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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

She tells herself she only asks this out of curiosity. She tells herself it is not some perverse need to understand the uncle she has always hated. But even a Truthwitch cannot lie to herself. The truth is that she has always wondered why Eron chose his Hell-Bard duties over protecting her parents. She has always wondered what drives a man to hate himself so.

To her surprise, Henrick actually answers her: “Eron disobeyed an order.”

Eyebrows lifting, she slides a noose off the wall and twists back to face him. “But can’t you force Hell-Bards to do anything you wish?” She dangles the chain his way. “I thought they were bound to you.”

“I can and I did.” Nothing in Henrick’s expression or tone changes. It only makes Safi want to know more.

“What was the order?” she asks.

A pause stretches between them. The Emperor watches Safi; she watches him, her arm still outstretched. The chain still hanging between them.

Then at last he says, “No,” before turning away. And as he strides for the door, Safi is left wondering if he meant No had been the order or No he would not answer her. Either way, she has gained no ground. No understanding. Her uncle remains an enigma—and also remains imprisoned.

She does not return the noose to its hook as she hurries after Henrick. Her footsteps bounce the chains. “Where is he?” she asks once she reaches Henrick at the door.

“Patience,” he replies.

“You told me I could see him, Your Imperial Majesty. You told me you would not execute him.”

“And I meant that.” He glances back, the tiniest of smiles upon his lips. “I will not execute him, Safiya.”

True, her magic sings, warm and tender. A balm to soothe. Yet Safi does not miss that Henrick has only replied to one of her comments. She doesn’t miss that he said nothing about visiting Eron.

But that is all right, she tells herself. For she and Iseult have their plan, and so far, each step has gone accordingly—including today’s, which has left a shiny golden noose resting inside her pocket.

When she reaches Henrick’s side, she bares her brightest smile. Her most persuasive grin. “Thank you,” she tells him, accepting his offered arm. “I am grateful that my uncle will be spared. You are a generous man, my Emperor.”

He does not contradict her.

ELEVEN

Snow had fallen in the night, leaving the skies leaden and the ground white—not that any white remained on the paths Safi now followed. They had been carefully cleared away by an army of ever-invisible servants.

A terrible job, working in such temperatures for rich nobility who might use the sprawling courtyard gardens at the center of the imperial palace. Safi hoped the servants had thicker layers than she.