Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury #1)(38)

The handmaidens tried different techniques on their Graces, until Nomi’s skin felt tight and her eyelids heavy. As soon as Ines approved of Angeline’s work, Nomi stood up.

“Angeline, I’m still tired from last night,” she murmured. “I think I’ll go lie down.”

“Of course,” Angeline said. “Enjoy the rest.”

Nomi headed for her room. She closed the door and leaned against it, staring at the stark white sheets of her bed, the small cot Serina had slept on that first night, precious now in Nomi’s memory. Outside, the fluffy white clouds had grown thick and dark, obscuring the blue of the sky.

How long did she have before Ines sought her out for more training? Before Angeline returned?

Did she dare?

Nomi slid her hand under the mattress, reaching until her fingers touched a hard corner. She drew the book out and sprawled on the bed. She cradled the soft leather in her hands.

A Brief History of Viridia.

She already knew the history of Viridia. A king had ruled the country before the Floods wiped out most of the land. When the waters receded, much of the population had perished, along with the royal family. A new government had to rise. The first Superior had been one of the king’s closest advisors. He took over and rebuilt Viridia.

Nomi opened the book anyway.

Viridia’s past is long and storied, from the moment the first settlers arrived in ancient times.…

Nomi relished the words, rolling them in her mouth without voicing them, letting them quiet the questions in her head. If she was reading, she wasn’t thinking about Serina.

She was living in the language set black and stark against the page. She flipped page after page.

The settlers gave way to the rise of a religious government, led by Cardinal Bellaqua. Renzo had learned a lot about Bellaqua at school. He was seen as a heroic but tragic figure, overthrown by the mercenary King Vaccaro.

Cardinal Bellaqua’s long and illustrious reign came to a stunning end when he was seduced—seduced? Nomi’s brow furrowed—and poisoned by a female warrior from Azura. Claiming the throne for herself, the warrior became Queen Vaccaro, holding the country by force—

Nomi’s whole body tensed. Queen Vaccaro? This wasn’t the history she knew. The world tipped sickeningly on its axis.

—despite attempts to overthrow her, for nearly thirty years. She clung to power, and her daughter and granddaughter after her, but the resistance grew.

Nomi read faster and faster, disbelieving. But there it was. All the history she thought she knew of her country was recast.

And in a last shock, the book laid out the root of the Floods—Nomi had always been told the Floods were a natural disaster, affecting the whole world. But A Brief History of Viridia stated that in fact, infrastructure throughout the country was tampered with, expressly to cause a disaster that would threaten the monarchy. The orchestrators? The queen’s senior advisors, who then rose to power in the aftermath.

The heroes of Viridia, the historian claimed.

The first Superior took the queen and her two daughters as his first Graces and limited the rights and activities of women in the country, for fear of a threat to his rule similar to that which Cardinal Bellaqua suffered. The powerful approach was successful, ensuring the Superior and his Heirs kept a secure and unquestioned grip on the country. Today, the tradition of the Graces is the most revered in all of Viridia.

The first Superior’s Grace was the queen. All the laws in this country, all the ways women were kept ignorant and powerless… it was because the new rulers didn’t want history to repeat itself.

The Superior’s great-great-great-grandfather destroyed Viridia, Nomi realized. On purpose.

Nomi stared out the window at a bank of clouds building along the horizon. Fury filled her up, heavy and hot and enduring. The kind she wouldn’t be able to will away.

In Viridia, women were oppressed because men were afraid of them.

Women had ruled this country. And history had denigrated them. Erased them. Nomi was certain this wasn’t what Renzo had been taught. He would have told her.

But the Superior knew. Whoever had given her this book knew.

And now she did too.





NINETEEN



SERINA


SERINA HANDED JACANA half of a hard roll. After Petrel’s loss, there wasn’t enough bread left for everyone to have her own piece. A boar roasted on a spit over the fire, dripping fat that popped and hissed in the flames. The scent of fresh meat made Serina’s mouth water. But it was only lunchtime—the boar wouldn’t be ready until dinner.

A few feet away, Tremor, one of the women from the hunting party, groaned. A deep gash ran the length of her forearm, courtesy of the boar’s sharp tusk. Each crew had a small stash of medical supplies—bandages, a salve to stave off infection, needle and thread—but they were limited in what they could heal without doctors. Mirror was trying to sew up the injured woman’s arm, but Tremor kept flinching each time the needle punctured skin, and the stitches were clumsy and uneven.

Tremor groaned again, and Mirror’s face blanched beneath her blanket of freckles. Serina couldn’t stop staring. The stitches were so spread out that parts of the wound were still open. It would likely get infected. The salve could only do so much.

She couldn’t handle it any longer.

Serina handed the rest of the bread to Jacana and stepped through the group to reach the injured woman’s side. “Give me the needle,” she said, crouching by Mirror. “You’re messing up her arm.”