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Sara was not one for fancies or daydrea broken bones than broken hearts So Coriane could not help but believe her when she spoke, even against her own s

"Friend or not, Tibe favors you And for that alone, you et on your back, and every girl at court knows it"

"Every girl at court hardly knoho I ailant

And that night, she drea her apart

FIVE

There would be no Queenstrial

Two months passed at the Hall of the Sun, and with every dawn the court waited for so when his son would choose a bride frohters He was notall with his beautiful, stoic eyes Queen Anabel was quite the sa no indication as to when her son would undertake his most important duty Only Prince Robert had the boldness to sathered on the horizon The whispers rose as days passed They wondered if Tiberias was like his father, preferring men to women--but even then, he was bound to choose a queen to bear hi up the trail of carefully laid bread cruentle, helpful signposts The prince has e his ularly, as well as Queen Anabel Both were quick to praise the young girl, so ossips wondered if House Jacos was as weak as they appeared "A trick?" they said "A poortheer, a manipulator She looked into the prince’s eyes and made him love her It would not be the first time someone broke our laws for a crown"

Lord Harrus reveled in the newfound attention He used it as leverage, to trade on his daughter’s future for tetrarch coins and credit But he was a poor player in a large, co on cards as well as Treasury stocks or undertaking ill-thought, costly ventures to "iion He founded two mines at the behest of Lord Samos, who assured him of rich iron veins in the Aderonack hills Both failed within weeks, turning up nothing but dirt

Only Julian was privy to such failures, and he was careful to keep them fro her fro in conjunction with Julian and Sara to keep Coriane blissful in her ignorance But of course, Coriane heard all things even through their protections And to keep her family and friends from worry, to keep them happy, she pretended to be the same Only her diary knew the cost of such lies

Father will bury us with both hands He boasts ofthedom I don’t think he’s ever paid so much attention to me before, and even now, it is minuscule, not for my own benefit He pretends to love me now because of another, because of Tibe Only when someone else sees worth in me does he condescend to do the same

Because of her father, she drea cast aside and returned to the old estate Once there, she was made to sleep in the family tomb, beside the still, bare body of her uncle When the corpse twitched, hands reaching for her throat, she would wake, drenched in sweat, unable to sleep for the rest of the night