Slap.

Amara blinked back the stinging tears as she brought a hand up to her throbbing cheek.

“You might be my daughter and a Ravenwood, but you will never be what Selene could have been: great. Never forget that, Amara. If you want to at least rise above mediocrity, you will do as I say.”

Her mother’s words were sharp and piercing. Amara knew that she wasn’t like Selene. But never had her mother said she was weak and dense before. She dug her fingernails into her palm, drawing strength from the pain as she slowly turned back. “I understand.” Only too clearly. No matter what, Selene would always be the favored daughter, even after she had turned her back on her family.

And Amara was the leftovers.

Endure. Amara gritted her teeth and concentrated on that one word. I will be grand lady of Ravenwood someday. I just need to outlive Mother and endure. Then I will be the one with power.

Lady Ragna waved her hand at Amara dismissively. “Pack your things. Be ready to ride out within the hour. Captain Stanton and two guards will escort you to our border. And Amara”—her eyes came up—“if you fail, don’t come back.”

Amara lifted her chin. “I won’t.”

But her mother was already crossing the bedchambers to the adjoining room.

Amara watched her go, seething as the last of Lady Ragna’s gown swished out of sight. Her fists shook beside her.

I hate you too, Mother.

The road to the border between the mountains and rolling hills ruled by House Luceras was cold and wet. Snow coated the roads, and there was a steady, frigid drizzle. Captain Stanton and the other men spoke little on the journey, and the horses appeared as miserable as their riders felt. The landscape was still bare and dead, save for the occasional green shoot poking up from the ground.

The small company didn’t stop at any inns, choosing instead to find shelter beneath the towering trees that lined the road or in the small caves that dotted the mountainside. Captain Stanton and the two guards were coarse and vulgar around the fire at night, leaving Amara fuming beneath her furs. But she chose not to say anything. If she couldn’t handle a few uncouth men, then she was as big a failure as her mother imagined her to be.

After three miserable days, the hills of Serine emerged between the trees. Captain Stanton pulled up on the reins of his horse and motioned for the other two men to do the same. “This is where we were instructed to leave you, Lady Amara.”

Amara pulled back the hood of her cloak and surveyed the land. Her first mission, and her first time in the lands of House Luceras. After a moment, she dismounted and started to remove her leather satchel from the saddle. As a pilgrim, she would walk the rest of the way, joining others on their journey to the Temple of Splendor. The very thought of spending time with devout peasants left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it would get her into Lux Casta and closer to fulfilling her mission. And the map her mother had drawn from her memory of Palace Levellon would help her get inside.