Ice Like Fire by Raasch Sara

Author:Raasch,Sara
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: 2015-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

Meira

WE STAY IN Summer for a barely acceptable week. Emphasis on barely.

Every day is hot and slow, and every night is filled with the same parties. Theron still goes to Summer’s vineyards, using the time to get Simon to sign his treaty. I opt not to join them, feigning heat sickness—well, not entirely feigning it, but still—and reveling in the time apart from both Theron and the boundary-less Summerian king, who assured me he assigned men to investigate the slave’s death, but only after a flippant wave of his hand.

“Slaves often meet rough ends in Summer,” he’d said as though he told me merely that Summer is hot, not that someone had died under his care.

If I had any power here, I’d do it myself—but already I stand on shaky ground with Simon. Especially since he knows that I asked him about the slave’s death, and he told me he put men on it—if word gets back to him that I took it on myself, even after that . . .

I hate that I let that stop me. The old Meira would have simply dived into the investigation, sought out justice for the murdered man without a backward glance. But Queen Meira has to wonder—if Simon stole people from Autumn, would he do the same to Winter?

I’m not just me anymore. I’m a whole kingdom, and I can’t make mistakes.

Summer’s only redeemable trait is Ceridwen, whom I see even less than Theron and Simon, spotting her only once across the dining room during breakfast. Our allegiance isn’t politically acceptable either, so I stop myself from calling out to her. How easily my mind works in terms of politics now. Hard-hearted politics that prevent me from talking to someone who could have been a good friend, from asking her if she knew the man who was murdered, all because Simon watches, wondering why I choose to speak to his sister instead of him.

Once we finally leave Summer, our caravan now containing two Seasons and a Rhythm, it takes six days of travel to reach Putnam, the capital of Yakim. The first few are spent under Summer’s pounding heat, the oppressive air making the barren, parched world around us ripple. The next days, thankfully, lead us into the northeastern corner of the Southern Eldridge Forest, the wet, dense trees that cup Summer’s left border all the way to the Klaryn Mountains.

The temperature difference is glorious. Though my Winterians exhale in the relief of being in a cooler climate, our Summerian companions twitch with a discomfort that will be long lasting—the Rhythms just entered their proper spring, which means there will be nothing but coolness for the rest of the trip. The thought alleviates a little of my stress, but where do I start in my search for the Order or the keys in Yakim?

The Summerian key was linked to their wine—what in Yakim might hold a key? Their lasting symbols of grandeur could be any of their hundreds of libraries, universities, or warehouses.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.