{"product_id":"the-cruelest-mercy-isbn-9781984835246","title":"The Cruelest Mercy","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this sequel to \u003ci\u003eThe Kinder Poison\u003c\/i\u003e—which \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e magazine proclaimed a \"delicious high-stakes adventure\"—the magical kingdom of Orkena is on the brink of war, and the only person who can save it is Zahru, the girl they once doomed to death.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter surviving the Crossing, Zahru has sworn off adventures. While Crown Prince Jet navigates the looming threat of war, she's content to simply figure out what the future holds for them. But they're dealt a devastating blow when prince Kasta returns with a shocking claim: he's the true winner of the Crossing and the rightful heir, and he bears the gods' mark as proof. Even more surprising—he's not the only one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSomehow, Zahru possesses the very same mark, giving her equal right to the throne. The last thing she wants is to rule beside her would-be executioner, but she can't let Orkena fall into his merciless hands. So Zahru, Jet, and their allies must race against the clock to find a way to stop Kasta, because once he's crowned, there's no telling what horrors he'll unleash to win the war. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eZahru will do whatever it takes to keep Kasta from taking the throne...but to stop a villain, is she willing to become one herself?\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eTHE CRUELEST MERCY\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e★ \"In this charming, well-rounded follow-up to \u003ci\u003eThe Kinder Poison\u003c\/i\u003e, Zahru’s entertaining, funny narrative voice continues to engage and balance out the otherwise heavier tone of a story that deals with power dynamics, dark magic, horrific betrayals, and social injustice and that offers a thoughtful examination of just what a ruler should be willing to sacrifice for the greater good. A fantastically rewarding sequel.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eTHE KINDER POISON\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e★ \"Mae has crafted a fascinating world with a unique magic structure that is wholly believable because of the vibrant characters within it. With characters to love, to hate, and to love to hate, plus a plot full of adventure skillfully woven with suspense, this is a must-purchase.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eSLJ\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e★ \"Zahru’s unexpectedly humorous inner voice, the rich worldbuilding full of political intrigue, a slow-burning romance, and a fantastic set of well-developed characters (both friends and foes) mark this exciting and refreshing tale of power and accountability. A funny, rewarding story for fans of optimistic tales with a bite.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Kinder Poison\u003c\/i\u003e delivers a deadly dose of danger and ancient magic in a cleverly penned fantasy, perfect for fans of \u003ci\u003eAn Ember in the Ashes\u003c\/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003eThree Dark Crowns\u003c\/i\u003e. Like a coiled snake, it’s full of wicked surprises.” \u003cb\u003e—Colleen Oakes, bestselling author of the Queen of Hearts series\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A heartfelt, magical tale that swept me away like a desert storm.” \u003cb\u003e—Brenda Drake, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThief of Lies\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A captivating tale of duty versus dreams, woven through with a unique system of magic and a push-pull romance that will have you demanding the sequel. Magically seductive!” \u003cb\u003e—Lori Goldstein, author of \u003ci\u003eScreen Queens\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBecoming Jinn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The best fantasy I’ve read in years. \u003ci\u003eThe Kinder Poison\u003c\/i\u003e will grip you from the very first page and refuse to let go, sweeping you into an unforgettable adventure.” \u003cb\u003e—Chelsea Bobulski, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eRemember Me\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"A thrilling trip across sandswept dunes with a shocking ending that points to a dramatic sequel.\"\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e —BCCB\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"A great cross-country race, sibling rivalry, magic gifts (or lack thereof), and unlikely love all come together in a delicious stew of adventure.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooklist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"The engaging cast stands out, especially the antagonists, whose well-developed backgrounds ensure sustained narrative tension. Zahru’s amusing mental dialogue and nascent romance complement the fast-paced plot, resulting in an entertaining duology opener.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e —Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eNatalie Mae \u003c\/b\u003eis an ex-programmer, a dark chocolate enthusiast, and an author of young adult novels. She has also been a freelance editor and a Pitch Wars mentor, and she feels it notable to mention she once held a job where she had to feed spiders. When not writing, she can be found wandering the Colorado wilderness with her family. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @ByNatalieMae, and online at nataliemaebooks.com.\u003cp\u003e“Well, that brings me to my next point. I was wondering if . . . that is, if you want to, and you definitely don’t have to, but I thought maybe you’d be interested, or maybe you’d want to go home, but in case you didn’t—­”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy own nerves build, and I almost shake him. “Jet, \u003ci\u003ewhat\u003c\/i\u003e?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe inhales and reaches into his tunic pocket, and panic jolts through me as I realize this is starting to look a lot like a courtship proposal. By which two people would make a relationship official, and very public. Except, as I reflected just a moment ago, what Jet and I have is barely a ship. This is a friendship; this is two people who survived something horrible and thought it might be nice to kiss this person sometime and see what happens, except I know the royals like to move ridiculously fast—­\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe pulls his hand from his pocket. But where I dreaded there might be a couples’ necklace, instead a wide silver armband shines in his palm. “Will you be my advisor?