Cast In Courtlight

Cast In Courtlight
Michelle Sagara

In Elantra, a job well done is rewarded with a more dangerous task.So after defeating a dark evil, Kaylin Neya goes before the Barrani High Court, where a misspoken word brings sure death. Kaylin’s never been known for her grace or manners, but the High Lord’s heir is suspiciously ill, and Kaylin’s healing magic is the only shot at saving him—if she can dodge the traps laid for her. …“Readers will embrace this compelling, strong-willed heroine. ”—Publishers Weekly

Praise for

MICHELLE SAGARA

and The Chronicles of Elantra series

Cast in Shadow

“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

“First-rate fantasy. Sagara’s complex characterizations

and rich world-building lift her above the crowd.”

—New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong

Cast in Courtlight

“Readers will embrace this compelling, strong-willed

heroine with her often sarcastic voice.”

—Publishers Weekly

“A fast-paced novel, packed with action and adventure …

integrating the conventions of police procedurals

with more fantastic elements.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

Cast in Secret

“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

“Remarkable … Filled with time-release plot threads and

intricate details, these books are both mesmerizing

and unforgettable. If you’re a fan of rich fantasy,

this is the series for you!”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews, Top Pick (4½ stars)

About the Author

MICHELLE SAGARA has written twelve novels since 1991, when her fi rst book, Into the Dark Lands, was published. She’s written a quarterly book review column for the venerable Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction for a number of years, as well as dozens of short stories (or novellas, to be more exact).

In 1986 she started working in an SF specialty bookstore, where she continues to work to this day. She loves reading, is allergic to cats (very, which means they crawl all over her), is happily married, has two lovely children, and has spent all of her life in her native Toronto—none of it on Bay Street.

She started reading fantasy almost as soon as she could read, and fell instantly in love with Narnia; her next fantasy discovery was Patricia McKillip’s Forgotten Beasts of Eld. She moved on to The Hobbit, which led to her discovery of the life-changing The Lord of the Rings.

Her greatest hope for her writing is that someone will read it and be moved by the same sense of magic and mystery that she fi nds in the books she loves.

She will talk about writing, bookselling and books forever if given a chance. You’ve been warned.

Cast In Courtlight

Michelle Sagara

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This is for Tanya and Fe, with gratitude for long years of friendship that involved phone calls about all of life’s little anxieties and triumphs, none begrudged.

Acknowledgments

The home team, again, came through: First and foremost Thomas, Daniel and Ross, who put up with my imaginative flights and figurative absences; John, Kristen, Jamie (affectionately referred to as His Majesty), Gary and Ayami, who do the same; and my mother and father.

The away team: For this book, my editor, Matrice, patient with my unusual inability to deal with outlines; my agent, Russ Galen; and of course, as always, Terry Pearson, who read it all a chapter at a time.

Thanks, guys.

CHAPTER 1

In the old days, before the Dragon Emperor—sometimes called the Eternal Emperor by those responsible for toadying—had invested the Halls of Law with the laws which governed the Empire, angry Dragons simply ate the idiots who were stupid enough to irritate them. Or, if they were unappetizing, burned them into a very slight pile of ash.

Ash had the advantage of requiring little to no paperwork.

Marcus Kassan, Sergeant for the Hawks—one branch of officers who served in the Halls of Law—stared gloomily at a pile of paperwork that, were it placed end to end, would loom above him. At over six foot, that was difficult. The desire to shred it caused his claws to flick in and out of the fur of his forepaws.