RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 5 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. Also by Marie Lu THE YOUNG ELITES LEGEND PRODIGY CHAMPION RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 6 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. A YOUNGYOUNG ELITESELITES NOVELNONOVEL MARIE LU ǯ Pǯ PutnamȂs ons RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 7 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. Adelina Amouteru When as a little irlǰ m¢ mother ould spend lon afternoons tellin me old foltalesǯ rememer one stor¢ particularl¢ ellǯ nce upon a timeǰ a reed¢ prince fell in love ith a iced irlǯ he prince had far more than he neededǰ ut it as never enouhǯ hen he re illǰ he visited the indom of the reat ceanǰ here the nder orld meets the livin orldǰ to arain ith oritasǰ the oddess of eathǰ for more lifeǯ hen she refusedǰ he stole her immortal old and fled to the surfaceǯ n reveneǰ oritas sent her dauhter aldoraǰ the anel of ur¢ǰ to retrieve himǯ aldora materiali£ed out of the sea foam on a armǰ storm¢ nihtǰ clad in nothin ut silver silǰ an achinl¢ eautiful phantom in the mistǯ he prince ran to the shore to reet herǯ he smiled at him and touched his cheeǯ RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 9 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. ȃhat ill ¢ou ive me in return for m¢ affectionǵȄ she asedǯ ȃ re ¢ou illin to part ith ¢our indomǰ ¢our arm¢ǰ and ¢our e elsǵȄ he princeǰ linded ¢ her eaut¢ and eaer to oastǰ noddedǯ ȃ n¢thin ¢ou antǰȄ he repliedǯ ȃ am the reat- est man in the orldǯ ven the ods are no match for meǯȄ o he ave her his indomǰ his arm¢ǰ and his e elsǯ he accepted his offerins ith a smileǰ onl¢ to reveal her true anel formȯseletalǰ finnedǰ monstrousǯ hen she urned his indom to the round and pulled him elo the sea into the nder orldǰ here her mother oritas as ait- in patientl¢ǯ he prince tried once aain to arain ith the oddessǰ ut it as too lateǯ n exchane for the old heȂd stolenǰ oritas devoured his soulǯ thin of this stor¢ no ǰ as stand ith m¢ sister on the dec of a tradin shipǰ looin to ard the shore here the cit¢-state of erroutas rises out of the mornin mistǯ omeda¢ǰ hen am nothin ut dust and indǰ hat tale ill the¢ tell aout meǵ nce upon a timeǰ a irl had a fatherǰ a princeǰ a societ¢ of friendsǯ hen the¢ etra¢ed herǰ so she destro¢ed them allǯ RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 10 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. City-State of Merroutas The Sealands RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 11 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. They were the flash of light in a stormy sky, the fleeting darkness before dawn. Never have they existed before, nor shall they ever exist again. —Unknown source on the Young Elites Adelina Amouteru I thin he miht e hereǯȄ Ȃm startled from m¢ thouhts ¢ m¢ sister iolettaȂs voiceǯ ȃ mmǵȄ murmurǰ loopin m¢ arm throuh hers as e ind our a¢ throuh a cro ded streetǯ Violetta purses her lips in a familiar expression of con- cernǯ he can tell Ȃm distractedǰ ut Ȃm rateful she decides to let it oǯ ȃ saidǰ thin he miht e hereǯ n the main suareǯȄ t is earl¢ evenin on the lonest da¢ of the ¢earǯ e are lost in the thic of a celeration in the cit¢-state of errou- tasǰ the ealth¢ǰ ustlin crossroads et een enettra and the amouran mpireǯ he sun has nearl¢ dipped elo the hori£onǰ and the three moons han lo and plumpǰ ripe olden ors suspended over the aterǯ erroutas is aliht ith festivities for the idsummer east of reationǰ the ŗ RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 1 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. start of a month of fastinǯ Violetta and ander throuh the throns of revelersǰ lost amid the celerationȂs raino of colorsǯ oth of us are dressed in amouran sils tonihtǰ our hair rapped up and our finers adorned ith ron£e rinsǯ People draped in asmine arlands are ever¢ hereǰ paced into the narro alle¢s and spillin out into the suaresǰ dancin in lon lines around domed palaces and athin templesǯ e al past ater a¢s s ollen ith caro-laden oats and uildins carved in old and silver ith thousands of repeatin circles and suaresǯ rnate tapestries han from alconies in the smo¢ airǯ oldiers pass us ¢ in small clustersǰ earin illo in sils instead of heav¢ armorǰ a moon-and-cro n emlem stitched onto their sleevesǯ he¢Ȃre not the nuisition xisǰ ut no dout the¢Ȃve received erenȂs orders to find us from across the seaǯ e steer clear of the soldiersǯ feel as if Ȃm in a ha£eǰ the celerations floatin around meǯ tȂs straneǰ reall¢ǰ to loo out at all of this o¢ǯ hat do do ith itǵ t doesnȂt feed m¢ ener¢ǯ nsteadǰ sta¢ silentǰ lettin Violetta uide us throuh the