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need them far more than they need you. The
only card you have to play is your heritage—
and that they seem to have rejected, even with
the skirmish. So how do we make it vital for
them? How do you prove that they need their
last living queen, the last of the Crochan
bloodline?” He contemplated it. “There is also
the prospect of peace between your peoples,
but you ...” He winced. “You’re no longer
recognized as Heir. Any bargaining you might
have as a Blackbeak would be on behalf of
only you and the Thirteen, not the rest of the
Ironteeth. It wouldn’t be a true peace treaty.”
Manon finished with her boots and lay
back on her bedroll, sliding the blanket over
her as she stared up at the tent’s low ceiling.
“Did they teach you these things in your glass
castle?”
“Yes.” Before he’d shattered that castle
into shards and dust.