Chapter 1

"Kneel."

I stepped aside before the knight's sword hilt could strike the back of my knee.

Thousands of people had already knelt in the Temple square. Nobles, merchants, nuns, even the child who had been crying a moment earlier, whose mother pressed his head down. I was the only person left standing in the crowd.

But those knights still had my sister.

Even if God himself came down from heaven today, I had no time to kneel.

"I said kneel."

The knight advanced another step.

"I heard you."

I looked at him.

"Where's my sister?"

The young knight's face darkened.

His name was Adrian, an adjutant of the Temple Knights. Short golden-brown hair, a silver cross carved into his shoulder plate. He had the face of a statue on a church wall. Unfortunately, statues had better tempers.

Adrian lowered his voice.

"The Grand Commander is entering the city."

"Oh, congratulations to him."

I pointed across the square.

"Now give me back my sister."

He looked as though he had never encountered someone who couldn't understand plain speech.

"Elara Vale."

He pronounced my name.

"Do you know who you're speaking to?"

"Yes."

I straightened my back.

"Then why are you still standing?"

"Because kneeling won't make you cough up my sister."

My loud answer drew a gasp from nearby.

I knew I should shut up.

But I had chased them here from the South District apothecary. My soles were worn through and my skirt covered in mud. My sixteen-year-old sister had only gone to buy flour that morning. On her way back, Temple Knights had dragged her into a prison wagon as a suspected heretic.

They hadn't even let me speak to her.

And now they wanted me to kneel?

Fine.

Once I found Mira, I could kneel beside my bed and thank God I hadn't killed anyone today.

A horn sounded in the distance.

The square fell completely silent.

Hoofbeats came from beyond the holy gate.

One.

Then another.

So perfectly in step they made my chest tighten.

Adrian's expression changed instantly. He stepped aside, pressed his right fist to his chest, and dropped to one knee.

"Welcome, Blade of God."

Thousands of voices joined him.

"Welcome, Grand Commander."

I lifted my head.

A white warhorse passed through the gate.

Its rider wore heavy silver and black armor, his shoulder plates still marked by battle. A scarlet cloak hung along the horse's sides. A long sword rested at his waist, the holy crest on its hilt dazzling in the sunlight.

Cassian Thorne.

Thirty-two. Grand Commander of the Temple Knights.

The Church's greatest military power.

Nobles called him God's sword on earth. Northerners called him the White Death. He had taken command at twenty-six and supposedly hadn't lost a war in the six years since.

I had only seen his face on silver coins and church portraits.

Clearly, the portraits had lied.

The real man was colder.

The wind had ruffled his black hair. He had a strong brow, a straight nose, and gray eyes that swept over the kneeling crowd without a trace of triumph.

No smile either.

As though thousands of people kneeling at his feet were as ordinary as the weather.

Then he saw me.

Wonderful.

The only idiot standing among thousands.

Hard to miss.

Cassian reined in.

The entire procession stopped with him.

Adrian rose immediately and hurried to my side.

"Last warning."

He spoke through his teeth.

"Kneel."

I didn't move.

Cassian's gaze settled on my face.

Even a dozen paces away, I could feel its pressure.

He dismounted with a low clash of metal.

He was tall.

Taller than I had expected. The armor broadened his shoulders and back, black leather fitted at his waist. His boots crossed the paving stones, bringing him toward me step by step.

Nothing broke the silence but his footsteps.

A little common sense finally arrived, rather late.

Elara.

You can still lower your head.

I glanced at the prison wagon across the square.

Common sense died.

Cassian stopped before me.

Up close, a faint old scar lay beneath his right brow. It wasn't ugly. It added danger to a face that might otherwise have been too perfect.

His gaze passed over my muddy shoes and returned to my face.

"Name."

His voice was deeper than I expected.

"Elara Vale."

I heard my own voice trembling.

"Everyone else is kneeling."

"I can see that."

I stayed on my feet.

Adrian briefly closed his eyes.

I suspected he was already choosing somewhere to bury me.

Cassian didn't look angry.

At least, his face showed nothing.

"Why aren't you?"

Anger overruled my brain.

"Because your men took my sister."

"What does one have to do with the other?"

I stared at him.

Of course.

From high enough up, everything looked small.

"Nothing to you."

"Everything to me."

Adrian cut in immediately.

"Elara!"

Cassian raised a hand.

Adrian fell silent.

One gesture.

That was power.

Suddenly, I understood why everyone in the square feared him.

Cassian watched me.

"Continue."

Fine.

You asked for it.

