunlight washed her legs in warmth, and soon she was thinking of how Audric blossomed on bright, sun-filled days like this one. How his skin seemed to glow and crackle, begging to be touched.

    Tal cleared his throat, breaking her focus.

    Tal knew her far too well.

    She cracked open A Concise History, took one look at the tiny, faded text, and imagined tossing the book out the window and into the temple courtyard, where citizens were filing in for morning prayers—to pray that the riders they had wagered upon in today’s race would win, no doubt. Every temple in the capital would be full of such eager souls, not just there in the Pyre—Tal’s temple, where citizens worshipped Saint Marzana the firebrand—but in the House of Light and the House of Night as well and the Baths and the Firmament, the Forge and the Holdfast. Whispered prayers in all seven temples, to all seven saints and their elements.

    Wasted prayers, thought Rielle with a slight, sharp thrill. The other racers will look like children on ponies compared to me.

    She flipped through a few pages, biting the inside of her lip until she felt calm enough to speak. I’ve heard many in the Borsvall court are blaming Celdaria for Runa’s death. We wouldn’t do such a thing, would we?

    Tal’s pen scratched across his paper. Certainly not.

    But it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, does it? If King Hallvard’s councils convince him that we killed his daughter, he will declare war at last.

    Tal dropped his pen with a huff of annoyance. I’m not going to get any work done today, am I?

    Rielle swallowed her grin. If only you knew how true that is, dearest Tal.

    I’m sorry if I have questions about the political climate of our country, she said. Does that fall under the category of things we’re not allowed to discuss, lest my poor vulnerable brain shatter from the stress?

    A smile twitched at the corner of Tal’s mouth. Borsvall might declare war, yes.

    You don’t seem concerned about this possibility.

    "I find it unlikely. We’ve been on the edge of war with Borsvall for decades, and yet it has never happened. And it will never happen, because the Borsvall people may be warmongers, but King Hallvard is neither healthy nor stupid. We would flatten his army. He can’t afford a war with anyone, much less with Celdaria."

    Audric said… Rielle hesitated. A twist of unease slipped down her throat. Audric said he thinks Princess Runa’s death, and the slave rebellion in Kirvaya, means it’s time. That the Queens are coming.

    Silence fell over the room like a shroud.

    Audric has always been fascinated with the prophecy, Tal said, his voice deceptively calm. He’s been looking for signs of the Queens’ coming for years.

    He sounds rather convinced this time.

    A slave rebellion and a dead princess are hardly enough to—

    But I heard Grand Magister Duval talking about how there have been storms across the ocean in Meridian, she pressed on, searching his face. Even as far as Ventera and Astavar. Strange storms, out of season.

    Tal blinked. Ah, thought Rielle. You didn’t know that, did you?

    Storms do occur out of season from time to time, Tal said. The empirium works in mysterious ways.

    Rielle curled her fingers in her skirts, taking comfort in the fact that soon she would be in her riding trousers and boots, her collar open to the breeze.

    She would be on the starting line.

    The report I read, she continued, said that a dust storm in southern Meridian had shut down the entire port of Morsia for days.

    Audric needs to stop showing you every report that comes across his desk.

    Audric didn’t show me anything. I found this one myself.

    Tal raised an eyebrow. You mean you snuck into his office when he wasn’t there and went through his papers.

    Rielle’s cheeks grew hot. I was looking for a book I’d left behind.

    Indeed. And what would Audric say if he knew you’d been in his office without his permission?

    He wouldn’t care. I’m free to come and go as I please.

    Tal closed his eyes. Lady Rielle, you can’t just visit the crown prince’s private rooms day and night as though it’s nothing. You’re not children anymore. And you are not his fiancée.

    Rielle lost her breath for an instant. I’m well aware of that.

    Tal waved a hand and rose from his chair, effectively ending all talk of the prophecy and its Queens.

    The city is crowded today—and unpredictable, he said, walking across the room to pour himself another cup of tea. Word is spreading about Princess Runa’s death. In such a climate, the empirium can behave in similarly unpredictable ways. Perhaps we should begin a round of prayers to steady our minds. Amid the chaos of the world, the burning flame serves as an anchor, binding us in peace to the empirium and to God.

