I sit up straighter, fix the collar on my Faroshti coat. There might be blood on me still, but I’m kind of okay with that. “Nova, I need you to broadcast a message. Broadband and public. Any and all open channels and media feeds.”
“Understood. Transmission initiated. Speak when ready.”
I stare straight into the viewscreen. “This is Alyssa Farshot, heir to the Faroshti prime family, captain of the worldcruiser Nathalia. Nathalia Coyenne, heir to the Coyenne prime family, was the rightful winner of the crownchase and your true empress. Edgar Voles is a traitor and a murderer. Any claim he makes on the throne is illegitimate, and I call upon the kingship officials to arrest and detain him on sight.”
I lean forward, letting all that rage light up my eyes and harden my jaw. “And Edgar? If you’re seeing this, you’d better run. Because I’m coming for you.”
Acknowledgments
When I was much younger, my idea of being a professional author meant holing up in a cabin in the mountains, typing up all my stories on paper, and mailing them off to a publisher in New York City to be made into a book. It was only as an adult that I realized it actually takes a big, wonderful community to make a book, and I feel incredibly blessed by all of those who have helped me make this one possible.
To Lara Perkins: I couldn’t ask for a better advocate or a better partner in publishing. Thank you for believing in my stories. To Greg Ferguson and Tara Weikum: thank you for supporting my vision for Alyssa Farshot and all the characters in this sprawling space empire. Thanks to the entire team at Harper for all the hard work and long hours you put in to transform this book into its final form: to Sarah Homer, Jon Howard, and Stephanie Evans for honing the fine details and reining in my penchant for italics; to Doaly for the amazing cover art that brought Alyssa to life and to Chris Kwon and Jenna Stempel for the incredible design work; to Allison Brown for everything you do to transform my digital words into a real, actual book; to Anna Bernard and Sabrina Abballe and Shannon Cox for supporting Crownchasers and helping bring it to libraries, bookstores, and homes all over the country; to Marieke Nijkamp, Alechia Dow, and Michelle Vardanian for your careful eyes, thoughtful critiques, and honest opinions.
I’m extremely lucky to be surrounded by so many talented friends and colleagues who’ve been there over the years whenever I needed support, advice, or just a chance to vent. To Natalie Parker and Tessa Gratton: I’m so glad I came to Lawrence that day for a casual writers’ meetup. I had no idea how important it would be. To Megan Bannen, Amanda Sellet, and Sarah Henning, for fielding all my texts—the desperate ones, the grumpy ones, and the excited ones. To all of the Kansas City-Lawrence writers—Adib Khorram, Christie O. Hall, Dot Hutchinson, Bethany Hagen, L. L. McKinney, Jennifer Mendez, Meghan Stigge, Natasha Hanova: you all are the best freaking group. To Marieke, Dahlia Adler, and Chessie Zappia: for being there with me since way back on the 2012 pitch contest circuit. And to all the Roaring 20s debuts: thank you for being a sounding board and a place to commiserate.
I save my family for last because they have been with me on this writing journey for so long. To all the extended Klemans and Coffindaffers—my grandma and grandpa, all my aunts and uncles and cousins—thank you for every time you patiently listened while I rambled about the story I was working on. To Kathleen and Julie, who prove that family is as much about soul as it is about blood. To all my friends who’ve cheerleaded me and my stories, whether they were on the page or being told over a Dungeons & Dragons table.
To Shauna and Tess, my sisters, my constant support team.
To Mom and Dad, who always knew I would get here someday.
To Miriam and Evelyn, my bright, beautiful souls who had to be patient during all those times I had to work.
And to Dave. My rock. My big damn hero. I love you always.
About the Author
Photo by Natalie C. Parker
REBECCA COFFINDAFFER grew up on Star Wars, Star Trek, fantastical movies, and even more fantastical books. She waited a long time for her secret elemental powers to develop, and in the interim, she started writing stories about girls and magic, spaceships and stars, and weird new worlds that combine all of the above. These days she lives in Kansas with her family, surrounded by a lot of books and a lot of tabletop games and one big fuzzy dog. Crownchasers is her debut novel. Visit her online at rebeccacoffindaffer.com.
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
CROWNCHASERS. Copyright © 2020 by Full Fathom Five, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover art © 2020 by DOALY
Cover design by CHRIS KWON
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020937199
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-284518-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-284516-0
2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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Crownchasers Page 28