Lady Smoke | Sebastian, Laura

Lange Beschreibung
The sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that was 'made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir' (Bustle), Lady Smoke is an epic fantasy about a throne cruelly stolen and a girl who must fight to take it back for her people.

The Kaiser murdered Theodosia's mother, the Fire Queen, when Theo was only six. He took Theo's country and kept her prisoner, crowning her Ash Princess--a pet to toy with and humiliate for ten long years. That era has ended. The Kaiser thought his prisoner weak and defenseless. He didn't realize that a sharp mind is the deadliest weapon.

Theo no longer wears a crown of ashes. She has taken back her rightful title, and a hostage--Prinz Soren. But her people remain enslaved under the Kaiser's rule, and now she is thousands of miles away from them and her throne.

To get them back, she will need an army. Only, securing an army means she must trust her aunt, the dreaded pirate Dragonsbane. And according to Dragonsbane, an army can only be produced if Theo takes a husband. Something an Astrean Queen has never done.

Theo knows that freedom comes at a price, but she is determined to find a way to save her country without losing herself.

Praise for Ash Princess:
'An emotionally complex, breathtakingly suspenseful series starter.'--Booklist

'A dark and spellbinding epic. . . . Brace yourself, because Theodosia Houzzara--wounded, driven, and deadly--is going to carve out a place for herself in your heart.' --Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

Rezensierung
Praise for the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series:

Sure to be one of the summer's most talked about YAs. . . . A darkly enchanting page-turner you won't be able to put down. Bustle

Tense and imaginative, this story of a diminished yet vengeful princess inciting a rebellion to recapture her rightful place of power strikes a timely chord. Ash Princess is a smart, feminist twist on a traditional tale of a fallen heroine, with plenty of court intrigue, love, and lies to sweeten the deal. Good luck putting this one down. Virginia Boecker, author of The Witch Hunter series

The story leaps and twists like a swordswoman, and its blade carves the characters anew and divides them against themselves. This searing page-turner is a compelling examination of the complexities of both evil and resistance. Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night

'Laura Sebastian has created a dark and spellbinding epic in Ash Princess. Brace yourself, because Theodosia Houzzara wounded, driven, and deadly is going to carve out a place for herself in your heart.' Sara Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

'Emotionally complex, breathtakingly suspenseful'-Booklist

'For fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy strong female protagonists, this book will be an easy sell. Theo is tough, honorable, and relatable in her emotions [and] Sebastian has built a beautiful and complex world.'-VOYA

'A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution...[and] Theo's first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy...[while] packed to the brim with intrigue.'-Kirkus Reviews

'Through unexpected allies and daring escape plans, [Theodosia's] trip from downtrodden princess to queen is an engaging one that fantasy fans will enjoy...[as well as] fans of The Selection series by Kiera Cass and The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.'-SLJ

'[Ash Princess] provides a window into the complexities of human interaction and emotion, familial tensions, and the false public face that is sometimes required in politics and at court...culminating in a climactic ending ripe for a sequel.'-Publishers Weekly

'Sebastian brings interest to Theodosia s character through her internal battle...and the threats she must navigate provide nail-biting tension....Readers will want to follow her into the coming revolution in a promised sequel.'-Bulletin

Buchausschnitt
Alone
 
 
The spiced coffee is sweet on my tongue, made with a generous dollop of honey. The way Crescentia always orders it.
 
We sit on the pavilion like we have a thousand times before, steaming porcelain mugs cradled in our hands to ward off the chill in the evening air. For a moment, it feels just like every time before, a comfortable silence hanging in the dark air around us. I ve missed talking to her, but I ve missed this, too--how we could sit together and not feel the need to fill the silence with meaningless small talk.
 
But that s silly. How can I miss Cress when she s sitting right in front of me?
 
She laughs like she can read my mind and sets her cup down on its saucer with a clatter that rattles my bones. She leans across the gilded table to take hold of my free hand in both of hers.
 
Oh, Thora, she says, her voice lilting over my false name like a melody. I missed you, too. But next time, I won t.
 
Before her words can make sense to me, the lighting overhead shifts, the sun growing brighter and brighter until she s fully illuminated, every awful inch of her. Her charred, flaking neck, burned black by the Encatrio I had her served, her hair white and brittle, her lips gray as the ersatz crown I used to wear.
 
Fear and guilt overwhelm me as the pieces fall into place in my mind. I remember what I did to her; I remember why I did it. I remember her face on the other side of the bars of my cell, full of rage as she told me she would cheer for my death. I remember the bars being scalding hot where she d touched them.
 
I try to pull my hand away but she holds it fast, her storybook-princess smile sharpening into fangs tipped with ash and blood. Her skin burns hot against mine, hotter even than Blaise s. It is fire itself against my skin, and I try to scream, but no sound comes out. I stop feeling my hand altogether and I m relieved for a second before I look down and see that it has turned to ash, crumbled to dust in Cress s grip. The fire works its way up my arm and down the other, spreading across my chest, my torso, my legs, and my feet. My head catches last, and the final thing I see is Cress with her monster s smile.
 
There. Isn t that better? Now no one will mistake you for a queen.
 
My skin is drenched when I wake up, cotton sheets tangled around my legs and damp with sweat. My stomach churns, threatening to spill, though I m not sure I ve eaten anything to spill, apart from a few crusts of bread last night. I sit up in bed, placing a hand on my stomach to steady it and blinking to help my eyes adjust to the dark.
 
It takes a moment to realize that I am not in my own bed, not in my own room, not in the palace at all. The space is smaller, the bed little more than a narrow cot with a thin mattress and threadbare sheets and a quilt. My stomach pitches to the side, rolling in a way that makes me nauseous before I realize it isn t my stomach at all--the room itself is rocking from side to side. My stomach is only echoing the motion.
 
The events of the last two days filter back to me. The dungeon, the Kaiser s trial, Elpis dying at my feet. I remember Søren rescuing me only to be imprisoned himself. As quickly as that thought comes to me, I push it away. There are a good many things I have to feel guilty about--taking Søren hostage cannot be one of them.
 
I m on the Smoke, I remember, heading toward the Anglamar ruins to begin to reclaim Astrea. I am in my cabin, safe and alone, while Søren is being kept in chains in the brig.
 
I close my eyes and drop my head into my hands, but as soon as I do, Cress s face swims through my mind, all rosy cheeks a