Shadow and Bone

The Corporalnik from the skiff conferred with the guards at
the front of the tent, then she and Colonel Raevsky
disappeared inside. I waited, my heart racing, aware of the
whispers and stares behind me, my anxiety rising.
High above, four flags fluttered in the breeze: blue, red,
purple, and above them all, black. Just last night, Mal and his
friends had been laughing about trying to get into this tent,
wondering what they might find inside. And now it seemed I
would be the one to find out. Where is Mal? The thought kept
returning to me, the only clear thought I seemed to be able to
form.
After what seemed an eternity, the Corporalnik returned and
nodded at the captain, who led me into the Grisha tent.
For a moment, all my fear disappeared, eclipsed by the
beauty that surrounded me. The tent’s inner walls were draped
with cascades of bronze silk that caught the glimmering
candlelight from chandeliers sparkling high above. The floors
were covered in rich rugs and furs. Along the walls,
shimmering silken partitions separated compartments where
Grisha clustered in their vibrant kefta. Some stood talking,
others lounged on cushions drinking tea. Two were bent over a
game of chess. From somewhere, I heard the strings of a
balalaika being plucked. The Duke’s estate had been beautiful,
but it was a melancholy beauty of dusty rooms and peeling
paint, the echo of something that had once been grand. The
Grisha tent was like nothing I had ever seen before, a place
alive with power and wealth.
The soldiers marched me down a long carpeted aisle at the
end of which I could see a black pavilion on a raised dais. A
ripple of curiosity spread through the tent as we passed. Grisha
men and women stopped their conversations to gape at me; a
few even rose to get a better look.
By the time we reached the dais, the room was all but silent,
and I felt sure that everyone must hear my heart hammering in
my chest. In front of the black pavilion, a few richly attired
ministers wearing the King’s double eagle and a group of
Corporalki clustered around a long table spread with maps. At
the head of the table was an ornately carved, high-backed chair