Roa didn’t dare look at him. She knew the kinds of spells those warm brown eyes cast. The kinds of things that curve of a mouth promised. She’d seen enough girls fall for Dax’s charms to know she needed to protect herself against them.
Staring at his throat instead, she watched the steady beat of his pulse. Taking the cup from him, she said, “To kings who keep their promises.”
Her gaze flickered to his. For the briefest of heartbeats, she thought she saw amusement in his eyes. But then it was gone, hidden behind a smooth smile.
She hated that smile. Hated the effect it had on her.
Roa set down the cup and quickly rose.
“If we’re finished,” she said, catching her father’s gaze as she reached across the table toward the pile of earned weapons, “then you must excuse me. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
Taking her scythe from the top of the pile, Roa didn’t wait for her father’s answer. Just turned away from the table, left through the open door, and didn’t look back.
Essie followed her out.
Roa rode hard across the border of Song. Poppy’s hooves pummeled the hot, cracked earth, putting distance between her and her father’s house. Between her and the boy-king.
It was as if the wide-open world Roa once knew—as open as the sunset sky above—had become a prison. She might have walked willingly into it, but her bonds still chafed.
Halfway to her destination, Roa felt a familiar hum flareup inside her. Instinctively, she looked to find a white hawk soaring above.
Essie.
Even with so much distance between them, Roa could sense her sister’s uneasiness.
Where are you going?her sister called.You’ll miss the Gleaning.
Poppy slowed to a trot as Roa leaned back in the saddle. She’d forgotten that tonight was the Gleaning.
Once a week, the House of Song made dinner for those who were hardest hit by Firgaard’s sanctions. On Gleaning nights, it was normal for the house to be full to the brim. The very poorest would eat—and take home anything extra that could be spared.
You should be there,said Essie, still trying to catch up.You give them hope, Roa.
But going back to the House of Song meant facing Dax. It meant watching him drink her father’s wine while he flirted with every girl in her home.
Roa gritted her teeth.
I sat obediently next to him for days now.Her thoughts burned into her twin’s mind.If I have to stand by his side one more moment, I’ll... Her grip tightened on the reins.I’ll take it all back.
Shecouldtake it back. The marriage was unconsummated. Which meant it could still be annulled.
And who will protect us if you do?came Essie’s reply.
That was just it. This was the decision she’d made. It was up to Roa to keep her people safe.
She’d thought it would be easier, trading in her freedom forthe protection of the scrublands. She hadn’t realized it would cost her so much more than freedom.
Her sister’s voice had gone soft and quiet in her mind:You should be more careful. People are starting to notice your absences.
Roa had been absent every night since they’d arrived home six days ago.
Let them notice,she thought, urging Poppy into a gallop.
In the distance, the red-brown earth shifted into a smudge of green forest. Roa headed straight for the hidden path through the acacias. They were entering the shadow precinct, where the fifth Great House had once stood proud... and then fallen into ruin.
A sharp jab of her sister’s frustration shot through her. Roa ignored it.
Roa.Essie’s voice flickered into her mind as she struggled to keep up. Her elegant white wings fought with a wind that kept battering her back.You can’t just run away!
