It's been four days since King Ashay returned from the Battle of Mixi. Four days, and not a word has been passed on to Emmie or any of the other women of the Nest. Something happened during that battle--something that shook a god--and no one, not even Deacon, knows what it is that is weighing down their mighty King... moreIt's been four days since King Ashay returned from the Battle of Mixi. Four days, and not a word has been passed on to Emmie or any of the other women of the Nest. Something happened during that battle--something that shook a god--and no one, not even Deacon, knows what it is that is weighing down their mighty King. That has left Emmie with little to do but wait, hoping for the chance to peel back the layers of his experience, and bring him out of the shadows that seem to be swallowing him whole.But Emmie is struggling, for while she waits, she watches. Watches Calliope, the peace offering given in the wake of the Battle of Mixi, be perfect. Moving with grace, speaking with compassion, bringing light and joy to the Nest that has been smothered by a decade of sadness; she sings beautiful songs of the peace she has brought to the god-King's heart, and seems to know just how to destroy Emmie with kindness.And while Emmie recognizes her own jealousy, something strange is happening inside of her, too. Beyond her eroding sense of freedom in her future, the King's stony silence, and the tales of connection with the King that Calliope sings, something else is crushing Emmie's spirit. Something made of scraping thorns, consuming flames, and thick shadows that attack her in her weakest moments. They take her once stalwart and steadfast nature and suffocate it, leaving her to drown in her own self-doubt and the questions that keep cycling through her What happened at the Battle of Mixi to make the King withdraw?Is Calliope stepping into the role Emmie had just accepted from Order?And, the most terrifying of What if Order's prophecy was wrong? less
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