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Oh, thank the gods,” I say, relieved that maybe we’re on the same page after all. Jet looks slightly concerned by my reaction, and I clear my throat. “I mean, yes. Maybe? What would I need to do, exactly . . . and why is there jewelry?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJet snorts. “What did you think I was going to ask you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nothing! Absolutely nothing, I just like to make things awkward—­ What were you about to say I’d do?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJet snickers, likely putting together exactly what my assumption was, and holds up the band. “There’s jewelry because this is what all advisors wear to display their station. It’ll give you access to nearly anyplace I can go in the palace. There’s a symbol here, see?” He shows me a golden lantern stamped into one side. “You’d be on a team, helping me make decisions about things like taxes and laws and how they would affect people.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI blink. “You’re going to put me in charge of laws?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe gives me a look. “Don’t discount what you can do. You’re my best eyes and ears for how to help the working classes. I’ve also asked Melia and Marcus, who’ve agreed to stay, bless them, and I’ll likely pull in a top scientist, and one of my father’s advisors, too. Your help would be invaluable in so many ways.” His smile turns clever, and he nudges my arm. “I also rather like having you around, you know, in general. Melia tries, but no one can throw out demeaning compliments quite like you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI nod. “You do make it easy sometimes.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Is that a yes?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI pluck the armband from his hand, weighing my potential responsibilities in my palm. This would mean decidedly not returning to a normal life, with the problems with Wyrim just beginning and all the pressures this job would entail. Already Jet has had to make decisions that have no happy outcome, like choosing his life over his brother’s. There would be a \u003ci\u003elot\u003c\/i\u003e to learn—­about politics and the court, trade and taxes, and I know there would be days I’d long for simpler times at the stable. Not that all my work is easy there, either, but at least my decisions don’t determine the fate of \u003ci\u003ekingdoms\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut it wouldn’t all be stress. I could see Jet and Marcus and Melia whenever I liked. I would never again worry about what would happen to me after my magic fades, when I’d otherwise be assigned to various jobs around the country, separated from my family, until I served Orkena my full sixty summers. And instead of wishing laws like that would change . . . I could be the one behind the changes. I could help other Whisperers in a way that would actually matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich feels like the perfect ending for my story . . . and maybe the beginning of something greater.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI turn the wide band, feeling oddly shy. “Can my father live here?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Absolutely. And Hen and her mother, too, if they want. Why do you think I made sure Hen’s job was here?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEver the strategist, in all the best ways. “Then yes. Definitely.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis eyes shine bright as bronze. “Yes?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Someone’s got to keep you in check.” I clasp on the armband and tap it with a finger. “I’m also going to need a list of all the places this can get me into.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe pulls a small scroll and a miniature quill from his pocket. “I’ll work on that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI snicker. “You don’t have to do it \u003ci\u003eright now\u003c\/i\u003e. Aren’t you supposed to be meeting the priests soon?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There’s only a hundred or so places to list. And it’s not like I haven’t been late to palace meetings before.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI freeze in adjusting the armband. “Wait, you’re being serious? And what do you mean ‘been late before’? When are you supposed to meet the priests?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJet glances at the water clock on a golden end table. “Ten minutes ago?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI grab his wrist. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Do you know who gets blamed for these things in the stories? \u003ci\u003eThe new advisor!\u003c\/i\u003e We are leaving, right now. I’m not being dragged behind a horse or hung from my toes or whatever it is you people do to disappointing servants.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe chuckles. “Those punishments are archaic, and you are most definitely \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e a servant—­”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA knock sounds on the door. “\u003ci\u003eDommel\u003c\/i\u003e,” a man says. “May we come in?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJet grins and pulls gently from my grasp. “Ah. See? If you wait long enough, the priests come to you.” He looks to the doors. “Enter.