Chapter 1 The exile of the princes of Lacharra didn’t begin with swords or spells It began inside the castle kitchen with a quest for cloves It began with me Cooks mistrust anyone with empty hands so I darted to the nearest table and snatched up a bowl of chopped leeks Then I shouldered between scullery maids and undercooks as I moved toward the spice pantry Perhaps I was foolish Maybe Father was just sick after being lost so many weeks in the forest Maybe it was normal for a man newly married to hardly speak to the daughter he’d loved Then I remembered last night Rees the stable master and the stable boy being beaten while Father looked on with empty eyes Something had happened to Father in the forest He never would have allowed a beating for violating such a small edict even if the woman he’d married had issued it Whatever she banned must be important even if it was something as simple as cloves 1
After last night Bronwen the cook had probably burned them all but she didn’t know about the little bag I’d stashed under the planking Clutching the bowl of leeks I wove past rows of tables covered with baskets of vegetables poultry being plucked and right into the path of a white-swathed under cook and her pot of steaming broth The undercook screeched and sloshed scalding broth over the floor I leaped back just in time And Bronwen where had she come from laid her wooden spoon across my shoulders with a sound like thunder I dropped my bowl with a yelp and darted away But I stepped in the leeks I’d just spilled and my feet flew out from under me I jolted upright like a puppet whose strings have been yanked Bronwen wrenched me back to face her I scrabbled to free myself but couldn’t gain purchase in the mess I’d made I saw her raise the spoon to deliver another blow raised my arm to shield my face and Ahhh Princess Andaryn Bronwen hid the spoon behind her back and released me so quickly I fell at her feet Two maids dashed forward One helped me up the other began to clean the mess I’d made Your Highness said Bron I didn’t know it was you We’re all on edge since the Queen She stopped 2
panicked Not that we don’t think she’s a lovely woman and wish every blessing on her for bringing your father out of that accursed forest I don’t wish any blessing on her It was out before I could catch myself Bron’s ruddy cheeks paled and she peered over her shoulder as if Father’s witch-wife herself might appear She turned back to me with a horribly cheerful expression expression What do you want Princess I’ll fetch it for you myself I’d have preferred the beating with that awful spoon of hers I hadn’t been protecting myself earlier I didn’t want her to recognize me Just as I feared the kitchen fell silent as everyone stared at me I could’ve cried and not because my shoulders ached like fire There’d be no sneaking to the spice pantry now And then bless him the second of my six older brothers brothers the one who made every girl in the castle blush walked into the kitchen Mael scowled at me as he put a hand on Bron’s shoulder shoulder I’ll take her off your hands dear woman When Bron saw Mael and his dark curling hair and blue eyes she dropped her spoon She had a husband who worked in the forge and four children last count yet she giggled like a girl when she saw Mael Mael might be handsome but he was my brother which mostly meant that he was annoying Except for this one shining moment when every woman’s eye was on him This was my chance 3
