Chapter 10

The first thing I see when they drag me out of the tower is light. Too bright. Too many torches, too much polished gold. The great hall of Yaojin Palace glitters like a jeweled throat ready to swallow me whole. The marble under my bare feet is cold enough to bite. Every step I take, the thin anklet-bell at my left ankle chimes, announcing me like an animal being led to market. “Raise her head,” a guard mutters in Aserlan. Fingers fist in my hair and yank. My chin jerks up. I taste copper...