Contents
Chapter One
Overview
On their sixteenth birthday, Yana and Ruko are summoned to the imperial palace, ending years of fragile safety. Escorted by Sergeant Shal Worthy, a Houndsight reader and nephew of the fallen High Commander, they endure humiliation and recall Emperor Bersun’s past clemency. With childhood protections expired, new peril looms.
Summary
Yana Valit and her twin brother Ruko walk the incense-laden corridors of the imperial palace, where their father once died. Yana fights panic as their mother, Yasila, remains composed. The palace’s disorienting sanctum heightens their unease as they approach the throne room.
A flashback recounts the midnight arrival of the Palace Hounds. Sergeant Shal Worthy, young and courteous but gifted with Houndsight, summons Yasila and the twins to the imperial island, leaving Nisthala under guard. On the walk through Armas’s grids to the docks, neighbors gawk and speculate, revealing the Valits’ fraught reputation.
At the docks, a harsh strip search humiliates Yana, while Yasila defuses the power play with regal poise, even turning over a jeweled clip as a gift. Ruko copes with humor. Sergeant Worthy quietly reveals he is High Commander Gatt Worthy’s nephew, reopening the wound of Gatt’s death defending Emperor Bersun against Andren Valit.
The narrative recalls Bersun’s rain-soaked address in Samra after the failed coup, when he publicly embraced the eight-year-old twins and vowed to heal the empire. Soon after, an edict by High Commander Hol Vabras stripped Yasila’s titles, confined the family to Armas, and promised the children’s safety until maturity.
Returning to the present, Yana and Ruko, now sixteen, sail toward the imperial island in plain, pocketless clothes—both a security measure and a slight. The summons, arriving the day after their birthday, underlines the shift: the edict’s protection has ended, and the emperor’s intentions are uncertain.
Who Appears
- Yana ValitSixteen-year-old daughter of the Great Traitor; anxious yet observant, recalls past mercies as she’s summoned to the palace.
- Ruko ValitYana’s twin; optimistic and humorous under pressure, comforts Yana and engages respectfully with their escort.
- Yasila ValitMother; once-powerful, now constrained, maintains regal composure and cunning during the Hounds’ search and summons.
- Sergeant Shal WorthyYoung Palace Hound with Houndsight; escorts the Valits and reveals he’s Gatt Worthy’s nephew.
- Emperor BersunBear warrior emperor; summoned the family now and once showed public mercy after defeating Andren Valit.
- Nisthala ValitYounger sister; left behind under guard, highlighting the family’s constraints.
- Gatt WorthyLate High Commander; died protecting Bersun from Andren, his legacy shadows the encounter.
- High Commander Hol VabrasIssued the edict stripping Yasila’s titles and defining the family’s restrictive terms after the rebellion.