"My sister, Mira Vale, is sixteen."

"Your knights took her from the South District market this morning."

"No one showed me a warrant or told me the charge."

"I chased the prison wagon halfway across the city, and they stopped me outside the Temple."

"So you forced your way into the victory ceremony?"

"Yes."

"Injuring two guards?"

"One."

Adrian corrected me coldly.

"Two."

I turned to him.

"The second one ran into the pillar himself."

He stared at me.

I stared back.

Cassian was silent for a moment.

Perhaps I imagined it, but his mouth seemed to move.

Barely.

So quickly I might have hallucinated it from hunger.

"Do you know the penalty for disrupting a Temple ceremony?"

There was nothing but anger left in my eyes.

"No."

"Three months in prison."

"Perfect."

"Put me with my sister."

This time, someone nearby actually raised their head to look at me.

Cassian's gray eyes stayed on my face.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

I was.

Of course I was.

I wasn't stupid.

His sword was probably worth more than my whole person, and he looked perfectly capable of snapping my neck with one hand.

But what good did fear do?

Mira was still in that wagon.

"Yes."

He seemed not to expect that answer.

"But I'm more afraid my sister will die in your prison tonight."

Something finally changed in his eyes.

"Who ordered the arrest?"

He wasn't asking me.

Adrian answered immediately.

"The Inquisition."

"Twelve suspects were arrested this morning."

"Someone was reportedly distributing banned books in the South District."

"My sister can't read."

Adrian turned.

"What?"

"She can't even read all the words on medicine bottles."

I resisted rolling my eyes.

"And you're accusing her of distributing banned books?"

His face stiffened.

I gave a short laugh.

"Excellent detective work."

"Enough."

Adrian's warning was quiet. Cassian looked at him.

"Check."

Adrian blinked.

"Grand Commander?"

"Her sister."

"Now."

Adrian clearly wanted to object. Finally, he bowed his head.

"Yes, sir."

He hurried away.

My shoulders, tense all morning, relaxed a little.

Only a little.

Cassian was still in front of me.

I looked up.

"Thank you."

"Weren't you refusing to kneel a moment ago?"

My gaze steadied.

"Gratitude and kneeling are different things."

"Many people in the Holy City can't tell them apart."

"That's their problem."

My expression didn't change.

He watched me for several seconds.

I began wondering whether I had said too much again.

Then he asked another question.

"Have you always lived in the South District?"

"Yes."

"What do you do?"

"I'm an apothecary's apprentice."

"Your parents?"

My fingers stilled.

"Both dead."

"Your father's name?"

I frowned. That crossed a line.

"Why do you need my father's name to check my sister's arrest?"

Cassian didn't answer.

His gray eyes rested on me so quietly that the back of my neck chilled. There was that feeling again.

He seemed to know me. But we had never met. At least, not that I remembered.

Before I could press him, footsteps approached.

Adrian had returned. Mira followed him.

Everything else stopped mattering.

"Mira!"

Tears spilled the moment she saw me.

"Elara!"

She threw herself into my arms.

I hugged her tightly, checking her face, shoulders, and arms for injuries.

"Did they hit you?"

She shook her head.

"Did anyone touch you?"

"No."

"Scared me, didn't you?"

She nodded again.

"Save the crying for home."

I wiped her tears.

"Did you buy the flour?"

She stared at me.

"...I dropped it."

"Wonderful."

I sighed.

"Air for dinner, then."

She actually laughed a little. Only then did I truly breathe again.

Adrian approached Cassian and lowered his voice.

"Wrong girl."

"Similar names."

"The Inquisition wanted Mira Vail."

I heard him. Wonderful. One wrong letter, and my sister had nearly gone into a heretic's cell.

I drew Mira behind me. Cassian looked at her.

"You may go."

She gripped my sleeve.

I finally thought this absurd day was ending.

"Come on."

I took her hand.

"Let's go home."

We had just turned when his voice came from behind us.

"Elara."

I stopped. For some reason, a chill ran down my back.

I looked around.

Cassian still stood in the sunlight.

Thousands remained on their knees behind him.

Every trace of something almost gentle had left his face.

Only the cool composure of the Grand Commander remained.

"Mira may go."

"You stay."

I stared at him.

Fine, Grand Commander. Whatever you say.

Once I work out what madness this is, I swear I never want to see your face again.

Then I saw the hand at his side.

The hand that had held the holy sword and accepted thousands of kneeling subjects now clenched an old silver badge. Its edges had blackened.

The name engraved on it was one I could never mistake.

Thomas Vale.

My father.

Dead for three years.