NINE
On the morning of her departure, Ava was surprised to find both Bianca and Bianca's mother, Militsa, in the courtyard, among the milling horses and men.
"What are you doing here?" Ava asked.
Militsa smiled indulgently. "On the day both my daughters leave the shelter of the palace for the wide world, I wouldn't be anywhere else."
Ava ducked her head. She wasn't Militsa's daughter, not truly, and no one could mistake them for kin. Militsa's ice-pale hair, only a shade lighter than Bianca's, marked her for what she was: a daughter of a chief from one of the tribes in the far north, taken as a hostage to ensure her father's good behaviour. With a courage Ava found hard to emulate, Militsa had turned her captivity to her advantage, becoming one of the King's concubines. She had been
