Contents ( 48)
- Dedication
- Map
- Contents
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Three Months Later
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
- Books by Kiera Cass
- Back Ad
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
She giggled. “Done.”
Everyone stood to go to bed, and Mother came over to kiss Scarlet’s and my cheek. “My brave girls. Good night, my loves.”
We turned, still hand in hand, and Scarlet rested her head on my shoulder.
“Two decent ideas in one day,” Etan said. “You must be positively exhausted.”
“Too exhausted to argue.”
“Thank goodness. Oh! Here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of bread wrapped in cloth. “I thought that would help your stomach.”
I stood for a moment, staring at it.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t poison it. I was all out.”
I smirked and took the bread. “Well, if you were out. Good night.”
“Good night. Good night, Scarlet.”
She nodded at him, smiling to herself as we headed back to the room. I took tiny bites of the bread while I sat at the small desk, composing a short note for Valentina. I was happy to help my family, but deep in my heart, I just wanted to embrace my friend again. Hopefully, I’d get to do just that tomorrow.
Sixteen
“EVERYONE ELSE HAS ALREADY GONE,” Scarlet told me, coming back into our room. My resolve had faded with the new day, and I was a bundle of nerves. I still wasn’t used to these Isolten dresses, and the fit of the sleeves was taking longer to adjust than I’d hoped. The rest of the family had left to find a good position for communicating with Valentina while Scarlet stayed behind to help me get properly dressed. “Don’t worry,” she said in what was meant to be a calming voice, “we have plenty of time.”
“I know. I’m just so flustered. What if I can’t get the note to Valentina? And if I do, what if she can’t talk to me? And if she does, what if she won’t help us?”
“Then we’ll come up with another plan,” Scarlet said sternly to my reflection. “Now, this is the last knot, so be still.”
I was tied securely into my gown, weighed down in Isolten sleeves, and as ready to face the crowd as I was ever going to be.
“Don’t forget this,” Scarlet said, handing me my handkerchief. Sometimes I looked at my possessions from Coroa and had the sensation I was looking at something that belonged to another person in another time. I’d loved my handkerchiefs so much. I’d embroidered my initials into them myself, added the gold trim all on my own.
Swallowing hard, I crammed it up my sleeve, hoping to keep it mostly hidden. I knew it was also customary in Isolte to give out tokens, but I just didn’t have the heart for it anymore. With Jameson, it felt like we were snubbing the meanest ladies when he took my favors, and it was a pure thrill when Silas picked my handkerchief from the grounds and wore it. But now? Here? It felt wasteful, foolish. If I didn’t have something important to do, I’d have hidden from the whole affair. Besides, who in their right mind was going to take a favor from me?