smile. “I am going to tell you something very important,” he says. “I was going to wait, but it seems like you need to hear it now.”
I stare at him, his smooth face and silly-looking lips, his merry eyes. “What is it?”
“All Valtias are powerful, but not all equally so. Some burn bright and fade quickly, while others are more steady, strong but muted. We never know what kind of Valtia we will have until the magic enters a Saadella. Except with you.”
I have the strange urge to claw at my stockings to peek at the red flame mark that paints my left calf with its numb scarlet tendrils, the one that appeared at the moment of the last Valtia’s death—when I was only four years old. “What do you mean?”
“There is a prophecy,” he says, glancing up and down the hall. “One made hundreds of years ago.”
“Yes?” I whisper.
His bald scalp is beaded with sparkles of sweat in the light of the torches that line the walls. “When we found you in that shabby little cottage by the city wall, too skinny for your own good, we made sure to check the town register for the day and season of your birth, and the exact position of the stars in the sky on that very day. It matches what was foretold precisely.” He grasps both my arms, giving me a little shake, as if to force this knowledge into me, to make sure I believe. “When the magic leaves our current queen and enters you, Elli, you will become the most powerful Valtia who has ever existed.”
CHAPTER 2
From my balcony, the Motherlake appears infinite. She stretches vast and powerful to the horizon, where she kisses the sky. Trout and razorfin teem beneath her blue skin, all shimmering power and motion, but from here, she looks serene and perfect. She keeps her secrets well.
I lean forward, letting the cool breeze toss my long, coppery hair around my face. In a few hours, I must be flawless and composed, but I’m not on display quite yet. Right now I’m just Elli, and for the moment, it’s enough. I spread my arms and pretend I’m flying.
From behind me comes a startled laugh. “You’re making my job much harder,” says Mim, but her tone is fond. I whirl around and grin at her. Her blue eyes, just a shade darker than mine, sparkle with excitement. She’s already dressed in her finest gown and pulled her brown hair into a braided coil. I love the tiny curls that swirl at the nape of her neck. At twenty, she could have found a handsome man to marry by now, but she’s been serving me since she was a little girl, chosen by the elders for her sweet and patient temperament.
I know she feels honored to serve me. Sometimes, though, I wish—
“The Valtia and her handmaiden will be here any minute,” she says, gesturing inside. “Can we start the preparations now, or are you determined to let the wind knot your hair some more?”
I slap my hand over the top of my head. “Oh no—is it a tangled mess?”
She arches an eyebrow and nods. “But I can fix it. Let me work my kind of magic.”
A gust of wind chases me inside the ceremonial dressing chamber, making the drapes flap. Mim tsks and pulls the wooden doors to the balcony shut. When I’m the Valtia, I’ll be able to do the same thing with a mere thought. The most powerful Valtia who ever existed, Kauko whispers in my memory.
I shiver as Mim guides me to the cushioned stool in front of the wide copper plate that serves as our mirror. “Do you need a blanket for your legs?” she asks.
I shake my head, warmer already because of her attention. She places a cup of water in my hands. “I know you get so thirsty on these ceremony days.”
I lift the hammered copper mug to my lips and moan softly at the relief of cold water in my mouth. “You’re a jewel.”
She chuckles. “I’m a stone. You’re a jewel. The people will be in awe when they see you.” She gives my shoulders a little squeeze and begins to work on my hair. “Lovely. Like burnished copper,” she says, drawing the brush through my straight, thick locks.
I close my eyes, enjoying the feel of the bristles against my scalp, inhaling Mim’s warm cinnamon scent. Before long, though, my thoughts drift back to where they’ve been since my