Frost Like Night
Page 34
When I raise my brows, he dips into a bow.
“On my honor as the Cordellan king, I promise, I’m fine. I just need a moment.”
“All right.” I pause. “We will be. Fine, I mean.”
Theron tips his head. “Lady Meira,” he says.
I turn, leaving him standing over his parents’ graves.
The important thing, though, is that he’s standing.
The ballroom is packed by the time Mather and I return. Musicians play lively tunes from a platform between the staircases, complementing the hum of chatting dignitaries. Ceridwen, Lekan, and Kaleo stand with Caspar and Nikoletta; Giselle talks with the Spring general, a man I met when he came to Winter a few weeks ago to bridge the hurt between our two kingdoms. A group of Ventrallans has arrived, talking in animated tones to Jesse.
But they aren’t the only ones who have arrived late.
Someone moves toward us. I spot his robe, the scar stretching through his dark skin, and I drop Mather’s hand to collide with Rares. “You came!”
Rares squeezes me so tight I cough in protest. “Of course, dear heart! Paisly must be represented.” He sets me down, his hands on my shoulders. “And I hold you responsible for the sheer misery of traveling now. I specifically remember telling you how I much hated traveling, and one of the few good things that magic gave us was the ability to get anywhere instantly. But no, you had to go and take it all away—and give us something far better in return.”
At that, he pivots to reveal Oana behind him.
I smack my hands over my mouth and yelp into my palms. “You’re—”
She hugs me, the slight bulge in her stomach pressing between us. “Four months now.”
I can’t do more than screech, my hands fluttering from her shoulders to her belly and back again. Rares hoots at my speechlessness and swoops in to plant a kiss on top of my head.
“I imagine you’ve been busy these past months as well.” He nods at Mather and leans in to flick him in the forehead. “Treat her well.”
Mather rubs the spot, stifling a laugh. “I do, I promise.”
Rares looks at me for confirmation, and I smile, sliding my arm around Mather’s waist.
“Not that I ever thought you’d pick someone who wouldn’t,” he tells me with a wink. “I believe we should make the rounds. Quite the gathering we’ve got here. Downright magical.”
“There’s nothing magical about this,” Oana says. “We’ve earned all that happens here.”
Rares nods his head. “Which seems magical to me, my love.” He gives me one more hug. “Where is King Jesse? I hear Ventralli is evolving most curiously.”
Mather points into the throng. “He’s across the room—I’ll show you.”
He leads them away. So many people catch my eye—representatives from every kingdom, all gathered to negotiate the best way to continue our peace.
And that unity makes the holes in the crowd feel complete. Where Sir should be standing next to Mather as he talks with Jesse, Rares, and Oana; where Nessa and Garrigan should be following Conall as he weaves toward me through the crowd; where Henn and Finn should be talking with Greer at the edge of the room; where Noam should be laughing with Nikoletta and Caspar.
I don’t fight the smile that eases across my lips, the tears that blur the colors and light of the ballroom into a shifting, sparkling kaleidoscope.
Rares and Oana were both right. We are our own magic now. And nothing can stop us.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IF YOU READ my acknowledgments for Snow Like Ashes and Ice Like Fire, you know that I like to babble and basically thank every person I’ve ever known. And by this point in the series, a LOT of people have come into my life who have impacted this book, soooo . . .
LOTS OF PEOPLE TO THANK.
LET’S GET STARTED.
Mackenzie Brady Watson. Agent of my dreams. The combination of you + New Leaf is perfection of the highest caliber, and I am grateful every day to be your client.
HarperCollins. Yes, the entire company. But particularly: Kristin Rens, of course, always, forever, for finagling a coherent book out of whatever it is I first give you (which could usually be classified firmly under “hot mess”); Erin Fitzsimmons; Caroline Sun; Nina; Megan; Gina; Kelsey; Margot; Nellie; and every other person who helped not only this book, but this whole series. Cheesy and clichéd as it is, you have all made my dreams come true, and for that there aren’t enough thanks in the world.
