The Diminished

The Diminished
Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole… yet some face the world alone.The singleborn.A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of these few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him.The diminishedWhen one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what’s left of her life in peace.As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.

In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole...yet some face the world alone.

The singleborn

A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of these few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him.

The diminished

When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what’s left of her life in peace.

As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.

KAITLYN SAGE PATTERSON grew up with her nose in a book outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When she’s not staring off into space and trying to untangle some particularly troublesome plot point, she can be found in the kitchen, cooking overly elaborate meals; at the barn, where she rides and trains dressage horses; or with her husband, spoiling their sweet rescue dogs. The Diminished is her first novel.

The Diminished

Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018

Copyright © Kaitlyn Sage Patterson 2018

Kaitlyn Sage Patterson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9781474074643

Praise (#u32bd4549-2432-517d-945f-61a820fc6dc7)

“Two fierce young people battle a fiery landscape and vicious foes in a race for freedom. I was glued to my seat!”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce

“Patterson’s debut novel has strong and imaginative world-building and complex characters. With a splash of swoony romance and a thrilling conclusion, readers will be clamoring for the sequel.”

—Zoraida Córdova, award-winning author of Labyrinth Lost and The Vicious Deep trilogy

“A fascinating and wholly original novel. Bo and Vi are fierce, complex characters, and I couldn’t devour their story fast enough!”

—Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Ruined

For everyone who’s ever felt diminished, and for Cody, for whom I’ve always been enough.

Contents

Cover (#u249501a9-d9b4-5f0a-afc4-c546f5470be6)

Back Cover Text (#u92d48565-b735-561c-8fbe-e5b8424bb3dd)

About the Author (#u75e41967-4c83-532c-a019-cc738fb4ee17)

Title Page (#u6f610fa7-73ef-5603-a318-8434caa1a593)

Copyright (#u84e505d0-b81c-56d2-a016-e3f77ada0f32)

Praise (#u0d40f3c7-582c-51b9-b948-45b83da1819d)

Dedication (#ua8b4dfe3-f187-5492-8926-4920fe835dbc)

PART ONE (#ub149661c-6e67-59fa-9ef7-1f5c0ccd4f33)

CHAPTER ONE (#u482bd754-50b6-5507-874b-232189415927)

CHAPTER TWO (#u96486c88-d47a-584d-8cbf-ea69f1597a3c)

CHAPTER THREE (#u58398ab9-1791-5de5-ad39-19d97753b1f5)

CHAPTER FOUR (#u095adf6d-26af-54dd-9644-1302c3c3f804)

CHAPTER FIVE (#u02bd1cda-2dd3-5b81-9b4a-876e672b69b4)

CHAPTER SIX (#ubf0a32aa-0f0a-5138-81f2-42efb2a33f8e)

PART TWO (#u40208382-bfa9-5c62-9f55-440675013dff)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#u50acaaa0-05ec-5754-9785-37838391c513)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)