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Chapters (58)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Part One
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Part Two: Three Months Later
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-one
  27. Part Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-two
  29. Chapter Twenty-three
  30. Chapter Twenty-four
  31. Chapter Twenty-five
  32. Chapter Twenty-six
  33. Chapter Twenty-seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-one
  38. Chapter Thirty-two
  39. Chapter Thirty-three
  40. Chapter Thirty-four
  41. Chapter Thirty-five
  42. Chapter Thirty-six
  43. Chapter Thirty-seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-eight
  45. Chapter Thirty-nine
  46. Chapter Forty
  47. Chapter Forty-one
  48. Chapter Forty-two
  49. Chapter Forty-three
  50. Chapter Forty-four
  51. Chapter Forty-five
  52. Chapter Forty-six
  53. Chapter Forty-seven
  54. Chapter Forty-eight
  55. Epilogue
  56. Acknowledgments
  57. About the Author
  58. Keep Reading for a Sneak Peek at Umbertouched

I place the scorpion back in its cage and step outside. A man I don’t recognize is coming down the trail from the village. His shin-length tunic is trimmed in imperial purple and he is escorted by two soldiers—a messenger from the central empire. The man stops short at the sight of me, and a flash of distaste crosses his face. I can’t tell what bothers him more: my rosemarks or the snake on my arm.

“I seek Zivah, the rosemarked healer of Dara,” he says.

That title vexes me. I see Leora pull her shoulders back.

“I am she,” I say.

The messenger pulls out a clay tablet the size of his hand. “I bear a message from Commander Arxa.”

The commander again? “I sent my regrets with the previous messenger. I cannot go to the Imperial Academy because of my illness.”

The man gives me a patronizing look over the bridge of his nose. “He has received your message and is saddened to learn of your illness. Commander Arxa has recently given a large portion of his personal wealth to expand the rosemarked colony in Sehmar City. He now extends an invitation for you to serve as a healer there, if it is of interest to you.”

I’d never heard of the rosemarked colony in Sehmar, though I’d assumed there must have been something like it. “He would like me to travel there?”

“More healers are needed at the colony, as many of the untouched healers are unwilling to go. The commander adds that as a healer in the capital, you will have an opportunity to work with other physicians within the compound, as well as access to scrolls from the Imperial Academy.”

I can sense Leora’s eyes on me. The Academy still holds its allure, but it’s such a long journey away. To travel so far from my family when I don’t know how many years I have left…

As if sensing my ambivalence, the messenger speaks again. “The commander doesn’t require a response right away. I am only to deliver the message, and you may send word to him when you’re ready. This invitation will serve as a travel document, should you choose to make the journey.” He places the tablet on the ground in front of him, and his bow this time is clearly an invitation for dismissal.

“Thank you for your message. Consider it delivered,” I say.

With another bow, the messenger and his escorts disappear into the bamboo.

Leora speaks as soon as they’re gone. “Will you go?”