Elemental Blessings
by Sharon Shinn
Sharon Shinn is one of my favorite authors. I've read all her books except one and it is on my list (click here for the review). I really enjoyed this series. The characters were easy to love but not perfect by any means. The world that she created is one of my favorites, she puts so much time and thought into the intricacies of what she builds. Each book focuses on a new main character but the people you've gotten to know are still there so you don't miss them quite as much. These books are very character driven but the subplot flows together very well. I believe that it will round out with five books and there won't be any in the future, but I'd be happy to be wrong. This was not my favorite series that Sharon Shinn has written, but I definitely enjoyed it and will happily read again sometime in the future.
This series focuses heavily on the elements. Each element (Coru/Water, Elay/Air, Sweela/Fire, Torz/Earth, Hunti/Wood) has certain blessings attributed to it and people tend to identify with one element more than others. There are elemental primes, people who have a visceral bond with their element and who obtain special abilities upon becoming the prime.
Check out all of Sharon Shinn's work at http://sharonshinn.net/
All the spoilers ahead. Proceed with extreme caution! We start the series by following Zoe, a coru girl living in exile with her father Navaar Ardelay. We never get to meet him, the book starts with his death. Her mother, Alieta Lalindar, died when Zoe was 11 years old and her father always blamed the Lalindar family for his exile and subsequent poverty. Almost immediately after her father's funeral, a man named Darien Serlast arrives looking for Zoe. He has come to collect her and take her to Chialto, the capital, in order to marry the king. King Vernon believes that marrying Zoe will help to heal his rift with the rest of the Ardelay family. The king already has 4 wives and three daughters. Elidon, his first wife, an elay woman who never bore any children. Seterre, who is hunti and the mother to Princess Josetta, a sweet, unassuming girl. Alys, a sweela woman and mother to Princess Corene who is fiery and forthright like her mother. And Romelle, a torz woman who is the youngest wife and mother to Princess Natalie, a baby who is generally fussy. So Zoe would add a coru wife, rounding out the elements. She goes with Darien willingly, bringing only her mother's scarf with her, and they spend over a week together traveling to the city. However, when they arrive and get stuck in traffic, Zoe just kind of slips out of the elaymotive and disappears into the crowd. She travels to the banks of the Marisi River and lives with an encampment of people there. She has sewn some money into her scarf to live off of for now, so she spends a bit of time exploring the city. Her father had been a close advisor to the king before he was exiled, so Zoe has spent a lot of time in the city but not since she was about 11. While exploring the city, she sees Darien traveling with some of the queens to the city center. They make a vow, Darien signing on behalf of the king, that King Vernon will not take another wife unless the other wives approve of her, so Zoe may be off the hook for now. After Darien and the queens leave, Zoe visits the blind sisters, three women who trade in information. She pays them to answer a few questions for her and discovers that her uncle, Nelson Ardelay, is still the sweela prime and friends with the Serlasts, but he has not been at court recently. The blind sister also tells her that Navaar Ardelay had quarreled with the king about a treaty with the neighboring country of Soeche-Tas, Navaar had advised against the treaty, and left Chialto in disgrace. As for Zoe's mom's family, the old coru prime (Zoe's grandmother Christara) died a few years ago and no one has replaced her as prime. Zoe becomes friends with a few people in the riverbank encampment, especially a married couple named Calvin and Annova. Annova makes her clean up so Zoe bathes in the Marisi and completely submerges in the waters, feeling strangely welcomed by the river. I'm sure you see where this is going. Zoe gets a job working for some cobblers (Melvin and Ilene) as their shop girl. Ilene is generally a suspicious person but Zoe eventually wins her over and Ilene tries to set her up with their son Barlow. He travels all over Welce trading goods and the two of them hit it off, but it seems more friendly than romantic. One day, after walking in the city center, a boy steals Zoe's scarf. You know, the one with all her money in it. So she takes off after the child and does eventually get her scarf back. When a group of men pursue her and her scarf, she jumps in the Marisi River to escape. She should have drowned, but somehow she doesn't and the river eventually takes her to safety. This calls for another visit to the blind sisters. Zoe says she saw someone jump into the river and they stayed under for so long they should have drowned, but was fine. Not possible, according to the sisters, unless they were the coru prime. Zoe asks why no one has taken the place of the prime. The sister explains that bad things happen to people who claim to be a prime when they are not. When the rumor went out that the king planned to marry Zoe Ardelay, her aunt Sarone announced that she couldn't marry the king. Christara Lalindar always believed that Zoe would be the next prime, and a prime cannot marry the king. Did Zoe's father know this and never tell her? Zoe needs some time to think, so she asks to travel with Barlow and his trade partner, Jaker, on their next trip out of Chialto. She finds out that they're more to each other than just trade partners, so it never would have worked out for him and Zoe anyway. When they get to the north, near the Lalindar estate, Zoe announces that she isn't returning to Chialto. She's going to go reconnect with her mother's family. She goes to the Lalindar estate and is welcomed by the household as the rightful prime. She meets her Uncle Broy, who doesn't seem excited to see Zoe, and his children, as well as her aunt's daughter Keeli, who quickly becomes her friend and wardrobe advisor. Keeli explains that as far as she knows, Navaar and Christara had fought because Christara wanted to keep Zoe in order to raise her as the next prime, but Zoe's parents were having none of that. Honestly, I wouldn't have been okay with that either. Darien arrives at the Lalindar house. He explains that he's been giving her time. It took him a few days to find her after she had disappeared, but he did eventually find her on the river bank and just checked on her occasionally to make sure she was safe. Zoe is angry that Darien didn't tell her about the coru prime, but he counters by saying he thought she already knew. He knew she would not marry Vernon, the Lalindars would not have allowed it. But he had promised Zoe's dad to bring her back to Chialto after his death. Or rather, Darien's dad made the promise, and Darien is going to keep it now that his father is dead. Their fathers had remained friends even after Navaar's exile and Navaar had written to the Serlasts that he was dying. Darien had tried to arrive before Navaar died, but he was too late. Zoe asks why there was so much secrecy, why didn't Darien tell her earlier. He asks why her own father kept it from her, there must have been a reason. Zoe very clearly says she doesn't trust Darien, and asks him to promise not to lie to her anymore. He refuses, he is the king's closest advisor and his first loyalty is to crown and country, there are things he is privy to that he cannot tell her. He does promise that he will be honest when he can and if she asks, he will tell her if he is lying. He then asks her to return to Chialto and take up quarters in the palace as prime, get to know the king as an adult and meet the queens. She needs attendants if she is going to live in the palace so she asks her friends from the riverbank, Annova and Calvin, to work for her. This could not have been a better choice, they've both worked as attendants before and Calvin is incredibly good at getting information for her. Keeli helps her get a wardrobe together and Zoe finally meets her aunt, Sarone. Zoe asks her why Navaar always blamed Christara for his exile. Zoe doesn't pull her punches, I wish I could be so blunt. Sarone clearly still resents Navaar, but explains to Zoe that Navaar almost enjoyed irritating his mother-in-law. Their big fight has two explanations: publicly, Christara favored the Soeche-Tas alliance while Navaar fought against it, but privately, Christara had found out that Navaar had been unfaithful in his marriage. This isn't news to Zoe, she heard her parents fight about it often enough, but it was too much for Christara. Although Zoe's mom was already dead when the liason came to light, it had happened while she had been alive. Christara demanded that Zoe stay with her but Navaar disappeared with Zoe and the Lalindars did not know where they could be found. Zoe offically moves into the palace and meets the queens for breakfast. They're super passive aggressive, Alys in particular. She also reintroduces herself to King Vernon, who she surprisingly likes. He expresses regret for not reaching out to Navaar before his death. Vernon wanted to tell Navaar that he forgave him, and always wonder if he had been forgiven as well. She asks Darien the real reason that Navaar was banished. He won't tell her but he does tell her that there has been a drought in Chialto for two years that ended when Zoe returned. She meets the hunti prime, Mirti Serlast (Darien's aunt), who suggests that she start accepting the Ardelays again. She is their niece as well, and Christara is the one that ostrasized them in the first place. If Zoe brings them in, odds are that Vernon will also accept them. Zoe decides that it's a pretty good idea, and meets with her Uncle Nelson, the sweela prime, and his sons Kurtis (the sweela heir) and Rhan. There's a big regatta event coming up, the king had invited her to take part, and Zoe decides to join the Ardelay boat to help show that they're mending fences. During the regatta, Zoe (who wasn't trained to be prime and is mostly working on intuition at this point) encourages the river to help them go fast. She's not paying attention, just enjoying the feeling of the water, and almost sends them plummeting over the falls before her cousins freak out and she realizes what she's doing. No harm is done, other than scaring the wits out of her cousins, and they win the regatta by a good twenty minutes. Honestly seems like cheating to me, but no one seems too upset about it. They go to the stands to watch the remainder of the race, and the children's regatta, which races separately. Both Princess Josetta and Princess Corene have their own boats in the race, and they've hired professionals to man them. Again, see my note about cheating. Corene wins, and most of the boats have come to shore, but Josetta is nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, Josetta's mom Queen Seterre starts screaming and they all see Josetta's boat. The hired men are gone and Josetta is alone, clinging to the side, as the boat careens out of control toward the falls. Nelson, Kurtis, and Darien run to a boat to try to rescue her, but she's way too close to the falls, they'll never make it in time. Luckily, the coru prime has been found and she stops the river from flowing downstream. The rescue boat is able to get to Josetta and although she does fall in the cold waters, they're able to start rowing to shore. While that is happening, Zoe keeps the river from flowing over the falls. But water is still coming from upstream, and so the banks start to flood. Rhan picks her up and moves her so she doesn't drown while she holds the river. At last, the rescue boat makes it to shore and Zoe can release the river, then she passes out. She wakes up the next day in her room. Calvin tells her that the professionals they'd hired for Josetta had somehow lost their oars and found reasons to leave the boat. They may have drowned. Zoe believes the men were bribed and whoever did the bribing expected Josetta to die. She isn't the only person who thinks so, Darien is already running an investigation to find out what happened. Saving their daughter has really won over the king and Queen Seterre, they can't stop thanking Zoe. Josetta also comes to thank Zoe and gives her a hug. Here's the thing, the primes do not just have special abilities with the physical elements, but with a corresponding part of the body. The hunti prime can has an affinity for wood AND bone. The coru prime for water and blood. Zoe can hear heartbeats, and when she hugged her cousins she KNEW that they were related. Her blood recognized them. When Josetta hugs her, she realizes that they are related. Navaar Ardelay was Josetta's father as well, they're sisters. In true Zoe fashion, she leaves the palace as soon as she can and stays in a hotel. Josetta is about 14, which means that Alieta was alive when Josetta was conceived. THIS must have been the affair that caused Navaar to go into exile. But did Vernon know? Is he impotent, is that why Elidon never conceived. Zoe believes he must have known. Did he invite Navaar to Seterre's room? Did he do the same with Alys and Romelle? Who are the fathers of Corene or Natalie? Who does King Vernon trust? Who else...Darien. Zoe goes to the blind sisters. The sister tells a story of an elay man coming to her the night that Corene was born. He was giddy, and drunk, and said his daughter had just been born (and just happens to have the same random blessings as the new princess) but the girl's mother is married to a powerful man and he would never be able to claim her. That doesn't sound like Darien, a prototypical hunti man. Was that Corene's dad? He certainly thought he was. Darien comes to the hotel, and he's mad. Zoe says they have some sensitive