I take a deep breath. “I won’t let that happen again. I’m an empress now. Right or wrong, my writings will be considered sacred. If I scribe it, it won’t be forgotten.”
He considers, and I know he’s turning it over in his mind, considering all possible angles. “It’s a good idea,” he says. “But you might want to keep it private, order it released upon your death. It might be a good tool for Rosario too. He’ll know that other rulers have struggled before him, that he is not alone.”
“Yes, for Rosario.” I dip my quill and add his name to a different sheet of parchment.
“And what’s that?” he asks.
I blow on the ink, then hold it up. “It’s a list. There’s so much I want to get done. I want to map the catacombs, find out if that inscription in the tunnel leads to another place of power—maybe there are undiscovered gates of power all over the world. The Wallows are desperately poor, but full of good people—maybe I’ll establish a school there, or at least a library.”
“If they could read, we could hire some of them to—”
“And how exactly did our ancestors mix our blood with that of the Inviernos? Why are some Inviernos born with Godstones, when mine appeared on my naming day as if by magic? Was it God? If so, where do the machinations of our ancestors end and those of God begin . . .” My voice breaks off at the sound of chuckling.
“You will accomplish everything you set out to,” he says. “Of that I have no doubt.”
I regard him smugly. “I know.”
He indicates the Godstone with a chin lift. “What are you going to do with that?”
I stare at it. There is nothing beautiful or potent about it now. “Maybe I’ll make a necklace out of it to match my crown. If I get around to it.”
Gently, he asks, “Do you miss it?”
“No,” I say honestly. “My true power was never in my Godstone.” I grab it from the table, open the parchment drawer, and toss it inside. It glides to the back, out of sight, and I slide the drawer home.
“Speaking of power . . .” I rise from my seat and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek, his throat, running my hands over his broad shoulders. He buries his face in my hair.
“It would destroy me to have you just a little,” he once said to me. I push him back, regard him thoughtfully. At the time, he was worried I had too much power over him, that I wouldn’t be able to give him my whole self.
“Hector, I have to ask. Do you want to be an emperor? Because I could make you one. You could be my equal in rank, with just as much authority. Tristán still owes me votes on the Quorum. We could ram an edict through—”
“No need,” he says, reaching up to brush my bottom lip with his thumb. “I’m a good leader, but you’re a great ruler. I am strong enough—man enough—to be subject to you.”
“Are you?” I arch an eyebrow at him.
He scoops me up and carries me to the bed, where he lays me gently down, grinning enormously. “I am.”
“Show me,” I command.
He shows me.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a trilogy is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done. It’s also one of the hardest. Fortunately, I had a trusty band of friends who embarked on this epic, magical quest along with me.
Thank you to:
Martha Mihalick, for her enthusiasm, for her keen editorial eye, and for being generally hilarious and fun to work with.
The Greenwillow and HarperCollins team, for their steadfast belief in this series and their hard work on its behalf.
My agent Holly Root, for detail-wrangling and relentless cheerleading.
Veronica Roth and Tessa Gratton, for reading an early draft of The Bitter Kingdom in spite of their own writing deadlines, and for giving pivotal (and eerily similar) advice.
Librarians, bloggers, and independent booksellers, for championing this series from the beginning and getting the word out.
My husband, C.C. Finlay, for long, romantic story-plotting walks and even more romantic eleventh-hour editing. *swoon*
And Rebekah, who liked even my earliest stories, and who believed with her whole heart that her big sister would be a published author one day.
About the Author
RAE CARSON is the author of the award-winning The Girl of Fire and Thorns and its sequel The Crown of Embers. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her family.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors and artists.
Credits
Cover art © 2013 by Sammy Yuen and Lara Jade
Cover design by Sammy Yuen and Paul Zakris
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
THE BITTER KINGDOM
Copyright © 2013 by Rae Carson
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carson, Rae.
The bitter kingdom / Rae Carson.
“Greenwillow Books.”
pages cm
Sequel to: The crown of embers.
Summary: Elisa, a fugitive in her own kingdom, faces great challenges to rescue the man she loves from her enemies, prevent a civil war, and take back her throne but as her magic grows, Elisa discovers the shocking truth about her enemy’s ultimate goal.
ISBN 978-0-06-202654-5 (hardback)
[1. Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction. 2. Prophecies—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction 4. Love—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.C2423Bit 2013
[Fic]—dc23 2013011912
EPub Edition © AUGUST 2013 ISBN: 9780062239181
13 14 15 16 17 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East – 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street