Description: Chapter 1 eda knelt in a cavern beside a pool of water, deep beneath the desert''s surface. The cavern''s darkness enveloped her, as did the chill air. It smelled clean here, unsullied, a place that might have remained hidden throughout all the history of the Kings of Sharakhai, perhaps longer. In her hands she held a thick, golden bracelet. She turned it over, again and again, feeling its weight, touching the oval stone, roughing her skin against the intricate designs worked into the gold. "Speak to me," she said. "This time, speak to me." The echoes went on and on. The bracelet had once belonged to King Mesut, the Jackal King, but now it served as an indictment of all the Kings and even of the gods themselves. It was not the band itself that provided evidence of their treachery, but the onyx stone. Even now she could feel the souls of the seventeen dead asirim within it, clamoring for freedom, pleading for their release. eda was desperate to give it to them, but after six weeks of trying she still had no idea how . On the night of the great battle in King''s Harbor, Mesut had summoned them forth as wights and set them against eda and Sehid-Alaz, the King of the thirteenth tribe, the crowned asir who had kissed her and set her on this strange new path. It had been a desperate moment, but she''d managed to sever Mesut''s hand and take the golden band from him. She''d pleaded with the ghostly souls to take their revenge against Mesut, and they''d answered, descending on Mesut like buzzards. Each rake of their terrible claws had brought them exultation, a taste of their long-awaited revenge, but the joy had been short-lived. No sooner had Mesut succumbed to his wounds than they''d been drawn back into their prison and chained once more. The trick to freeing them had eluded her ever since. "By your grace," eda whispered to the goddess, Nalamae. Cleaving open her mother''s flame-shaped locket, she took out the last of her adichara petals. Her mouth watered at the floral scent, and when she placed it beneath her tongue, the mineral taste rushed through her. It warmed her limbs, drove away the cold humidity of the cavern in a way that a fire never could. Clipping the locket closed, she breathed deeply, closed her eyes, and welcomed the sensations that came. She felt the asir, Kerim, somewhere high above her. He was outside the cavern, roaming among the rocks, she guessed. He seemed reticent, as if he were hiding his thoughts and emotions from her. He didn''t like the bracelet. He''d told her so. She could feel the revulsion within him, though whether it was from the constant reminder of his own fate, or concern for the souls trapped within, she couldn''t say. Opening her mind further, she beckoned the souls nearer. When they retreated, she searched for the onyx''s boundaries, tried to define them in some way so that she might learn more about the souls within. But as it had every other time she''d done this, the gemstone felt unknowable-- a star in the sky, well beyond the ken of mortal man. When she''d taken petals in the past, in or near Sharakhai, she could always sense the blooming fields and the asirim below, trapped in their sandy graves. Even now she could feel them, far, far to the west of the cavern where she and Kerim now hid. She''d thought by using the petals she would feel the asirim in the onyx. She''d hoped to be able to puzzle out its secrets, to use the asirim''s shared bond to free them from their prison or, failing that, simply speak with them as she did with Kerim. To no avail. She''d been rebuffed over and over again. Not once in the weeks following the great battle in King''s Harbor had she felt nearer to her goal. "Speak," she said, that lone word echoing in the cave. "But one word, and I''ll know this is not a lost cause." Her only reply was a miasma of anguish, fear, confusion, and hatred. The same as always. Her concentration was broken, as it was so often of late, by the growls and yapping of wolves. She was tempted to simply let it go on, but when the sound became more fierce, and she felt panic emanating from Kerim, she pulled away from the souls in the bracelet. "Forgive me," she whispered, and rushed up the winding tunnel toward the sun. She was out of breath by the time she reached the cavern''s entrance where, spread before her in a protective fan, were her pack of maned wolves. They''d placed themselves between Kerim and the entrance to eda''s cave. Directly before Kerim''s crouched form was Mist, a white wolf, hunkered low, ears laid back, teeth bared as a deep growl issued from her throat. She was the very wolf eda had stumbled across with Emre on her