I squeezed his hand and nodded to my brother. “I choose Enzo.”
Enzo whooped and tugged me closer so he could kiss me on the cheek. His look said it would have been my lips, but my brother was glaring at him again.
Ren stood, pulling himself up like he’d aged a decade in the past day. “We can send runners out, see if we can find the mages. And if not, we can try for the Black Library.” He shook his head. “But not today. Both of you need rest.” He pointed between me and Enzo and glared. “Rest.”
I flicked my hand at him. “Go find a meeting to interrupt.”
Ren laughed and walked into the rain.
Enzo lifted his hand to my hair, finding the white strands and twirling them around his fingers. “We’ll get through this together.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against his. “Together,” I whispered back.
In the Kingdom of Riiga
It was dark in Riiga, but Redalia did her best work in the dark. She spun her blade in her hand and paced in the sand. She had felt his death, had felt his power leave the world. She’d wanted the Continent just as much as Graymere had, but now everything had changed.
They would pay for Graymere’s death.
All of them.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When I was younger, I didn’t want to be a writer when I grew up. But I loved reading and making up epic battles in my backyard and staring out the window daydreaming as my family drove to visit cousins every summer. Over time, I realized how important words are, how powerful they can be. I eventually became an editor so I could help other people’s words shine, because making up my own was too difficult.
And then I turned thirty. I don’t know what it was that changed, exactly, only that I felt like I had words to share, that I wanted to add my light to the world. So I did a scary thing: I filled a blank page with words. I finished a draft. And it wasn’t any good, but I got feedback and tried again (and again 16x). Holding this book in my hands fulfills a dream I didn’t know I had.
Reader, we can do hard things. But we can’t do them alone.
To my fantastic agent, Laura Crockett, who has exquisite taste in books, thank you for taking a chance on me. We changed characters’ names and slashed POVs and broke Word, and look at how far we’ve come. Thank you for your patient guidance and organizational skills. Also, thank you to the entire TriadaUS team, to Brent Taylor for selling foreign rights, and to Dr. Uwe Stender for creating an agency that feels like a family.
Monica Jean, you believed in this story and in me, and championed us again and again at every stage of the publishing process. Thank you for asking why now, and why not now—you helped me see clearer and dig deeper, and I cannot thank you enough for your enthusiasm and skill. I couldn’t have asked for a better editor to start my publishing journey with.
To the entire team at Delacorte Press, thank you for working tirelessly to make this book the best it could be: Beverly Horowitz, Tamar Schwartz, Cathy Bobak, Nathan Kinney, Drew Fulton, Audrey Ingerson, Alex Hightower, Kris Kam, Megan Mitchell, Megan Williams, and Jenn Inzetta. And thank you, Alex Dos Diaz, for bringing Jenna to life through your art, and Regina Flath, for designing the most beautiful cover I’ve ever seen. To my copyeditors, Alison Kolani, Colleen Fellingham, and Elizabeth Johnson, you are wizards, and I declare you the best copyeditors in all of publishing. You made me love my story again, and you deserve to achieve all the wildest dreams of your hearts.
I also want to thank the members of my amazing writing groups for reading my garbage and helping me turn it into not-garbage: Becca Funk, Camille Smithson, and Spring Rain; Adelaide Thorne, Amy Wilson, Brittany Rainsdon, Kelly Hamilton, Marla Buttars, Rebekah Wells, and Sarah John. You are all so talented and kind, and I appreciate your friendship more than I can say.
Even though I was an editor and not a writer when I started going to conferences, the writing community in Utah welcomed me with open arms. I will be forever grateful to Abbey Romney for taking me to my first Storymakers Conference, and for giving me the courage and encouragement to finish the draft.
To my beta readers, thank you for giving my words a place in your life and for helping me improve as a writer and a person (get ready for a long list of names, because this book went through a lot of drafts, and a lot of people gave me wonderful feedback): Abbey Romney, Amy Thompson, Becca Funk, Cameron Flanders, Camille Smithson, Claire Thompson, Cortney Pearson, Diana Thompson, Diane Thompson, Heather Godfrey, Janie Maxfield, Kathryn Thompson, Kelly Hamilton, Kristie Christensen, Lindsey Abplanalp, Lisa Johnson, Lorraine England, Megan Hirschi, Pamela Thompson, Simone Headden, and that one person I forgot (just kidding, there’s probably five). Also, thank you, Courtney Packer, for answering my random questions about horses at one o’clock in the morning.
To summarize, book covers really need to be bigger to accommodate the name of everyone who helps create them.
Also, a huge thank you to the Delacorte Mavens, fellow Roaring20sDebuts, and Class 2K20 authors for sharing your wisdom and support as we swim the open waters of publishing. You are all rock stars.
Writing had to happen in the pockets of life, and I’m so grateful for my neighbors and family for loving my kids while my brain was entrenched in the Plateau. (Pamela Thompson, Dianne Flanders, and Amelia Smith, I’m looking at you.)
To my mom, thank you for showing me how powerful kindness is, and for teaching me to love unplanned stops on road trips. Becoming a writer was definitely an unplanned stop. To my dad, thank you for knowing everything about everything and sharing your wisdom with me. You were Google before Google was cool. To all of my extended family (Dan, Kathryn, Claire, Oscar, Ivy, Lisa, Jacob, Ruby, Violet, Mike, Amy, Holly, Jack, Diane, Mark, Dianne, Breanne, Kevin, Luke, Sam, Emma, Kyle, Aaron, Rowan, Collin, Berlyn), thank you for your influence in my life—I love you all.
Cason, Siena, Milo, and Bexley, you are the most magical, wonderful children I could have been blessed with. Thank you for putting up with Deadline Mommy and bringing pure joy into my life with your stories and backflips and laughter.
Cameron, eternity won’t be long enough. Because of your support and love and your faith in me, you’ve helped me become more than I ever dreamed I could be.
And finally, to you, reader. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. You are more amazing than you know.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KAYLYNN FLANDERS is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in English Language and a minor in editing. When she’s not writing, she spends her time playing volleyball, reading, and traveling. She lives in Utah with her family, and thinks there’s nothing better than a spur-of-the-moment road trip. Shielded is her debut novel.
KAYLYNNFLANDERS.COM
@KAYLYNNFLANDERS
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