Stepping back, he drew just the smallest drop of einai from the deep well he had to command, and hurled the great alabaster throne backward. It flew off the mountain then crashed down, smashing on the rocks below into bone-white rubble and dust.
EPILOGUE
THE PATCHWORK GULON padded through the ruins of the White Palace and down the long tunnels beneath, searching. Time had no meaning for the creature and it was scrupulous in its investigation of every chamber, every courtyard and corridor, working its way down through the layers of the mountain, undeterred by time or by infirmity.
When it found her at last, broken and long dead, lying in pitch-blackness at the root of the mountain, a place which would not be rediscovered by men for many centuries, it sniffed her ice-blonde hair and her black and silver uniform and realized at last that this was just a rotting corpse, no longer of use even as food.
It sat on its haunches and waited for a while, scratching occasionally. Then, undeterred, it followed the demands of its loyal little heart and padded away, hot on the trail of the woman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stella Gemmell has a degree in politics and is a journalist. She was married to the internationally acclaimed and bestselling fantasy novelist David Gemmell and worked with him on his three Troy novels, completing the final book – Troy: Fall of Kings – following his death in 2006. Her first solo novel, the acclaimed The City, was published in 2013, and confirmed her as a major name in fantasy fiction in her own right. Stella Gemmell lives and writes in East Sussex.
Also by Stella Gemmell
THE CITY
with David Gemmell
TROY: FALL OF KINGS
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Stella Gemmell 2016
Maps © Liane Payne 2016
Image of city © Shutterstock; all other images © Stephen Mulcahey
Design by Stephen Mulcahey/ TW
Stella Gemmell has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448154418
ISBNs 9780593071489 (cased)
9780593071496 (tpb)
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