<- Chapter 36 Chapter 38 -> A soft puff of breath blew Riley’s hair against her face.  She snorted the salt out of her nose, and felt Sugarsnap’s curious lips against her hair.  Riley opened her eyes and saw a white sheet above her, supported by white poles.  Sugarsnap had poked her head underneath, and…

<- Chapter 35 Chapter 37 -> In the darkness, Riley wrapped the canvas around herself.  Sugarsnap laid down and Riley would have cried for the sight of it.  There was no moisture left in her body to spare.  She gave the mare the last of her water, and cuddled next to her in the abyss.…

<- Chapter 34 Chapter 36 -> Gavin tried to look down into the oubliette, but his eyes couldn’t get past the unevenness of the bars.  There were twelve vertical and eleven horizontal bars from his vantage, and it was impossible to ignore the crude masonry.   Perhaps it is deliberate, to denigrate and shame the…

<- Chapter 33 Chapter 35 -> The salt stung Riley’s eyes.  The wind never stopped.  The sun could not be escaped, she rode with eyes closed.  She tasted blood on her cracked lips.  The cloth around her face kept sticking to it. Lissie was smart to wrap our faces. “You’re a good girl, Sugarsnap.  I…

<- Chapter 32 Chapter 34 -> The bridge was glorious, but to Riley, it just looked fragile.  When they reached the other side, she knew they were in Kisten.  They travelled with the company of soldiers and logisticians bearing medical supplies.  The road forked ahead.  The company turned south, and Riley watched them go.  She…

<- Chapter 31 Chapter 33 -> Riley glared at the colorful ribbons braided through Sugarsnap’s mane and tail.  The stable was perfumed, and it made her head hurt.  She lifted a hoof, it had been filed and polished.  Riley snorted, remembering what life was like for them on the road.  Sugarsnap snorted back.   Lissie asked,…

<- Chapter 30 Chapter 32 -> Riley had never seen Cora in trousers before.  They suited her. Cora kept slipping behind a divider in the room and returning with a different pair and a different leather jerkin.  Her hair was up in a tight bun. Lissie sprawled out next to Riley, but the bed was…

<- Chapter 29 Chapter 31 -> “I was thinking about having people call me ‘Ormand the Lion’” The king was sprawled on an enormous pillow.  “Maybe ‘the Bear.’  I haven’t decided.” “They called my father ‘the Eagle’ sometimes.”  Gavin was pacing around the room, admiring the swords.  Each one was illuminated by an Ellium dome-light…

<- Chapter 28 Chapter 30 -> Riley felt cozy in Lady Maribelle’s tea room after walking through the rest of the castle.  It was at the top of the highest tower.  Windows lined the walls letting in light between shelves of books, matching tomes with austere gold print.  They sat in four high-backed leather chairs in…

<- Chapter 27 Chapter 29 -> Gavin stared at the vast portrait and tried not to look at the line of supplicants waiting to see the king. I am not a supplicant.  I am nearly his equal. L’Marc interrupted his thoughts.  “The king is prone to mercurial fits of rage.” Gavin’s father smiled down at…