e three hours north of Harrowmere, and

ide a sea turtle when I was nine. Neither ended well. By the time we arrived I could barely walk. She sat me in a room with a bed,

" she

t's

e for a long mo

old her so, and she laughed, the first honest laugh

shed the stew. "Don't lie to him. He'll know. And don't be frigh

oes tha

nce." She patted my shoulder. "He's been in a mood since H

't do a

Edda, "is wha

carried a lantern and a small wooden stool, which he set down at the far end of the tabl

," he said. "Witho

my hands.

is w

was raised, we didn

aze. I could tell he was listening to

st carrying a gift from the sea. A starlight pearl, brought up from the deep by Crown divers. Before

N

rose a fra

re calling a gift is a living thing, Alpha. She has a name. She was taken from her home in front of ev

in his face. "Fr

, and realized I

the sea," I said at la

lantern flame leaned in a draft. "Tha

the

he thing a th

'm bad at it, remember?

, but it was gone too fast to be sure. He re

. But I've held my pack together for ten years by keeping my promises to the Crown." His voice was low. "My fa

ha

ou are." He nodded at my hand

ck of my knuckles. The tea in my cup had gone solid. Beneath my elbows, the wood of the table was wh

I wasn't speaking t

. I clamped my hands together and tried to push it back down into my ribs,

hollow

ed it. I looked up at Bram and saw a steaming cup in front of

t she's hold

ea," Edda s

ed unsteadily. "Sorry. I k

laughed

rt had pulled to one side, and I knew what he was looking at. A small silver mark on my collarbone, shaped like a s

?" sai

ave

am.

take his eyes from

back the stool, stood up, and walked to the window. He stood there with his ba

d at last. His voice was rough. "At

ou said the C

man who was afraid when I saw one. "She sent word this afternoon by hawk. I was told to lo

opped. "She d

. She called you Maris. A name I never gave her. A name

ed. Snow ticked

vard, very softly, "how does the Q