Page 1 of A Vow of Embers

Chapter One

“Yes.” The word burst bitterly out of my mouth, my chest heaving. “Yes, I will marry you.”

The man I’d once known as Jason, who had kept his true identity secret from me while trying to trick me into marrying him, stood at the gates of the temple looking smug and victorious.

Because his plan had worked. I had just agreed to marry him in order to save my sister’s life.

“I knew you’d see reason, Princess Thalia. You’ve always been easy to ... persuade.” His underlying implication, along with the patronizing smirk on Prince Alexandros’s face, was my undoing. Fury and instinct took over and I jumped to my feet, my fingers wrapped tightly around my sword. I was going to kill him. I didn’t even care what might happen as a result of committing regicide.

Then I felt hands on my shoulders. I expected it to be my adelphia, the members of my temple sisterhood, but it was Antiope, my battle master, on my right and Maia, my mentor, on my left. They held me back.

“After everything that I’ve taught you, Lia, you should be able to recognize a trap when you see one,” Antiope said in a low voice.

“Don’t rush out there and do anything foolish,” Maia said.

I leaned forward, even though I knew I’d never be able to break their hold. “I’m going to strike him down.”

“Stop,” Antiope said, her grip tightening. “You are giving him too much information with your reaction.”

“He already knows,” I whispered back despondently, staring at my sister Quynh. She was still in chains, with the prince’s captain, Thrax, holding on to her arm. I had spent the last few weeks mourning her death ... It didn’t feel real that she was here, watching me. Her mouth moved, like she was speaking, but she was too far away for me to hear.

My gaze shifted back to Alexandros. He had made Quynh his prisoner while kissing me, trying to seduce me in order to bend me to his will. And I had spent that time confiding in him, telling him how much my family meant to me, how much I missed my sister, and all the while he’d had her.

She looked thin. Had he been starving her?

My reaction was not giving him any new information. He knew exactly what he had done and the effect his actions would have on me.

I didn’t even feel human any longer. I was pure wrath, intent on destruction and revenge. I had to resist my urges to plunge my sword into his throat. My entire body trembled with my suppressed rage. I knew my teachers were right. If I ran out into the street, away from the safety of the goddess’s temple, the prince could grab me and do whatever he wished with me.

Much as he had with my sister.

“I don’t doubt that he deserves death,” Antiope said to me quietly. “But be smart about it. There is a time and place and it is not here and now.”

“Is that the other Locrian maiden?” Maia asked me.

“Yes. She ran the tribute race with me. I thought she had ... that she had died, but he kidnapped her. The prince is holding her hostage to force my hand.” I couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t convey to them that this was my sister and he had stolen her from me. I feared that saying the words out loud would put me into a frenzy.

Maia made a shocked sound but Antiope didn’t move, didn’t lessen the pressure she put on my shoulder.

“Retract your promise to marry him. You can’t say yes,” Maia said in an urgent tone. “He cannot do this, try to force you into becoming his wife.”

It was the law that women had to consent to marriage. Unfortunately, there were still loopholes.

Like the one I was dealing with now. Sometimes blackmail and threats had a place in this process. I only had to agree—I didn’t have to mean it.

“You have taken vows to the goddess,” Maia continued. “You cannot marry anyone.”

That was true, but I knew the prince wouldn’t care.

And those vows I had taken? They would mean little to me if they cost Quynh’s life.

“Are you ready to talk? To make arrangements for our wedding?” the prince asked in a cold, mocking tone. Fierce rage exploded inside me. I growled and bared my teeth at him, like I was some kind of animal, and lunged forward. But my mentors kept me in place.

Prince Alexandros crossed his arms over his chest, looking annoyed. “Let her go,” he commanded imperiously. “You heard her. Everyone did. She agreed to marry me. We have a betrothal contract that was signed over a year ago.”

“That is not her decision to make,” Maia responded calmly. “She is an acolyte who has vowed to serve here at the temple. That overrides your contract.”

A man close to the prince withdrew his sword, as if preparing for a fight. I sucked in a sharp breath. Would they dare to break the goddess’s law and enter the temple grounds?