    Rielle glared at him. Don’t use your magister voice, Tal. It makes you sound old.

    He sighed, took a sip of his tea. I am old. And grumpy, thanks to you.

    Thirty-two is hardly old, especially to already be Grand Magister of the Pyre. She paused. She would need to proceed carefully. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were appointed as the next Archon. Surely, with someone as talented as you beside me, I could safely watch the Chase from your box—

    Don’t try to flatter me, Lady Rielle. His eyes sparked at her. There was the Tal she liked—the ferocious firebrand, not the pious teacher. It isn’t safe for you out there right now, not to mention dangerous for everyone else if something set you off and you lost control.

    Rielle slammed shut A Concise History and rose from the window seat. Damn you, Tal.

    Not in the temple, please, Tal admonished over the rim of his cup.

    I’m not a child. Do you really think I don’t know better by now? Her voice turned mocking. ‘Rielle, let’s say a prayer together to calm you.’ ‘Rielle, let’s sing a song about Saint Katell the Magnificent to take your mind off things.’ ‘No, Rielle, you can’t go to the masque. You might forget yourself. You might have fun, God forbid.’ If Father had his way, I’d stay locked up for the rest of my life with my nose buried in a book or on my knees in prayer, whipping myself every time I had a stray angry thought. Is that the kind of life you would like for me too?

    Tal watched her, unmoved. If it meant you were safe and that others were safe as well? Yes, I would.

    Kept under lock and key like some criminal. A familiar, frustrated feeling rose within her; she pushed it back down with a vengeance. She would not lose control, not today of all days.

    Do you know, she said, her voice falsely bright, that when it storms, Father takes me down to the servants’ quarters and gives me dumbwort? It puts me to sleep, and he locks me up and leaves me there.

    After a pause, Tal answered, Yes.

    I used to fight him. He would hold me down and slap me, pinch my nose shut until I couldn’t breathe and had to open my mouth. Then he would shove the vial between my lips and make me drink, and I would spit it up, but he would keep forcing me to drink, whispering to me everything I’d ever done wrong, and right in the middle of yelling how much I hated him, I would fall asleep. And when I would wake up, the storm would be over.

    A longer pause. Yes, Tal answered softly. I know.

    "He thinks storms are too provocative for me. They give me ideas, he says."

    Tal cleared his throat. That was my fault.

    I know.

    But the medicine, that was his suggestion.

    She gave him a withering look. And did you try to talk him out of it?

    He did not answer, and the patience on his face left her seething.

    I don’t fight him anymore, she said. I hear a crack of thunder and go below without him even asking me to. How pathetic I’ve become.

    Rielle… Tal sighed, shook his head. Everything I could say to you, I’ve said before.

    She approached him, letting the loneliness she typically hid from him—from everyone—soften her face. Come, good Magister Belounnon. Pity your sweet Rielle. He broke first, looking away from her. Something like sorrow shifted across his face, and his jaw tightened.

    Good.

    He’d let me sleep through life if he could, she said.

    He loves you, Rielle. He worries for you.

    Heat snapped at Rielle’s fingertips, growing along with her anger. With a stubborn stab of fury, she let it come. She knew she shouldn’t, that an outburst would only make it more difficult to sneak away, but suddenly she could not bring herself to care.

    He loves you, Rielle.

    A father who loved his daughter would not make her his prisoner.

    She seized one of the candles from Tal’s desk and watched with grim satisfaction as the wick burst into a spitting, unruly flame. As she stared at it, she imagined her fury as a flooding river, steadily spilling over its banks and feeding the flame in her hands.

    The flame grew—the size of a pen, a dagger, a sword. Then every candle followed suit, a forest of fiery blades.

    Tal rose from his desk and picked up the handsome polished shield from its stand in the corner of the room. Every elemental who had ever lived—every waterworker and windsinger, every shadowcaster and every firebrand like Tal—had to use a casting, a physical object uniquely forged by their own hands, to access their power. Their singular power, the one element they could control.

