Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows, #1)

by Devney Perry

Water dripped from the hem of my soaked dress, leaving a dotted trail as I tiptoed through the castle’s east-wing gallery. My heart raced, the rush from the cliff dive still coursing through my veins. I’d been sixteen years old when I made that jump for the first time. A group of servant boys had hiked that hill on a scorching summer afternoon, and I’d followed them out of curiosity. I’d watched them from a distance as, one by one, they leaped off the edge. By the time they’d all swam to the shore and retreated to the castle, I’d worked up the courage to approach the cliff. It had taken hours of assessing the drop before I’d finally made the jump. When I’d plunged beneath the cold water, kicking furiously for the surface, I’d vowed never again. But a week later, after a berating from the weapons master about my ineptitude at archery, I’d climbed that hillside. I’d claimed it as my own. In the moments when I needed to feel brave, to feel free and alive, that cliff was my salvation. Today wasn’t the first or last time I’d sneak into the castle waterlogged. My slippers were gone, stolen by the sea, and my bare soles squelched on the white marble floors as I crept through the deserted gallery.