The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Sieh hissed. For an eyeblink there was something inhuman about his facesomething sharp and feraland then he was a boy again, sliding off the stool and trembling with fury. For a moment I half-expected him to poke out his tongue, but the hatred in his eyes was too old for that.

I will laugh when youre dead, he said softly. The small hairs along my skin prickled, for his voice was a grown mans now, tenor malevolence. I will claim your heart as a toy and kick it for a hundred years. And when I am finally free, I will hunt down all your descendants and make their children just like me.

With that, he vanished. I blinked. Viraine sighed.

And that, Lady Yeine, is why we use the blood sigils, he said. Silly as that threat was, he meant every word of it. The sigil prevents him from carrying it out, yet even that protection is limited. A higher-ranking Arameris order, or stupidity on your part, could leave you vulnerable.

I frowned, remembering the moment when Tvril had urged me to get to Viraine. Only a fullblood can command him off now. And Tvril was awhat had he called it?a halfblood.

Stupidity on my part? I asked.

Viraine gave me a hard look. They must respond to any imperative statement you make, Lady. Consider how many such statements we make carelessly, or figuratively, with no thought given to other interpretations. When I frowned in thought, he rolled his eyes. The common folk are fond of saying To the hells with you! Ever said it yourself, in a moment of anger? At my slow nod, he leaned closer. The subject of the phrase is implied, of course; we usually mean You should go. But the phrase could also be understood as I want to go, and you will take me.

He paused to see if I understood. I did. At my shudder, he nodded and sat back.

Just dont talk to them unless you have to, he said. Now. Shall we He reached for the ink dish and cursed as it toppled the instant his fingers touched it; Sieh had somehow lodged a brush underneath. The ink splattered across the tabletop like

like

and then Viraine touched my hand. Lady Yeine? Are you all right?

* * *

That was how it happened, yes. The first time.

* * *

I blinked. What?

He smiled, all condescending kindness again. Been a hard day, has it? Well, this wont take long. Hed cleaned up the ink spill; there was enough left in the dish that apparently he could continue. If you could hold your hair back for me

I didnt move. Why did Grandfather Dekarta do this, Scrivener Viraine? Why did he bring me here?

He raised his eyebrows, as if surprised that I would even ask. Im not privy to his thoughts. I have no idea.

Is he senile?

He groaned. You really are a savage. No, he isnt senile.

Then why?

I just told you

If he wanted to kill me, he could have simply had me executed. Trump up an excuse, if he even bothered. Or he could have done what he did to my mother. An assassin in the night, poison in my sleep.

I had finally surprised him. He grew very still, his eyes meeting mine and then flicking away. I would not confront Dekarta with the evidence, if I were you.

At least he hadnt tried to deny it.

I hardly needed evidence. A healthy woman in her forties doesnt die in her sleep. But I had her body searched by the physician. There was a mark, a small puncture, on her forehead. On the I trailed off for a moment, suddenly understanding something Id never questioned in my life. On the scar she had, right here. I touched my own forehead, where my Arameri sigil would be.

Viraine faced me full-on now, quiet and serious. If an Arameri assassin left a mark that could be seenand if you expected to see itthen, Lady Yeine, you understand more of Dekartas intentions than any of us. Why do you think he brought you here?

I shook my head slowly. All along the journey to Sky, Id suspected. Dekarta was angry at my mother, hated my father. There could be no good reason for his invitation. In the back of my mind Id expected to be executed at best, perhaps tortured first, maybe on the steps of the Salon. My grandmother had been afraid for me. If thered been any hope of escape, I think she would have urged me to run. But one does not run from the Arameri.

And a Darre woman does not run from revenge.

This mark, I said at last. It will help me survive this place?

Yes. The Enefadeh wont be able to hurt you unless you do something stupid. As for Scimina, Relad, and other dangers He shrugged. Well. Magic can only do so much.

I closed my eyes and traced my mothers face against my memory for the ten thousandth time. She had died with tears on her cheeks, perhaps knowing what I would face.

Then lets begin, I said.

5

Chaos

THAT NIGHT AS I SLEPT, I dreamt of him.

* * *

It is an ugly, stormcloud-choked night.

Above the clouds, the sky is lightening with the approach of dawn. Below the clouds, this has made absolutely no difference in the battlefields illumination. A thousand torches burning amid a hundred thousand soldiers are more than enough light. The capital, too, is a gentle radiance nearby.