Breaking Stars (Book 2) by Jenna Van Vleet Page A

an order, he did not care to argue. He would remain in his chair until someone ordered him up. He had no appetite for food and wished only for sleep, but even the nights were filled with images of all he lost.
    By morning after his breaking, Nolen had worked everything from him, withholding much-needed healing to his back, but Gabriel would have told him with or without the healing. He spilled forth everything from the moment he first met Princess Robyn to the last time he had seen her. Nolen wanted to know the minutest details of his life, digging into Gabriel’s senses to learn every part of him. The Prince was now armed with a thousand facts to use against him, from information on Balien to Gabriel’s multiple past suicide attempts.
    Gabriel sat tucked back into a chair before his cold hearth. It had been two nights since Robyn’s death, and he was still submerged in mourning. He would have gone unwashed and unshaven, tucked into sleeping clothes in his bed if Nolen had not demanded he be presentable at all hours. He was clad in a pair of tight black trousers with silver scrollwork down the outside seams, and a black blouse with a high collar, thrown up, so he could hide behind it. Nolen held court that morning, and Gabriel was required to attend to show Nolen’s power. The Prince forced him to kneel beside the throne with his head drooped. By now the whole palace and half the City knew the Mage had broken. Gabriel did not care.
    His mother and father had rushed away at his bidding, and without Lady Aisling there, no one could stop Nolen from taking over his mother. Gabriel had not seen Queen Miranda since his breaking, but if she was still in the palace, she kept herself well secluded. His parents had not returned. He suspected they knew the conditions in Kilkiny, and kept far away. Nolen had ordered both to be captured if they set foot in Anatoly City.
    A servant knocked and let herself in, hefting a bundle of cut wood over a shoulder. Gabriel did not meet her eyes, staring at the void twin chair before him. It would always be void, for his companion was dead. He did not even know what Nolen had done with her body. He expected to see her displayed in the courtyard or see her fair, marred head posted on a pike where all could view.
    The servant smiled in his direction and bent over to start the fire. Once, he could have lit it with the flick of his fingers, but that was a long time ago.
    As she left, a knock sounded on the door, and it swung inward to reveal Marya, the Mistress of the Kitchens. She held a silver tray between her robust arms filled with covered plates that steamed around the edges. Her red face was cheery, but she looked wary and worried.
    “I thought I’d bring you supper myself so I might see that handsome face of yours again,” she said gleefully in her deep, raspy voice as she set the tray beside him on a small table.
    He put his jaw in his hand and leaned his elbow on the armrest, staring into the fire without a word. ‘More likely to see if the rumors are true.’ She lifted silver domes and white napkins to reveal pumpkin soup with leeks and truffles, warm oat bread with a side of honey butter, and a small crock of peach crumble.
    Marya paused for only a moment when he did not accept her artwork and held a silver goblet before him. “They say the best ruby wine is the Dastanian grape, but few people talk of the silvers and pinks. The best silver wine comes from the south coast of Cinibar where the air is salty and the earth is crusty. The finest pinks come from the fertile Aidenmarian plains. Though, my favorites are the sweet golds, and they are right difficult to procure, but I had a few flasks tucked away.” She poured a dark yellow wine into his goblet and gave it a swirl. Peach and pear filled the air. “Do you know where the best golds come from? The lands of Jaden may not be the richest for crops, but the best grapes come from the hardest soil. Such it is with life, that the