For some girls, age eighteen is the magical age of freedom and independence. For Aerys, turning eighteen means an arranged marriage to a man she's never met before, leaving the only home she's ever known, and accidentally discovering things she never knew about the world, about her family, and about herself, things that have been lurking beneath the surface all along. However, each new discovery brings new questions with it, and the answers could lead in some very dangerous directions. She and her fiancé, Dmitri, must decide whether or not to find the answers to these questions and what to do with the knowledge they gain. To change the game instead of living by others' rules, they must look beyond what they see.

Look Beyond What You See

<p>"What do you mean?" I inquire, voice trembling slightly for fear of the extreme reactions of the Berkeley men. "Surely the assassination of one man, however awful for the family and the country, ought not to result in a war on the scale you expect."</p>

<p>"If all persons on Earth were rational, I could agree with you," Wesley replies wearily. "But such is not the case. The Archduke was the heir to the throne of the Austrian Empire. Understandably, the Austrians are extremely upset. My sources in Austria say that they are demanding restitution from the Serbian government. The Serbs, meanwhile, claim that the perpetrator of this crime is a member of an extremist fringe group and has nothing to do with the Serbian government, and thus they view the Austrian demands for restitution from the Serbian government as nothing less than ridiculous."</p>

Chapter 33 Portents of War