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hundred longships at least. We were only a few miles ahead of them. They’ll be here before the sun sets.”
    Two hundred longships. Raw fear blooms inside me. The barbarians from the north aren’t raiding this time—they’re invading . I stare at my Valtia. We all do. Waiting for our queen to save us from destruction and death.
    Her skin is ice cold as she releases my hand. And when she speaks, her voice is quiet but startling in its steadiness. “Take me to the docks. I’m going to need a ship.”

CHAPTER 3
    T he square erupts into worried muttering. A few people race for their homes, but most of the crowd seems riveted in place, still gaping at us. I stand stiffly on my paarit as the Valtia touches the cuff of Astia and turns to me. “You must go back to the Temple on the Rock,” she says. Her perfect white makeup is chipped and cracking around her mouth, and the hair at her temples is damp with sweat. “Aleksi, take her.”
    For a moment I allow myself to be pulled backward by the elder, but then a wave of pure urgency crashes over me. “What are you going to do?”
    She gives me a small smile, but her pale-blue eyes glint with ice. “I’m going to bury their ships at the bottom of the Motherlake.”
    The fishermen look up at her in awe. “Valtia,” says the old one, his voice hushed, “there are so many. It will take more than a cold wind to throw them off their chosen course.”
    She gazes down at him. “I know.” Her eyes meet mine again. “Go. You belong in the temple.”
    Something about the way she says it makes my entire body clench. “Take me with you,” I blurt out. For some insane reason, I feel like I should go. Like I must go.
    Her brow furrows, further cracking her formerly perfect shell. “Darling, there’s nothing you can do. Someday this will be your duty. Today, it’s mine.”
    Because today I’m a powerless, ordinary girl. An empty vessel, waiting for the magic to fill it. Aleksi’s fingers close around my upper arm and guide me to my chair. “My Saadella, you’ll be safe in the temple.”
    â€œSafe?” I blink at him. There is worry in his eyes, and it makes me want to slap his smooth, round face.
    His cheeks turn red as if I already have, and he bows to me. “The Valtia will keep us all safe, but her mind will be more focused if she knows you’re well protected,” he says in a tight voice.
    My Valtia regards the elder coolly, then steps forward and takes my hand. “Tonight we’ll dine together, just like we planned.” She squeezes my clammy fingers and sends warmth flowing along my skin. “Elli,” she says quietly. “I’ll see you very soon.”
    Even though I don’t want her to go, fierce pride beats within my breast as I look at her. “I can’t wait for that moment, my Valtia.” I will my voice into steadiness, just like hers. “And I’ll keep watch from my balcony so I can see you return in victory.”
    Her smile brightens. “Until then.” She lifts my palm to her lips, laying a tender kiss there. It leaves a smear of red on my skin. Then she lets me go and takes her seat. “Quickly now,” she says to the bearers.
    They carry her away from me. A moment later, my own bearers lift my paarit from the platform and whisk me down the steps. The acolytes and apprentices press the citizens back to give us a path. The jubilant mood has been siphoned away, replaced with brittle fear. Their faith is weak. Their doubt so easily overwhelms them. It’s pathetic. The Valtia can raise infernos with her fingertips. She can wield icebergs with her thoughts. She creates a dome of warmth over our city that lasts from the end of fall to the beginning of spring. What other people in this cold climate can grow fruits and vegetables in the frigid winter months? What city can build any time of year