Persona (27 page)

She cast a look around the chamber. Faces and handlers alike were silent, watching her.

“But, above all, I stand before you as a diplomat—a servant of her homeland, whose responsibility will not be severed even by death, and who rededicates herself here tonight to her country, to her people, and to the International Assembly, whose just cause is the bane of those who would do evil, and the pillar of those who would do right.”

She'd debated resting so hard on the majesty of the IA—it wasn't as though she had much faith in them, and viewers at home were more interested in the gruesome details of her captivity than her political dedication. But she wasn't living among viewers at home; she wasn't even living in a country that was part of an uneasy whole. She was living alongside a Committee that had condemned her to die. They were the same people who were standing amid a deafening round of applause, calling her name.

She dropped her head in a pretense of humility. In her left periphery, Magnus was looking out at the crowd, his expression the closest to joy she'd ever seen on him. (That's what a diplomat with a future looked like.)

In her right periphery, Margot's hands were laced in her lap, so tense that her knuckles were white.

Suyana couldn't suppress a smile. More than the cameras clacking or the gallery above them going mad, those trembling hands meant Suyana had hit home.

Tomorrow offers for committee places would come in; Magnus would be arranging interviews. Tomorrow, it would be that much harder to make her disappear.

Suyana lifted her head, letting the applause go a moment longer before she continued with the promises and particulars that no one would really remember in the morning. It didn't matter. The Assembly and Chordata and the public had all seen what they needed to see; that was all they had to remember, for now. The rest would happen slowly as she climbed.

If it was a terrifying thing to think of, she didn't let herself tremble; if she glanced up at the gallery to find a familiar face, she didn't let herself linger.

She had people to impress, and there were cameras everywhere.

Suyana stood firmly at the center of the stage, looked out at the room, and began.

As always, the number of people involved in the making of a book is significant, and I'm lucky to have had them. If this book has ended up in your hands, I owe thanks to everyone at Saga Press for their enthusiasm and dedication. In particular, I want to thank my editor, Navah, who was the first person to whom I ever mentioned this book (at a lunch too long ago to mention, with Ellen, whose eardrums we'll assume for dramatic clarity were slightly slower and heard it second) and who has been its champion ever since. Thanks to my former agent, Joe, who was the first to take an interest in it, and my agent, Barry, who has been an invaluable adviser and advocate. And deepest thanks to Stephanie, Kelly, Elizabeth, Alexa, and everyone who was endlessly generous with their time and comments in shaping this book from its earliest drafts, and whose support means so much.

ALSO BY

GENEVIEVE VALENTINE

×  ×  ×  ×  ×  ×  ×

THE GIRLS AT THE KINGFISHER CLUB

SAGA PRESS

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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.

Text copyright © 2015 by Genevieve Valentine

Jacket photograph copyright © 2015 by Getty Images/Brad Wilson

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Saga Press Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Saga Press hardcover edition March 2015

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The text for this book is set in Minion Pro.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Valentine, Genevieve.

Persona / Genevieve Valentine. — First edition.

pages ; cm

Summary: “In a world where diplomacy has become celebrity, a young ambassador survives an assassination attempt and must join with an undercover paparazzo in a race to save her life, spin the story, and secure the future of her young country in this near-future political thriller.”—Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4814-2512-4 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-1-4814-2514-8 (eBook)

1. Ambassadors—Fiction. 2. Paparazzi—Fiction. 3. Political fiction. I. Title.

PS3622.A436P47 2015  813'.6—dc23  2014027960