matters to discuss so they go to Darien's home, where they won't be overheard. He's never there since he's always at the palace, so he doesn't even have any staff there now, or most of the time. The tension is palpable, let me tell you. Zoe is mad, Darien never came to thank her for saving Josetta! I don't know why that's her first point, but here we are. She claims that Darien is avoiding her, why would that be? Because this is not the first attempt on Josetta's life. Zoe throws out that she knows the king is not Josetta's father. He explains that the whole thing was probably Queen Elidon's idea and only King Vernon, Queen Elidon, Queen Seterre, Darien, and now Zoe know (and possibly the other primes, though they've not said as much) that Josetta's father is not King Vernon. Christara must have discovered it the same way Zoe did and started bandying the word treason about. What if it came about that Navaar was her father? Could he really be trusted? THAT is the real reason that the king sent Navaar away. No one knows for certain who the girl's fathers are, there are more than one possibility, but Darien thinks Wald Dochenza (the elay primes' nephew) may be Corene's daughter and it may have been a torz man for Natalie. Now that they aren't as mad at each other, they decide to eat. Darien helps her to her feet, but keeps Zoe's hand. He's been investigating this regatta incident since before Zoe woke up and only just returned to the palace. He would have thanked her in person but by then she was gone. He gently touches her cheek. Zoe announces that it's dinnertime. I can't. Zoe has decided that she is going to claim Josetta, even if she can't actually claim Josetta, and it's time teach her to swim. Josetta is a sweet girl and invites her guards, not because she thinks she's in danger, she just thought they might enjoy a swim. Most of her attendants just dip their feet, but the guard Foley already knows how to swim and takes her up on the offer. A delegation from Soeche-Tas arrives. Soeche-Tas and Welce are neighbors, but their border is a mountain range that is not easy to traverse so most travel is over the water. King Vernon and the Welchins have been working on an alliance since before Zoe's dad was exiled. The Soechens are obsessed with youth and tend to be pretty touchy. Just before the welcome dinner, someone breaks into Zoe's room and destroys all of her clothes. But Keeli comes through with an outfit and she's able to make the dinner. At this point I had a terrible moment of foreboding that Calvin and Annova were behind it, trying to sabotage Zoe from within. I was distraught, but I can admit that I was wrong so you don't have to worry. I should have had more faith. Zoe meets the torz prime (Taro Frothen) and the elay prime (Kayle Dochenza). The next night there is a massive firework show in honor of the Soechen delegation, and Zoe is invited onto the royal vessel, but instead she goes off in a little private rowboat with Darien, all by themselves. Things are cozy, they snuggle, he kisses her, my heart stops. When Zoe returns, Calvin and Annova are both sick, they've been poisoned! Things are getting more than just passive aggressive at the palace. At breakfast the next day, Zoe accuses Alys of trying to poison her. Alys denies it and Zoe uses her power as prime to make her blood raise to the skin, causing a big bruise. The book makes it sound much more painful than this. Mirti, who was also at breakfast, gives Zoe a stern rebuke about using her powers as prime. Zoe flees to a hotel, again, and starts to come to terms that maybe her reaction was not the best. Darien arrives at the hotel and says that Alys did eventually admit that she had tampered with the chocolates she sent Zoe. It would make her sick but not do any real harm. Because of this, Zoe is not banished but maybe shouldn't stay at the palace for awhile. Darien tells her how irresponsible she has been, but Zoe isn't great at taking personal responsibility so she rebuffs him and changes the subject. Zoe tells Darien that Romelle is pregnant, Romelle may not even know yet but Zoe could tell when Romelle grabbed her hand at breakfast. Darien wonders if she took her own lover, he doesn't know of any planned assignations. Barlow the trader is back in town and Zoe meets him and his parents for dinner that night. When she gets back, Calvin gives her some juicy intel. He saw the king's valet go out, looking shifty and not wanting to be followed, so Calvin followed him. They went to an out of the way apothecary and after the valet leaves, Calvin is able to get an order of the herbs he bought. None of them recognize the herb, so Zoe takes it to Barlow's partner Jaker. He calls it Renaissance or New Life. It slows the progress of the worst diseases and takes pain away. It can add a year or two to your life if you're terminal. But it can affect your mental ability. Some people revert to childishness, and if you take it too long you can become senile. It also improves virility. Zoe realizes that Vernon is sick, and because he has been taking Renaissance, he is likely the father to Romelle's baby, making this baby legitimate. Zoe calls for Darien who doesn't deny that Vernon is sick. He fell sick last year and likely has less than a year left. Only King Vernon, Darien, Queen Elidon, and the physician know that he is sick, although Mirti may have guessed. They haven't been able to pick an heir because all five primes need to ratify the heir and the coru prime had been missing. Another reason Darien needed to fetch Zoe. But now that Romelle is pregnant, it really throws a wrench in the plans. As a legitimate heir, the new baby with a regent would be the first choice as heir, but no one else knows the other children aren't legitimate. They must tell the other primes, if they haven't already figured it out in their own ways. Darien brings up another problem. Someone is trying to put Corene on the throne. They've tried to kill Princess Josetta. The regatta was likely not the first attempt on her life, and the men with her doing the regatta did not drown, they've fled. He suspects that the reason that baby Natalie is always upset is because someone has been tampering with her food all the time. When the news goes out the Romelle is pregnant, both Romelle and the new baby's lives will be in danger. Zoe says she trusts him, that there's no one she would trust more with the lives of the princesses. But she's worried that he can't keep anyone safe. Darien expresses that he's afraid that events are unfolding that he can't control and doesn't even know about. King Vernon has been blocking Darien out, but he seems really excited about the upcoming visit from the Soechen Viceroy. Right now, everything worries Darien. Even though Darien trusts her, sometimes Zoe worries him most of all. They kiss again, a real kiss this time. She asks him to tell her his last secret, but he won't because he thinks she will hate him. He asks her to wait until after the visit from the Viceroy, then they'll talk again. Zoe decided to buy a house so she doesn't have to live in the hotel, since she isn't going to be staying in the palace anytime soon. The Viceroy from Soeche-Tas arrives and Zoe gets all the gossip at dinner with her Uncle Nelson and his sons. Navaar and Damon Serlast met the viceroy years ago, when they were still advising the king, and neither of them like him. The Viceroy of Soeche-Tas kept sending concubines to Navaar's room, but they were children, and Navaar was disgusted. The whole country is obsessed with youth. When she returns to the palace Zoe receives a gift from Darien, a brooch that is a blend of coru and hunti properties. There will be a big reception for the viceroy's arrival, Zoe decides to wear it. At the reception, the royal family, the Viceroy and his entourage, and Darien (obviously) stand on a dais. There's a young Soechen girl in the entourage that Zoe thinks is the Viceroy's daughter. Maybe Vernon will marry a fifth time after all. King Vernon steps forward to make an announcement. There will be a royal wedding! Tonight! No wonder so many people have been invited. But the king is not marrying a Soechen girl. The Viceroy is going to marry Princess Corene. Who is 11. Darien clearly didn't know and tries to make his way forward to talk some sense into the king, who is brushing him off. Warning, I'm about to swear: Zoe loses her shit. She starts to call all of the water to her. From the pipes, the fountains, the river. The palace starts to flood, people panic. Darien, ever a pillar of stability, herds Josetta, Corene, and Romelle to relative safety in the center of the stage. He yells at Zoe to stop, but she can't. The Viceroy and his daughter flee, Vernon, well under the effects of Renaissance, does not seem to realize the danger and is rather amused by the flooding. Zoe calls to Corene and Josetta to come to her as the water makes it to her knees. She tells Darien to take care of the queens and Natalie, she will take care of the older girls. When the princesses make it to Zoe, she flings them all into the Marisi River. They get to the flats next to the river, where Zoe camped not that long ago, which has been cleared of the encampment for the Viceroy's visit. She apologizes to the scared, wet, cold princesses but Corene is overcome with gratitude. All of a sudden, Josetta's guard Foley (the one that can swim) flows down the river and they bring him to shore as well. He followed them to protect the princesses. Zoe contains the river, and when she feels it is safe, she takes the others to Barlow and Jaker's. They agree to take both princesses and Foley on their next run and Zoe will meet them at the Lalindar house. Afterward, Zoe decides to clean up the very literal mess of what she's done, helping clean up the city. Word has gotten out that Vernon has been sick, now he's collapsed, and that Romelle is pregnant. Zoe goes to Lalindar house and waits for Darien to show up. She makes sure that she's looking and smelling good, wearing her mom's shawl, Darien's brooch, and a wooden bracelet to match. She's clearly trying to make a statement. When Darien arrives, he appears calm but she can hear his racing pulse. He is not there on behalf of the king, but for himself. Zoe is shook. Darien explains that he would have done worse than a flood if he were able, pulling the stones of the palace down around them. But Zoe has done some real damage and the Lalindar estate will have to reimburse the innocent bystanders who were harmed in some way. Zoe agrees, she will give money and erect a fountain in restitution. Darien also brings big news, the other primes have not condemned Zoe's actions. In addition, Queen Elidon seems to have orchestrated the marriage with Vernon. She believed that Alys had been trying to kill Josetta in order to make Corene the most logical heir, so Elidon thought to remove Corene from the equation. She swears that the marriage would not have been consumated until Corene was a suitable age. I'm not sure how she planned on enforcing that. Darien believes that Elidon really believed it was Alys trying to kill Josetta, but he does not believe it was Alys after all. He's tracked down one of the bribed sailors, who pointed the finger to....WALD DOCHENZA! The man who believed he was Corene's dad. After being questioned, Wald confessed. But Zoe held Corene in her arms while they were in the Marisi, since Corene doesn't know how to swim. Wald isn't her dad. Darien is. Darien explains that when he first came to Chialto, he was young, romantic, and eager to serve. He thought that he had loved Alys. But it took him very little time to actually see Alys' real personality and now he hates her. He was never sure that he was Corene's dad, Alys was very open about having many lovers, but he has always had a certain tenderness for Corene regardless. The primes have already announced that the only legitimate heir to Vernon is Romelle's unborn baby, but the fathers of the other girls have not been revealed. Darien has been given leave to tell the princesses, but they aren't at the Lalindar house yet. So there's no real reason for him to stay and he is needed back at the capital but he was hoping to stay overnight. To discuss the matter of them. They go into this big back and forth speech, it was actually pretty endearing, Zoe saying that a certain coru woman cannot change him. But a certain hunti man can't control her. Darien doesn't disagree, but says that a hunti man will never fail her but a coru woman will always move him. She can trust in his strength and he can be lifted by her joy. Zoe says she may crave deep, still waters after being in the fast moving stream for so long. He says he's been unbreakable so long, he looks forward to bending a little, giving into emotion. I literally just sighed. Darien tells her that he has loved her since they traveled together to Chialto. He knew she would never believe that, so when he returned to Chialto and took the queens to take their oath, he took one of his own as well. That one day he would find and marry Zoe or he would never marry at all. He displays the signed and notarized oath as proof. She tells him that he is the only thing that she has trusted to keep her safe, that she believed in, that she loved. They kiss, and the story is done. Let me just take a moment to praise Sharon Shinn on her character building. Sharon, if you see this, bravo! Zoe is hot tempered and has very little restraint, although she has the best of intentions. I can't help but love her even while I'm shaking my head at her. And Darien, so responsible for so long. Imagine what it must have taken for him to commission that brooch, knowing that he would not, could not, be in control of Zoe and doing it anyway. Putting himself out there. This book is definitely more about the characters but the author really lays out the story like a puzzle, you get to uncover it piece by piece and it feels so rewarding. I loved it. 5 out of 5 stars!
