Swallowing back the protests that crowd my throat, I push to my feet, my braid swinging against my back. I tug the sleeve of my gray uniform over the bracelet and ask, “Where did you even get this?”

Kendara retrieves her dagger and whetstone from the floor, but rather than reclaim her seat by the balcony doors, she settles into a rocking chair before the fireplace. “A Shadow must keep her secrets.”

“Only some.”

“But all of them today. Now get out, witless child.” She sits so close to the hearth that I worry she’ll catch fire. But she seems to cow even the flames, which don’t dare do more than lick at her toes.

My steps are silent as I cross the room. A single creak of the floorboards, and she won’t call me back for days. In her presence, to be anything less than what she has made me would be an insult.

“Thank you for the gift.” I reach for the door, scratched and marred by the heavy locks. Before leaving, I grin and toss over my shoulder, “Ill-tempered crone.”

TWO

Saengo is waiting for me. She sits astride her drake, beside where I left my own mount. When she sees me, her dark brows crash together in a scowl.

“Do you know what time it is?” she snaps, already turning for the gates. “They’re about to leave. Do you want to be punished?”

“Sisters, save me. Not you, too,” I mutter. I greet Yandor, my drake, with a firm pat to his neck.

The huge lizard gives a pleased shake, the motion rippling through his dark-green scales. Gripping his saddle, I pull myself onto his back. The old leather groans. I brush hair from my face, inky strands that have come loose from my braid. My fingers trace the thin scars that line the top curves of my ears, a mindless action born of repetition.

With a flick of my reins, Yandor’s powerful legs take off running after Saengo’s drake, who’s already halfway down the path.

“I only have enough patience for one relentless grouch today,” I say. Despite Kendara’s nature, I’m always reluctant to leave her.

“And I’ve used up all my patience waiting for you,” Saengo calls over her shoulder.

The path takes us around the Outer Court before exiting the palace grounds. Within minutes, we plunge into the winding, cobbled streets of Vos Talwyn. We head eastward, away from the Grand Palace with its tiered roofs and sharp spires, dipped in gold leaf and sunlight.