0425277054 (F)

Ace Books by Sharon Shinn

THE SHAPE OF DESIRE

STILL LIFE WITH SHAPE-SHIFTER

THE TURNING SEASON

TROUBLED WATERS

ROYAL AIRS

JEWELED FIRE

MYSTIC AND RIDER

THE THIRTEENTH HOUSE

DARK MOON DEFENDER

READER AND RAELYNX

FORTUNE AND FATE

ARCHANGEL

JOVAH’S ANGEL

THE ALLELUIA FILES

ANGELICA

ANGEL-SEEKER

WRAPT IN CRYSTAL

THE SHAPE-CHANGER’S WIFE

HEART OF GOLD

SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN

JENNA STARBORN

QUATRAIN

Viking / Firebird Books by Sharon Shinn

THE SAFE-KEEPER’S SECRET

THE TRUTH-TELLER’S TALE

THE DREAM-MAKER’S MAGIC

GENERAL WINSTON’S DAUGHTER

GATEWAY

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

This book is an original publication of Penguin Random House LLC.

Copyright © 2015 by Sharon Shinn.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-17643-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shinn, Sharon.

Jeweled fire / Sharon Shinn.

pages ; cm

ISBN 978-0-425-27705-8 (hardcover)

I. Title.

PS3569.H499J49 2015

813'.54—dc23

2015007962

FIRST EDITION: November 2015

Cover illustration by Jonathan Barkat.

Cover photograph: dark stormy sky © Mr Twister / Shutterstock.

Cover design by Judith Lagerman.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Version_1

To that crazy fan who never expected a dedication.
These are the blessings I pulled for you: intelligence, love, and time.

Contents

Books by Sharon Shinn

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Who’s Who in the Southern Nations

Welchin Affiliations and Random Blessings

Quintiles & Changedays

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

W
HO
’
S
W
HO
IN
THE
S
OUTHERN
N
ATIONS

IN MALINQUA

F
ILOMARA
, empress

G
ARAMENO
, Filomara’s oldest nephew

J
IRAMONDI
, Filomara’s second-oldest nephew

G
REGGORIO
, Filomara’s youngest nephew, son of Morli

A
RAVANI
AND
S
UBRIELLA
, Filomara’s daughters

M
ORLI
AND
D
ONATO
, two of Filomara’s four brothers

H
ARLO
, the prefect

M
ARIANA
, Harlo’s wife

L
IRAMELLI
, daughter to Harlo and Mariana

B
ARTOLO
AND
S
ATTISI
, Filomara’s cousin and his wife

S
ARONA
, a high-born young lady

L
ORIAN
, steward of the royal palace

E
MILITA
, Corene’s maid

B
ILLINI
, a tavern owner

R
ENALTO
C
ORSICARA
, head of Malinqua’s institute of biological research

VISITORS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

C
ORENE
, a princess from Welce

S
TEFF
(S
TEFFANOLO
K
ORDAN
B
ORS
A
DOVA
), the son of a Welchin farmer and Subriella

F
OLEY
, a member of the Welchin royal guard

L
EAH
, a Welchin native acting as a spy for Darien Serlast

A
DA
S
IMMS
, a Welchin sea captain

M
ELISSANDE
, a princess from Cozique

C
HANDRAN
, a merchant from Cozique

A
LETTE
, a princess from Dhonsho

T
EYTA
, the daughter of a shopkeeper from Dhonsho

C
HEELIN
B
ARLIO
, a young man from Dhonsho

IN WELCE

J
OSETTA
, Corene’s sister

D
ARIEN
S
ERLAST
, Corene’s father, advisor to the old king, currently the regent

Z
OE
L
ALINDAR
, coru prime and wife of Darien Serlast

A
LYS
, Corene’s mother, formerly the third wife of the old king

D
OMINIC
W
OLLIMER
, Alys’s second husband

N
ELSON
A
RDELAY
, sweela prime

K
AYLE
D
OCHENZA
, elay prime

T
ARO
F
ROTHEN
, torz prime

R
AFE
A
DOVA
, Steff’s half brother and the eldest of Subriella’s sons

W
ELCHIN
A
FFILIATIONS
AND
R
ANDOM
B
LESSINGS