Click below, when you're ready! We open about five years after the events of Troubled Waters with a brand new character, Rafe Adova. He's gambling at a bar in the slums of Chialto, which is how he makes his living, when Corene walks into the bar scratched up, scared, and with a hurt ankle. She tries to sit quietly and avoid attention but she's dressed like she has money so three men approach and try to intimidate her, among other things. Rafe steps in and the three men get kicked out of the bar. He offers to help Corene, who's looking for her sister. In this time we find out some weird things about Rafe, the edge of one of his ears it cut like serrations, he doesn't know why. He doesn't have any blessings, whenever someone pulls them for him they only ever get ghost coins (coins that have been pulled so many times the symbol has been worn off). His mom is dead, he's not close to his stepdad, and he has a half brother, Steff, he sees every few weeks. Josetta arrives and we find out what happened to Corene. She, her mother Alys, and her stepfather were going to a party but Alys decided to stay home at the very last moment. Her stepdad drove with her alone, no guards or other guests, and passed the party. He told her that they were going to go to a different party and was acting very weird so as soon as she got the chance, Corene jumped from the car. She tried to run to the river but got lost and decided to find Josetta instead. Josetta has sent her guard Foley to find Corene's dad (the regent) Darien but he's out of town and they won't be back until the next day. Rafe tells them he can stay in their room. He teaches Josetta to play penta while Corene sleeps. Josetta explains that she lives part time in the slums because she has purchased a building there and had it refurbished, turning it into a shelter with it's own infirmary, kitchen, and temple. Rafe finally realizes that they are the princesses, which took him long enough since Corene originally gave him the names Cora and Josie. The old king, Vernon, has died and his only legitimate child is the heir, Princess Odelia (see Troubled Waters above). Darien Serlast is the acting regent since the princess is so young. Speaking of Darien, he arrives at the bar the next night when Rafe goes down to make some money. But Rafe is unsure, he knows Corene was running from some man but he doesn't know which man, he refuses to tell Darien where to find Corene unless he knows for sure Darien is not who she is afraid of. Luckily, Josetta comes down and sees what's happening, explains that Corene is afraid of her stepfather, Dominic. Rafe refuses any payment for helping Corene but allows them to pay the cost of his room for the one night. Regardless, of what he asks for, they leave a bag of money on the bed for him and Corene leaves him her rings that show her blessings: imagination, courage, intelligence. They all go to Darien and Zoe's house where we meet their baby, Celia! Darien asks Josetta to stay for a few days to help settle Corene, who has been staying with her mom and Dominic but will not be going back to that house again. In addition, Romelle, Odelia, and Natalie are coming to court and they are being visited by the countries of Berringey and Malinqua soon, so Josetta will need to be present for all of those visits. Odelia also has a body double, Mally, and no one ever knows which child is present. When Corene and Josetta go shopping Corene asks to stop at the blind sisters. She doesn't ask for anything but freely gives some information. Her stepfather, Dominic Wollimer, would trap her in hallways and touch her whenever he could. Twice he snuck into her bed but she was able to escape him since he was drunk. After that she would have her maid sleep with her. Then, on their way to a party, he tries to kidnap her. She asks the sisters to warn everyone. The sister does exchange some information with her, that Dominic has bought shares in a textile plant but he had to pay cash instead of credit. Also, Alys is pregnant. When they're done with the sisters, Josetta pulls new blessings for Corene: clarity, change, and courage. Darien confronts Alys and everyone in the household hides so they can hear what's being said. Alys basically says Corene should be using her body to manipulate men and Dominic would've been good practice for that. Darien makes a very serious thread, if Dominic ever tries to speak to Corene, Darien will have him arrested. If he touches Corene, Darien will have him killed. Alys may speak to Corene, but only under Darien's supervision. If Alys tries to speak to Corene elsewhere, Darien will have Alys removed. Of course Alys throws a fit before leaving and Corene is crushed with how this conversation went, but Zoe steps in to tell her that just because Alys is willing to throw her away it doesn't mean that Corene is worthless. Zoe and the others aren't willing to throw Corene away. Josetta returns to the shelter and we get to meet her employees: Callie is Josetta's right hand man (housekeeper, chief cook, nurse) and who happened to be one of the first people to stay at the shelter along with her two boys, and her son Bo. When Josetta arrives she meets two extra guards that Darien has sent to the shelter, Caze and Sorbin. They get put to work but they don't seem put out by it. While they're doing their rounds that night they chase away three men attacking a man. He's unconcious and has a gash across his ribs into his hip and his right ear is cut half off. Josetta sees the serrations cut into his ear and the necklace with Corene's blessings and realizes who it is. Rafe wakes up and explains he was jumped and doesn't know who did it. He also didn't recognize the language they spoke, so it can't be Welchin or Coziquela. He tells Josetta that his ear has been that way for as long as he can remember. According to his mom, one day while she was out his dad took him and had it done to him so as to not get him confused with other kids. It was one of the reasons why she left him. They discuss what he should do with his new money and after he expresses interest in the elaymotives she offers to introduce him to Kayle Dochenza, who happens to be a staunch supporter of her shelter. She pulls blessings from the shelter temple, which are new so there will be no ghost coins. He gets the three extraordinary blessings that do not belong to any of the elements: synthesis, time, and triumph. When he pulls blessings, he pulls all three of hers. They go to the harbor where Kayle is trying to design a flying elaymotive. Rafe decides to invest in the new flying machines. Upon meeting Rafe, Kayle calls him a stranger to Welce because he couldn't hear Rafe breathing. Rafe always thought his mom ran away from some farm, went to the city, and ended up with a baby. But if she was from a different country, why did she come to Welce? When Rafe is well enough to leave, it's clear Josetta would rather him stay. They play a card game where the winner gets to ask for a favor. But everytime they flip a card they match and there is no winner, so they both ask their favors instead. Her favor is for him to come back for dinner at the shelter at least one night a week. His is a kiss. Romelle and her daughters arrive to the palace. Everyone hopes that she has brought Odelia and not Mally this time. Corene has noticed that Romelle doesn't hold Odelia, almost as if she doesn't like her, and even if it's Mally, Romelle needs to do a better job of pretending or else what is the point? They make a point of visiting with the littlest princesses and realize that it's Mally this time. When they call the primes together, it's discovered they can't remember the last time they saw Odelia. Taro, who Romelle and teh girls live with, tells the others it has been more than a year. The last time that Odelia came, Romelle had a woman vaguely threaten the princess. She kept mentioning how something could happen to the girl and then gave Romelle a packet with a lock of hair inside. Taro confirmed that it was Odelia's. When Taro leaves, Nelson, who is the sweela prime and can tell when someone is lying, says that Taro is not being honest. Also, the crown prince of Berringey is on his way. Rafe comes for his first dinner at the shelter and he brings a gift for Josetta. Actually several gifts representing all the suits of penta. She has something for him as well, blessing rings of his own that he can wear on his necklace with Corene's, with all of his extraordinary blessings. Rafe goes back to see Kayle and they go check out the flying machines. So far, they can glide for about 30 minutes but they can't get enough heat or speed. They're also working on a weird jet pack parachute combo. Afterward, Rafe goes out of town to see his brother's family. Steff's mom tells him that Steff isn't happy there, he wants to roam, and she doesn't think he'll stay much longer, so hopefully he will have a safe place to stay with Rafe when that day comes. Rafe talks to his stepdad Bors and gets a few answers about his past. Bors had gone to Chialto for the big city experience, but he hated it. He didn't want to throw the towel in and feel like a failure, but then he met Rafe and his mom and realized he needed to take care of them. So he brought them back to the country. And Rafe realizes that even though Bors and his mom were so different, they had been exactly what the other had needed. She loved the city but didn't feel safe there, she was always watching Rafe. Bors says that Rafe's mom always thought his dad was foreign but never said from where, and she always had an accent and spoke Coziquela better than Welchin but she explained that away by being raised by her maid. Bors always thought that her family had money but had disowned her. The prince of Berringey, Ghyaneth, arrives and literally nobody likes him. Josetta calls him out for being rude and instead of hating her he's intrigued, and asks her to sit by him at dinner. She learns a lot about Berringey, that he is the crown prince but he only has one heir, his cousin. She lives sequestered so that they can't both be killed at any time, but they're raised to be very ambitious and she's probably plotting against him right this moment! If the prince has children of his own, she and her family would be put to death to keep the succession easy and unconfusing. It's important they have many children because being a child is dangerous with all the accidents and disease, but once they reach a reasonable age, the king or queen pick the likeliest two candidates and the rest are expected to kill themselves. His father only had him, so his aunt and uncle (twins) were told to marry and have children for the succession, which is why his cousin is his heir. At the next dinner with Rafe, he talks about Kayle practically offering him a job and the possibility of flying the aeromotives. He has to find something to do with is life and he really got excited about this. He kisses her cheek before leaving. When Josetta goes back to Darien and Zoe's house, Alys arrives to talk to Corene. Zoe allows it even though Darien is not present. Alys tells Corene to apologize to Dominic. She knew he tried to assault Corene, Corene's maid told her. She calls Corene a selfish bitch for refusing to apologize and slaps her. Zoe does not like that and throws her out. Corene is bereft, who wouldn't be. Rafe gets a job working for Kayle, he starts the next day, which means he needs a place to stay in the harbor town. So he rents a room from Kayle as well. He gets to watch his first flight, in which the plane crashes during landing. The pilot is alive but badly hurt, and somehow that makes Rafe MORE eager to fly and he starts training. Darien asks Josetta to join him in a meeting with Alys and Dominic. He reveals that he has purchased the house they live in, he now owns their mortgage and will foreclose if he finds it necessary. He also bought the controlling share of the factory Dominic invested in, which he will shut down if he sees fit. He doesn't have this much capitol on his own, but luckily two primes backed him, Zoe and Mirti Serlast. They have also sent a sworn list of accusations to all of the primes that are to be kept sealed until told otherwise. Do not touch Corene. Do not talk to Corene. Do not even approach Corene. And if Darien hears of Dominic ever touching another woman, from nobility to a maid, Darien will make it rain curses. Josetta makes plans to build a second dorm, and she finds a building that she likes. She strikes a deal with the owner that if he rents to her, she can make sure he has ample supply of fresh water, her sister controls water after all. Speaking of the coru prime, Zoe shows up at the shelter and meets Rafe. She offers to read his blood to help with his parentage and when she does she realizes that she recently met a relative of his. Maybe a cousin, the crown prince of Berringey. Rafe's father was likely the younger prince who was forced to have a family for the succession. Josetta tells Rafe she doesn't need a prince, she only needs someone with joy, kindness, and purpose. He says he's never been that person but she disagrees. Maybe he's never had purpose but he's definitely been the other two. They meet with Darien to discuss this new parentage dilemma, he's worried that if Ghyaneth knows that Rafe is in Welce he will do whatever it takes to have Rafe found and killed. If Welce doesn't help, he may consider that a threat to the crown and an act of war. They decide that Rafe needs more protection, but it can't look like he needs more protection. They decide to assign extra guards to Josetta, then Josetta will "pretend" to be obsessed with Rafe and the guards will look like they're protecting Josetta, but really are there for Rafe. They'll have to spend all their time together, splitting it between him training at the harbor, her working at the shelter, and all the royal engagements she has. Before Rafe flies for the first time, Josetta gives him a gift, a flight jacket and gloves, and rings with her blessings on them for his necklace. Finally he gets in the air, and it's going well for a bit, but on the return the motor fails. Luckily, he gets it going again but it's struggling, cutting out and having to be restarted several times, so he looks for a landing spot.Just as he sees the runway the motor cuts out for the last time. Kayle is able to call up the winds and help him to land. It's not pretty, but he's alive. Seeing the crash really scares Josetta, and they decide to move things to the next level when he gets released from the hospital. Darien invites Josetta (and Rafe) to visit Romelle and Odelia. Romelle recently went to visit Mirti and was given explicit instructions to bring Odelia, which she failed to do. They suspect something is going on, so they arrive without notice or else Romelle might hide Odelia away. Zoe, Corene, and Celia also come. On the way to Taro's house where Romelle lives with the girls, everyone but Darien plays penta and Corene wins the right to ask them any question she wants. She asks Zoe if she likes Romelle, she used to but now Zoe feels like she can't trust her. Corene asks Rafe if he secretly wants to be a prince, or even king, in Berringey. He'd like to see what Berringey is like but he doesn't want to rule anything. Corene asks Josetta if she's in love with Rafe. Josetta cleverly says they agreed Corene could ask them questions but they never agreed to answer. Corene responds that the answer is obvious anyway. The next day they get to Taro's house and they're taken to see Odelia. She prefers solitude and silence and lives seperate from the rest of the family, on the third floor with the windows set high and where all the furniture is soft and upholstered. The girl is sitting in the