    But not Rielle.

    She needed no casting, and fire was not the only element that obeyed her.

    All of them did.

    Tal stood behind her, one hand holding his shield, the other hand resting gently on her own. As a child, back when she had still thought she loved Tal, such touches had thrilled her.

    Now she seriously considered punching him.

    In the name of Saint Marzana the Brilliant, Tal murmured, we offer this prayer to the flames, that the empirium might hear our plea and grant us strength: Fleet-footed fire, blaze not with fury or abandon. Burn steady and true, burn clean and burn bright.

    Rielle bit down on harsh words. How she hated praying. Every familiar word felt like a new bar being added to the cage her father and Tal had crafted for her.

    The room began to shake—the inkwell on Tal’s desk, the panes of glass in the open window, Tal’s half-finished cup of tea.

    Rielle? Tal prompted, shifting his shield. In his body behind her, she felt a rising hot tension as he prepared to douse her fire with his own power. Despite her best efforts, the concern in his voice caused her a twinge of remorse. He meant well, she knew. He wanted, desperately, for her to be happy.

    Unlike her father.

    So Rielle bowed her head and swallowed her anger. After all, what she was about to do might turn Tal against her forever. She could allow him this small victory.

    Blaze not with fury or abandon, she repeated, closing her eyes. She imagined setting aside every scrap of emotion, every sound, every thought, until her mind was a vast field of darkness—except for the tiny spot of light that was the flame in her hands.

    Then she allowed the darkness to seep across the flame as well and was left alone in the cool, still void of her mind.

    The room calmed.

    Tal’s hand fell away.

    Rielle listened as he returned his shield to its stand. The prayer had scraped her clean, and in the wake of her anger she felt…nothing. A hollow heart and an empty head.

    When she opened her eyes, they were dry and tired. She wondered bitterly what it would be like to live without a constant refrain of prayers in her thoughts, warning her against her own feelings.

    The temple bells chimed eleven times; Rielle’s pulse jumped. Any moment now, she would hear Ludivine’s signal.

    She turned toward the window. No more prayers, no more reading. Every muscle in her body surged with energy. She wanted to ride.

    I’d rather be dead than live as my father’s prisoner, she said at last, unable to resist that last petulant stab.

    Dead like your mother?

    Rielle froze. When she faced Tal, he did not look away. She had not expected that cruelty. From her father, yes, but never from Tal.

    The memory of long-ago flames blazed across her vision.

    Did Father instruct you to bring that up if I got out of hand? she asked, keeping her voice flat and cool. What with the Chase and all.

    Yes, Tal answered, unflinching.

    Well, I’m happy to tell you I’ve only killed the one time. You needn’t worry yourself.

    After a moment, Tal turned to straighten the books on his desk. This is as much for your safety as it is for everyone else’s. If the king discovered we’d been hiding the truth of your power all these years…You know what could happen. Especially to your father. And yet he does it because he loves you more than you’ll ever understand.

    Rielle laughed sharply. That isn’t reason enough to treat me like this. I’ll never forgive him for it. Someday, I’ll stop forgiving you too.

    I know, Tal said, and at the sadness in his voice, Rielle nearly took pity on him.

    Nearly.

    But then a great crash sounded from downstairs, and an unmistakable cry of alarm.

    Ludivine.

    Tal gave Rielle that familiar look he so often had—when she had, at seven, overflowed their pool at the Baths; when he had found her, at fifteen, the first time she snuck out to Odo’s tavern. That look of What did I do to deserve such trials?

    Rielle gazed innocently back at him.

    Stay here, he ordered. I mean it, Rielle. I appreciate your frustration—truly, I do—but this is about more than the injustice of you feeling bored.

    Rielle returned to the window seat, hoping her expression appeared suitably abashed.

    I love you, Tal, she said, and the truth of that was enough to make her hate herself a little.

    I know, he replied. Then he threw on his magisterial robe and swept out the door.

    Magister, it’s Lady Ludivine, came a panicked voice from the hallway—one of Tal’s young acolytes. She’d only just arrived in the chapel, my lord, when she turned pale and collapsed. I don’t know what happened!

