Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

Author:Kathryn Purdie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

GOOD, I THOUGHT, AND MET THE PRINCE’S GAZE HEAD-ON. Let him wriggle in his discomfort. I hoped he had seen me speak with Nicolai, that he knew I was up to something and hadn’t forgotten the snatch of the letter I’d read so many months ago.

I lifted my chin and looked away from him first, finding some measure of power in that. Petty or not, it felt wonderful.

I sat on my stool with my back straight, my Auraseer’s robes spread at my feet like a fan. A dark sensation twisted inside me, like a serpent writhed in my gut. I exhaled and struggled to release it, but it only coiled tighter. My gaze flickered to Anton. Was this him? I’d been so fixated on his aura. But I’d never sensed something this disturbing within it before.

The music fell silent. The nobles faced the doors of the ballroom in expectation. Valko and Floquart reentered. They’d been gone such a long time, it led me to wonder how vast Riaznin’s treasury was, how much wealth we hoarded in the palace while so many went without.

As the guards filed in behind them, I saw Yuri a pace back from the rest. A few moments after him came Pia, her head lowered as she hurried to the nearest banquet table. She peeked up at me, her cheeks dimpling as she suppressed a smile. With the healthy flush of color on her skin, she was practically glowing. It appeared she’d stolen a dance, after all. At least one of us had.

I scanned the procession for the Esten Auraseer, but the girl with sunken eyes and auburn hair was nowhere to be seen.

The bitter feeling in me grew stronger, thicker like black tar. As the emperor drew nearer, it oozed into my mind, across my heart. The self-loathing I’d felt before Valko had left to the treasury came back with full vengeance. My thoughts reverted to Yuliya’s blood, Nadia’s death, the peasant man’s burning. The darkness spread inside me.

There were more ways a person could die. Suffocation. Smothering.

What would it feel like to hold a pillow over someone’s mouth? Who would let me close enough so I could try?

Would the emperor?

I slowly twirled a lock of hair as I watched him through murky vision, as if the blackness had bled across my eyes. I could knock on Valko’s door tonight, let him kiss me, let him do more, and while he slept in my arms, I could snuff the last breath from his lungs.

He smiled warmly at me from across the ballroom. His gaze held triumph. No doubt, the private meeting with Floquart had been successful—so successful the emperor had forgiven my indiscretions. I could already imagine his hot fingers on my skin. What would it feel like to break them?

The nobles fell into bows as the emperor’s procession carved across the dance floor. I restrained my curtsy until he was so near I could no longer afford to be indifferent. Now wasn’t the time to betray my dark intentions.

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