by Vic James
‘She did,’ Abi rasped, her throat hoarse from the smoke.
‘And what about you?’ said Gavar Jardine. ‘You’re all bashed up, but that’s better than what they had planned for you. Come on, I’m getting you out of here, and away from this shitshow my family laid on.’
Gavar. What did this mean? Abi had never liked the boorish heir: he was too fond of the bottle and treated women despicably.
And yet he’d fetched Luke out of Millmoor, hadn’t he? At Daisy’s request. Was that what this was?
‘Did Daisy ask you to rescue me?’ Abi croaked, as the heir of Kyneston pulled the wreckage of the scaffolding off her as easily as a kid picking clothes off his bedroom floor.
‘Daisy? No, she doesn’t know a thing about all this. I had no idea you were the star of the show either, until I saw you up there just now. The fire was me. Sorry about that. It happens when I’m angry.’
‘And this made you angry? Wasn’t it all your family’s idea? Your father. Your wife. Your brother.’
She remembered what Jenner had done, the depth of his betrayal, and just for a moment wanted to close her eyes and tell Gavar Jardine to leave her, because nothing was fixable after this.
‘I’m not,’ Gavar said through gritted teeth, as he lifted a final piece of twisted metal and tossed it aside, ‘my family.’
Then he bent down and scooped her up carefully.
‘Wait,’ Abi said, urgently. ‘My brother. I thought I heard his voice.’
‘Your brother is at that madman’s castle. I’m sorry, Abigail, but we need to go while everyone’s still watching the circus that’s happening back there.’
‘Yes,’ she said, coughing, the last of her strength leaching from her. ‘Of course he’s not here. I’m being ridiculous.’
‘I’ll take you to your sister, if she’ll do?’
Daisy would certainly do. Abi’s heart sang at the thought of seeing her little sis again.
Gavar’s grip around her tightened as he strode through the wreckage of Gorregan like it was nothing at all.
Abi studied him. The past two months had been incomprehensible: from the moment Highwithel had suddenly reared out of the sea, to Jenner’s betrayal – still too raw even to consider. Being rescued by Gavar Jardine was merely one more thing that defied explanation.
‘Your family won’t be happy with what you did,’ she said.
‘My family has lost its senses,’ Gavar said. ‘As has everyone else, apparently. I’ve never seen anything more disgusting in my entire life. I’m not saying Meilyr and Dina were right. But I’m not being a part of whatever my father and Bouda think they’re doing.’
An ally, Abi thought. That was what Gavar Jardine was – or could be.
‘As Father keeps pointing out,’ the heir continued, digging a key from his pocket as he lowered Abi onto the saddle of a motorbike. ‘I have no idea how to run a country. But I’m pretty sure it’s not like this.’
‘Well,’ Abi croaked, ‘I have a few ideas.’
And Gavar Jardine snorted as he swung his leg over the bike behind her and kicked it into gear.
Abi felt the engine’s vibrations thrum through her. Then hair was in her eyes and she couldn’t see, as Gavar turned the motorbike into the thick of the crowd and roared away through the filthy streets of London.
Acknowledgements
To my agents, Robert Kirby, Ginger Clark and Jane Willis: treasured dream makers.
To my editors, Bella Pagan and Tricia Narwani: beloved book alchemists.
To the incredible inner circle at Pan Mac and Del Rey: Alice, Abbie, Phoebe, Jo, Kate, Lorraine, Emily, Julie, Keith, Ryan, Dave. The gloss of ‘sine qua non’ in the dictionary is a list of all your names.
To all those at Pan Macmillan and Random House who champion books to librarians, booksellers and readers of all kinds. This year I’ve learned how very much you do, and I am so grateful.
To my international editors and translators, for taking this series round the world with such style and enthusiasm, and sending me awesome translation questions.
To friends old and new: Hilary, Giles, Tanya, Taran, Rachel, Mark, Tim, Debbie, John, Mira, Nick, Kristina and so many more. Your support and enthusiasm means the world to me. So do you.
To Mike, Fiona, Jacques and Jay, for not letting me quit my ‘other dream job’. Paddy, Jeremy and Mark for patience and unfailing good humour on location and in the edit. (Greg, if you could write half of my next book that would be marvellous.)
To the readers who loved Gilded Cage, and the bloggers who use their time to give books exposure: you warm my heart. You are so appreciated.
And not least to my family: Mum, Jonathan and Dad. Sis-in-law Justine. Isabella and Rufus, at last you know what your auntie does! I’m so proud of you both.
TARNISHED CITY
Vic James is a current affairs TV director who loves stories in all their forms. Her programmes for BBC1 have covered the first one hundred days of Trump’s presidency, the 2016 US election and Brexit. She has also twice judged the Guardians Not the Booker Prize. Gilded Cage is her first novel, and an early draft won a major online award from Wattpad for most talked-about Fantasy. She has lived in Rome, Tokyo, and now London.
You can follow Vic on Twitter: @DrVictoriaJames
www.vicjames.co.uk
By Vic James
The Dark Gifts Trilogy
Gilded Cage
Tarnished City
Bright Ruin
First published 2017 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2017 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-2150-1
Copyright © Vic James Ltd 2017
Cover Images © Shutterstock
Design by Joanna Thomson
Pan Macmillan Art Department
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