Extraits

Don't trust the fire, for it will burn you.

Don't trust the ice, for it will freeze you.

Don't trust the water, for it will drown you.

Don't trust the air, for it will choke you.

Don't trust the earth, for it will bury you.

Don't trust the trees, for they will rip you, rend you, tear you, kill you dead.

It's a child's chant. You jump over a rope, faster and faster, as you name the spirits. Trip on the rope, and that is the spirit that someday will kill you. Fire, ice, water, air, earth, or wood.

« Ven shifted back so that her hand fell from his cheek. His skin felt burned where she had touched him, and he didn’t believe her. She couldn’t have caused that tragedy. She’d never have gone that far. “There were children. Elderly. Innocents. You can’t tell me the entire village was guilty of treason.”

“Enough were. It had to be done.”

“There had to have been another way!”

“Don’t get agitated, Ven—”

“I am very agitated!” Ven paced through the Blue Room. He didn’t want to look into her eyes anymore, her beautiful, guiltless eyes. She hadn’t been there. She didn’t understand the horror the spirits could inflict . . . Except that she does understand, he thought, because she’s queen. He knew how extensive her training had been. “You are supposed to protect your people, all your people, from the spirits. You aren’t supposed to use the spirits against them! Ever. No matter the crime. No matter the danger. »

« There must have been another way!” he repeated.

“It was the best way for all our people.”

“How do you even know there were traitors—”

She cut him off again. “I have ways, Ven. Ears in places you can’t imagine. Voices that whisper to me on the wind. There are no secrets that are safe from me.”

He quit pacing and stared at her again. “You’re using the spirits to spy on your people?” This was getting worse and worse. If people knew . . . “Why are you telling me this? You know I won’t approve. Can’t approve. What you did . . . it was outside of your promises to the Crown. You know I can’t allow you to do this ever again. »

« No. Ven didn’t believe her. It didn’t make sense, and he believed strongly in things making sense. If that was her goal, she’d never have confessed to something she knew he’d find abhorrent. She’d never have told him she was responsible for all those deaths. . . . He thought of that family again, of the look in the littlest girl’s eyes, and he couldn’t imagine what Fara’s game was or why she was trying to manipulate him. What he did know was that when he came bearing tales of death and horror, he expected a different response, especially since he did not believe either that the villagers were traitors or that she’d intentionally caused their deaths. “If you value what we were at all, don’t lie to me. »

« The teacher for magical theory acknowledged the new students by making them stand at the front of the class and answer a barrage of questions: how intelligent are spirits (it varies), can any female develop an affinity for spirits (yes, it can manifest in any family), can anyone with an affinity learn to sense spirits (yes, with proper training), can spirits sense humans (no, but they’re drawn to the use of power), and so on. “Correct, correct, correct,” the teacher, Master Bliara, said. “Now, tell me what happens when a queen dies.”

“Death,” Merecot said.

“Correct. After a queen dies, the spirits are released from her commands and obey only their base instincts, causing upheaval in the land and slaughtering any humans they find. Many years ago, it was discovered that women with affinity, working together, can override these instincts if and only if they issue one specific command. And what is this command that renders the spirits powerless?”

All of them chorused, “Choose! »

« From above, a voice said, “You encounter a wolf in the forest. What do you do?”

Merecot answered first. “Summon an earth spirit to pull it into the ground.”

“Or merely to hold it still,” Mari said, shooting a look at Merecot. “You don’t need to kill the poor thing.”

“The ‘poor thing’ wants to eat us,” Merecot argued. “I say it should be discouraged from thinking humans are lunch. We have enough enemies.”

Another girl raised her hand. “A water spirit could wash away the ground under its feet. Make it difficult for the wolf to chase us. »