first trip to the blooming fields, the very wolf that had healed eda and led her here so she could recover from her wounds and decide what to do next "Kerim!" eda said as she approached. Kerim didn''t acknowledge her. He was staring at Mist, his jaundiced eyes wild and nervous, as if he couldn''t understand how he''d come to be here. His disorientation had been getting worse the longer they hid from the Kings'' forces. Kerim, back away. As she came near, the maned wolves closed ranks, blocking her path. The largest among them, the scarred one she''d named Thorn, was padding behind Kerim. Though the pack tried to stop her, eda pushed her way through them, then charged at Thorn, waving her arms as the wolf darted toward Kerim, silent, teeth bared. "Thorn, no!" Kerim turned, arms raised, just in time for Thorn to claw him, to tear at his shriveled, blackened skin. Kerim could have killed him with one blow-- the asirim were inhumanly strong-- but he didn''t. He backed away, warding off Thorn''s advances with arms and hands spread wide. But the danger was far from over. While she''d been focused on Thorn, Mist had padded to eda''s left, clearing a path to Kerim. "Back!" eda cried, putting herself between Kerim and the white wolf. Mist''s eyes flicked between Kerim and eda, but she obeyed, and eda ran to stop Thorn. Kerim wailed, his bloodshot eyes wild with fear. He swung wildly, angrily, at Thorn. eda heard a thud as Kerim''s fist struck the wolf''s massive head. Thorn was the largest among the wolves-- with his long legs, his head was higher than eda''s-- yet he was flung aside by the force of that blow. It brought on a fierce yelp and a renewed fury that drove the entire pack to close in. Their heads were low, growls rumbling from between their bared teeth. They''d listened to eda until now, but with Kerim''s attack on their leader, they were ready to excise this hated member from their pack once and for all. eda pulled at Thorn''s black mane. "Leave him alone!" But Thorn rounded on her and charged. Jaws snapping, he caught her wrist. She managed to snatch her hand away, but caught several deep gashes while doing so. She stumbled backward and fell as Thorn advanced, snapping at her ankles as she tried to kick him. He''d just managed to clamp his jaw over her calf when a blur of ivory flew in. Her leg was freed as Mist and Thorn growled, grappled, and rolled in the sand. The other wolves looked on, their eyes intense as they studied the two wolves locked in battle. It grew so fierce eda thought they would kill each other, but when Kerim turned and began sprinting over the sand away from them, the wolves finally disengaged. In moments, all their growling and yipping and yowling stopped. They panted, wary but content in Kerim''s absence. Thorn was the most animated among them, alternating looks between eda and Mist, but then he loped off, heading into the shade of the rocky overhang near the cave entrance, where he dropped down and watched, as if daring any to come near and challenge him, eda included. Mist padded closer to eda and licked the blood welling from her wounds. They immediately felt better, just as her injuries had weeks ago. Mist did the same to the puncture wounds along eda''s calf while eda raked her fingers through Mist''s cloudy mane. "Thank you," she said, then limped after Kerim. She followed the footsteps and the trail of black blood left over the sand, weaving her way between the sentinel-like pillars of rock. She found him a quarter-league away, sitting cross-legged between the dunes, knees hugged to his chest like a child lost in the desert. She crouched by his side, careful not to touch him but close enough that he could feel her warmth. "You don''t have to stay." She waved her arm to the dunes. "You can go, flee into the desert. Surely, somewhere in the Great Mother you might find peace." She didn''t want Kerim to go. Not truly. She wanted to free him or, failing that, find a way for him to have his revenge on the Kings, and how could she do either of those things if he left? But his misery was so great she had to try. His only response was to swivel his head and stare at her left wrist, where Mesut''s thick gold band rested. eda felt the souls in the onyx gemstone, though muted, as they always were in the sunlight. As if he couldn''t bear to think about them any longer, Kerim lifted his gaze to meet hers, a silent plea, and then looked to the sword at her side. Her ebon blade. She put her hand on the pommel, knowing that he''d contemplated this, his final release, since leaving Sharakhai. "I will give it to you, if that''s

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