The Princess of Ash novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: Marit's Bet

"I'll bet you a dress," said Marit, "that you can't hit that."

She pointed up with a sling.

Above us, in the high dark of the hatchery cavern, a clay disc whirled on a chain.

It swung around the roof beams in a great lazy circle.

We stood on a ledge of warm black rock with a drop of forty feet at our toes.

Below us hundreds of round stone nests glowed gold.

Each one held a clutch of eggs, and each egg gave off a faint heat.

I had slept three hours.

I had not spoken to Auren since the forge, and I had not decided whether I would.

"What dress?" I said.

"Any dress you like. If you hit it, I'll buy you the red silk from the Rivergate market."

"And if I miss?"

"You wear the green one I picked for you, to dinner, in front of the Council."

She said it with such relish that I laughed.

It came out of me like a cough, rusty from disuse.

Marit stared.

"Do that again."

"No."

"It was a good laugh."

"Give me the sling."

She handed it over.

I picked a smooth stone from the pile at my feet and weighed it.

Lord Hask had made me practise on running rabbits and moving doors.

I had hated every lesson and been perfect at all of them.

I swung the sling three times and let go.

The stone struck the disc dead center with a crack, and the clay burst into a hundred pieces.

Pieces rained on the nests below.

An egg wobbled, and somewhere in the shadows something squeaked.

"Oh, you cheat," Marit breathed.

"You absolute cheat."

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