Twin Crowns (Twin Crowns, #1)

by Catherine Doyle

Rose rolled to her feet. ‘I could have sworn Glenna said something about a curse when she died. Something about breaking the ice.’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t remember.’ ‘Never mind,’ said Wren. ‘You should turn your thoughts to your coronation tomorrow.’ Rose blinked at her in surprise. ‘Aren’t you going to fight me for it?’ ‘I don’t want it any more. Not without Banba.’ Not for the first time that day, Wren thought about what lay beyond the Sunless Sea. How long would it take the Gevrans to reach Grinstad and what would their wicked king do with her grandmother once he got home? Banba was a fighter. She had survived Lillith’s War and the howling isolation that came afterwards, living on the edge of a country determined to forget her, but for all the faith Wren had in her grandmother, she didn’t know if she would survive Alarik Felsing. If any witch possibly could. She sank on to the bed, the springs creaking as she scrubbed her hands through her hair. She was weary and angry and heartbroken, and the idea of ruling anything right now, even her own emotions, suddenly seemed like far too much work. ‘You can have your crown, Rose. Your throne. All of it. It’s meaningless to me now.’