middle of the room, rocking and humming. When she gets upset, she stands with her hands over her ears and spins. Taro explains that she will do it until she falls and cries herself to sleep just to continue on when she wakes. It could last an hour or a couple of days, there's no telling. This is how she acts all the time, sometimes it's more or less severe but each day is some version of the same, and she never speaks. It started about two years ago and the only people who have known until now are Taro, Taro's wife, Romelle, and Odelia's other three caregivers. While Odelia is still in the middle of an episode, Corene pulls the girl into her lap. Even though Odelia shrieks at first, within a few minutes she quiets and settles in to Corene's embrace. It's clear that Odelia will not be able to inherit, so they discuss the succession plan. They have one in place, after Odelia Natalie would inherit as her half sister, then Josetta and Corene as they were raised to the role. Some of the primes had not been pleased with this plan at the time, the whole point was to keep it in Vernon's bloodline, and believe they should go with Vernon's closest heir. That would be Corene's stepfather Dominic. Nobody thinks he's capable of being a good king and the primes would not ratify him, so it would be his unborn baby. WIth Alys. And now we now what Alys' game was. She must have been told by Nelson's son Rhan that some of the primes were not satisfied with the succession plan and acted accordingly, just in case. Rafe and Josetta get back to the shelter and are suprised to see Rafe's brother Steff! They take him to the port. Rafe gets to fly again, but this time they give him the parachute jet pack contraption to wear in case he needs to evacuate quickly (which was his idea). The flight goes great and he loves it. Then the Empress of Malinqua shows up, early and with a large escort. Darien introduces her as Empress Filomara Marita Subriella. Rafe has a moment, Subriella was his mom's name. The empress comes to the palace and they have a meeting with the advisors that are present, not all of them since she arrived so early. She is looking for allies in case Berringey tries to take her to war. Barringey is warlike and after their visit to Welce they went to Soeche-Tas to the north, they're not exactly the most peaceful either. Filomara has no children left, both of her daughters have died, but she has many nephews and brothers who have sons. And Welce has an abundance of princesses. She would like a princess to move to Malinqua and marry one of these many sons. Corene volunteers to go, no one else likes the idea. Darien starts playing word games because the empress is not being entirely honest, and he finally gets the truth from her. Her eldest daughter and heir died of an illness, her younger daughter was murdered by her husband who was a Berringuese prince. But Filomara married her off even though she knew their customs, she gambled her daughter's life and lost. Turns out, as soon as Darien met Rafe he had an idea of who he was. Steff is also related to the empress, he's Rafe's half brother through their mom. Josetta and the brothers take Filomara shopping and they are attacked, but they aren't coming for the empress, they're coming for Rafe. Foley saves his life and as Rafe lays injured, the empress realizes who he is. His given name is Lerafi Filoman Kolavar. The empress wants Rafe to come to Malinqua but he keeps refusing, then Steff says HE wants to go. Filomara agrees, but they visit Bors first. Josetta believes Rafe should at least visit Malinqua before he makes any major decisions, he doesn't want to but he agrees to go. After all this, the advisors and Darien are once again discussing the successionn when Josetta and Corene sneak out to go to the river flats. Corene confesses that she's always wanted to be queen, but no one every wanted her. Rafe prepares to leave with his brother and grandmother for Malinqua but he is attacked in the harbor. Someone starts to strangle him and he passes out, just to wake up on a boat with the wrong relative. The Prince of Berringey has kidnapped him. The Welchins are pursuing them in small ships, and Rafe happens to be wearing the newest iteration of the parachute pack (he was trying it on when they got attacked). The prince explains that Rafe's dad prepared elixirs for himself, Rafe's mom, and Rafe. They would drink it and fall to sleep, never to wake up. His dad drank his, but Rafe's mom pretended to have Rafe and herself drink it, then pretended to sleep, took Rafe, and vanished. The Welchins make it close to the ship and yell for Ghyaneth to release Rafe. He brings Rafe over to the railing, but then the ocean stops moving. The winds stop blowing. Zoe and Kayle have arrived. So Ghyaneth prepares to kill Rafe there instead, but Rafe pulls the parachute cord and shoots into the sky. It was a very unpleasant ride but at least it works. He falls into the ocean and almost drowns but Zoe is able to pull him to safety. When Rafe flflew into the air, he knocked Ghyaneth overboard, so now the Welchins have him in custody. The prince believes that Rafe will take the throne in Malinqua and his crown will never be safe. He agrees that if they can convince him that Rafe will never leave Welce then he would let Rafe live, but he will never be convinced so it doesn't matter. But then Zoe steps in, she makes it so that if Rafe steps outside of Welce he will have an aneurism. She doesn't call it that, but that's what it sounds like to me. They hold Ghyaneth down and Zoe does the same to him, he will die if he kills Rafe either directly or indirectly. Ghyaneth agrees to leave. The advisors meet again to discuss the succession and the primes decide to name Darien as king. He's been doing the job since before Vernon died anyway. The only person shocked is Darien. But Corene is upset because she's always being forgotten and put aside. A reason the primes wanted Darien is because he already has one heir, Celia. But he has two children, Corene is his eldest daughter. Foley meets with Josetta and explains that now that she has someone else to look after her and keep her safe there's someone else that Foley needs to watch over. Josetta wishes him the best. The next morning Corene is missing. She's left Darien a note. The Empress of Malinqua left early that morning with Steff. Corene left with her, and she took Foley. I really enjoyed this story. It was nice seeing the quiet, reserved princess in the first story become more confident and stand up for herself, really come into her own. It was a delight to see all the old characters again, nice and settled now, and to be able to follow a new character on their journey. And I really enjoyed the way the story is laid out. Easy to read, and enjoyable. However, I didn't think the storyline was quite as good as the first book, and a little harder to follow. Four out of five stars.
Go ahead and click, if you're sure! We pick up almost right after Royal Airs leaves off; with Leah, a Welchin who hasn’t lived in Welce for five years and is currently at the harbor watching as the Malinqua delegation returns home with Corene, Foley, and Steff in tow. The Empress Filomara has found three potential brides for her nephews: Melissande from Cozique, Alette from Dhonsho, and now Corene from Welce. Leah has been spying for Darien in Malinqua for years and he let her know that Corene was on her way. He is more worried than he normally is for his daughter, Malinqua has a history of poisoning its political rivals. Darien is willing to rescue Corene by force now if needed, or to plan a slower evacuation if Leah thinks that Corene is safe. As a spy, Leah needs to have contacts everywhere and she makes friends with a harbor barkeep, Billini. She realizes that news has gotten out about Corene but not about Steff, so Leah breaks the news to the barkeep. The nephews will not like it one bit if Steff is named heir, who would? The capitol of Malinqua, Palminera, has two towers at opposite ends of the city that were designed to watch over the city at all points, at all times. One to the north, crystal with a top that glows white. One to the south, topped with a red and yellow glass flower and a fire that never goes out. Night and day, shadow and flame, the duality of existence. The whole city is set up that way and similar to Welce’s elemental affinities, most people associate themselves more with one than the other. People of flame are of action, people of shadow are more thoughtful. Corene has been sailing for two weeks and is convinced that nearly everyone on the ship hates her, except possibly Filomara, who doesn’t hate her but certainly doesn’t like her. Steff is irritated with her; thinks she acts spoiled and petulant. But Foley does not hate her. He always makes her feel safe, but he’s not really known for talking much. Corene starts to realize just how far from home she is, and she feels a little homesick. Her relationship with Darien is tenuous, she’s not sure how he feels about her or about being her father; she believes he considers her just one more obligation he has to take care of more than actually caring for her. If he doesn’t send a delegation after her does that mean that he trusts her, or that he doesn’t care? Filomara has been using the trip to teach Corene about Malinquese history. The Malinquese make it a habit to marry foreigners every few generations to make sure the nobles aren’t too closely related. Filomara was not one of those generations, she married the prefect’s son. The prefect is the monarch’s closest advisor and automatically becomes regent if needed, it is the second most powerful position in the nation. At the time that Filomara was contemplating marriage there had been some unrest with a faction who believed that the prefect’s family should inherit the throne instead of a woman. Marrying the prefect’s son seemed to appease everybody but they did not like each other. They lived together for five years and had two daughters together, after that they lived separately until Filomara’s husband died. It is especially important to protect the succession, which has caused strife for too long, so Filomara has made it clear that to be named heir her nephews must be able to have children. And they need to be married as any children born out of wedlock will not be contenders. They may choose their own spouse as long as they choose someone suitable. When they get to the palace, Corene and Steff are introduced to Filomara’s steward Lorian, the only man she finds entirely reliable. They get assigned to their rooms, Foley’s directly across the hall from Corene. Corene meets the Coziquela princess Melissande who is exuberant, personable, and charming, and best of all she speaks Welchin. They discuss the potential heirs. Filomara had four brothers, two of which are dead and the other two never come to court, cut out of the succession completely. She has three nephews: Garameno, Jiramondi, and Greggorio. Garameno is the smartest and most ambitious, he’s well informed on how the government works and works closely with the empress, but years ago he was severely injured and he still has to use a wheelchair due to the pain. He can walk, but only for short lengths of time. Before his injury he was the clear frontrunner for heir but he’s considered damaged now. Jiramondi is sophisticated and tactful, often dealing with foreign ambassadors, and he’s smart enough, but he’s gay and that is not acceptable in this society. The youngest is Greggorio, he is well liked and good looking but he’s an idiot, stubborn, and generally just not very bright. There are other factions who support the prefect’s daughter Liramelli who is sincere, smart, kind, and very devoted to Malinqua; she seems like she would be a great leader but sometimes gets flustered and seems a little shy. Liramelli could be the next heir, or she could marry the next heir like when Filomara married the prefect’s son. As for Melissande, she doesn’t want to rule Malinqua but she caused a small scandal at home and needed to give everybody some breathing room. The other candidate for bride, the Dhonshon princess, Alette, is very quiet. As in, she does not speak. But any high born Malinquese women could be a suitable bride, the nephews do not have to choose any of the princesses. Greggorio recently had a very serious relationship with Sarona, some thought he would propose to her, but then she disappeared and no one is sure of where she went. Corene meets everyone else in person that evening at dinner. Empress Filomara doesn’t want to announce who Steff is until they test his blood to make sure he’s related, but Corene thinks that Garameno has figured it out, and as the dinner ends he reveals who Steff is. We find out what happened to the previous heir, Filomara’s daughter Aravani. She was the clear heir and even had two daughters of her own, so things were much simpler then. But then Aravani, her husband, and both of their children were found dead of a suspected illness. Garameno was the next clear choice for the heir, and the prefect Harlo said he may have been an even better ruler than Aravani, but then suddenly his horse fell on him. It took forever to heal and still causes him a great deal of pain. It’s clear to Corene as she talks to Greggorio that he has no idea what it takes to rule a country. When she speaks to Foley after dinner, he seems to be the only person noticing how the bodies are stacking up. We have six heirs dead: Aravani, both her daughters, Steff’s mom (although it’s unlikely this was due to any succession jealousy), and two of Filomara’s brothers. Two heirs are banished: the other two brothers. And one had a close call: Garameno. Was his accident just that, and accident? Or something more nefarious. Leah needs to make contact with Corene, so she finds a source in the market where the royals shop. She makes a deal with a vendor, Chandran, and works for him while she waits for the royals to stop by. She tells him that she just wants to meet the Welchin princess but Chandran is too smart for that and he wants the truth. So he poisons her, which seems excessive to me but is one way to get answers. She reveals that she is a Welchin spy but she isn’t there to hurt Malinqua and he gives her the antidote. He asks why she left Welce, it’s a tale as old as time. She fell in love, got pregnant, and it turned out the man didn’t want her or the baby. So she gave the baby to people she trusted and left. Leah doesn’t have to wait too long before the royals come to the markets. Corene and Leah meet when Corene stops to buy a present for Zoe and Josetta. The two talk about Corene’s safety. Is she safe? Can she leave the palace unaccompanied? Leah gives Corene an address that Foley can deliver messages to. They make a plan to ensure Corene’s safety and how to convey to Leah that she needs to leave. They also talk about Darien, he may not have written to Corene but he did mobilize his forces for her. Corene doesn’t think Darien’s ever worried about her before, but Leah thinks she doesn’t know Darien as well as she thinks. She was his daughter that he could not claim, born to an angry, vengeful woman. He’s probably been worried about her for her whole life. Corene gives Leah all the gossip from Welce that she’s missed, particularly what happened with Odelia and Mally. When they leave Leah, Corene fills Foley in on what happened. He had heard Leah speaking Welchin and assumed they were exchanging news, but he’d made contingency plans if Leah was not there to be friendly. Foley explains that he wouldn’t mind the trouble of rescuing Corene but he wouldn’t want her to be hurt or afraid. When they return from the market, the empress requests Steff immediately, but he’s nervous