The Invasion of the Tearling

“What happened to you?”


“I have been alive for more than three centuries. I have wished for death many times, but I cannot inflict it on myself. Only on others.”

Kelsea had backed up until her knees met the bed, and now she sat down, staring at him.

“Do not be frightened, Tear heir. I am dangerous, infinitely so, but I have no immediate business with you. My hatred lies east, with the Mort Queen. If you fail, I will succeed.”

He moved toward the fireplace, and Kelsea felt relieved, but just at the hearth, he turned back to her, his red eyes burning.

“I have no feeling, Tear heir, not for any living thing in this world. But at this moment, you have my gratitude, and perhaps even respect. Do not get in my way.”

“That depends on where your way leads you. Stay out of the Tearling.”

Finn’s smile widened. “I promise nothing. You have been warned.”

He retreated back into the fireplace, damping the flames, and Kelsea’s stomach knotted in anxiety as she watched him go. Finn’s form faded until there was nothing, only the sinking sense that she had not avoided Elyssa’s Bargain after all, that the deal she had just made might turn out to be even worse.

Too late now. It was nearly dawn. Kelsea wondered where Lily was now, what she was doing. Had they launched the ships? To where? How had Tear been able to protect his tiny kingdom of travelers from the collapsing world around them? The pre-Crossing earth had held more than twenty billion people, but no one had followed them to the New World. How had Tear gotten away?

“Only crossing,” Kelsea whispered again, savoring the words like a talisman. Finn had said that Tear’s jewel dealt in time; had Tear been able to see the future, anticipate obstacles? No, that was too simple. An undiscovered landmass in the middle of the Atlantic? That seemed unlikely, if not impossible. Yet they had sailed thousands of miles, crossing God’s Ocean to land on the western shores of the New World.

Time, Tear heir, time.

Finn’s voice echoed in her head, and Kelsea looked up, startled, as a vision took shape before her. There were no certainties here; there never were where her sapphires were concerned. But she thought she understood, if only dimly, what had happened. Tear’s people had traveled thousands of miles across the ocean, yes, but the real journey was not in distance.

The real Crossing was time.

AN HOUR LATER, cleaned up and dressed, Kelsea went to Arliss’s office, where he handed her a sheet of paper without comment. She turned it over and found, charmed, that Arliss had taken some pains with his handwriting, pushing his normally straggling letters into upright legibility. He hadn’t waited for her approval of the language; beside him was a steadily growing stack of copies.

Bill of Regency

Her Majesty, Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, seventh Queen of the Tearling, hereby relinquishes her office and places it in the hands of Lazarus of the Mace, Captain of the Queen’s Guard, his heirs and assigns, to act as Regent of Her Majesty’s Government. Should Her Majesty die or become incapacitated while this Bill of Regency is in effect, the aforementioned transfer of office shall become permanent and the Regent shall be declared ruler of the Tearling. All acts by the Regent will be taken in Her Majesty’s name and according to Her Majesty’s laws—

“That’s good,” Kelsea muttered. “I forgot to tell you that.”

—but any such acts may be repudiated by decree of Her Majesty upon resumption of her throne.

Kelsea looked up at Arliss. “A resumption clause?”

“Andalie told me to put it in.”

“How did Andalie know?”

“She just knew, Queenie, same as she always does.”

Kelsea looked back down at the bill.

At such time as Her Majesty may return and resume her throne, this Bill will be declared null and void. The Regent will relinquish all powers of office to Her Majesty, or Her Majesty’s heirs upon sufficient evidence.

Kelsea shook her head. “A resumption clause is a bad idea. It weakens Lazarus right out of the gate.”

“You need one, Queenie. Both Andalie and that little sibyl of hers say you’ll come back.”

She looked up, startled. “They do?”