    Summon my healer, Tal instructed, and send a message to the queen. She’ll be in her box at the starting line. Tell her that her niece has taken ill and will not be joining her there.

    Once they had gone, Rielle smiled and yanked on her boots.

    Stay here?

    Not a chance.

    She hurried through the sitting room outside Tal’s office and into the temple’s red-veined marble hallways, where embroidered flourishes of shimmering flames lined the plush carpets. The temple entryway, its parquet floor polished to a sheen of gold, was a flurry of activity as worshippers, acolytes, and servants hurried across to the peaked chapel doors.

    It’s Lady Ludivine, a young acolyte whispered to her companion as Rielle passed. Apparently she’s taken ill.

    Rielle grinned, imagining everyone fussing over poor Ludivine, tragically lovely and faint on the temple floor. Ludivine would enjoy the attention—and the reminder that she had the entire capital held like a puppet on its master’s strings.

    Even so, Rielle would owe her a tremendous favor after this.

    Whatever it was, it would be more than worth it.

    Ludivine’s horse stood next to her own just outside the temple, held by a young stable hand who seemed on the verge of panic. He recognized Rielle and sagged with relief.

    Pardon me, Lady Rielle, but is Lady Ludivine all right? he asked.

    Haven’t the faintest, Rielle replied, swinging up into the saddle. Then she snapped the reins, and her mare bolted down the main road that led from the Pyre into the heart of the city, hooves clattering against the cobblestones. A tumbled array of apartments and temple buildings rose around them—gray stone walls engraved with scenes of the capital city’s creation, rounded roofs of burnished copper, slender columns wrapped in flowering ivy, white fountains crowned with likenesses of the seven saints in prayer. So many visitors had come from all over the world to Âme de la Terre for the Chase that the cool spring air now pressed thick and close. The city smelled of sweat and spices, hot horse and hot coin.

    As Rielle tore down the road, the crowd parted in alarm on either side of her, shouting angry curses until they realized who she was and fell silent. She guided her mare through the twisting streets and made for the main city gates, her body pulled tight with nerves.

    But she would not give in to her power today.

    She would compete in the Boon Chase, as any citizen was free to do, and prove to her father that she could control herself, even when her life was in danger and the eyes of the entire city were upon her.

    She would prove to him, and to Tal, that she deserved to live a normal life.

    2

    Eliana

    Eliana says that on the day the Empire took our city, you couldn’t breathe without choking on the taste of blood. She said I should be glad I was only a baby, but I wish I could remember it. Maybe then I would be stronger. I would be a warrior. Like her.

    —Journal of Remy Ferracora, citizen of Orline

    February 3, Year 1018 of the Third Age

    1,020 YEARS LATER

    Eliana was on the hunt when she heard the first scream.

    Screams weren’t so unusual in the city of Orline, especially in the Barrens, where slums sprawled across the river docks in a dark plain of misery.

    This one, though, was high, piercing—a young girl’s scream—and fell silent so abruptly Eliana thought she might have been imagining things.

    Did you hear that? she whispered to Harkan, who stood beside her with his back against the wall.

    Harkan tensed. Hear what?

    That scream. A girl.

    I heard no scream.

    Eliana glanced at the nearby darkened window, adjusted her new velvet mask, admired the lean lines of her body. Well, we all know your hearing’s shit.

    My hearing is not shit, Harkan muttered.

    It’s not as good as mine.

    We can’t all be as marvelous as the Dread of Orline.

    Eliana sighed. Sad, but true.

    I think even I, with my shit ears, would hear a scream. Maybe you imagined it.

    But Eliana didn’t think so.

    In the city of Orline, girls and women had been disappearing of late—not shipped off to an Empire work camp nor taken to the Lord of Orline’s palace to be trained in the maidensfold. Those things left behind gossip, trails of evidence.

    These recent girls were simply being taken. One moment they were there; the next they were gone.

    At first, Eliana hadn’t let herself care. No one in her neighborhood had been taken, and she didn’t think the Empire would start abducting its own favored citizens. Her family was safe. It therefore wasn’t her problem.

