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Chapters (63)
  1. Dedication
  2. Map
  3. A Note to the Reader
  4. PART ONE
  5. The Keeper
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. PART TWO
  16. The Keeper
  17. Chapter Ten
  18. Chapter Eleven
  19. Chapter Twelve
  20. Chapter Thirteen
  21. Chapter Fourteen
  22. Chapter Fifteen
  23. Chapter Sixteen
  24. Chapter Seventeen
  25. Chapter Eighteen
  26. Chapter Nineteen
  27. Chapter Twenty
  28. Chapter Twenty-one
  29. PART THREE
  30. The Keeper
  31. Chapter Twenty-two
  32. Chapter Twenty-three
  33. Chapter Twenty-four
  34. Chapter Twenty-five
  35. Chapter Twenty-six
  36. Chapter Twenty-seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-eight
  38. Chapter Twenty-nine
  39. PART FOUR
  40. The Keeper
  41. Chapter Thirty
  42. Chapter Thirty-one
  43. Chapter Thirty-two
  44. Chapter Thirty-three
  45. Chapter Thirty-four
  46. Chapter Thirty-five
  47. Chapter Thirty-six
  48. Chapter Thirty-seven
  49. Chapter Thirty-eight
  50. Chapter Thirty-nine
  51. Chapter Forty
  52. Chapter Forty-one
  53. PART FIVE
  54. The Keeper
  55. Chapter Forty-two
  56. Chapter Forty-three
  57. Chapter Forty-four
  58. Chapter Forty-five
  59. Cast of Characters
  60. Acknowledgments
  61. About the Author
  62. Don’t miss any of THE GRACELING REALM novels
  63. What’s next onyour reading list?

Lovisa climbed inside. She wanted to see the varane tank that supplied the balloon with gas. When she found it, she started to laugh. It looked like something built of cheap tin and battered under the hooves of horses.

It was strange, the way she couldn’t feel fear anymore. It was as if a balloon of nothingness had replaced her insides. She didn’t care if this illegal pseudo-airship fell out of the sky while they flew to Torla’s Neck.

No. That wasn’t quite true, because her brain was starting to work again, ever since hearing that her brothers were safe. Where were they? Who was caring for them? Maybe Viri, Erita, and Vikti would never forgive Lovisa for what she’d done. But she could still send a message to the Ledra Magistry. With the queen’s help, she could get her parents put into prison, couldn’t she? In prison, they would be far away from the boys. Surely that would be better. Someone would take care of them, right? Someone competent, who didn’t ruin everything, the way she did. Lovisa wanted a different life for her brothers than the one she’d lived. She wanted more for them: more choice, less punishment, less fear. She didn’t need to be able to feel her feelings to know that that was true.

Chapter Thirty-two

Bitterblue couldn’t stop smelling her own skin.

It smelled like soap, and she was the Queen of Monsea again, and Giddon and Hava were out there somewhere—were they safe? Would she be able to find them? Her thoughts were tumbling over each other and she couldn’t stop eating. In fact, all her appetites were returning.

She kept picturing Giddon answering the door of his rooms, shirtless, with mud streaking his chest. She’d always noticed Giddon’s steadiness and size, she’d tucked herself against him and felt how attached he was to the earth, but she hadn’t known about his muscled shoulders, his chest, his arms, about how he looked half-dressed, and now she kept flushing with heat as she sat in the bath, eating fruit and hugging herself like she was trying to establish her own borders. She shouldn’t be thinking about this. The fox had told her that Benni Cavenda had murdered her two men. She should be making plans to avenge Mikka and Brek. Instead she was spinning like a ball on a string, unwinding from weeks of pent-up tension.

Calm down, she kept telling herself. Calm down. You’re safe now.