The Faithless


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
 Copyright © 2023 by Cherae Clark
 Excerpt from The Lost War copyright © 2019 by King Lot Publishing Ltd.
 Excerpt from The Foxglove King copyright © 2023 by Hannah Whitten
 Cover design by Lauren Panepinto
 Cover illustration by Tommy Arnold
 Cover copyright © 2023 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
 Map by Tim Paul
 Author photograph by Jovita McCleod
 Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
 The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
 Orbit
 Hachette Book Group
 1290 Avenue of the Americas
 New York, NY 10104
 orbitbooks.net
 First Edition: March 2023
 Simultaneously published in Great Britain by Orbit
 Orbit is an imprint of Hachette Book Group.
 The Orbit name and logo are trademarks of Little, Brown Book Group Limited.
 The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
 The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to hachettespeakersbureau.com or email [email protected].
 Orbit books may be purchased in bulk for business, educational, or promotional use. For information, please contact your local bookseller or the Hachette Book Group Special Markets Department at [email protected].
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Clark, C. L. (Cherae L.), author.
 Title: The faithless / C.L. Clark.
 Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Orbit, 2023. | Series: Magic of the lost ; book 2
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022026622 | ISBN 9780316542760 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780316542838 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Fantasy fiction. | Novels.
 Classification: LCC PS3603.L356626 F35 2023 | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220609
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022026622
 ISBNs: 9780316542760 (trade paperback), 9780316542838 (ebook)
 E3-20230128-JV-NF-ORI
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Copyright
 Dedication
 Map
 Part 1: The Board
 
 Chapter 1: On Mourning
 Chapter 2: A Schism
 Chapter 3: Old Friends
 Chapter 4: Beasts
 Chapter 5: On Strategy
 Chapter 6: On Charity
 Chapter 7: A Wound
 Chapter 8: A Scar
 Chapter 9: An Open Hand
 Chapter 10: An Education
 Chapter 11: New Friends
 A Healer’s Interlude 1
 
 Part 2: Scholars and Nobles and Priests
 
 Chapter 12: Faux Pas
 Chapter 13: The Bear Queen
 Chapter 14: Among the Roses
 Chapter 15: On Self-Interest
 Chapter 16: A Cage
 Chapter 17: Scavengers
 Chapter 18: Of Heroes
 Chapter 19: Fields of Gold
 Chapter 20: A Precipice
 Chapter 21: Merely Players
 A Healer’s Interlude 2
 
 Part 3: Pawns and Chevaliers
 
 Chapter 22: The World, Upside Down
 Chapter 23: A Wound, Reopened
 Chapter 24: The Desperate
 Chapter 25: A Spark
 Chapter 26: Gifts
 Chapter 27: Of Mirrors
 Chapter 28: Bloody Knuckles
 Chapter 29: The Longest Night
 Chapter 30: A Clenched Fist
 Chapter 31: Of Walls
 Chapter 32: Of Agony
 A Healer’s Interlude 3
 
 PART 4: Queens and Kings
 
 Chapter 33: The Beginning of the Endgame
 Chapter 34: The Queen’s Gambit
 Chapter 35: Poisons
 Chapter 36: Many Legs
 Chapter 37: Plucking the Rose
 Chapter 38: The Princess
 Chapter 39: On Self-Interest (Reprise)
 Chapter 40: Not the Princess
 Chapter 41: The Death Knell
 Chapter 42: A Family (Variation)
 Chapter 43: Victory
 Chapter 44: Welcome, Jolly Soldier
 Epilogue: Not the Princess (Reprise)
 
 Acknowledgments
 Discover More
 Extras
 
 Meet the Author
 A Preview of "The Lost War"
 A Preview of "The Foxglove King"
 
 Also by C. L. Clark
 Praise for "The Unbroken"
 
 
 
 
 Begin Reading
 Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 Praise for
 THE UNBROKEN
 “C. L. Clark gives us an unflinching story of colonialism and revolution and the people caught between. The Unbroken grabs you by the collar, breaks your heart over its knee, and mends it. An astonishing debut.”
 —Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter
 “Rife with political, familial, and romantic tension, The Unbroken is a riveting epic fantasy about a city on the knife’s edge of rebellion, a tangle of alliances, and a desperate search for magic and hope.”
 —K. A. Doore, author of The Perfect Assassin
 “Get ready to fall in love with Touraine and Luca in one of the best fantasy debuts I have ever read!”
 —Matt Wallace, Hugo Award winner and author of the Savage Rebellion series
 “A bold and exciting work that helps steer the evolution of the genre into the next decade.”
 —Marshall Ryan Maresca, author of the Maradaine novels
 “The Unbroken grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. A perfect military fantasy: brutal, complex, human, and impossible to put down.”
 —Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
 “With its incisive look at the irreconcilable conflicts that colonialism wedges between desire, duty, individuality, and community, C. L. Clark’s The Unbroken is a compelling and persuasive reimagining of both heroism and heroics as something inseparable from identity, perspective, and history. It’s a deeply needed look at the myths we make, the stories we tell, and the bitterly binding ties of both blood and bondage.”
 —Evan Winter, author of The Rage of Dragons
 “The Unbroken is a thrilling examination of love and loyalty under the crushing weight of empire. It’s high adventure on a human scale—don’t miss it.”
 —Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
 “C. L. Clark’s epic fantasy debut reveals all the ugly, painful, deeply personal complexities of revolution against empire, captured in shimmering pointillist detail. I’m in awe!”
 —Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun
 “It doesn’t take long to realize The Unbroken is something special.