Keep reading for your sneak peek at one of the first scenes of the A Landscape of Shadows sequel!

The twins went up to Lunaro’s living quarters above the store. It was a spacious, bright set of rooms, with the no-nonsense utility that was Lunaro’s personality. Solara took a seat at his round breakfast table while he put a teapot on the stove.

“A serious enough concussion will affect the gift,” he said. “How’s your head in regard to that?”

“Aching,” she admitted. “Every thought feels like a hot blade through my skull. It’s getting better, though. Yesterday, it was unbearable. Should I be worried?”

“About long-term damage?” Lunaro leaned against the cabinets, his thoughtful frown returning. “I couldn’t say. If it’s unaffected but painful now, I imagine the pain recedes with the rest of the concussion effects, and you should probably be fine. Telling you to be cautious is like telling the wind to die down, but you might try avoiding the noisiest places while the pain settles.”

“Places like here?” she said wryly.

Lunaro smiled, but the amusement didn’t soften the stern look in his eyes. “Yes, and the third ring in general. I might not have the exact statistics to back my math, but I think we can both agree you’ve only been getting stronger, Sol. Your reach just keeps… reaching.”

“The girl I helped yesterday,” Solara began.

“Yes, I’ve heard about that, too,” he said.

She shook her head, which aggravated the headache, so she laid her head on the table in the cushion of her arms. “Am I the only topic of conversation in this place?”

“People usually come fishing, hoping I’ll give more details to whatever outlandish versions of a tale they’ve been told,” Lunaro said. “I’ve not heard anything about your wildflower yet, so that should be interesting.”

The pounding eased, and Solara lifted her head to watch Lunaro prepare her cup of tea. “Can I ask you something?”

Lu brought her the glass cup and then sat across from her, eyebrows lifted in invitation.

“Do I scare you?” Solara said.

Lu snorted. He supplied the answer in thought and word simultaneously. “The people in this city have been ruled by one tyrant after another, and that’s why they synonymize power with evil. I’ve known you for every second of my entire life. You’re certainly capable of being terrifying. I’m not denying that. But I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of your gift. You’ve done nothing but help people and mind your own business. Mostly. What more could be expected of you?”

Solara hadn’t realized how badly she wanted that practical response until she heard it. She loved Tessan with every fiber of her being, but he’d always been leery of her gift. He didn’t trust psychic ability; it was nothing personal.

Lunaro watched her carefully. “You’re worried about what Agathe said.”

Solara shrugged and sipped her tea.

Lunaro tilted his chair backward, balancing it carefully on two legs. “Maliah and her mother were in here the other day. Lady Rankin hates the air I breathe, but it’s fashionable to come here, so of course she comes. But that school that she’s shipping Mal off to? Gilthein?”

The name in his thoughts conjured the images of the texts he’d read regarding the school, of a stately castle on a cliff with a picturesque village below.

“It’s one of three schools,” he said. “Gilthein, Coppenheim, and the Astra. Gilthein has become a fashionable place more concerned with politics and marriages, but Coppenheim and the Astra remain institutions focused on the study of the gift.” Lunaro paused, let his words sink in. “You’re of a lot of interest to them.”

Solara set her cup down. “Interest?”

Lunaro nodded slowly. “Faisal has been meaning to talk to you about this.”

If Solara’s skull wasn’t on the verge of splitting already, she would have spoken to Faisal. The psychic bond she shared with the famed Lord Casarriba – former most powerful psychic anyone had ever known – was different from any other because of its depth. They were never farther apart than a thought. Their past was scandalous on the surface, and one of the Diadem’s favorite rumors was that Solara had been and remained Faisal’s personal prostitute. For propriety’s sake and to spare Tessan some headache, Solara tried not to be obvious about how deep her bond with Faisal ran.

“You’re fascinating,” Lu said. “So of course anyone involved in the study of the mind would be curious.” He paused again. “Faisal’s less than thrilled about their questions, but he doesn’t think it’s concerning yet.”

Faisal had spies in what seemed like every corner of the world, and he had probably been gathering information before he bothered Solara with the details.

She sipped her tea again. “Where’s your little shadow?” she said. “I see her without you, but I never see you without her.”

“Aliss would have some choice names for you if she heard you call her that,” Lunaro said. “She was furious that she didn’t get to go on your adventure yesterday.”

Everything about yesterday had been disturbing, and Solara wished she could scrub it out of her mind. Naiji was rescued, and the dream was silent, and it still made no sense how she had sensed her if she was a stone mind. Solara’s thoughts were like a flaming baton twirling, and she shuddered and shook her head. “Do you have my book?”

Lunaro might not have been able to hear her every thought, but he could see her need to talk about mundane things all the same. “Which one? You have half a dozen books ordered.”

Solara finished her cup, and she looped her arm through his as they left the apartment. “Any of them,” she said. She had at least a dozen books in a stack in the anteroom awaiting her attention and a few more in the drawer of her nightstand. There was no way on earth she’d ever be able to read them all, but it was comforting to have them nearby.

Lu smiled. “It’s not your job to singlehandedly keep me in business, Lady Solara.”

Violo waited where they’d left him, book in hand, but he quickly snapped it shut and came to attention. “A messenger arrived with a note from Ms. Agathe,” he said. “I’ll spare you the profanity, but she was not pleased you didn’t report for your bandage changing.”

Lunaro and Solara laughed in unison. Solara’s laughter was cut short by the thought that rose above the noise of the other patrons.

This city will wreck her. Her only legacy will be the wails of the loved ones she leaves behind.

There was no malice in the thought. None of the interminable smugness she was used to. Just genuine sadness.

Solara scanned the faces of the people on the patio. Those who watched her quickly turned their attention back to their pastries and conversations, but there was a heaviness in the air that was their lingering thoughts.

There’s only so much one woman can survive.

With a head wound like that, her gift will wane, and that edge was the only thing keeping her alive.

We’ll watch her die. Sooner or later, she’ll crumble.

“Sol?” Lu said.

It was automatic to pull a smile onto her face, even when she knew it fooled neither of her companions. “Nothing,” she said. “Vi, let’s go home.”