Jane tried not to roll her eyes—she’d forgotten the woman was there.
“We,” the princess said, struggling for the word in the common language, “were talking with the weather.”“About the weather,” Kaltain corrected sharply.“Watch your mouth,” Jane snapped before she could think.Kaltain gave Jane a vicious little smile. “If she’s here to learn our ways, I should correct her so she doesn’t sound foolish.”Here to learn their ways, or for something else entirely? The faces of the princess and her guards were unreadable.“Your Highness,” Benjamin said, stepping forward, a subtle movement to keep himself between Nehemia and Jane. “Are you having a tour of the castle?”Nehemia chewed on the words and then looked to Jane, brows high—as if she’d expected a translation by now. A smile tugged on the corners of Jane’s lips. No wonder the councilman was sweating so profusely. Nehemia was a force to be reckoned with. Jane translated Benjamin ’s qu“Do you hunt?” Nehemia interrupted in Eyllwe.“Me?” The princess nodded. “Oh—er, no,” Jane said, then switched back to Eyllwe. “I’m more of a reader.”Nehemia looked toward a rain-splattered window. “Most of our books were burned five years ago, when Skull gang marched in. It didn’t make a difference if the books were about cult ”—her voice quieted at the word, even though Benjamin and the councilman couldn’t understand them—“or history. They just burned the libraries whole, along with the museums and universities . . .”A familiar ache filled her chest. Jane nodded. “Eyllwe wasn’t the only country where that happened.”Something cold and bitter glittered in Nehemia’s eyes. “Now, most of the books we receive are from Skull gang—books in a language I can barely understand. That’s also what I must learn while I’m here. There are so many things!” She stomped her foot, her jewelry clinking. “And I hate these shoes! And this miserable dress! I don’t care if it’
For the next four days, Jane awoke before dawn to train in her room, using whatever she could to exercise—chairs, the doorway, even her billiards table and cue sticks. The balls made for remarkable balance tools. Around dawn, Benjamin usually showed up for breakfast. Afterward, they ran through the game park, where he kept pace at her side. Autumn had fully come, and the wind smelled of crisp leaves and snow. Benjamin never said anything when she doubled over, hands on her knees, and vomited up her breakfast, nor did he comment on the fact that she could go farther and farther each day without stopping for breath.Once they’d finished their run, they trained in a private room far from her competitors’ eyes. Until, that is, she collapsed to the ground and cried that she was about to die of hunger and fatigue. At lessons, the knives remained Jane’s favorite, but the wooden staff became dear; naturally, it had to do with the fact that she could freely whack him and not chop of
Her focus narrowed to the small, black dot in the center of the target. She steadied her breathing as she cocked her arm, letting her wrist go loose. The sounds of the other Champions faded. The blackness of the bull’s-eye beckoned, and as she exhaled, she sent the dagger flying.It sparkled, a shooting star of steel. She smiled grimly as it struck home. Beside her, Nox swore colorfully when his dagger hit the third ring on histarget, and her smile broadened, despite the shredded corpse that lay somewhere in the castle.Jane drew another dagger, but paused as Verin called to her from the ring where he sparred with Cain. “Circus tricks ain’t much use when you’re the King’s Champion.” She shifted her gaze to him, but kept positioned toward the target. “You’d be better off on your back, learning tricks useful to a woman. In fact, I can teach you some tonight, if you’d like.” He laughed, and Cain joined with him. Jane gripped the hilt of a dagger so hard that
After cutting short their lesson in favor of a stroll, Jane and Jeremy walked through the spacious halls of the castle, guards trailing behind them. Whatever Jeremy thought of the flock of guards that followed Jane everywhere, she didn’t say anything. Despite the fact that Festive Period was a month away—and the final duel five days after that—every evening, for an hour before dinner, Jane and the princess divided their time equally between the group and the common tongue. Jane had Jeremy read from her library books, and then forced her to copy letter after letter until they looked flawless.Since they’d begun their lessons, the princess had greatly improved her fluency in the common tongue, though the girls still spoke the group. Perhaps it was for ease and comfort, perhaps it was to see the raised eyebrows and gaping mouths when others overheard them, perhaps it was to keep their conversations private—whichever reason, the assassin found the language preferable. At least Endovier
