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BOOK One

The young princess was as beautiful as daylight She was more beautiful even than the queen herself

One

Winter’s toes had become ice cubes They were as cold as space As cold as the dark side of Luna As cold as—

“… security feeds captured hi the AR-Central med-clinic’s sublevels at 23:00 UTC…”

Thaue Aimery Park spoke with a serene, measured cadence, like a ballad It was easy to lose track of what he was saying, easy to let all the words blur and conjoin Winter curled her toes inside her thin-soled shoes, afraid that if they got any colder before this trial was over, they would snap off

“… was atte to interfere with one of the shells currently stored…”

Snap off One by one

“… records indicate the shell child is the accused’s son, taken on 29 July of last year He is now fifteen months old”

Winter hid her hands in the folds of her gown They were shaking again She was always shaking these days She squeezed her fingers to hold them still and pressed the botto the throne room into focus before it dissolved

The throne roo view in the city Fro the white palace and the city reaching for the edge of the enormous clear dome that sheltered them from the outside elements—or lack thereof The throne room itself extended past the walls of the tower, so that when one passed beyond the edge of the lass Like standing on air, about to plummet into the depths of the crater lake

To Winter’s left she couldinto the ar seat carved fro these proceedings and would listen to the trials without a hint of e the polished stone, not throttling it But tension was high since Levana and her entourage had returned froes than usual these past months

Ever since that runaway Lunar—that cyborg—had escaped from her Earthen prison

Ever since war had begun between Earth and Luna

Ever since the queen’s betrothed had been kidnapped, and Levana’s chance to be crowned empress had been stolen from her

The blue planet hung above the horizon, cut clean in half Luna was a little ht, and the city of Arte crystal s, their reflections dancing across the lake’s surface

Winter missed the sun and its warmth Their artificial days were never the same

“How did he know about the shells?” Queen Levana asked “Why did he not believe his son to have been killed at birth?”

Seated around the room in four tiered roere the faranted favor with Her Majesty for their generations of loyalty, their extraordinary talents with the Lunar gift, or pure luck at having been born a citizen of the great city of Artemisia

Then there was the e Park He had not been born lucky

His hands were together, pleading Winter wished she could tell hi She thought there would be co you could do to avoid death Those who ca already accepted their fate seemed to have an easier time of it

She looked down at her own hands, still clawed around her gauzy white skirt Her fingers had been bitten with frost It was sort of pretty Glistening and shi and cold, so very cold …

“Your queen asked you a question,” said Aimery

Winter flinched, as if he’d been yelling at her

Focus She must try to focus