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PART ONE The Game
1 REN MONROE
It was hard to feel like an honored guest when no one would speak to her.
Ren Monroe found herself at yet another party in the Heights. Tonight she was a guest of the Grand Emissary of Kathor. His handwritten invitation had possessed more warmth than all the conversations she’d attempted thus far. She’d arrived an hour ago. Theo had been stolen away to a private room for an arranged meeting with the viceroy himself. The other Broods sought out their own comfortable circles, leaving her completely alone.
Ren tried not to feel bitter about Theo’s absence. She knew tonight was important. The warden had announced his retirement. There were one hundred livestone statues scattered around the city, eagerly awaiting the command of a new master. It was possible the viceroy would even go as far as assigning Theo the post tonight. She remembered sitting by a fire, when they were lost in the mountains, and listening to Theo talk about this dream of his. He’d secretly been working toward it for years. And then she remembered who else had been sitting around that fire. Cora had been asleep. Timmons had been sitting close enough to Ren that their knees had been touching.
Before I let both of them die…
Ren shoved that thought back into a shadowed cage in the corner of her mind. She took a deep breath and tried once more to join the nearest conversation. Music danced in and out of their words. As she approached, however, the group fell silent. She received a polite nod, a quiet compliment on her dress, and then suddenly they had somewhere else to be. It was hard not to feel like this was an echo of the past. A year ago Timmons had forced Ren to attend another party in the Heights. A slightly wilder one. That night, Theo had been their host. Ren remembered sitting alone on a couch, sipping her drink and watching all the other students who’d already secured their bright futures. That version of her felt a world away. She’d gone through so much. Surviving in the wilderness. Escaping from a revenant. Bonding to a scion of a great house.
And yet here she was—alone once more.
As she watched the group depart, Ren spotted Landwin Brood. He was seated near the fireplace in the study across the hall. He caught her eye, raised his glass, and offered a satisfied smirk. Her social status was undoubtedly his doing. Similar obstacles had risen time and time again over the last few months. As she finished classes at Balmerick, she’d quietly probed for potential alliances. Classmates, teachers, anyone. But even the Broods’ staunchest rivals—the Shiverians—refused her offers to meet. It wasn’t exactly a problem that she could bring to Theo, either. After all, how would she explain the why behind her desire to make those new connections?
Well, I need someone powerful, who hates your family, to help me destroy your house. Any ideas?
It was already difficult enough for Ren to veil her feelings from him. Their bond offered emotional insight into each other. Brief slashes of raw feeling. Ren had gotten quite skillful at summoning new explanations whenever he sensed that slumbering rage that lived inside her.
Almost on cue, Theo came thundering up the steps. He nodded once to his father before turning to Ren, concern written on his face. “Everything all right?”
He can feel my frustration. “Yes, of course. I just got the wrong name for one of the Jamison sisters. It’s nothing. I was just embarrassed. What about you? How was your meeting?”
“Confidential,” he replied, then winced at how haughty that sounded. “For now. I’m sorry. It was just a preemptive conversation. He wanted to know about… what happened to us.”
“In the mountains?”
It was a foolish question. That was all anyone wanted to know about her and Theo. The rumors surrounding their time in the mountains were many, a culmination of stories that were starting to edge into myth.
“Yes. More out of curiosity than anything. I… I think he might have been vetting my handling of Vega. Making sure I’d demonstrated clear skill…” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Theo was biting his lip. She did her best to focus—ignoring his father looming in the background—and set her eyes on the uncertain boy she’d bonded with. The boy to whom her entire future was now tethered. “Who else would they consider for the role?”
Theo’s eyes darted nervously about the room. “The retiring warden has a nephew serving in the guard. He’s not from a major house, but he’s got plenty of actual experience. The Carrowynd family has a daughter—Zell—who has livestone training like me, but I’m not sure if they had the same intentions that I had when we commissioned Vega. Traditionally, the crown wants someone young who can fill the post for several decades. But what if they ignore tradition? There are generals from the War of Neighbors who would be very sensible choices.…”
“But you’re the best fit?”
He blushed slightly. “Yes, I am the best fit.”
That was good. Theo was already powerful, but she’d learned about the structure of his family over the past few months. He was a generation away from proper influence. If Ren wanted to destroy House Brood, she still had a lot of careful planning and waiting ahead of her. Being engaged to the new warden, however, would usher in a measure of influence that was not directly tied to House Brood. That might provide opportunities for Ren as well. She found herself nodding.
“Worrying won’t help,” she said. “Why don’t you refill my drink instead?”
That earned an unceremonious snort from him. But Theo accepted the invitation, leading her into the next room, where an open bar was waiting. Ren caught a final glimpse of Landwin Brood. He was deep in conversation, but that didn’t stop his eyes from flicking up as they passed. It was good to know that he at least thought she was worthy of his attention.
Theo procured a new drink for her. The weight of that cold glass in her hand brought on another echo of memory. Last year, she’d set down a glass just like it as Timmons drew her out to dance on the balcony. The revelry had paused when Theo took the stage. He’d performed his fateful party trick, which sent a massive instrument crashing recklessly down into the city. His worst hour had been an opportunity for Ren. A door opening in the dark. She had been brave enough to walk through it—and now she felt there was no turning back. She could only press on deeper into the shadows and hope there was some light waiting for her in the distance.
A dinner bell rang before they could take their first sips. Theo led them through the crowd, heading for the sprawling banquet table in the far corner. Ren paused at the threshold, eyeing the available seats, and was surprised when Theo tugged her on toward the staircase.
“… what are you doing?” she asked.
“We were asked to sit up here tonight.”
She raised a curious eyebrow. Theo grinned at her reaction. Clearly, he knew something was afoot. Ren felt a pulse of adrenaline. The upper floor was always reserved for the lords and ladies that ruled their city. At these obnoxious dinner parties, the heirs normally sat at a separate table, almost always a floor below. Ren and Theo had found themselves positioned that way at any number of parties this summer, fraternizing with the other young men and women who would one day be handed empires.
Now she allowed herself to be drawn up the stairs into the presence of true power. She had to remind herself that there was nothing special about the people in the room. No blood or magic that ran through their veins that made them any different—any better—than her father and mother. Still, it was hard not to feel the weight of their collective meaning to the city. Like entries from a history book that were stepping out of the pages, taking on flesh and bone before her.