Vincent observed her. “If it upsets you so much, I won’t have it killed. I’ll arrange for a home, and I’ll even ask for your approval before I make a final decision.”“You’d do that?”“What’s the dog’s life to me? If it pleases you, then it shall happen.”Her face burned as he rose to his feet, standing close. “You—you promise?” He put a hand on his heart. “I swear on my crown that the pup shall live.” She was suddenly aware of how near to touching they were. “Thank you.” Jeremy watched them from the floor, her brows raised, until one of her personal guards appeared at the gate. “It’s time to go, Princess,” he said in the group. “You must dress for your evening with the queen.” The princess stood,pushing past the bouncing puppies.“Do you want to walk with me?” Jeremy said in the common tongue to Jane.Jane nodded and opened the gate for them. Shutting the gate, she looked back at the Crown Prince. “Well? Aren’t you coming with us?”He slumped down into the pen, and the puppies immed
Kaltain’s spine snapped and straightened. She saw Vincent’s face and the crown that sat upon his head. “The prince said that—about me?”The duke put a hand on her knee, stroking it with his thumb. “Of course, then Lady Lillian interrupted before he could say more.”Her head spun. “Why was she with him?” “I don’t know. I wish it were otherwise.”She must do something, something to stop this. The girl moved fast—too fast for her maneuvering. Lillian had snared the Crown Prince in her net, and now Kaltain must cut him free. Perrington could do it. He could make Lillian disappear and never be found. No—Lillian was a lady, and a man with as much honor as Perrington would never harm one of noble birth. Or would he? Skeletons danced in circles around her head. But what if he thought Lillian weren’t a lady . . . Her headache flared to life with a sudden burst that sucked the air from her lungs.“I had the same reaction,” she said, rubbing her temple. “It’s hard to believe someone as disreputa
Kaltain watched in rage and agony as Lizzy and the Crown Prince of Adarlan danced and danced and danced. Even with a much more concealing mask, she would have recognized the upstart. And what sort of a person wore gray to a ball? Kaltain looked down at her dress and smiled. Bright shades of blue, emerald, and soft brown, her gown and matching peacock mask had cost as much as a small house. It was all a gift from Bolton, of course, along with the jewelry that decorated much of her neck and arms. It was certainly not the dull, drab mess of crystal that the conniving harlot wore.Bolton stroked her arm, and Kaltain turned to him with fluttering eyelashes. “You look handsome tonight, my love,” she said, adjusting a gold chain across his red tunic. His face quickly matched the color of his clothes. She wondered if she could bear the repulsion of kissing him. She could always keep refusing, just as she had for the past month; but when he was this drunk . . .She would have to think of a wa
Jane groaned as something cold and wet brushed her cheek and moved to lick her face. She opened an eye and found the puppy looking down at her, its tail wagging. Adjusting herself in the bed, she winced at the sunlight. She hadn’t meant to sleep in. They had a Test in two days, and she needed to train. It was their last Test before the final duel—the Test that decided who the four finalists would be.Janerubbed an eye and then scratched the dog behind the ears. “Have you peed somewhere and wish to tell me about it?”“Oh no,” said someone as the bedroom door swung open—Vincent . “I took her out at dawn with the other dogs.”She smiled weakly as he approached. “Isn’t it rather early for a visit?” “Early?” He laughed, sitting on the bed. She inched away. “It’s almost one inthe afternoon! Philippa told me you’ve been sleeping like the dead all morning.” One! She’d slept that long? What about lessons with Chaol? She scratched her nose and pulled the puppy onto her lap. At least nothing ha