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Chapters (70)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Map
  5. Epigraph
  6. BEGINNINGS
  7. PART I
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. TEN
  18. ELEVEN
  19. TWELVE
  20. THIRTEEN
  21. FOURTEEN
  22. FIFTEEN
  23. SIXTEEN
  24. SEVENTEEN
  25. EIGHTEEN
  26. NINETEEN
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. TWENTY-NINE
  37. THIRTY
  38. THIRTY-ONE
  39. THIRTY-TWO
  40. THIRTY-THREE
  41. THIRTY-FOUR
  42. THIRTY-FIVE
  43. THIRTY-SIX
  44. PART II
  45. THIRTY-SEVEN
  46. THIRTY-EIGHT
  47. THIRTY-NINE
  48. FORTY
  49. FORTY-ONE
  50. FORTY-TWO
  51. FORTY-THREE
  52. FORTY-FOUR
  53. FORTY-FIVE
  54. FORTY-SIX
  55. FORTY-SEVEN
  56. FORTY-EIGHT
  57. FORTY-NINE
  58. FIFTY
  59. FIFTY-ONE
  60. FIFTY-TWO
  61. FIFTY-THREE
  62. FIFTY-FOUR
  63. FIFTY-FIVE
  64. FIFTY-SIX
  65. FIFTY-SEVEN
  66. TRICKSTER
  67. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  68. Also by Susan Dennard
  69. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  70. Newsletter Sign-up

There were times when the real Aeduan could reach the surface and break through the being that controlled him.

One moment, he was nothing but darkness. No sense of self, no up or down, no existence at all. Then suddenly, he would awaken—on the move, as if a rope yanked him fast, a ship retrieving its anchor.

Or a Heart-Thread retrieving its other half.

He heard her in those moments. So near to him, even if he could not see. He would recognize her voice anywhere, smooth as a scythe and twice as sharp. Perhaps if he just swam harder, just fought harder against the claws that pulled him down …

There it was. For a fraction of a moment, he had cleared the surface. Light had swept in, carrying her golden eyes, her pursed lips, and the teardrop scar upon her cheekbone.

She was smiling, a hateful smile he’d seen before and hoped never to see again. A smile directed inward. A smile to break men’s souls.

Then Aeduan was dragged under once more. Prey to be consumed at the bottom of the sea, his skin eaten off and bones picked clean. But that was all right. He could heal from that—and he would heal, because she would not let him die. She had saved him before, in the Aether Well deep in the Sirmayans, and she would save him again as long as their souls were bound.

Aether Well. The word licked through Aeduan’s mind as the shadows closed in around him. Something happened at the Aether Well. He couldn’t recall what or how, but suddenly he was certain: the Aether Well was where all of this had begun.

If only he could remember. If only he could break through and tell her …

But he couldn’t and he didn’t. At least not before the claws and the darkness grabbed hold and dragged him to the depths once more.

THIRTY-TWO

Safi strode confidently toward the Emperor’s quarters, down a hall she had hoped never to traverse again. The attendant she’d toppled several days before did not scurry up to meet her, but instead sent his comparably terrified partner.

“You cannot see the Emperor right now,” the man said, bowing so low his head almost touched his knees. “He is detained.”

“Yes,” Safi drawled. “He is currently rutting with his mistress Paskella. I know, and I don’t particularly care.” She motioned vaguely toward the door. “I will wait in his study until he is done.”

The first attendant choked. “He does not like for guests to wait.”

“And I am not a guest. I am his wife.” Safi took a single step forward, and both attendants dove into her path.

“We really must insist, Your Imperial Majesty. No one is allowed in there—”

“I will throw you again,” Safi said to the first attendant. “And I will break both your kneecaps while you’re down.”