Twinchantment
Page 27
Their mother moaned again, and Flissa and Sara both rushed to her side. When the queen’s eyes fluttered open, the king, Flissa, and Sara were all hovering over her, staring down into her face.
The queen yelped. Then she laughed and sat up.
“You scared me! What are you all doing, leaning over me like that? Is everything okay?”
Flissa hadn’t realized how certain she was that she’d never hear her mother’s voice again until it rang like joyful bells in her ears. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and she knew her mother saw them because she looked worried and sad.
“Flissa? Are you all right?”
Flissa couldn’t even get out the words. She nodded, then threw herself onto her mother’s lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. Sara tackled their mom from the side, tumbling her over onto the bed.
The queen laughed. “What’s going on? Did I sleep through to my birthday?”
“We just love you, that’s all,” Flissa said.
“So, so much,” Sara added.
“More than you can possibly imagine,” the king said, and he scooped their mother into his arms and spun her around. The queen squealed with surprise and delight.
“I love you all too,” she said. “But honestly, you’re acting very strange. I’m not complaining, mind you, but…what happened?”
Flissa and Sara looked at one another. That was a question with a very long answer, and one that could wait. Not for long—soon they’d tell both their parents everything, and they’d all work out together what was right for Kaloon.
But maybe they could ease into it.
“We just want to spend time together,” said Sara.
Then Flissa lit up with an idea. “You could read us a book!”
Their mother laughed. “Read you a book? You haven’t asked for that in years.”
“That’s why it’s such a good idea,” Sara said.
“And I have exactly the right one,” Flissa said. She darted out to her and Sara’s room, and came back a moment later with a giant leather-bound tome. She handed it to their mother, who wrinkled her eyebrows as she looked at the cover.
“A textbook?”
Flissa nodded. “Just seems like something we should brush up on.”
The queen looked to the king, who shrugged and laughed. “Latonya, I’m just happy to hear your voice. If the girls want it, I say read it.”
“Okay, then,” she said. She climbed back into bed and sat up tall, propped on pillows. Flissa and Sara leaned in on either side and laid their heads on her shoulders as she started to read: “A History of Magic in Kaloon…”
First and foremost, I’d like to give the most gigantic shout-out ever to Disney Hyperion editors Kieran Viola and Mary Mudd for trusting me to bring this concept to life. This book has been such a gift, and it was always a joy to get your notes because they drove me to look deeper and push further. You are both magical.
Also brilliant and indispensable to me on this book was Dawn Ius. Dawn, you are the wizard of beta readers. I am so thankful for the way you always put me at the top of your to-do list, and equally thankful for your brilliant insights. Since Dawn and Kieran are both fabulous authors in their own right, I’m plugging them here. Check out www.dawnius.com and www.kieranscott.net. You’ll be glad you did.
Huge thanks to the wonderful team at Disney Hyperion: Designer Jamie Alloy, Managing Editor Sara Liebling, Publicist Amy Goppert, Danielle DiMartino and Holly Nagel in Marketing, and Copy Chief Guy Cunningham. I so appreciate all your hard work and support.
To Jane Startz, my manager, I don’t know what I did right to earn the privilege of working with you, but I’m grateful every day. Thank you for everything you do.
To Nancy Kanter and Brad Butler at Disney Channel, thank you for being such fans of Twinchantment, and championing it from the start.
On a personal note, I’d like to thank Mom-Mom Sylvia, who at 102 is sharp as a knife and still one of my favorite people to hang out with. I completely recognize how lucky I am to have you, and I take not even a second for granted. Mom-Mom Eva, Pop-Pop Irv, and Pop-Pop Nate, you are always with me in my heart.
Finally, I want to thank my husband, Randy, without whom nothing I do would be possible; our daughter, Maddie, who is easily the most incredible human being I’ve ever met (not that I’m biased or anything); and our dog, Jack-Jack, who likes to sit on my lap when I write, occasionally taps on the computer, and is doubtless responsible for all the best parts of this book.
Okay, I was wrong about the “finally” part. There’s one more group to thank, and that’s you, everyone who reads this book. Stories only come to life when they’re shared, and I’m beyond honored that you let me share this one with you. Thanks for reading, and absolutely feel free to reach out and say hello at elise@eliseallen.com, or on Twitter @EliseLAllen—I’d love to hear from you!
Emmy-nominated writer and New York Times best-selling author made a name for herself with her acclaimed young adult novel Populazzi. She also cowrote Hilary Duff’s best-selling Elixir series, as well as Bella Thorne’s series, Autumn Falls. She is a longtime television writer, with credits including The Lion Guard, Rainbow Rangers, and Abby Hatcher, Fuzzly Catcher. Most excitingly, her middle grade series Gabby Duran and the Unsittables, written with Daryle Conners, is currently in production as a TV series on Disney Channel. You can find Elise on Twitter @EliseLAllen.