Nightbirds

NANCY PAULSEN BOOKS An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York First published in the United States of America by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023 Text copyright © 2023 by Kate J. Armstrong Map illustrations copyright © 2023 by Sveta Dorosheva 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. Nancy Paulsen Books & colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. The Penguin colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Books Limited. Visit us online at penguinrandomhouse.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Armstrong, Kate J., author. Title: Nightbirds / Kate J. Armstrong. Description: New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. | Series: Nightbirds; book 1 | Summary: “In Simta, the magic of women is outlawed, but four girls with unusual powers have the chance to change it all”—Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2022037458 (print) | LCCN 2022037459 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593463277 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593463284 (ebook) Subjects: CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Fantasy. | Fantasy fiction. lcgft | Novels. lcgft Classification: LCC PZ7.1.A7479 Ni 2023 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.A7479 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022037458 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022037459 Ebook ISBN 9780593463284 Edited by Stacey Barney Cover art © 2023 by Aykut Aydoğdu Cover design by Jessica Jenkins Design by Suki Boynton, adapted for ebook by Michelle Quintero This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. pid_prh_6.0_142549203_c0_r0 — Contents — Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Map of the Eudean Republic Map of the City of Simta Prologue: The Magic in a Kiss Part I: A Thousand Layers of Secrets Chapter 1: Jewel, Star, and Sea Chapter 2: Midnight Visitations Chapter 3: Truth or Lie Chapter 4: All That’s Golden Chapter 5: Shadow and Shine Chapter 6: Wave to Wave Part II: Playing with Fire Chapter 7: A Laying Down of Cards Chapter 8: The Liar’s Club Chapter 9: Blue Glass Rain Chapter 10: Pinned Wings Chapter 11: Unmasked Part III: What Happens in Darkness Chapter 12: Bring Your Fire Chapter 13: Ocean Flowers Chapter 14: Fledglings Chapter 15: Leaves Whisper Chapter 16: A Slow Burn Chapter 17: Fate’s Many Streams Chapter 18: Heart Tied Chapter 19: Into the Light Chapter 20: Shadow No More Chapter 21: Through Flames Chapter 22: ’Spring-Stained Secrets Chapter 23: A Gilded Cage Chapter 24: Too Much to Hold Chapter 25: New Rules Part IV : Wings Spread Wide Chapter 26: Poison in the Guise of Something Sweet Chapter 27: The Dragon’s Den Chapter 28: Taming Rivers Chapter 29: Playing the Game Chapter 30: Breaking Chains Chapter 31: Incandescence Chapter 32: Wild and Green Chapter 33: Like Shadows Chapter 34: A Sheldar’s Courage Chapter 35: Lights in the Dark Chapter 36: Moths on the Wind Acknowledgments About the Author _142549203_ To my mom, who makes everything feel magical – PROLOGUE – THE MAGIC IN A KISS All his life, young lord Teneriffe Maylon has heard whispers. They circled the edges of ballrooms and slithered through hushed conversations over port. The Nightbirds will change your fortunes, the whispers promised. Their magic can be yours with just a kiss. If you can find them, that is, and meet their requirements. They are a privilege he’s about to pay quite dearly for. At last, Tenny is allowed to remove his blindfold. For a moment, all he can make out is the bright burn of candles painting circles on the deeply purple walls. Then a woman perched behind a desk comes into focus, wearing a gown of fine velvet and a darkly feathered mask. It shrouds her face, mesh stretched over the eyeholes. He knows her only by her code name: Madam Crow. She holds out a gloved hand, letting it hover. “Your payment.” Tenny’s fingers shake a little as he extends the string of rubies. That shake is what gets him into trouble at the krellen tables—it’s such an obvious tell. Tenny is used to seeing money leave him, but it usually flows in the form of coins, not treasures pilfered from his dame’s jewel box. The shame of it tastes like the last dregs of bitter wine. He is tired, nerves tattered from avoiding his rather nefarious creditor and his sire’s certain wrath if he finds out about his son’s growing debts. Tenny’s had a poor run of luck, is all, but tonight, that all changes. Madam Crow winds the rubies around her fingers. The dark gems seem to swallow the light. “And your secret?” she demands. Sweat slides down Tenny’s collar. “The jewels are payment enough, don’t you think?” She arches a brow. “Secrets protect my girls better than gems, however pretty. I will have your secret, or you’ll have nothing at all.” Tenny sighs and hands her the note he wrote that afternoon, explaining it was he who took his dame’s rubies. He threw in the extent of his debts and the dalliance with his family’s maid for good measure. It’s a risk, to put these secrets into Madam Crow’s keeping, but he knew money wouldn’t be enough to get him through this door. The Madam reads his secrets, then folds them up again. She holds a stick of purplish wax over a candle flame until it drips. His pulse picks up as she pours it onto the paper’s folds and slides it toward him. He presses