Courting Darkness: A Thrilling Young Adult Fantasy Combining Romance with the Deadly Intrigue of the French Court (Courting Darkness duology, 1) - Hardcover

LaFevers, Robin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0544991192 ISBN 13: 9780544991194

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2019

Synopsis

First in a duology, this darkly thrilling page-turner set in the world of the best-selling His Fair Assassin series is perfect for fans of THRONE OF GLASS, RED QUEEN, and GAME OF THRONES. Told in alternating perspectives, when Sybella discovers there is another trained assassin from St. Mortain’s convent deep undercover in the French court, she must use every skill in her arsenal to navigate the deadly royal politics and find her sister in arms before her time—and that of the newly crowned queen—runs out. 

When Sybella accompanies the Duchess to France, she expects trouble, but she isn’t expecting a deadly trap. Surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, Sybella searches for the undercover assassins from the convent of St. Mortain who were placed in the French court years ago.

Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she no longer knows who she is or what she’s supposed to be fighting for. When she discovers a hidden prisoner who may be of importance, she takes matters into her own hands.

As these two worlds collide, the fate of the Duchess, Brittany, and everything Sybella and Genevieve have come to love hangs in the balance. 

Two trained assassins. One treacherous court. Who can they trust but each other?

• Dual POV: Follow two deadly assassins on a collision course—one on a desperate search for an ally, the other losing herself in a web of lies.
• Sisters in Arms: Sybella knows another assassin is hidden in the French court, but finding her in a nest of vipers could be a fatal misstep for them both.
• Medieval France Setting: Immerse yourself in the treacherous, glittering world of the 15th-century French court, where a single wrong word means death.
• Dark Fantasy: Trained from childhood to serve the God of Death, these heroines must rely on both their lethal skills and their fragile faith to survive.

About this title

About the Author

Robin LaFevers, author of the New York Times best-selling His Fair Assassin books, was raised on fairy tales, Bulfinch’s mythology, and nineteenth-century poetry. It is not surprising that she grew up to be a hopeless romantic. She was lucky enough to find her one true love, and is living happily ever after with him in California. Visit her online at robinlafevers.com and on Twitter @RLLaFevers. 

Reviews

Gr 8 Up{amp}mdash;Fans of the author's "His Fair Assassins" trilogy will welcome the first installment of this duology that continues the story of Sybella (daughter of Mortain, god of Death) and introduces the new assassin Genevieve. While Sybella, with the help of her beloved Beast, is trying to protect her younger sisters from becoming victims of their incestuous brother Pierre, Genevieve uses her skills to protect the newlywed Duchess of Brittany from the wiles of the French court. The alternating narratives converge in the final chapter, preparing readers for the sequel. As with the original series, LaFevers leads the audience on a lightning-paced chase through a story of adventure, romance, and ever-deepening medieval intrigue. As stated in the author's preface, both thoroughly developed female protagonists are models for young women{amp}ndash;individuals of strength and power who may struggle with their choices but manage to maintain a sense of self. Both must sort their way through false and genuine relationships, navigating the alliances and betrayals of the deadly royal politics that threaten to destroy them. Using a compressed time line, but with historical details and personages true to the era of the final conflict of the French-Breton War, the author creates a believable backdrop for her invented tale. VERDICT A first-purchase gem of historical fantasy for high school and public libraries that will delight fans and engage newcomers.{amp}mdash;Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Prologue