    But the more girls disappeared, the more stories she heard of vanished women, the harder it became for her to ignore the situation. So many sisters gone, and so many mothers—snatched from their loved ones, taken as they slept. Not criminals, not Red Crown rebels.

    And then there were the rumors that persisted in some circles, despite their absurdity, of a hole in the sky on the other side of the world. Possibly in Celdaria. Possibly in the Sunderlands. Every rumor told a different tale. Some thought everything was connected—the hole in the sky, the vanished girls.

    Eliana was not one of them. Hole in the sky? More like fear run amok. People were becoming hysterical enough to look to archaic legends for comfort and truth.

    Eliana refused to join them.

    Then she heard it again: a second scream. Closer.

    A sour feeling drifted through her body, raking violent chills across her skin. The world tilted, froze, then righted itself. The sweet odor of the white gemma tree flowers overhead turned rancid.

    Beside her, Harkan shifted. Are you all right?

    Don’t you feel that?

    "Feel what? What’s going on with you tonight?"

    I feel… The edges of her vision shimmered like a heat mirage. I don’t know what I feel. Like an adatrox is nearby, but worse.

    At the mention of the Empire soldiers, Harkan tensed. I don’t see any adatrox. Are you sure?

    A third scream—more desperate this time and quickly stifled.

    Whoever it is, Eliana muttered, her voice tight and angry, they’re close.

    "What? Who?"

    Arabeth’s next meal. Eliana flashed Harkan a grin, then unsheathed Arabeth—the long, jagged-bladed dagger she kept at her hip. Time to play.

    With one last peek at her reflection, she darted out from the shadows and into the cramped, grime-slicked alleyways of lower Orline. Harkan called after her; she ignored him. If he wanted to stop her, he could try, but she’d have him flat on his back in two seconds.

    She smirked. The last time she’d pinned him like that, it had been to his bed.

    She honestly couldn’t decide which context she preferred.

    All the same, she didn’t want to start a fight just yet. Not when she had a girl-snatcher to hunt.

    She entered the Barrens, slipping between patched tents and sagging wooden shacks dotted with dying fires. Beyond the Barrens crawled the wide Bruvian river, its banks clogged with piles of festering white moss.

    Her first time in these slums, aged ten, she had nearly gagged from the smell. That had earned her a hard glare from her mother.

    Now, eight years later, the stench hardly registered.

    She scanned the night: A beggar picking the pockets of an unconscious drunkard. A gaunt young man, coifed and powdered, coaxing a woman through a painted door.

    Another scream. Fainter. They were heading for the river.

    The feeling crawling up her spine magnified. It felt—she knew no other way to describe it—as though it had a will.

    She placed her hands on her knees, squeezed her eyes shut. Spots of color danced behind her eyelids. On the battered wooden support beam beside her, someone had scrawled a childish drawing of a masked woman in black, leaping through the air with a knife in each hand.

    Despite the ill feeling blotting her vision, Eliana couldn’t help but grin.

    El, for the love of the saints, what are you doing? Harkan came up beside her, put a hand on her shoulder. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?

    Me? Hurt? She swallowed hard against the sick feeling tightening her throat. Dearest Harkan. She gestured grandly at the drawing of herself. How could you think such a thing of the Dread of Orline?

    She sprinted away and jumped off the top level of the docks onto another level about one hundred feet below. The impact jolted her with only a slight pain. She was up and running again in an instant. Such a fall would break Harkan’s legs; he’d have to take the long way down.

    If Remy were there, he would tell her not to be so obvious.

    People have started to notice, he had told her just the other day. I hear talk at the bakery.

    Eliana, stretching on the floor of her bedroom, had asked innocently, What kind of talk?

    When a girl falls three stories and then jumps right back to her feet in the middle of the Garden Square, people tend to notice. Especially when she’s wearing a cape.

    Eliana had smiled at the thought of their gaping, awestruck faces. And what if I want them to notice?

    Remy had been quiet for a long moment. Then: "Do you want Invictus to come and take you away from me?"

