A Heart So Fierce and Broken (The Cursebreaker Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the back. Tik and Dyhl, Nolla Verin’s guards, ride at the center. My mother has four personal guards, and they surround her carriage at the front.
    “What if the prince rejects Mother’s offer?” I say.
    Her eyes lift from the fabric. “He would be a fool. Our forces could destroy this pathetic country.”
    I glance at the window. So far, I have not found Emberfall to be pathetic . And Prince Rhen was able to drive our forces back through the mountain pass, so it seems that we would be wise to be cautious.
    “Hmm,” I say, “and do you think this destruction will lead to people being willing to work the waterways we so desperately need?”
    “Our people can learn.”
    “I feel they could learn more quickly from people who already possess the skills.”
    She sighs patronizingly. “You would likely beg for instruction with nuts and honey.”
    I look away, out the window. I’d rather ask for help than order it with a sword in hand, but this is another reminder of why Nolla Verin has been chosen instead of me.
    “We can leave a few alive, if need be,” she says. “They’ll be desperate to help.”
    “We can leave them all alive if Mother secures an alliance.”
    “And we will. Prince Rhen’s monstrous creature is gone,” Nolla Verin says. “Our spies have reported that his cities are beginning to question his right to rule. If he wants to keep this silly country, he will accept.”
    She is so practical. My lip quirks up. “What if you do not like him?”
    She rolls her eyes. “As if that matters. I can bed a man without liking him.”
    I blush at her boldness. “Nolla Verin. Have you … done that?”
    “Well. No.” Her eyes flick up to meet mine, and her fingers go still on her embroidery. “Have you?”
    My blush deepens. “Of course not.”
    Nolla Verin’s eyes widen. “Then you should do it first and tell me what to expect. Are you bored now? I shall call for Parrish right this very moment. Or would you fancy Dyhl instead? You can have the carriage—”
    I giggle and throw a brocade cushion at her. “You will do no such thing.”
    She dodges the pillow without missing a stitch. “I am just asking you to be sisterly.”
    “What of Prince Rhen’s betrothed?”
    “Princess Harper?” Nolla Verin pulls her thread tight and knots it off. “She can bed who she chooses, too.”
    “Do not be coy, Sister.”
    She sighs. “I am not worried. Their alliance means nothing. Three months have passed since the prince supposedly allied Emberfall with the mysterious Disi. No forces have arrived. Mother does not think the prince has been fully honest with his people, and I am inclined to agree.”
    I am too. While Nolla Verin prefers to spend her time on the training field, I prefer to spend hours each week under the tutelage of Mother’s chief adviser, Clanna Sun, learning about military strategy or the intricate interweaving of the Royal Houses. Over the last few months, it seemed that Prince Rhen was assembling an army that could produce a threat—but somehow one has never materialized. I do find it curious that the prince would continue courting the Princess of Disi if their alliance has fallen apart. Emberfall is weak. He needs to tie himself to a country that can offer the support his land needs to thrive.
    A country like Syhl Shallow.
    The curtain flutters at the window, and in the distance, I see the charred remnants of another destroyed town. My throat tightens. Mother’s soldiers were thorough.
    I look back at my sister. “What makes you think the prince will even grant us an audience?”
    “Mother has information he wants.” Her fingers fly through the fabric. “Do you remember, months ago, when that enchantress came to the Crystal Palace?”
    I do. The woman had beautiful alabaster skin framed by silken black tresses, and a gown of the deepest blue. When she first appeared, claiming to be a magesmith, Mother had laughed in her face, but the woman caused one of her guards to collapse at