When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son Jase becomes its new leader.
At the same time, Kazi is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements.
Kazimyrah: orphan, invisible street rat, girl who defied the queen, Rahtan.
Credit: Macmillan (2)
That moment had not only defined my future, but the queens unexpected responsea smilehad defined her reign.
Her sword hung ready in the scabbard at her side.
A breathless crowd had waited to see what would happen.
They knew what would have happenedbefore.
If she were the Komizar, I would have already been lying headless on the ground.
Her smile had frightened me more than if she had drawn her sword.
I hated her for it.
I thought I was so very clever back then.
Too clever for this young queen.
I was eleven years of grit and grovel by then, and impervious to an interloper.
I would outwit her just as I did everyone else.
It was my realm after all.
I had all my fingertipsand a reputation to go with them.
In the streets of Venda, they called me Ten with whispered respect.
A few even rubbed hidden amulets when they saw me coming.
But just as useful as the shadows was knowing the strategies of street politics and personalities.
Their egos were my accomplices.
That was my deeper, darker taskmaster.
Jase
As far as you could see, this land is ours.
It was my fathers and his fathers before that.
This is Ballenger territory and always has been, all the way back to the Ancients.
We make the laws here.
We own whatever you’re able to see.
Never let one handful of soil slip through your fingers, or you will lose it all.
I placed my fathers hand at his side.
His skin was cold, his fingers stiff.
Hed been dead for hours.
The seer said an enemy had cast a spell.
The healer said it was his heart and nothing could be done.
Whichever it was, in a matter of days, he was gone.
A dozen empty chairs still circled his bed, the vigil ended.
The sounds of long good-byes had turned to silent disbelief.
I pushed back my chair and stepped out to the balcony, drawing in a deep breath.
The hills reached in hazy scallops to the horizon.
Not one handful, I had promised him.
The others waited for me to emerge from the room wearing his ring.
The weight of his last words flowed through me, as strong and powerful as Ballenger blood.
I surveyed the endless landscape that was ours.
I backed away from the balcony.
The challenges would come soon.
They always did when a Ballenger died, as if one less in our numbers would topple us.
News would reach the multiple leagues scattered beyond our borders.
It was a bad time for him to die.
She was still deciding.
I didnt like Fertig, but I loved my sister.
I shook my head and pushed away from the rail.
It was up to me now.
Id keep my vow.
The family would stand strong, as we always had.
I pulled my knife from its sheath and returned to my fathers bed.
They looked at my hand, traces of my fathers blood on the ring.