    That had silenced her. She’d looked up at her little brother’s pale, pinched face and felt her stomach turn over.

    I’m sorry, she’d told him quietly. I’m such an ass.

    I don’t care if you’re an ass, he’d replied. Just don’t be a show-off.

    He was right, she knew. The problem was, she liked showing off. If she was going to be a freak with a miraculous body that no fall could kill, then she might as well have fun with it.

    If she was busy having fun, then she didn’t have time to wonder why her body could do what it did.

    And what that meant.

    Running through the docks, she followed the trail of wrongness in the air like tracking the scent of prey. The docks’ lowest level was quiet, the summer air still and damp. She ran around one corner and then another—and stopped. The scent, the feeling, roiled at the edge of this rickety pier. She forced her way forward, even though her churning stomach and every roaring ounce of her blood screamed at her to stay away.

    Two figures—masked and wearing dark traveling clothes—waited in a long, sleek boat at the pier’s edge. Their tall, blunt builds suggested they were men. A third figure carried a small girl with golden-brown skin like Harkan’s. The girl struggled, a gag stuffed in her mouth, her wrists and ankles bound.

    Red Crown? Unlikely. What would the rebels want with stolen children? And if Red Crown were involved in the abductions, Eliana would have heard whispers from the underground by now.

    They could be bounty hunters like herself, but why would the Undying Empire pay for what it could simply take? And working in a group? Very unlikely.

    One of the figures in the boat held out its arms for the girl. Lumps crowded the boat’s floor—other women, other girls, bound and unconscious.

    Eliana’s anger ignited.

    She pulled long, thin Whistler from her left boot.

    Going somewhere, gentlemen? she called and ran at them.

    The figure on the dock turned just as Eliana reached him. She whirled, caught him with her boot under his chin. He fell, choking.

    One of the figures from the boat jumped onto the dock. She swiped him across the throat with Arabeth, pushed him into the water after his comrade.

    She spun around, triumphant, beckoned at the abductor still waiting in the boat.

    Come on, love, she crooned. You’re not afraid of me, are you?

    Once, she had flinched at killing. Her first had been six years ago, at the age of twelve. Rozen Ferracora, Eliana’s mother, had brought her along on a job—the last Rozen had taken before her injury—and someone had ratted them out. The rebels had known they were coming. It had been an ambush.

    Rozen had felled two of them, and Eliana had hidden in the shadows. That had always been her mother’s instruction: I’ll keep you from killing as long as I can, sweet girl. For now, watch. Learn. Practice. What my father taught me, I will teach you.

    Then one of the rebels had pinned Rozen to the ground, and Eliana had known nothing but rage.

    She flew at the rebel woman, thrust her little blade deep into the woman’s back. Then she stood, staring, as the woman gasped away her life in a pool of blood.

    Rozen had taken Eliana’s hand, hurried her away. Back home in their kitchen, her brother, Remy—then only five—had stared wide-eyed as Eliana’s shock gave way to panic. Hands red with blood, she had sobbed herself hoarse in her mother’s arms.

    Luckily, the killing had grown much easier.

    Two masked figures darted forward out of the shadows, small bundles in their arms. More girls? They tossed the bundles to their last remaining comrade in the boat, then spun to meet her. She ducked one blow, then another, then took a hard one to the stomach and a sharp hook to the jaw.

    She stumbled, shook it off. The pain vanished as quickly as it had come. She whirled and stabbed another of the brutes. He toppled into the filthy water.

    Then a wave of nausea slammed into her, mean as a boot to the gut. She dropped to her knees, gasping for air. A weight settled on her shoulders, fogged her vision, pressed her down hard against the river-slicked dock.

    Five seconds. Ten. Then the pressure vanished. The air no longer felt misaligned around her body; her skin no longer crawled. She raised her head, forced open her eyes. The boat was gliding away.

    Wild with anger, head still spinning, Eliana staggered to her feet. A strong arm came around her middle, pulling her backward just as she prepared to dive.

    Get off me, she said tightly, or I’ll get nasty. She elbowed Harkan in his ribs.