us¢ streetsǰ as return to m¢ dar thouhtsǯ ince leavin enettra three ees aoǰ have oen up to hispers at m¢ edside that fade a a¢ seconds laterǯ ther timesǰ the hushed voices tal to me hen no one else is aroundǯ he¢ are not al a¢s thereǰ and cannot al a¢s understand them even hen the¢ are speain to meǯ ut can al a¢s feel their presence linerin in the Ř RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 2 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. corners of m¢ mindǯ here is a lade thereǰ a rotation of sound and silenceǰ a lamp that urns lacǯ darǰ ro - in fireǯ his is hat the¢ sa¢DZ Adelina, why do you blame yourself for Enzo’s death? should have had etter control over m¢ illusionsǰ re- spond uietl¢ to the hispersǯ could have saved n£oȂs lifeǯ should have trusted the aers soonerǯ None of it was your fault, the hispers in m¢ head arueǯ You didn’t kill him, after all—it was not your blade that ended his life. So why are you the one cast out? You didn’t have to return to the Daggers—you didn’t need to help them rescue Raffaele. And still they turned on you. Why does everyone forget your good in- tentions, Adelina? Why feel guilty for something that isn’t your fault? ecause loved himǯ nd no he is oneǯ It’s better this way, the hispers sa¢ǯ Haven’t you always waited at the top of the stairs, imagining yourself as queen? ȃ delinaǰȄ Violetta sa¢sǯ he tus on m¢ arm and the hispers fade a a¢ǯ shae m¢ head and force m¢self to concentrateǯ ȃ re ¢ou sure heȂs hereǵȄ asǯ ȃ f not himǰ then another liteǯȄ eȂve come to erroutas to flee the nuisitionȂs pr¢in e¢es in enettraǯ t is the nearest place outside of enettran controlǰ ut eventuall¢ eȂll mae our a¢ south to the unlandsǰ far from their reachǯ ut e also came here for another reasonǯ ř RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 3 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. f ¢ou had heard stories aout onl¢ one oun liteǰ the¢ ould have een aout a o¢ named aianoǯ affaeleǰ the eautiful ¢oun consort ho as once m¢ friendǰ mentioned aiano durin m¢ afternoon trainin sessions ith himǯ ince thenǰ Ȃve heard his name on the lips of man¢ travelersǯ ome sa¢ he as raised ¢ olves in the dense forests of the mer slesǰ a tin¢ chain of islands far east of en- ettraǯ thers sa¢ he as orn in the hot unland deserts of omaccaǰ a astard raised ¢ anderin nomadsǯ eȂs rumored to e a ild o¢ǰ almost feralǰ dressed from head to toe in leavesǰ ith a mind and hands as uicsilver as a midniht foxǯ e appeared uite suddenl¢ several ¢ears aoǰ and has since avoided arrest from the nuisition xis do£ens of timesǰ for ever¢thin from illeal amlin to stealin the enettran ueenȂs cro n e elsǯ s the stories oǰ he can lure ¢ou straiht off a cliff and into the sea ith music from his luteǯ nd hen he smilesǰ his teeth shine icedl¢ rihtǯ houh e no he is a oun liteǰ no one no s for certain hat his po er isǯ e can onl¢ e sure that he as recentl¢ seen hereǰ in erroutasǯ f ere still the same irl from a ¢ear aoǰ efore ne had po ersǰ Ȃm not sure ould have the courae to search for such a notorious liteǯ ut then illed m¢ fa- therǯ oined the aer ociet¢ǯ etra¢ed themǰ and the¢ etra¢ed meǯ r perhaps it as the other a¢ aroundǯ can never e sureǯ Ś RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 4 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu. What I do no is that the aers are m¢ enemies no ǯ When ¢ouȂre all alone in a orld that hates and fears ¢ouǰ ¢ou ant to find others lie ¢ourselfǯ e friendsǯ Elite friendsǯ riends ho can help ¢ou uild ¢our o n societ¢ǯ riends lie aianoǯ “Salaam, lovel¢ amouran irlsǷȄ We enter another lare suare near the a¢ǯ ll alon the sides are food stalls ith steamin pots and street opera- tors in lon-nosed massǰ performin tale tricsǯ ne of the food vendors smiles hen e loo at himǯ is hair is hidden ehind a amouran rapǰ and his eard is dar and ell-trimmedǯ e o s to usǯ I touch m¢ o n head instinc- tivel¢ǯ ¢ silver hair is still short and scral¢ from m¢ at- tempt to cut it offǰ and it sta¢s hidden toniht ehind t o lon strips of old silǰ adorned ith a headdress of old tassels danlin aove m¢ ro sǯ I have oven an illusion over the scarred side of m¢ faceǯ o this manǰ m¢ pale lashes are lac and m¢ e¢es are fla lessǯ I lance at hat heȂs sellinǯ teamin pans of stuffed rape leavesǰ lam se ersǰ and arm flatreadǯ ¢ mouth atersǯ “Prett¢ irls from the homelandǰȄ he coos at usǯ I donȂt understand the rest of hat he sa¢sǰ other than “pleaseǰ comeǷȄ and “rea ¢our fastǯȄ I smile ac at him and nodǯ IȂve never een in a cit¢ so heavil¢ amouranǯ It almost feels lie comin homeǯ ś RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT.indd 5 4/30/15 4:17 PM RoseSociety_Sampler_Interior_PRINT Copyright © 2015 by Xiwei Lu.