to go alone and asks Corene to come with him. Filomara reveals that they have confirmed through blood tests that Steff is related to her, but she also tells them that the first two tests were likely contaminated on purpose and gave different results. Somebody doesn’t want Steff to be in the running for heir. After Filomara announces the news at dinner, Garameno and Jiramondi tell Corene about their dads. Filomara’s brothers were always making and breaking alliances, vying for the crown. All four of them attended a dinner party and afterwards two of them ended up dead. Probably poisoned, but no one knows for certain how or who killed them. Jiramondi, who has taken over Corene’s language lessons, assures Steff that if Greggorio can learn Malinquese politics than so can Steff. Because Greggorio is as stupid as an ox (his words, not mine). He would be a popular leader on account of his being good looking and likable, but he would be a terrible ruler unless he married a clever woman that could guide him, like Liramelli. In fact, the two of them had been practically betrothed since they were kids but Greggorio started seeing Sarona and said he wanted to marry her, so they never made the betrothal official. Liramelli invites Corene to have dinner with her and her parents. Corene talks to them quite a bit about trade with Welce, she might be pretty good at this ambassador stuff. Liramelli and Corene plan a trip to the towers and everyone, including Alette, wants to come. The towers burn constantly, using their own gas lines so they do not need to be tended by workers all of the time. Corene, Steff, Greggorio, and Alette climb to the top of the red tower, using the mostly wooden stairway on the inside. When they get to the top Alette tries to jump, but they are able to grab and stop her. They take her back to the palace wondering what could have caused her to attempt this, but Alette is not talking. Liramelli takes Steff and Corene to the center of the palace’s huge hedge maze, explaining to them how to make it in and out without getting lost. Later that day, Corene and Melissande talk about why Alette tried to jump. Melissande points out that all of the princesses are powerless. None of their own ambassadors have come to visit them, they’re always followed by a ton of soldiers, and she’s sure her mail is being read, but it’s possibly being edited as well. The mail both coming and going. Melissande thinks Filomara wants them as hostages, but she’s not sure why. Corene decides to test out if she’d be able to get to Leah if she needed to. Foley already knows all the possible exits into the city, of course. They start for the city and make an emergency plan. If something happens and they are separated, they will meet at the tower of fire. They have a very sweet conversation that shows Foley really sees Corene, understands her better than almost anybody else. They see five soldiers that may be searching for Corene and they try to elude them. Then they find another group of soldiers moving in the opposite direction, these ones are definitely looking for Corene. They decide not to push it too far and go back to the palace before they’re discovered. Leah starts working for Chandran part time. Corene is sending Leah updates once or twice a week and Leah starts to put together a plan in case they need to get Corene out quickly. She gets to the harbor to find that Berringey has set up blockades. A Welchin sea captain tells her that there could be a smugglers port they could use to get out of the city, not that she would know where it is of course, she couldn’t tell Leah where it is even if she trusted her, which she doesn’t. But both the captain and Leah know Kayle Dochenza, the elay prime, so Leah tells the captain to talk to Kayle, he will vouch for her. The good news is that Chandran also knows about the port. Chandran puts her in contact with someone who agrees to let her know when a Welchin ship comes into the smugglers port. She also looks for ways to get out of the walled city without needing to use the gates. Melissande, Liramelli, and Corene try to befriend Alette. They meet in Alette’s room, trying food and treats native to the other’s countries. For Welce, they pull blessings. Alette gets courage, hope, and love. Melissande and Corene talk about what they would do if they don’t end up marrying someone in Malinqua. Alette explains that she can’t return home. Her father does not accept failure and would have her killed. For example, she just found out that her mother and sister were put do death. Her sister because she did not win over a suitor that her father had chosen for her, Alette’s mother because she had not adequately prepared the sister. Alette’s father has ten wives and twenty-one children, only sixteen are still alive. The other five were all killed on his orders. No one can protect her, he will find Alette wherever she goes. Except perhaps if she fled to Yorramol. The country is so far away that almost no one goes there and they don’t know much about their customs at all. She does have someone in the city who would keep her safe on the journey, someone she loves and loves her in return, but her father’s men are watching her all the time. The other three agree to help Alette however they can. Melissande believes that Alette is getting mail outside of the official sources if she just found out about the deaths of her family. Garameno had mentioned before that she hadn’t had any distressing news written to her. Foley remembers that the palace has an underground water source that they should look into, in case they need to escape from the palace. Liramelli takes Corene, Steff, Foley, and Melissande to see the spring. The door to the underground spring is kept locked at all times, Liramelli knows where the key is, except the key is not there. Steff is able to pick the lock instead, so they head down the ramp to the spring. It goes down about three or four stories, and it smells like rotting fruit, but they make it all the way to the water. Foley looks at the drain and decides it’s too small for anybody to get through. But then they find a body. There’s blood on their clothes, so they did not drown. Liramelli recognizes the necklace, it’s Sarona. Foley and Corene stay with the body as the others go get help. He warns her to be careful, maybe it’s time for them to leave for Welce. But Corene doesn’t think so, not yet. They perform an autopsy on Sarona’s body and the examiners decide she cut her own throat, but Steff thinks if that were true there would have been much more blood. She was killed somewhere else and then moved to the underground spring. The killer probably did it to prevent Greggorio from marrying Sarona and securing the crown. If that’s true, then all the potential brides are in danger. Foley again says it may be time to leave, Corene agrees this time, but that will be pretty difficult. The port is closed because Berringey has declared war on Malinqua. At her next language lesson, Corene confronts Jiramondi. He confirms that they’re basically hostages. She retorts that when Darien finds out, he will send warships to Malinqua, but that’s exactly what they want. Having countries bring their ships may make it appear to outsiders that they are helping protect Malinqua which may just scare Berringey away from their shores. It was Garameno’s idea. Corene tells Foley that she is disgusted, with the situation she’s been placed in and with how courts work in general. Maybe she won’t ever marry if this is what she has to look forward to. Foley tells her that if she married and her husband turned out to be awful, if she were unhappy, he would save her. They travel to the white tower this time, Alette included although she’s promised not to try to jump from the top this time. Instead, when they reach the bottom, Alette is attacked. Men try to kidnap her. Greggorio, Jiramondi, and Foley go to her rescue and save her from who they assume are her father’s men. When they return to the palace, Corene offers to dress Foley’s wounds but he refuses, he’s a little modest and she has no training. She got scared when Foley was injured in the fight but he tells her he would not leave her undefended. Corene leaves him, thinking that if something had happened to him she would not be able to live. She decides not to think about that right now. Corene goes with Melissande and Liramelli to visit Alette. Alette tells them that they were kidnapping her but only because they wanted to kill her elsewhere. Liramelli explains that there is a superstition, if you kill in the shadow of the towers you will die in a matter of days. Why would Dhonshon soldiers care about Malinquese superstitions? These men weren’t sent from her father. Alette could tell because she could smell zeezin on their breath. Dhonshons use zeezin in funeral rites and will not eat it, but the Malinquese use it in their food. They looked like Dhonshons but they likely had been raised and lived in Malinqua. Who hired them to kill Alette? Could it be because Greggorio has been getting closer to her, he was the only person nice to her before the red tower incident and even passed letters for her; and since they found Sarona’s body they’ve gotten closer. It wasn’t romantic but someone might not be able to tell from the outside. Corene stops by Foley’s room and they decide to get Alette out of the palace and away from her father. They dance around their feelings for each other, starting to share confidences and trust each other more. Corene talks to Leah about helping Alette. Leah finds Cheelin in the city, the man that Alette loves. They arrange when and where to meet so that Cheelin can flee with Alette. They will meet south of the red tower in three days. Leah then visits some of her contacts, including a Dhonshon family. When she visits the harbor barkeep, he tells her there is a Welchin man waiting upstairs for her. It’s Nelson Ardelay! He’s come to play ambassador and analyze the situation. He’s also brought fifty ships with him, they’re waiting just outside the blockade. Leah asks about her daughter, Nelson should know how she is. He is the girl’s grandfather after all. Liramelli, Melissande, Corene, and Alette go to the Welchin temple together three days later. Leah has put a note on the temple door saying it’s closed, and Corene told all of the men who wanted to join them that it was a Welchin holiday, only women allowed in the temple today. When they get there, Leah meets them with one of her Dhonshon contacts, Teyta. She looks a bit like Alette, mostly in coloring and stature, so they switch clothes but they make sure to keep Teyta’s face obscured. Corene, Liramelli, Melissande, and Teyta leave the temple to go get lunch and eat at the top of the red temple; Leah and Alette plan to leave fifteen minutes later to meet Cheelin. On their way back to the palace, the four women run into Garameno and some guards but Teyta pretends to be sick from the food. In a good (and bad) turn of luck, Liramelli and Corene actually get sick from the food and all four of them pretend to be indisposed for the remainder of the night. The next morning Melissande takes Teyta to the kitchens, where her sister and mother will be making a delivery. Teyta slips out with them. Melissande locks Alette’s bedroom door and then hides the key. That night at dinner they realize that Alette is missing. They send guards to search for her. Corene causes a distraction, demanding to know why the princesses have been held captive and revealing that Welchin ships are here to save her with Coziquela ships on their way for Melissande. She makes a big scene. That night Foley decides to sleep in her room in front of the door out of fear for her safety. The next day Filomara calls Steff and Corene for a meeting and Nelson is there. He’s brought an elaymotive, or smoker car, for Filomara. Corene expresses her desire to leave, but she agrees to stay until after the gala in two days, a masquerade celebrating Steff’s return to Malinqua. Nelson is on board getting Corene out if she feels like she’s in danger, but he’s really there for Leah. He tells Corene that Leah is the niece of Taro Frothen, the torz prime. She and Rhan had a daughter together, Mally, who used to be Odelia’s decoy when Odelia was supposed to become queen. He also tells Corene news from Welce, specifically that Alys is getting a divorce. She has had a miscarriage, or so she claims. After Corene talks with Nelson, she meets with Melissande. She explains that she will be staying till after the gala. Melissande is sure that her mother is going to summon her home in some dramatic fashion, but she’s not excited to return. She’s missed Cozique but her mother had sent her away with an understanding: if Melissande didn’t find a husband in Malinqua then her mother would find her one when she returned. Melissande’s mother thinks that marriage will settle her down some, not that she’s done anything that bad. Just some small romances with men and women. Corene is surprised, how did she know she liked women and men both? Melissande offers to kiss her but when she does, Corene doesn’t feel excited. She’s never kissed anyone and felt breathless or tingly, Melissande says she’s been kissing the wrong people. Leah and Chandran spend the evening of the gala together, getting dinner and climbing to the top of the white tower to watch the fireworks. She thinks of Chandran as a friend, even if they still don’t fully trust one another. Not to mention he poisoned her once. He guesses that she’s going to return to Welce and he will miss her but they agree to write. As they get to the top of the tower, they see Cozique ships in the harbor. Palminera is under attack! Corene and Foley go to the gala together, since it’s a masquerade Foley is able to disguise himself and follow her closely without anyone being the wiser. After they eat they go outside for some outdoor activities. Someone speaks to Corene, a man she doesn’t know but she almost recognizes the voice. He’s completely in disguise including gloves. She continues on after their conversation, stopping at a juggler and a different man she doesn’t know speaks to her. All of her instincts tell her to leave but the man pursues her and tries to touch her. Foley stops him and they get in a scuffle but Corene is able to pull Foley away. She takes his hand and asks him why he came with her to Malinqua. Why did he want to be her protector? She insinuates that they may have feelings for each other but he says that he has to be able to do his job and he can’t do that effectively if there’s anything more between them. When they return to Welce, he will ask for another post. They walk through the maze and when they get to the center they find two people already there. The one that is kneeling is the same man she couldn’t place earlier, whose voice sounds so familiar. He’s kneeling next to another man lying on the ground, he says he found the second man this way but he thinks the man is dead. Corene looks around, sees Garameno’s wheelchair, and assumes the man lying on the ground must be Garameno. She takes his mask off but it is actually Greggorio. Foley tells Corene to run for help but the other man, Garameno, grabs her arm and tells her to stay; that things are more complicated than she realizes. Foley punches him and pushes Corene toward the exit, yelling at her to go. As Corene runs for help, she is trying to figure out what happened. There was no blood but there was bruising around Greggorio’s neck. Garameno can apparently walk easily and must’ve stashed his chair in the maze so he could blend in with the crowd. Garameno seemed shocked to find Greggorio there, maybe Greggorio found the wheelchair and decided to take it for a little spin, and was killed when