    He swore, but didn’t let go. El, have you lost your mind? This isn’t the job.

    They took her. She stomped on his instep, twisted out of his grip, ran back to the dock’s edge.

    He followed and caught her arm, spun her around to face him. It doesn’t matter. This isn’t the job.

    Her grin emerged hard as glass. When has restraining me ever worked out in your favor? Oh, wait. She sidled closer, softened her smile. I can think of a time or two—

    Stop it, El. What have you always told me? His dark eyes found hers, locked on. If it isn’t the job, it isn’t our problem.

    Her smile faded. She yanked her arm away from him. "They keep taking us. Why? And who are they? Why only the girls? And what was that…that feeling? I’ve never felt anything like that before."

    He looked dubious. Maybe you need to sleep.

    She hesitated, despair creeping slowly in. You felt nothing at all?

    Sorry, no.

    She glared at him, ignoring the unsettled feeling in her gut. Well, even so, that girl was no rebel. She was a child. Why would they bother taking her?

    Whatever the reason, it’s not our problem, Harkan repeated. He took a long, slow breath, perhaps convincing himself. Not tonight. We have work to do.

    Eliana stared out at the river for a long time. She imagined carving a face into a slab of flawless stone—no sweat, no scars. Only a hard smile that would come when called, and eyes like knives at night. By the time she had finished, her anger had faded and the unfeeling face was her own.

    She turned to Harkan, brought out the cheeky little grin he despised. Shall we, then? Those bastards worked up my appetite.

    • • •

    The Red Crown rebel smuggler known as Quill snuck both people and information out of Orline. He was good at it too—one of the best.

    It had taken weeks for Eliana and Harkan to track him down.

    Now, they crouched on a roof overlooking a tiny courtyard in the Old Quarter, where Quill was supposed to meet a group of rebel sympathizers trying to flee the city. The courtyard reeked sweetly from the roses lining the walls.

    Beside her, Harkan shifted, alert.

    Eliana watched dark shapes enter the courtyard and crowd together in the corner below a climbing rosebush. Waiting.

    Not long after, a hooded figure entered from the opposite corner and approached them. Eliana curled her fingers around her dagger, her blood racing.

    The clouds shifted; moonlight washed the yard clean.

    Eliana’s heart stuttered and sank.

    Quill. It had to be him. There was the faint limp in his gait, from a wound sustained during the invasion.

    And there, waiting for him, were a woman and three small children.

    Harkan swore under his breath. He pointed at the children, signed with his hand. He and Eliana had engineered a silent code years ago, when she first started hunting alone after Rozen’s injury. He had insisted she not go by herself, and so he had learned to hunt and track, to kill, to turn on their own people and serve the Empire instead—all for her.

    No, came his message. Abort.

    She knew what he meant. The children weren’t part of this job. Quill was one thing, but the idea of handing innocent children over to the Lord of Orline… It wouldn’t sit well with Harkan.

    Honestly, it didn’t with Eliana either.

    But three rebels waited at the courtyard’s shadowed entrance: Quill’s escort and protectors. There was no time, and it was too big a risk to spare the family. She and Harkan had to move quickly.

    She shook her head. Take them, she signed back.

    Harkan drew a too-loud breath; she heard the furious sadness in it.

    Below, Quill’s head whipped toward them.

    Eliana jumped off the roof, landed lightly, rolled to her feet. Thought, briefly, how it was a terrible shame that she couldn’t sit back and watch herself fight. Surely it looked as good as it felt.

    Quill drew a dagger; the mother fell to her knees, begging for mercy. Quill pushed his hood back. Middle-aged, ruddy-faced, and intelligent in the eyes, he had a serenity to him that said, I fear not death, but surrender.

    Four seconds later, Eliana had kicked his bad leg out from under him, relieved him of his knife, struck the back of his head with the hilt. He did not rise again.

    She heard Harkan land behind her, followed by rapid footsteps as the other rebels rushed into the courtyard. Together she and Harkan had them down in moments. She whirled and flung her dagger. It hit the wooden courtyard door, trapping the eldest child in place by his cloak.

