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Chapters (102)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Map
  5. DRAMATIS PERSONAE
  6. BOOKI
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. BOOKII
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. 6
  36. 7
  37. 8
  38. 9
  39. 10
  40. 11
  41. 12
  42. 13
  43. 14
  44. 15
  45. 16
  46. 17
  47. 18
  48. 19
  49. BOOKIII
  50. 1
  51. 2
  52. 3
  53. 4
  54. 5
  55. 6
  56. 7
  57. 8
  58. 9
  59. 10
  60. 11
  61. 12
  62. 13
  63. 14
  64. 15
  65. 16
  66. 17
  67. BOOKIV
  68. 1
  69. 2
  70. 3
  71. 4
  72. 5
  73. 6
  74. 7
  75. 8
  76. 9
  77. 10
  78. 11
  79. BOOKV
  80. 1
  81. 2
  82. 3
  83. 4
  84. 5
  85. 6
  86. 7
  87. 8
  88. 9
  89. 10
  90. 11
  91. 12
  92. 13
  93. 14
  94. 15
  95. 16
  96. 17
  97. 18
  98. Glossary
  99. Acknowledgments
  100. Also by Andrea Hairston
  101. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  102. Newsletter Sign-up

Arkhys City wise men want a week each month in the library to themselves

Azizi refuses to ban women even for a day, a wedding present to Queen Urzula

Tree oil from Holy City is abundant and nobody freezes on cold nights

The Master of Arms has a fresh supply of warhorses and more recruits every day

Empire coffers are full and warrior morale is high

Azizi won’t give Hezram your chair

“He’s unworthy to crawl on the floor of Council.”

Money, Water, and high priest Ernold scheme for Hezram in secret

Trapped in Arkhys City, your half-brother, wife, and children are in mortal danger

Djola read these last lines a hundred hundred times. His heart thundered; his breath was shallow. Orca woke with a start. He stared at the scroll in Djola’s trembling hands. “Poison?” His heart pounded too.

“Yes. In the letter.”

Orca scooted away from the bark-paper. “Do you know an antidote?”

“No.”

6

Living

Orca lit another lamp and dashed off.

Djola talked on to the walls, in Anawanama. “Grain is a coward who hangs in shadows waiting to see where the winds blow. Kyrie is holed up in her precious mountain. She won’t leave her glaciers to help just a few people. My people.” His chest tightened. Each breath was a stab. “Her own sister!” Djola pounded the deck. “Why write mortal danger to me when I can do nothing but go mad?”

Perhaps Grain hoped to shield himself from Djola’s wrath, in which case Grain was a fool and a coward.

Vandana appeared with Orca in a Lahesh flame-cloth tunic that glowed in the dark. Djola barely noticed. “Assassins have failed the masters at Azizi’s table, so this letter is the knife in my heart.”

The last line read: I didn’t find out until too late. Kyrie sends hope.

“How long has Grain kept this from me?” Djola shouted.

“Who knows?” Vandana knocked the knife that Djola dug into his chest from his hand. It clattered to the floor, loud enough to wake the dead, or maybe that was Djola howling. He shoved past Vandana and stepped on a woman too wounded to roll out of his way.

He cursed Kyrie, Grain, and pirates, priests, thief-lords, farmers, and good citizens then banged into a post and fell. Orca sat on his belly. Vandana cradled his head while he cried.

Djola woke the next morning shivering, yet his insides burned. His head was in Vandana’s lap. She stroked his cheek. Orca curled against his back, snoring. Djola lurched to standing.

“You all right?” Vandana’s stupid question and teary look sent him racing out of sick bay. Up on deck, a freak snowstorm slapped him in the face. He paced along the railing, snarling at a white sky falling into a gray sea.