the assassin mistook him for Garameno. They have the same build and they were both disguised. Corene finds Lorian, Filomara’s steward. She explains what’s happened but Lorian just keeps repeating that it has to be Garameno. She remembers Liramelli telling her that she and Greggorio were always Lorian’s favorites. Then Lorian says it must be Garameno that was strangled. Problem is, Corene never said anything about HOW they were killed, and she realizes as Lorian runs toward the maze that Lorian was behind it all, smoothing Greggorio’s way to the throne. She starts to run to Foley, worried that when Lorian gets there he might hurt him, but before she gets near the maze she sees royal guards searching for her. She has to run. When she gets to the smoker car that Nelson brought, Filomara has it displayed in the lawn, she jumps in and speeds off. She learned to drive (not well) when she was eleven traveling with Barlowe and Jaker. She makes it through the palace gates and heads for the red tower, climbing all the way to the top so she can see better. Someone spots her, she can hear them but can’t make out their faces; there are several of them so they must be guards. She waits for them to come through the only door to the top and as they enter one by one she fights them off with clothes she’s lit on fire from the red tower’s flame. Finally, Foley arrives to rescue her, fighting off the rest of the guards but he can’t get to her. The stairway has caught on fire. He yells to her from the ground that she needs to descend the stairwell, he’s brought Nelson with him and Nelson will keep the flames at bay. She starts down the staircase, some parts of which are wood and some metal. The metal parts burn her feet and the wood is weakened, one of the wooden sections splinters as she steps on it and her leg goes through. She doesn’t fall but her leg is injured and she can’t put her weight on it so she will have to go down the rest of the stairs on her butt. She continues to talk to Foley as she descends, to keep her calm and so he can track how far she’s gone. Suddenly, the staircase starts to pull away from the wall and she is dangling in the air as she holds on. She is going to fall, Foley tells her she’s not that far, he will catch her. She’s afraid that she’s too high up, if she falls on him she will crush and kill him, but he says that if something happens to her he doesn’t want to live without her. But that’s not going to happen. He loves her and he promises to catch her. So she drops, and catch her he does. She kisses him and for the first time she feels breathless. Nelson is exasperated because this is not the time. The leave the tower, only to find it surrounded by soldiers. Luckily, these are Welchin soldiers that Leah gathered when she saw the Coziquela ships in the harbor. They were on their way to the palace when they saw the flames at the red tower and redirected. Corene wants to go back to the palace to make sure everything is settled before they depart for Welce. So the four of them drive in the smoker car with half of the soldiers in front of and half behind them. They don’t have to worry too much since the Coziquela guards have taken the city and they have an understanding with the Welchin guards. They’re both here for their princesses. When they make it to the palace they get the whole story. Lorian had killed Greggorio. Greggorio’s dad Morli had been Filomara’s eldest brother and thought he should be heir because of it, but she had already named Aravani and besides, he had no children of his own. Until Greggorio was born, late in his life. According to Lorian, the year that his son was born, Morli killed Aravani and her family, but there is some speculation that Lorian had helped plot their murders. Then the second eldest brother Donato killed Morli, so Lorian killed Donato in retaliation. He arranged to have Garameno killed in a horseback riding accident, but it failed and only left him injured. Garameno has been faking the current severity of his injury to appear weak and not have another attempt made on his life. He hadn’t realized Lorian had arranged for the accident to happen though, it could have been anyone. Lorian also outed Jiramondi, knowing that no one would allow him to inherit the throne because of it. He wanted Greggorio to marry Liramelli and for them to take the throne together. He had tainted Steff’s blood test. He had killed Sarona and hidden her body and arranged for the men to kill Alette when it appeared Greggorio was growing fond of her. But Garameno had still remained close to Filomara and was involved with the running of the government so Lorian tried to eliminate him again. He may have done more to Steff if he had thought Steff was more of a threat, or if he had realized how close Steff had become to Liramelli. Talk turns back to who will be heir. Garameno is no longer considered broken in body, but no one wants to marry him even so. Liramelli is in love with Steff and Melissande wants to return to Cozique. Not to mention, they know from tests performed that Garameno is unable to father a child. Jiramondi thinks it’s likely that Garameno will be named heir with the agreement that his heirs will be Steff’s children. It will work particularly well if Steff’s children are with Liramelli. But what of Jiramondi, what will he do? Melissande floats the idea that he could come to Cozique and marry her. She doesn’t care that he likes men, they can have a partnership but both take lovers on the side, and they can split their time between Malinqua and Cozique. She actually really likes the idea and it means her mother won’t be able to pick a husband for her, Jiramondi accepts her proposal. That night the Welchin soldiers sleep in the hallway outside of Corene’s room and Leah will be bunking with her, which means she won’t have any alone time with Foley after their big ordeal. He arranges to care for her leg injury in his room while Leah settles in. He reiterates that he loves her and he will still love her even when they’re in Welce again. He asks her the same. Yes she loves him and has loved him and will continue to love him, but it may be more difficult for them in Welce, especially with Darien there. Maybe they don’t go to Welce? They decide that Leah and Nelson can return to Welce but the two of them will travel to Cozique with Melissande and Jiramondi. Corene is pretty good at this ambassador stuff, after all. I really enjoyed this book. The relationship between Corene and Foley is so sweet, one so impetuous and one so sturdy. The story was fun and it was nice to get so many new characters in this book. 4 out of 5 stars!
Spoilers ahead, be careful! Leah Frothen is back in Welce from her post as Darien’s spy in Malinqua, where we were introduced to her in Jeweled Fire. She visits booths in the plaza on a national holiday and buys a beautiful, very delicate fish called a reifarjin. It has been imported in from Cozique but is (allegedly) originally from Yarramol; a country so distant that it is almost considered a folktale. She visits the blind sisters and asks them about Mally. She’s given all the updated information about the succession, Odelia, and is told that Mally still lives with the torz prime, his wife, Queen Romelle, and both of her daughters. She visits Darien and discusses how she left Malinqua and what she wants with Mally. If you are unsure who Mally is, she was the decoy princess for Princess Odelia while Odelia was heir to Welce. Since it was discovered that Odelia will be incapable of ruling, Darien has been made the king (but not yet coronated) and Mally is released from service at the tender age of five. For more of her story, see the Royal Airs summary above. Leah is Mally’s mother, she left Mally with the torz prime, Leah’s Uncle Taro; Leah did not believe she could take care of the girl at the time. Darien tells Leah that the Karkades are trying to create an alliance with Soeche Tas. Karkades is currently a part of the Cozique Empire but is suing for independence. They have also allied with Dhonsho and want to speak to Welce about a possible alliance. Since she has experience spying and is back in Welce, Darien asks Leah to open a shop appealing to foreign tastes. Perhaps she can attract the Karkans to the shop and glean some information from them. In fact, he and Zoe have already secured a location and Zoe sets Leah up with her trader friends, Jaker and Barlowe, to bring in some interesting items to sell. She also hires Zoe’s friend Annova. Leah gets a letter from Chandran, her friend in Malinqua. She misses Chandran a lot, more than she expected. Darien has arranged for Mally to stay in the city for a while with Taro’s wife, Virrie. Mally is torz like Leah and Taro. Leah hasn’t seen the girl since she gave birth, she only held Mally once before leaving her with Virrie and Taro. Leah hadn’t thought she could care for herself, let alone a baby. She didn’t have any experience with children and had a very unusual childhood herself. Her mother, Rinda, was Taro’s sister. Rinda joined an acting troupe when she was seventeen and “married” the lead actor. He loved Rinda and Leah; he doted on Leah when he remembered she existed. When Rinda died when Leah was eight, Leah’s father tried to raise her but often forgot to take care of her. She was sixteen when she finally went to live with Taro and Virrie. Mally and Virrie stay in Darien’s house in the city, Princess Josetta and her partner Rafe stay there occasionally as well. Virrie invites Leah to stay with her, Leah agrees to think about it but makes no promises. Mally’s dad, Rhan Ardelay, comes to visit Leah. Leah is not ready to see him, how Rhan reacted when Leah told him she was pregnant still hurts Leah. Rhan told Leah that wasn’t ready to marry or to be a father; that he wouldn’t be a part of their lives. The two of them discuss the past and Rhan apologizes to Leah, saying that he did try to find her before the baby was born but she’d already gone into hiding. He thought that she would reach out to him, but she never did. The Ardelays, Rhan’s parents and even his brother Kurtis, had tried to take Mally in but she had already become Odelia’s decoy. Leah and Rhan come to a shaky peace, they agree that Leah will introduce herself to Mally as her mother first, later they will introduce Rhan. It will be up to Leah to decide when and what to tell people. Leah starts to set up the store. She is downstairs with Mally organizing their goods as Annova, Zoe, and Virrie go upstairs to organize the extra stock, when a man comes into the store and starts to rob them. Leah tries to fight him off with a cane, but he shoves her into a shelf. Suddenly, a box of rocks falls from the top shelf, hitting the man but not Leah, as if the rocks are being aimed at him alone. Luckily, Zoe’s guards, who’d been left outside, are able to apprehend the man before anyone is seriously hurt. Chandran sends Leah a package of goods to sell and a letter. He mentions that he picked out some karkan goods for her. He also fills Leah in on what he knows about the Karkades. In the Karkades, they are governed by a sense of balance. They operate in extremes and expect everything to even out in the end. They have periods of brutal violence followed by equal periods of peace and prosperity. Their most famous king once punished a rebellious noble by murdering almost a thousand children; he then became the benefactor of schools and orphanages across the country to atone. They also believe that independence is the only way to compensate for the humiliation of being annexed by Cozique. Nothing would be too outrageous if it gained them independence. Chandran also mentions that hostilities between Cozique and Malinqua were short lived, but Cozique still has a military presence in Malinqua (see Jeweled Fire). Malinqua is trying to find a way to get rid of the Coziquela military, does that include signing a treaty with the Karkades? He writes that he’s thinking of Leah and sends her a pair of earrings that reminded him of her. Leah gives Darien the information she’s received about the Karkades. Darien believes that a member of the Karkan royal family is renting a place near the plaza under an assumed name. He tells her that there are two Karkans and two Soechins waiting for an audience with him, maybe she can head to the lobby and pretend to be waiting as well? She may be able to overhear what they’re discussing. Leah agrees and ends up meeting Seka Mardis, who prompts Leah for information about Darien. Leah mentions her shop and Seka Mardis agrees to visit when it opens. When Leah arrives home, Virrie is waiting to take her to the house of Nelson Ardelay, the sweela prime, for an impromptu gathering. Nelson happens to be Rhan’s father and the person who convinced Leah to come home to Welce. Rhan is there and he meets Mally, officially. Leah prepares to open the shop for business, and she takes her fish there, so he won’t get lonely. The night before the grand opening, she’s feeling restless and goes to the plaza. She ends up making a public oath: she will be a mother to her daughter, Mally. Now she just has to figure out how to do that. While she’s out, Leah sees Seka Mardis at the plaza and trails her and her companion. The two Karkans meet a third person, possibly the crown prince, and the three of them head to the slums. They find a girl on the street and offer her money to do something, but they don’t specify what that something is. The girl initially agrees but when the girl changes her mind, the Karkans don’t let her go. Instead, they carry her into a building where they won’t be seen. Leah must find a way to save the girl. She sees men drinking around a barrel fire and steals their liquor, running into the same building the Karkans went into. The men follow her, and in the commotion, the Karkans make a quick and quiet exit. Leah tries to help the girl, offering to take her to a shelter, but she’s scared and refuses her assistance. Leah ends up leaving her there since the Karkans have already left. The next morning the shop has its grand opening. It’s busy all day and Leah gets to see Josetta and her mom, Queen Seterre. As Leah is locking up at the end of the night, a man appears. It’s Chandran! Why is he in Welce? He has lived in Malinqua for the last fifteen years. When he arrived there, he had nothing. First, he hired on at some stables. Then, he worked as a horse trader and at a merchant’s shop. He started working full time at the merchant’s and eventually became a partner in the business. There had been a woman who wanted to be involved with him, but that faded when he told her he already had a wife. He let the woman assume that he and his wife were estranged but, in actuality, his wife, was dead. After some years, he bought out his partner when the partner’s family was uninterested in being involved with the business, making Chandran the sole owner. But now, a man from his past has shown up and recognized him. A cousin of his late wife, Dederra. He did not approach Chandran, so Chandran fled since Dederra’s whole family hates him. You see, Chandran is originally from Cozique, and his wife was Karkan. Her father was a trading partner of Chandran’s father, and they arranged the marriage between Chandran and Dederra. After the two married, they lived in the Karkades, where they believe you can do whatever you want as long as you atone for it afterward. Sometimes they atone first, knowing that whatever they’re planning will need it. His wife used to go among the diseased and comfort them, even holding them as they died. Just imagine what she was atoning for. Chandran and his wife ultimately decided they were not suited and petitioned for a divorce, but before it could be finalized Chandran found evidence of