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it’s like a terrible flashback to one of the worst moments of my life: in walks the grumpy priest who deemed Kasta’s knife mark on my wrist divine, followed by his haughty young apprentice, who still looks like a paler, meaner version of him. Except this time, instead of glaring down her nose at me, her gaze drops to my chest. Where her eyes widen in recognition at the vivid red scar the sacrificial knife left over my heart. And I again begin to question my life decisions. It seemed like such a good idea this morning, when Hen and I were getting ready, to choose a \u003ci\u003ejole\u003c\/i\u003e with a particularly low neckline—­in this case, one cut almost to my navel—­as I know the nobility will ask about the knife’s scar whether they can see it or not, and I’m determined to show them it belongs to me and not the boy who made it. That’s still my plan, but I’ll admit the staring is getting awkward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe apprentice drops to one knee . . . and raises her fingertips to her forehead, like she would for a Mestrah.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eGudina\u003c\/i\u003e,” she says, the light gleaming off her blonde hair. “It’s an honor to be in your presence.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eGudina: Holy One\u003c\/i\u003e. I glance uneasily at Jet, and at the grumpy priest, who—­impossibly—­is not regarding me with even a hint of a sneer. Well, maybe there’s a little bit of a grimace. But he looks like he’s trying very hard not to, which is still an improvement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Living Sacrifice.” The priest dips his head. “My honor as well.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis apprentice rises, keeping her eyes on the floor. It’s only after the priest has turned to Jet that I realize they addressed me before addressing the crown prince. Which Jet warned me this morning might happen, at least until he’s crowned, because that’s how the priests scrambled to explain my survival at the end of the Crossing: as divine intervention. Apparently they’ve even gone so far as to claim the girl I was actually \u003ci\u003edid\u003c\/i\u003e die on the end of the sacrificial knife, and that a goddess returned in my place.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHiding my identity as the Living Sacrifice was easy enough in Kystlin, where I was just one more nameless refugee. But tonight that ends.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Perhaps you missed our summons, \u003ci\u003edommel\u003c\/i\u003e.” The priest gives Jet a look like he knows that isn’t the case. “But it’s time to get dressed, and then the Mestrah would like to go over a few final ceremonial details. \u003ci\u003eGudina\u003c\/i\u003e, are you sure you wouldn’t like to watch from the royal dais?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI almost laugh. “Gods, no.” I may be here to make this scar mine, but the last thing I want is to be studied like a piece of art for the better part of an hour. I realize too late this is a very uncourtly way to respond, and hastily correct myself. “I mean, no. Thank you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJet pockets the scroll and quill. “Has the Materialist finished her alterations on my tunic?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ah.” The priest rubs his bald head. “I forgot about the hole. Alise, will you check on that immediately?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Of course, \u003ci\u003eadel\u003c\/i\u003e.” She bows and takes her leave.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There was a hole in your coronation tunic?” I ask. No wonder Jet wants the Royal Materialist to hire Hen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A purposeful one, though for an outdated reason.” Jet taps the top of his chest. “In a normal contest, the sacrificial knife would have created a mark here on the winning heir. A circle of Numet that proves they completed the sacrifice. Galena referenced old paintings for her coronation design, where the tunics used to open at the center to show it off. We reminded her there wasn’t a sacrifice. No mark.” Jet smiles. “Thank the gods.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Oh.” Dread prickles my arms, and I touch the wide necklace around my throat. “Right.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I need to ask her about the banquet tunic, too,” Jet says, this time to the priest as they start for the door. “But I suppose we could always draw a mark if needed, for the purposes of tradition . . . Zahru, are you coming?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey turn in the doorway. I haven’t moved. That dread climbs my throat now, thick as smoke.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yes!” I pipe. “I just . . . need to check my face.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“All right. We’ll be right outside.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI dart past the bed, suddenly grateful the room is so much more than a room. A washing basin waits inside a lavish en suite, and I catch my balance on its cold marble edge, panic shoving against my skull.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI steel myself and look up at the gilded mirror.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s not, it’s not, it’s not,” I mutter, raising shaking hands to the bronze necklace. Hen and I chose this piece not only because its gemmed flowers add color to the plain gold of my dress, but also because I still have a nasty bruise on my chest from the sacrificial knife, and this is the best way to cover it. So maybe it’s a little strange, now that I think about it, that this particular bruise never faded to green or yellow with the rest of my bruises, and that it’s closer to the base of my throat than to the knife’s scar. Or that Hen and I had just been joking about how it seemed to be taking on a shape, and we were going to start charging people to see it, like someone might for a slice of cheese that looks like Sabil’s face. Coincidence. No one in the world can possibly be this unlucky.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI lift the heavy gemstones, and my breath catches.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe deep scarlet of the swirling circle of Numet smiles back at me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Oh, no,” I whisper.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Razorbill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305274364133,"sku":"NP9781984835246","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781984835246.jpg?v=1767738885","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-cruelest-mercy-isbn-9781984835246","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}