Chapter 7

They say my name before dawn. I hear it in the echoing stone of the throne hall, carried up through the hollow shaft that runs beside my tower like a throat. Sound travels strangely in this palace; sometimes I catch snatches of music, laughter, the crack of a whip. Today it’s my name, wrapped in titles I never wanted. “Moon Captive.” “Vesseran priestess.” “Disaster star.” The last word lands like a stone in my gut. I’m not in the hall. I’m where I always am: behind...