something that Dederra had done and confronted her. Dederra taunted him, just imagine the things she could do once they were divorced. He couldn’t allow that, so he killed her and fled for Malinqua. Chandran tells Leah all of this, but he won’t tell her what his wife did. He sees how Leah reacts to his confession and decides to leave, he won’t seek her out again. He feared that what he had done was unforgiveable and her reaction proves that. But Leah stops him and asks him why he came to her. Leah is the only thing that has made him happy since coming to Malinqua. He did not want to build a relationship, or a life with her, on a lie. Leah’s asks him to give her time, this is a lot of information, but tells him not to leave yet; she believes that he is an honorable man, and he would not have acted without reason. Chandran explains that he could never do it again, even if he knew someone had done something that warranted death, he could not be the one to mete it out; he has lived in regret since killing his wife but does not regret stopping her from committing more atrocities. Chandran agrees to stay in the city for now; and if he decides to leave, he will let Leah know. Then, Leah asks him to work for her. He taught her everything she knows about working in a shop, after all. When Leah finally makes it home, Darien is waiting for her, and she can tell him what she saw Seka Mardis and the Karkans do the night before. The next day, Chandran, Annova, and Leah are working in the shop together. When Mally comes to the shop, Chandran disappears so that Leah doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Even better, the Karkans and Soechins show up just before closing time while Chandran is still gone. Seka Mardis has been paying very close attention to Leah and asks Leah if she can obtain veneben for her traveling companion, an expensive hallucinogenic with a very high death rate. She also asks if Darien has a weakness. Maybe his daughter? Not Corene, Celia. Would making Celia happy give someone an opportunity with Darien? What if they saved her from danger? Not the most comforting line of questioning. Meanwhile, the Soechins are asking Mally questions and in her fluster, she calls herself Odelia. Leah interrupts them and the whole group leaves without buying anything. Leah has dinner with Virrie and Mally, since Taro is visiting. Taro explains to everyone how the next torz prime is revealed. There is a patch of land on the torz prime’s property where nothing new will grow. All that is there are these scraggly bushes that cannot be tamed. If the prime and the heir walk through the garden of bushes together, the old bushes will bloom with new leaves and flowers so fast that it’s impossible to ignore. That’s how they know who the next prime will be. Mally convinces Leah to move into the city house with her and Virrie. That night, Leah walks through the plaza on her way home and she finds two Karkan men searching for a temple; they’d like to make a substantial donation. When the men have made their donation and leave, Leah looks at the huge amount of money they’ve given to the temple. What are they atoning for? Or what are they atoning for…in advance? Leah goes to the harbor with one of Darien’s guards, Yori, in order to pick up some more merchandise. They also end up picking up Josetta’s partner, Rafe. When they drop the merchandise off at the shop, Rafe and Yori see a person lying in the shadows, covered in blood and just barely alive. They bring him inside and fetch Josetta, who has some nursing training, and Zoe, who happened to be with Josetta. They manage to save his life and take him to the palace. Leah is told that he’s not the first person to be found like this, but he is the first to live. Darien gives Leah the veneben she needs for Seka Mardis. After closing time, Leah is working alone to restock the shelves when Seka Mardis shows up. She takes the veneben and some other karkan treats that Leah managed to obtain from the harbor. She explains to Leah that the veneben is for the Crown Prince. He will be very pleased and may even want to meet Leah, so Seka Mardis invites Leah to a party. Leah agrees to go, but before the parts asks some of her circle about their opinions of the Crown Prince. They’ve all met him already since they’re all expected to go to events at the palace and they all hate him. Even Nelson called him worse than the Soechin Viceroy, and that guy tried to marry an eleven-year-old. Chandran helps Leah pick a host gift for the party – more veneben and Yori agrees to accompany her. When they get to the party, incense is burning that lowers everyone’s inhibitions. Leah meets the Crown Prince. He tells her that in the Karkades, the King’s word is law. His power is immediate and infinite. The prince does not approve of Darien’s reliance on his advisors, although Leah suspects Darien is using them as an excuse to delay saying no to a Karkan alliance. The Crown Prince has a few theories about the Welchin succession, including that Darien is not really going to be crowned king. Instead, he’s just keeping the throne warm for when Odelia is old enough to rule herself. While Leah is meeting with the prince, Yori looks through the rest of the house, making sure that everyone who is there wants to be there. No one is being held against their will, at least not anymore. When Leah and Yori leave, Leah tells Yori that the prince was drinking a funny smelling, red, sticky drink. Yori thinks it may have been blood. Chandran meets Mally and it goes great; they genuinely enjoy hanging out and stacking rocks. Leah talks to him that night; he’s very comfortable around children, did he ever want kids of his own? At first, Chandran explains, he did want kids, but he changed his mind as he did not think that Dederra should be anyone’s mother. They did have servants in the house, and some of them had children, so they often had kids around. There was a trend among the Karkan elite to drink the blood of others. The sweetest, freshest, richest blood was that of children. The night that Chandran killed his wife, he had found the body of a child that Dederra had killed and drained of blood. It was one of their servants’ children, a sweet girl that was only five or six. Leah takes Chandran to Darien, this may be the explanation for the bodies they’ve been finding. Darien and Zoe believe the Karkans are likely behind these bodies, Zoe thinks that maybe she can help the Karkans understand just how unacceptable this behavior is in Welce. They make a plan; Leah will invite the Crown Prince to her shop to see new goods and Zoe will just happen to stop by. When Seka Mardis and the Crown Prince get to the shop, their conversation with Leah turns to Mally; they’re asking a lot of questions about her. Zoe and Nelson show up “out of the blue.” They discuss which the Karkans just what the primes are capable of; Zoe gives a little demonstration, causing Seka Mardis’ arm to bruise. She takes the prince’s hand but after a moment, walks away in disgust. When the Karkans ask what happened, she says she can tell he has blood in him that does not belong there, Welchin blood. There’s an argument that turns into a bit of a scuffle in which Nelson brings all the guards to their knees with a crippling headache. The Karkans agree to refrain from drinking anyone’s blood while in Welce. They just didn’t realize that killing Welchin citizens and drinking their blood was going to be so taboo! Taro shows up in the city again and they decide to have a party, that way all the Frothens can be reintroduced to Leah and introduced to Mally as Mally, instead of as Odelia. While at the party, Darien gives Leah a letter addressed to Corene. It’s from Alette, the Dhonshon Princess that Corene and Leah helped to escape; she is halfway to Yarramol and optimistic that she will make it safely (see Jeweled Fire). After the party, Mally tells Leah that Natalie, Romelle’s elder daughter who is visiting Mally, wants to go home. She will miss Natalie, but Mally doesn’t belong there anymore. She belongs with Leah; their skin is the same. Leah explains that she is Mally’s mom and that she will never leave Mally again. The next morning, Taro shows everyone at breakfast that a bush he had placed at the entrance of the party has bloomed. It’s one of the scraggly bushes from his property, the torz heir was there last night. That makes it much easier to narrow down who the heir is. Leah goes to work and at the end of the day, as Jaker and Barlowe are talking to Leah, Yori bursts in. Taro had taken Natalie and Mally to the plaza as a fun outing. As they were leaving the booth of promises, a group of men attacked them. Three of the men beat Taro while the fourth kidnapped Mally. Natalie had tried to protect Taro has he was being attacked and was pushed aside by the men. She’s hurt, Taro is gravely injured, and Mally is missing. Taro is so badly hurt, in fact, that he needs the primes to help keep him alive. The men who attacked them spoke neither Welchin nor Coziquela, they were probably Karkan. Leah believes took Mally because they think she is Odelia. They think that Darien’s coronation is a charade, and that Odelia will be crowned when she is older, so by taking her they can force Darien’s hand into allying with them. Chandran tells Leah and Darien that the Karkans believe they are justified to do anything to right the wrong of Coziquela occupation. But they also believe in the divinity of blood heirs. They probably won’t hurt Mally if they believe she is Odelia and the rightful heir to the Welchin throne; unless they are under attack, and they see no other way out. Chandran suggests that they offer a trade for Mally. And he happens to have something they will want, him. Dederra was the king’s youngest daughter, and they will want him to pay for her murder. Giving himself up is how he will atone for killing Dederra. This is how he will show Leah that he loves her; by saving her daughter. Darien talks to Jaker and Barlowe about a shorter route to the northwestern port where the Karkans have their ships. Jaker and Barlowe have traveled up and down Welce as traders and know all the shortcuts. The Karkans are already half a day ahead of the Welchins, they need to move as quickly as possible. There’s a narrow, disused route that is faster, but it cannot accommodate large vehicles. Darien decides they will leave at dawn, they can’t drive through the night since most of the elaymotives do not have lighting for night driving. Rhan arrives at the house, he and Leah will both accompany the soldiers to be there when they find Mally. Zoe, Nelson, and the hunti prime, Mirti, keep Taro alive. The elay prime, Kayle, has also been called but will take longer to arrive from the harbor. In the morning, the soldiers are split into two groups. Some take small, narrow cars that can drive on the disused route, while the rest use bigger transport vehicles to follow the normal road. If the Karkans try to double back, the larger vehicles will be able to block them. They drive until it gets dark, and they are forced to stop for the night, but Jaker and Barlowe believe they should catch up to the Karkans by midday. That night, Chandran tells Leah that Seka Mardis was one of Dederra’s best friends. She is the one who supplied Dederra with her victims. They discuss what will happen to Chandran if he’s taken by the Karkans, Leah suggests that Jaker has an interest in medicinal herbs. He has some that may be used as a poison if taken in the correct dosage. As they thought, they catch up to the Karkans the next day and Darien sends terms to the Crown Prince. To show Darien that he’s not playing around, the Crown Prince kills his own emissary. Seems luck a dumb way to send it but the message received, serious offers only. After a while, they show Chandran to the Crown Prince, to prove that he is there, and they are not bluffing. While on a hill, watching Chandran leave Darien’s tent, Leah hears music playing. Yori can’t hear it. Leah realizes that it’s Seka Mardis. It’s a Darnish pipe, a little flute that only plays at a certain frequency, so only certain people can hear its tune. Seka Mardis happened to try one out at the shop that Leah could hear, and she ended up purchasing it. Yori and Leah follow the sound to where Seka Mardis is. Seka Mardis explains that she had finally realized that Mally looks just like Leah. Leah never said Mally was her daughter since Mally herself didn’t know, but also to protect Mally while Leah was trying to gather information. Seka Mardis has brought Mally back to Leah to atone for all the things she had done before. Then, she asks Leah to kill her; the Crown Prince will know that she betrayed him and will do awful things to her. When Leah refuses, Seka Mardis loses it and pushes Leah down the rocky hill. She follows and tries to choke Leah, but Yori kills Seka Mardis to save Leah, which was probably her plan anyway. Yori, Leah, and Mally head back to camp but before they can make it, they see about twenty Karkan soldiers climbing the hill towards them. None of their own people have noticed; they’re outnumbered and there’s nowhere for them to go. Mally isn’t worried though, she says they’ll fall down. Right then, the hillside starts to shake, causing rocks to fall, knocking into the soldiers, and crushing them. The rocks also hit the Karkan camp, but they don’t touch the Welchins. Luckily, the Crown Prince manages to survive the rock assault. Leah asks Mally to make it stop once the soldiers are gone, and she does. Mally is the torz heir. Darien explains that there will not be a Karkan treaty. Not only because they tried to kidnap Mally, but he’s been in conversation with both Cozique and Malinqua for weeks. They don’t need to trade Chandran after all! But Chandran thought that he would be with the Karkans by nightfall and prepared by ingesting a poison two hours ago. He took corvier and there is no antidote. The drug will make him tired until he starts to drift in and out of consciousness and eventually doesn’t wake up. It will take a few days to kill him, but it will not be painful. Chandran and Leah decide to spend the moments he still has together. They visit with Mally, who touches his hand in order to tell him what his elemental affinity is. When she touches him, she can feel that something is wrong. Mally tells Chandran that she can stop the poison and then she just...heals him. Just by holding his hand. In fact, she healed everything that she found inside him that wasn’t right, so Chandran feels better than ever. Rhan’s brother is the sweela heir, but Rhan has never seen Kurtis wield as much power as this. He’s only able to do small tricks. Mally tells them that she was more powerful today because she was scared, she doesn’t feel any different than normal, but Rhan and Leah are worried that the only way Mally has so much power is because she is no longer the torz heir. Taro is dead and she is now the torz prime. They arrive back in Chialto to find that they were wrong! Taro is not only alive but greets them at the door! Darien and Leah talk and agree that Leah will continue to operate the shop with his backing. It’s proved quite helpful so far. Darien also reveals that Chandran’s dad wasn’t just any merchant in Cozique, but the Minister of Commerce. In fact, Chandran’s dad is the Queen of Cozique’s cousin, so Darien will be posting guards around the shop and wherever they decide to live. He doesn’t want any sort of international incident. Leah reluctantly agrees. Leah and Rhan have finally figured out how to get along with each other, the old hurts have mostly healed. Which is great, because Mally tells Leah that Rhan is her dad; she knew when she touched him, just like she knew that Leah was her mom.
