She stares at me for a heartbeat and then bursts out laughing. Goddess above, her laugh. I close my eyes to savor the sound.“Oh, don’t make that face.” Sand patters against my cheeks, and I open my eyes to see her hiding her hand, like someone else might have thrown the little projectiles.“Which f
AmvalA few days after Kaloni’s coronation, I wait in the side room Ingrid let me into. Through a crack in the door, I watch staff rushing past with crisp precision. Ever since Kaloni took the throne, the palace has returned to its old self. Perhaps even more efficient than it was under Mother and F
I like travel. I like being somewhere new. But staying somewhere new? I’ve already spent a month here, and I have no idea when I’m going to get to leave.“Someone murdered them,” I remind her through the mind-link.Candace bites her lower lip. “Ingrid, the king and queen died in a carriage accident.
IngridAmval polishes off the last of the cake just as the band inside takes their break. Sweet relief. If I return, at least I won’t have to deal with their insipid music or anyone asking me to dance.“I should go back,” I say.He nods. “Of course. We can’t have anyone looking for you out here.”Th
“Thank you,” I say.She strokes the back of my hand. “It’s an easier lesson to learn from the bottom.”There’s an ache in her voice as she says it, and for the first time, I wonder whether Ingrid ever wanted to inherit. But before I can ask, she says, “Would you have had the cake at your coronation?
She fans her face as she swallows. “It would certainly disguise the tears.”I glance through the window at the golden party whirling by inside. Was Kaloni thinking about those books? I heard her speech about the old traditions. She could be mourning in public, even after her mourning is supposed to