THE END OF HER JOURNEY IS ONLY
THE BEGINNING…
The Barrani would be happy to see her die. So Kaylin Neya is a bit surprised by her safe arrival in the West March. Especially when enemies new and old surround her and those she would call friends are equally dangerous…
And then the real trouble starts. Kaylin’s assignment is to be a “harmoniste”—one who helps tell the truth behind a Barrani Recitation. But in a land where words are more effective than weapons, Kaylin’s duties are deadly. With the wrong phrase she could tear a people further asunder. And with the right ones…well, then she might be able to heal a blight on a race.
If only she understood the story.…
Praise for New York Times bestselling author
MICHELLE SAGARA
and The Chronicles of Elantra series
“No one provides an emotional payoff like Michelle Sagara.
Combine that with a fast-paced police procedural,
deadly magics, five very different races and a wickedly
dry sense of humor—well, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
—Bestselling author Tanya Huff on The Chronicles of Elantra series
“Intense, fast-paced, intriguing,
compelling and hard to put down…unforgettable.”
—In the Library Reviews on Cast in Shadow
“Readers will embrace this compelling,
strong-willed heroine with her often sarcastic voice.”
—Publishers Weekly on Cast in Courtlight
“The impressively detailed setting and the
book’s spirited heroine are sure to charm romance readers,
as well as fantasy fans who like some mystery with their magic.”
—Publishers Weekly on Cast in Secret
“Along with the exquisitely detailed world building,
Sagara’s character development is mesmerizing.
She expertly breathes life into a stubborn yet evolving heroine.
A true master of her craft!”
—RT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars) on Cast in Fury
“Each visit to this amazing world, with its richness of place
and character, is one to relish.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars) on Cast in Silence
“Another satisfying addition to an already vivid and
entertaining fantasy series.”
—Publishers Weekly on Cast in Chaos
“If you are searching for a rich and rewarding fantasy
read different from the usual fantasy fare,
then you can’t go wrong with Cast in Ruin and
The Chonicles of Elantra series. Heartily recommended.”
—SciFiGuy on Cast in Ruin
“Sagara does an amazing job continuing to flesh out her large cast
of characters, but keeps the unsinkable Kaylin at the center.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars) on Cast in Peril
Cast in Sorrow
Michelle Sagara
This is for Mr. Liebgott, Ms. Gann, Ms. Evans,
Maggie Fehlberg, teachers all.
My teachers. They probably deserved better than I gave them, but they encouraged my love of reading, and when it blossomed—at an early age—into childish attempts to write books (I thought that books were individually drawn and bound, which of course makes no sense), they encouraged that just as fondly.
This book wouldn’t exist without them.
Contents
Chapter 1
To say that Private Kaylin Neya was out of her element was to master the art of understatement. Fish out of water had nothing on the groundhawk whose entire life had been lived within the boundaries of Elantra—either on the city streets or in the fiefs at its heart.
This had become