Click to reveal, but be prepared! This time around we follow Valentina "Val" Serlast, a hunti girl who just happens to be the sister of the new king of Welce, Darien. She's been feeling abandoned by Darien ever since he moved to the capitol city of Chialto, especially through the illness and death of their mother. She is forced to go to the capitol for his coronation and Darien manages to convince her to stay for a while. She starts to fill her days by meeting with foreign delegations and show her particularly hunti strengths of certainty, steadfastness, and strength to great effect. She also is able to see her oldest and best friend, Sebastian Ardelay. This book follows two timelines: Val now as she finds her footing in Chialto and Val through the years to explore her relationship with Sebastian. Sebastian's father is a relation, possible second cousin, to the Sweela Prime Nelson Ardelay. His parents were never married and his father was not exactly reliable. His mother dies when he is seven and he moves in with his mother's brother and his family. This uncle happens to have married Val's aunt and they spend a few weeks together in the summer every year. They discover that they both have loyalty as a personal blessing and they've been best friends ever since. While in the capitol, Val meets her sister-in-law Zoe and her nieces, Corene and Celia. Although at first Val is stubborn and unwilling to get to know them, they weasel their way past her emotional walls and she decides they aren't so bad. In the meantime, she and Zoe meet with a delegation from the neighboring country of Soeche-Tas who comes to meet with the new king and to discuss the black market trade of Sirix (wine that's apparently like really good). But Soeche-Tas has another issue, the nation is obsessed with youth and beauty but their population does not have enough young women. They have made deals with other countries to bring young women into Soeche-Tas to marry wealthy men and have little Soechen babies. They bring up the poor and sometimes drug addicted women in Chialto who may want a fresh start in a new place. While the Welchins think the Soechens are creepy, they admit that some of these women may be tempted by the prospect but do not want the women to be swindled or mistreated. They decide to think on the idea of allowing women to choose to go to Soeche-Tas, but they would need an outpost on the Welchin side to explain what the agreement would entail and on the Soechen side in case the women needed help after their arrival. They do not want women to be taken without their express consent. Right after the Soeche-Tas delegation leaves, a ship from Cozique arrives unexpectedly carrying the Princess Melissande and her entourage. Everybody is a little suspicious, especially Darien (that's why he's king) but they accept her into the country and set her and her guards up in a hotel to themselves. Corene and Melissande are friends so Corene sets to show Melissande around and makes Val accompany them. They visit Leah's shop and we get to meet the Torz heir Mally, and they take a visit to the Blind Sisters where Val sees Melissande buy information from the Sisters for a full gold piece. What information could she need that is worth so much money? It won't be long before we find out. But first, we find out that the heir to the Hunti Prime has been discovered, Natalie, and the current Hunti Prime, Mirti, starts to train her. We get a nice little display of the power of a Prime when Mirti reassembles a skeleton that has been transported poorly and is now in pieces. Everybody is impressed. Val is warned that there will be a raid at the harbor where the King believes the black market Sirix is being transported and she's worried that Sebastian is involved and will be taken into custody. She arranges for his uncle to have him for dinner that night, but of course Sebastian and his loyalty blessing bail on dinner and go down to the harbor to warn his friends. His uncle Nelson, the Sweela Prime, gets Val, Corene, and Foley (see Jeweled Fire) and they all go down to the harbor. When the raid starts there's a bunch of fighting and fleeing, most of which you can't see because it's too dark. But then Nelson lights it up and they see Melissande, of all people, being kidnapped! Val, Corene, and Foley run to rescue her and they come awfully close to failing when an unknown man helps them out and the guards are able to arrest the smugglers trying to take Melissande. Then the guards reveal the unknown man: it's Sebastian! Sebastian is mad at Val for putting herself in danger and Val is mad at Sebastian for putting HIMself in danger so they don't talk for a few weeks. But we do find out what is going on with Melissande. A prince of Dhonsho has come to Melissande to help get him out of Dhonsho and into hiding with his sister. In Jeweled Fire, Corene and Melissande were able to smuggle his sister out when her life was threatened by her father. Prince Kendol wants Melissande to do the same for him. She picked him up and set sail but they've been tracked by Dhonshon ships. Unable to find any other routes to safety, Melissande came to Welce and has been trying to find a way to secrete the Prince away ever since. That is why she was at the harbor, but her contact betrayed her, trying to kidnap her for ransom. She has not wanted to tell anyone that Kendol was with her to protect both Kendol and Welce. But if Kendol is found on Welchin soil, the Dhonshons could, and probably would, start a war. The Dhonshon ships are still just outside of the harbor, just kind of hovering and investigating any crafts that try to leave. It is impossible to get Kendol out of Welce by water, which only leaves a land route into Soeche-Tas. Problem is, the route is perilous and not well trafficked, through the mountains, and Soeche-Tas really hates Dhonsho and would likely be unwilling to help the prince, even if he is Dhonsho's best bet for a revolution in the future. Luckily we know a smuggler who has been bringing goods in from Soeche-Tas through the mountain pass! You guessed it! It's Sebastian. Val and Sebastian make up and they realize that they've been in love this whole time. Something I could have told you from around chapter four. That's not completely true, Sebastian knew that he loved Val but didn't think Val would ever be with him because she's got a lot of rules but also because he's got a hang up about being a bastard, his words not mine. But Sebastian being in danger makes Val realize the depth of her feelings and they decide that no matter what, this relationship is going to work. They just have to figure out how. Before they can do that, Darien asks Sebastian to ferry the prince to Soeche-Tas and meet with a contact there that can get the prince to safety. Sebastian plays a little hard to get, mostly to mess with Darien who he's known since he was a child and has never really liked him, but we all know he's going to agree in the end. While Sebastian waits for Kendol to join him so they can leave for Soeche-Tas in a new fast elaymotive, Val keeps him company just generally being together in that honeymoon phase of love. But there's trouble! Kendol gets attacked on his way to the meet and Val has to get in the elaymotive too, to make sure he doesn't bleed to death. And the Dhonshons are hot on their heels so they drive like the devil is behind them, which isn't to far from the truth. They drive through the night and make it as far as the elaymotive can go. At that point, Sebastian takes Kendol with him on foot, but before he leaves he tells Val to take the elaymotive and go to the closest guard barracks for an escort back to the capitol. Sebastian tells her that the Dhonshons will be able to identify the car and may be able to recognize her face as well. She promises that she will do just that. She lies. Instead, she backtracks on the road for a few hours to where there is a big intersection. She waits there for the Dhonshons to see her and she leads them to the estate of the Hunti Prime. Her dad was Hunti Prime before Mirti so she grew up on this property and has always had a special affinity for these woods. She doesn't get lost but most other people do. When she gets to the back of the estate she abandons the car and runs into the woods. Val makes it to the challinbar grove and climbs as high as she can into the challinbar heart tree. It's hundreds of years old and absolutely massive. The Dhonshons can't find her but they don't stop looking. After several days of sitting in the tree, hungry, thirsty, and running on very little sleep, Val is forced out of the tree by the tree itself. She starts to head for the road but the Dhonshons, who apparently don't quit, find and capture her. They all head toward the road but when they get there, Welchin guards are outside the woods with Mirti and Natalie. The trees told Mirti where to find Val. The Welchins say to let Val go, the Dhonshons argue that they will not, Mirti breaks all the Dhonshons legs, the Dhonshons let Val go. Mirti is my hero. And Val's. Mirti, Natalie, and Val are escorted back to Chialto but there's no news of Sebastian yet. They have to wait awhile, he's going on foot after all, but Sebastian does make it back eventually. He reports that he successfully handed Prince Kendol off for the next leg of his escape. Princess Mellisande stays for a couple more weeks and then she can go back home. Things are settling down. Now to figure out all that pesky relationship business. Fortunately, Darien may have a solution. He'd like Sebastian to become a spy for him, using his illegal escapades as a cover to use his current network, and for Val to head up the Welchin outpost for the women going to Soeche-Tas. They think about it but eventually agree and the end finds Val sailing to Soeche-Tas WITHOUT Sebastian (how's that for a twist) but knowing they'll see each other when he gets to Soeche-Tas in a few weeks. I love this story. I found all of the characters to be incredibly likeable, although I have a special fondness for Sebastian. Val starts off stubborn and unwilling to change or compromise, but by the end she realizes that some trees are meant to live their entire lives in one place while others are meant to be made into a dinner table and travel the world. That comes off more elegant in the book, but you get the general drift. I really ended up loving Val and her journey through grief and acceptance of others and finding herself. It was easy to lose myself in the story and watch Val grow. 4.75 stars out of 5!
