Amélie Zhao - Blood Heir

Something about his open, piercing stare and the honesty of his tone brought back the boy who’d stood before her on the night of the Fyrva’snezh. Ana found herself drawn inexorably toward him, taking in the curl of his hair at the nape of his neck; the strong, chiseled edges of his jawline; the crooked curve to his lips. They parted slightly as Ramson let out a soft breath and dipped his head toward her, his eyes tracing every angle of her face. Something about the way he looked at her, like nothing else around them existed, made her heart beat faster and her breaths come shorter.

That feeling—like she was falling and flying at the same time—made her afraid.

Another gust of wind pressed at her back, more insistently, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Palace again, looming in the distance. It was a reminder that she couldn’t afford to think of anything else right now. Not when she had an empire to save.

Ana turned away abruptly. The cold rushed in to fill the space between them. “Well,” she said, swallowing. “Here we are.”

She sensed Ramson’s gaze still on her, softer now and more distant. “Here we are,” he echoed.

Ana kept her gaze straight ahead, on the Palace. She was, once again, a girl in a threadbare cloak, with nothing to her name and nowhere to run to. Yet somehow, in a year, it felt as though everything had changed.

I unsee you, Little Tigress.

It was she who had changed, Ana realized with a burst of surprise that tasted sweet in the wintry air. She was no longer the frightened girl of twelve moons past, who had so desperately sought a way to fix herself, her monstrosity. If the line between good and evil was drawn by choices, then she would choose to wield her Affinity to fight for those who could not.

Ramson was right. This wasn’t a fairy-tale story where the good triumphed in the end. There were real people suffering in her empire right now, in the shadows of the laws that claimed to protect them. There was evil and darkness here—oppressors and those who perpetuated violence with hatred and greed in their hearts.

But there was also the good; there was the light of this world that came in shattered, piercing fragments, whether it was a small earth Affinite making flowers out of barren soil, or a fire Affinite’s secret chokolad treats, or a wind Affinite tilting her face to the skies, telling her that there was something worth saving—in her and in this world.

This world—this beautiful broken world that harbored so much of the gray—was the only one they had. And it was one she would continue to fight for.

But first, she had to prove to her people that she was worthy of being their leader. That, no matter her title, she would not stand by and watch innocents die under a regime of terror. That, in her flesh and bones and soul, she was Anastacya Kateryanna Mikhailov, blood heir of the Cyrilian Empire.

Affinite:person with a special ability or a connection to physical or metaphysical elements; ranges from a heightened sense of the element to ability to manipulate or generate the element

blackstone:stone mined from the Krazyast Triangle; the single element immune to Affinite manipulation and known to diminish or block Affinities

bratika:brother

chokolad:cocoa-based sweet

contessya:countess

copperstone:lowest-value coin

dacha:house

dama:lady

deimhov:demon

Deys:Deity

Deys’voshk:poison that effects Affinites and is used to subdue them; also known as Deities’ Water

Fyrva’snezh:First Snows

goldleaf:highest-value coin

guzhkyn gerbil:pet rodent from the Guzhkyn region in southern Cyrilia

Imperator:Emperor

Imperatorya:Empress

Imperya:Empire

kapitan:captain

kechyan:traditional Cyrilian robe typically made of patterned silk

kologne:scented perfume

kolst:glorious

kommertsya:commerce

konsultant:consultant

mamika:“little mother”; term of endearment for “aunt”

mesyr:mister

pelmeny:dumplings with fillings of minced meat, onions, and herbs

pirozhky:fried pie with sweet or savory fillings

pryntsessa:princess

ptychy’moloko:bird’s milk cake

Redcloak:rebels; a play on the colloquialism “Whitecloak”

silverleaf:medium-value coin

sistrika:sister

sunwine:mulled wine made in the summer with honey and spice

valkryf:breed of horse; a valuable steed with split toes and an incomparable ability to climb mountains and weather cold temperatures

varyshki:expensive bull leather

Vyntr’makt:winter market; outdoor markets usually established in town squares prior to the arrival of winter

Whitecloak:colloquialism for “Imperial Patrol”

yaeger:rare Affinite whose connection is to another person’s Affinity; they can sense Affinites and control one’s Affinity

I began learning the English language at the age of seven, when I was plucked from my birth town of Paris and dropped into an American international school in the dusty gray city of 1990s Beijing. I’ve come a ways since that first day, when I was lost and the words that my teachers and classmates spoke flowed over my head like water, out of my reach.

Books changed everything for me, transporting me to a hundred different worlds within their pages, allowing me to live a thousand different lives. I began reading in earnest, and slowly, with each turn of a page, a dream began to form. I wanted to be an author; I wanted to shape the worlds and change lives with the power of my words. Today I’d like to express my profound gratitude to every person who has touched my life in this process and shaped this book—you have all made my dream.

To my wonderful agent, Peter Knapp, who pulled me through the doors and set me on this incredible journey, and continues to be a champion in every way. Thank you for changing my life on that dreary gray November morning in Beijing.

To my incredible editor, Krista Marino, whose razor-sharp mind and pen have caught all the plot holes and fashion faux pas in this book—I am so blessed to be working with you. You continue to push me with every revision to make this book into the best version of itself. I’m (selfishly) glad you missed your flight to Paris last December and I got to have that second call with you.

To Delacorte Press—visionary publisher Beverly Horowitz and assistant editor extraordinaire Monica Jean, publishers Barbara Marcus and Judith Haut, and the entire team at Random House Children’s Books, who have already made me feel like a part of this giant, amazing family: Felicia Frazier and Mark Santella in sales; Angela Carlino, Alison Impey, Ray Shappell, Regina Flath, and Ken Crossland in design; fearless copyeditors Colleen Fellingham and Alison Kolani and managing editor Tamar Schwartz (who will probably have to copyedit this paragraph again—I’m so sorry); Tracy Heydweiller, production manager; Mary McCue and Dominique Cimina in publicity; the amazing marketing team, John Adamo, Jenna Lisanti, and Kelly McGauley; Kate Keating, Elizabeth Ward, and Cayla Rasi in digital marketing; and Adrienne Waintraub, Lisa Nadel, and Kristen Schulz in school and library marketing. This book exists thanks to all of you!