Fourth Interlude: Loyalty
Blackthorn Manor was dark and silent, but it wasn’t empty. Erin had been at the door for only a few moments before it swung inwards, revealing a stern-faced servant.
Chapter 4: Part 9 - A Hundred Years in the Wilderness
It was a long time since Erin had spent any real time in the Shiverpeaks. Over her years with Amber and then with Light’s Memory, she’d passed through from time to time, but that simply wasn’t the same. Wading through knee-deep snow, waking to ice in your hair and eyelashes, feeling the cold sink right down to your bones… She knew Amber would call her mad for it, but she missed everyone one of those things.
Chapter 4: Part 6 - Ruses and Lies
The carriage ride was cramped and uncomfortable. Erin was certain Ruby had chosen the smallest vehicle possible, just to spite her. They sat across from one another, the curtains closed and Ruby’s eyes glinting in the darkness. The girl managed to look both comfortable enough to fall asleep and yet ready to stab someone as quickly as blinking. Erin, on the other hand, was forced to pull her knees up almost to her chest.
Chapter 2: Part 10 - Family Is Everything
There was chaos in the hollow at Erin’s feet. On any other battlefield, that would have been an overstatement; there were ebbs and flows to the dance of warfare, ones that any seasoned warrior could read in a heartbeat. But here in the hills above the Grove, in a valley wrapped in mist and shadows and tangling vines, chaos was the only word for it.
Chapter 2: Part 8 - When The Time Is Right
Taria Valpari was almost exactly as Erin had expected. She was tall, regal, and as commanding as a battlefield general. She also had grey hair and very pale green eyes, with high cheekbones and perfect teeth; she looked, in other words, exactly like Marissa would look in fifty years time.
Chapter 2: Part 7 - Two Rich Idiots
After a full day in Divinity’s Reach, Erin knew she was trying to do the impossible. There were traces of Taria Valpari everywhere she looked, but setting up a meeting with her people in the city was about as easy as climbing an ice cliff with carrots instead of picks. In other words, frustrating, glacially slow, and ultimately pointless.