    The others froze and burst into tears.

    Their mother lay glassy-eyed on the ground in a bed of rotting petals. One of the rebel’s daggers protruded from her heart.

    Eliana yanked it free—another blade for her arsenal. She wondered why the rebels had killed the woman. To protect themselves?

    Or to grant her mercy they knew she would not otherwise receive.

    Fetch the guard, Eliana ordered, searching the mother for valuables. She found nothing except for a small idol of the Emperor, crafted from mud and sticks, no doubt kept on her person in case an adatrox patrol stopped her for a search. The idol’s beady black eyes glittered in the moonlight. She tossed it aside. The children’s sobs grew louder. I’ll stay with them.

    Harkan paused, that sad, tired look on his face that made her hackles rise because she knew he hoped it would change her, one of these days. Make her better. Make her good again.

    She lifted an eyebrow. Sorry, Harkan. Good girls don’t live long.

    Then he left.

    The eldest child watched Eliana, arms around his siblings. Some impulse stirring deep inside her urged her to let them go, just this once. It wouldn’t hurt anything. They were children; they were nothing.

    But children couldn’t keep their mouths shut. And if anyone ever found out that the Dread of Orline, Lord Arkelion’s pet huntress, had let traitors run free…

    We were afraid the bad men would take her too, the boy said simply. That’s why we wanted to leave.

    The bad men. A tiny chill skipped up Eliana’s neck. The masked men from the docks?

    But the boy said no more than that. He did not even try to run.

    Smart boy, Eliana thought.

    He knew he would not get far.

    • • •

    The next afternoon, Eliana stood on a balcony overlooking the gallows.

    Lord Arkelion lounged at the east end of the square, the high back of his throne carved to resemble wings.

    Eliana, watching him, folded her arms across her chest. Shifted her weight to one hip. Tried to ignore the figure standing in a red-and-black Invictus uniform beside His Lordship’s throne.

    From this height, Eliana couldn’t tell who it was, but it didn’t matter. The mere sight of that familiar silhouette was enough to turn her stomach.

    Invictus: a company of assassins that traveled the world and carried out the Emperor’s bidding. The most dangerous jobs, the bloodiest jobs.

    It was only a matter of time before they recruited her. She imagined it daily, just to see if the idea would ever stop terrifying her.

    So far, it hadn’t.

    Probably Rahzavel would be the one to come for her. Eliana had seen him at a handful of His Lordship’s parties over the years. Each time, he had requested a dance with her. Each time, his flat gray gaze had dared her to refuse him.

    Oh, how she’d wished she could have.

    An invincible bounty hunter, he had crooned in her ear during their last dance together the previous summer. How curious. He had threaded his cold fingers through hers. You’ll make a fine addition to our family someday.

    When Rahzavel came for her, he probably wouldn’t even let her say goodbye to her loved ones before escorting her overseas to Celdaria, the heart of the Undying Empire—and to the Emperor himself.

    Welcome, Eliana Ferracora, the Emperor said in her most awful dreams, his smile not reaching his black eyes. I’ve heard so much about you.

    And that would be the end of life as she now knew it. She would become one of the elite—a soldier of Invictus.

    She would become, like Rahzavel, a new breed of monster.

    Today, however, was not that day.

    So Eliana watched, tapping her fingers against her arm, wishing His Lordship would get it over with. She was hungry and tired, and Harkan was beside himself with shame. And the longer they stood there, the more desperately he would expect something from her that she couldn’t give him:

    Regret.

    The Empire guard marched Quill and the eldest child up to the gallows. It been constructed in the ruins of the temple of Saint Marzana, the revered firebrand of the Old World—the world before the Blood Queen Rielle had died. Before the rise of the Empire.

    Empire soldiers had almost entirely demolished the temple when they seized Orline. Once, the temple had been a grand array of domed halls, classrooms and sanctuaries open to the river breeze, and courtyards draped in blossoming vines. Now, only a few crumbling pillars remained. Saint Marzana’s statue, standing guard at the temple entrance, had been destroyed. A likeness of the Emperor now

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