Sybella

Rennes, Brittany
November 1489

As I stand on the battlements of the besieged city, looking out at the disarray before me, it is clear the god of Death has taken to the field. While this could be said of any battle'death and war are old friends, after all'today He rides a black horse, a pale-haired rider hunkered down in front of Him.
     Annith. The most skilled of all of Death's handmaidens and the sister of my heart.
     She has done her part to avert this war'taken her shot using the last of the arrows forged by the gods, which flew as straight and true as if guided by their own hand. But now the French have seen her. Understand that it was she who shot at their king. And even though he is unharmed'harming him was never the intent'they are on her like jackals on a rotting carcass.
     'reload!' calls out Aeva, one of the dozen followers of Saint Arduinna who stand beside me along the ramparts.
     Death and Annith ride hard for the gate, Mortain covering her with His body'a body from which four arrows protrude'protecting her life with His own. No, not His own, for He is the god of Death, I remind myself. But Father Effram's warning has taken root in my heart.
     'my lord, you do know what will happen if you choose to involve yourself in mortal affairs, do you not?'
     The French archers release a second volley of arrows. As one, the Arduinnites and I return fire. But our arrows are too late. Mortain is hit yet again, taking two more to His side. Annith twists in the saddle, trying to hold onto Him.
     It does not work, and they plummet to the ground. Annith begins crawling toward Mortain under yet another shower of French arrows. By Fate or chance, one of them buries itself in Death's chest, and I feel the pain of it as if it comes from my own. Ice-cold fingers of dread trail down my back before wrapping themselves around my heart.
     As a lone hound brays in the distance, I shove away from the battlements and race down the stairway to the gate. More hounds join the first, raising their voices in an unholy lamentation. For a moment, the world hangs suspended, like a drop of sap oozing from a tree, and in that moment I know. The god of Death'my father'is gone. He has passed from this world.
     By the time I reach the gate, the French have fallen back, as if even they sense the magnitude of this moment. Nuns from the convent of Saint Brigantia swarm toward the fallen Mortain as Annith throws herself on his body, weeping. As much as I am hurting, she will be even more so.
     Before I can reach them, a laugh rings out'an incongruous, joyful sound in the solemn stillness.
     Puzzled, Death reaches for his chest, his hand coming away red with blood. Although I am half a bowshot away, I hear him say, 'I am alive."
     It feels as if the earth I am standing on gives a dizzying spin.
     He is alive. But even as far away as I am, I can see that he is no longer Death.
     A great chasm opens inside me, a dark yawning maw that threatens to swallow me whole. If Death no longer walks amongst us, then what purpose am I to serve? What use will there be for my dark talents and skills?
     I fear the answer was writ long ago, when I was born into the family that raised me. The family that nearly killed me and drove my mother into Death's arms.
     And that answer terrifies me far more than death ever has.

Chapter 1

Genevieve

Cognac, France
November 1489

I was born in the upstairs room of an ancient roadside tavern, a group of common whores acting as midwives. My mother, too, was a whore, although perhaps not so very common. Would an ordinary woman invite Death to her bed on a dare?
     I emerged covered in slime and blood, my face'?indeed, my entire body'?as blue as a wild hyacinth. Hushed whispers and murmurs of sympathy followed the horrified silence my arrival caused, until Solange, the oldest among them, grabbed me from my mother's slippery hands and swatted my backside.
     Nothing. I did not cry or whimper or even draw breath. But old whores are as wise as old cats, and Solange did not give up. She bent down to place her wrinkled lips on mine, and blew.
     According to my mother, my chin quivered, a fist curled.
     Solange blew again, her determined breath somehow shoving away the cold hands of my father as He reached for me.
     I drew a deep breath of my own after that, followed by a lusty cry. The women thought me a miracle, moved that one had been visited upon them just as if they were the Magdalena herself.
     All except my mother, who knew precisely who she'd invited into her bed nine months earlier. It wasn't until I was four years old and clutched at her hand as she headed up the stairs with her night's customer that my parentage was confirmed. "His heart," I whispered into her lowered ear as I rubbed my small chest. "It's beating strangely."
     Less than an hour later, he was dead.
     It is that same panicked beating that has brought me to the lowest levels of the castle today'?a heartbeat as close and intimate as if it is beating against my own ribs.
     I follow the deep ba-bump through the narrow, twisting corridors of the dungeons, stopping when a gaping black hole appears at my feet. The darkness that oozes up through the metal grate is as thick and solid as a coiled snake.
     At first, I think it a hatch to the river that runs nearby. Or perhaps'?wrinkling my nose'?the sewer. Until the next heartbeat reverberates through me, one long, deep ba-bump. I never feel the heartbeats of others unless they are close to dying. That is when I finally understand the nature of this pit.
     It is an oubliette.
     A dungeon designed specifically for those who do not even warrant the mercy of a clean death.
     Nameless dread that cannot be explained by the presence of death thrums through me. My hand clenches. I should turn and walk away. Return to the sumptuous, brightly lit rooms of the castle proper.
     I am getting ready to do just that when the heartbeat stops. The pressure in my chest grows, stretching against my ribs, seeping into the very marrow of my bones. Trepidation and despair sweep through me, as if the world itself has just been torn in two.
     And then the pressure stops. Is simply gone, like the passing of the wind.
     'Who's there?"
   

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0544991192
• ISBN 13: 9780544991194
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512