Snow & Poison

Also by Melissa de la CruzCinder & GlassTHE QUEEN’S ASSASSIN DUOLOGYThe Queen’s AssassinThe Queen’s SecretTHE ALEX & ELIZA TRILOGYBook One: Alex & ElizaBook Two: Love & WarBook Three: All for OneHEART OF DREAD SERIES(with Michael Johnston)Book One: FrozenBook Two: StolenBook Three: GoldenWITCHES OF EAST END SERIESBLUE BLOODS SERIESBEACH LANE SERIESTHE ASHLEY PROJECT SERIESDISNEY DESCENDANTS SERIESCHRONICLES OF NEVER AFTER SERIESThe Ring and the CrownSomething in BetweenSomeone to Love29 DatesBecause I Was a Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages(edited by Melissa de la Cruz)Pride and Prejudice and MistletoeJo & Laurie and A Secret Princess(with Margaret Stohl)Surviving High School(with Lele Pons) G. P. PUTNAM’S SONSAn imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New YorkFirst published in the United States of America by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023Copyright © 2023 by Melissa de la CruzPenguin 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.G. P. Putnam’s Sons is a registered trademark 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 is available.ISBN 9780593326688 (hardcover)ISBN 9780593619780 (international edition)ISBN 9780593353592 (ebook)Photo illustration © 2023 by Michael HeathFrame courtesy of shutterstock.comCover design by Jessica JenkinsDesign by Marikka Tamura, adapted for ebook by Michelle QuinteroThis 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_143149737_c0_r1 Contents CoverAlso by Melissa de La CruzTitle PageCopyrightDedicationEpigraphBavaria, 1621Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FiveChapter Twenty-SixChapter Twenty-SevenChapter Twenty-EightChapter Twenty-NineChapter ThirtyChapter Thirty-OneChapter Thirty-TwoChapter Thirty-ThreeChapter Thirty-FourChapter Thirty-FiveChapter Thirty-SixChapter Thirty-SevenChapter Thirty-EightChapter Thirty-NineChapter FortyEpilogueAuthor’s NoteAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author_143149737_ For Mike and Mattie always Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.—Cersei Lannister, A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin Bavaria, 1621 Chapter One THE DAY HAD FINALLY COME.It was still very early when the sun crested over the Bavarian mountains, its light climbing up the walls of Duke Maximilian’s palace to slip through its arched windows. But Sophie had been awake for hours. She’d spent most of the night staring into the dark velvet above her four-poster bed, and now she turned to watch the line of light that made its way past the thick tapestry curtains.She jumped out of bed and threw the drapes open wide, squinting as the sunlight hit her pale skin. Lotte, Sophie’s lady’s maid, would be along in a little bit, but Sophie just couldn’t wait any longer. She crossed the room to her dressing table and ran a hand through her thick, dark hair, studying her reflection in the wide gilded mirror. When she was younger, she had been nicknamed Snow White for her alabaster skin. At sixteen, people told Sophie that she was starting to look like her mother, the late Duchess Maria, who had been known throughout their land for her stunning beauty.In the mirror’s reflection, Sophie saw the raven-black hair, ivory complexion, sharp chin, and red lips that resembled her mother’s features. But she was still just Sophie underneath. She hoped she would have even half her mother’s elegance one day.Duke Maximilian, Sophie’s father, had veiled all the paintings of the duchess for a long time after her death. The portraits lined the halls of the palace in mournful black rectangles, darkening the mood of everyone who passed. Though Sophie had been nine years old when a fierce illness gripped Duchess Maria, the memories of the short life they’d spent together seemed to disappear more and more with each passing year. When the portraits were uncovered again, Sophie was struck by the image of her mother. It was like looking at a beautiful stranger.Sophie looked away from the mirror and sighed. Today was meant to be a happy occasion, for that very evening Duke Maximilian would be wed, and the palace would have a duchess once more. But the memory of Sophie’s mother seemed more present than ever. She reached for the carved box inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which remained always next to the mirror, and rummaged through its thin drawers until she found the necklace that had once belonged to her mother—a loop of thin filigreed silver inset with stones of opal. She clasped the jewelry around her neck, the cool metal on her skin bringing her a little comfort. The prospect of having a stepmother felt incredibly strange to Sophie, but she was happy for her father. And, in truth, a little relieved.Her mother’s death had made Duke Maximilian quiet and distant, causing him to withdraw from palace life and from Sophie, too. He’d spent many dark winter evenings alone in his quarters and sent himself on long trips to do business with other dignitaries. Years had gone on this way. For a long time, Sophie nearly felt orphaned in the big, silent palace, worried she was losing him. She wished he’d take her with him—Sophie would have loved to see where he went and to travel outside of Bavaria—but he said it was too dangerous.So she spent her days inside, reading, studying with tutors, waiting and walking the long halls. She had little desire to do much else; though Sophie and her mother had often hiked into the mountains to enjoy the sun and the wind on their faces, Sophie found she didn’t want to do