Jeff Huang. Seriously now, LOOK AT THIS COVER. I am so honored my books get to wear your art.
Kate Rudd and Nick Podehl. You both gave voice to this series in an utterly mesmerizing way.
Shifting gears to the more personal side of things: Kelson. At the risk of getting too mushy, I’ll just immortalize here that I love you, and I’m so happy I get to live this life with you.
My parents—I gave this book to you, but I still owe you far, far more.
Melinda. Okay, so your character’s bits got edited out of Frost Like Night. You are a crazy whirlwind of energy and beauty, and honestly, Character Melinda got scared she couldn’t compare to you.
To the rest of my ever-growing family: Annette, Dan, Trenton, Caro, John, Karen, Mike, and Haydin; Grandma and Grandpa, Debbie, Dan, Aunt Brenda, Lisa, Eddie, Mike, Grandma Connie, Suzanne, Lillian, William, Brady, Hunter, Lauren, Luke, Delaney, Garrett, Krissy, Wyatt, Ivy, Brandi, Mason, and Kayla the Librarian.
To my writer friends, near and far: J. R. Johansson, Kasie West, Renee Collins, Natalie Whipple, Bree Despain, Michelle D. Argyle, Candice Kennington, LT Elliot, Samantha Vérant, Kathryn Rose, Jillian Schmidt, Claire Legrand, Jodi Meadows, Anne Blankman, Lisa Maxwell, Kristen Lippert-Martin, Sabaa Tahir, Sarah J Maas, Susan Dennard, Evelyn Skye; Akshaya, Madeleine, and Janella; and, always, Cousin Nicole.
Special thanks to my writer-wife, Kristen Simmons. I still can’t believe I didn’t get to thank you in Ice Like Fire. Our friendship may be new, but god, darling. You’ve changed my life.
Now for perhaps the hardest yet most rewarding part: thanking all of YOU.
In Ice Like Fire’s acknowledgments, I blubbered on about many of the bloggers/reviewers/fans who have made my life so freaking magical. If I did that again, I fear this section would be as long as Frost Like Night itself, so I’m going to sum up as best I can:
You know how in this trilogy, everyone is always struggling so hard to get magic? They fight and they suffer and they sacrifice, all for this elusive, sparkling thing that promises to make their lives better. Then, as in Meira’s case (and as also happens so often in real life), they get it, and it isn’t quite as wonderful as they expected.
You guys have been nothing like that.
As I said in Snow Like Ashes’s acknowledgments, you are, each of you, better than any conduit. You’re better than the most fantastic magic I could conceive of. One of the biggest themes of this trilogy has, for me, been the idea of being enough—of not needing outside influences to make you “better” or “worthy.” And while I hope I have imparted that belief to at least some of you, I am not at all too proud to say that I’ve failed myself in that belief. Because I wholly, irrevocably admit that I need each and every one of you. This publishing journey is fraught with so many high highs and low lows, but having you guys there, my little Winterian fandom, has made each moment not only worthwhile but utterly enchanting.
I am so honored I got to share this story with you. Twelve-year-old Sara, scribbling in notebooks, dreaming dreams of a white-haired girl and a wintry kingdom, did not dare fathom the absolute wonder that would come about, more than a decade later.
And it’s because of you, and all the magic created just by being you.
So, thank you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHOTO BY JOODIE PHOTO, LLC
SARA RAASCH has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then: her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things, and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Snow Like Ashes and Ice Like Fire. You can visit her online at www.sararaasch.tumblr.com and @seesarawrite on Twitter.
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BOOKS BY SARA RAASCH
Snow Like Ashes
Ice Like Fire
Frost Like Fire
These Rebel Waves
CREDITS
COVER ART © 2016 BY JEFF HUANG
COVER DESIGN BY ERIN FITZSIMMONS
COPYRIGHT
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
FROST LIKE NIGHT. Copyright © 2016 by Sara Raasch. Map art © 2014 by Jordan Saia. 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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ISBN 978-0-06-228698-7 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-256273-9 (int.)
EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062287007
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FIRST EDITION
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