The Apparat wept, shouting his gratitude that the Sun Saint still lived, that she had once again been spared. In his wild black gaze, the girl saw a different truth: A dead martyr was less trouble than a living Saint.
The prayers of the faithful rose around the boy and the girl, echoing and multiplying beneath the earth, bouncing off the soaring stone walls of the White Cathedral. The Apparat said it was a holy place, their haven, their sanctuary, their home.
The boy shook his head. He knew a cell when he saw one.
He was wrong, of course. The girl could tell from the way the Apparat watched her struggle to her feet. She heard it in each fragile thump of her heart. This place was no prison. It was a tomb.
But the girl had spent long years being invisible. She’d already had a ghost’s life, hidden from the world and from herself. Better than anyone, she knew the power of things long buried.
At night, she heard the boy pacing outside her room, keeping watch with the golden-eyed twins. She lay quiet in her bed, counting her breaths, stretching toward the surface, seeking the light. She thought of the broken skiff, of Novokribirsk, of red names crowding a crooked church wall. She remembered little human heaps slumped beneath the golden dome; Marie’s butchered body; Fedyor, who had once saved her life. She heard the pilgrims’ songs and exhortations. She thought of the volcra and of Genya huddled in the dark.
The girl touched the collar at her neck, the fetter at her wrist. So many men had tried to make her a queen. Now she understood that she was meant for something more.
The Darkling had told her he was destined to rule. He had claimed his throne, and a part of her too. He was welcome to it. For the living and the dead, she would make herself a reckoning.
She would rise.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The problem with acknowledgments is that they quickly devolve into long lists of names suitable for skimming. But many people are required to make a book happen, and they deserve recognition, so please bear with me. (If it gets boring, I recommend singing aloud. Get a friend to beatbox for you. I’ll wait.)
As a new author, you quickly learn how much you’re going to ask of your agent: You need her to be a diplomat, a therapist, an advocate, and occasionally, a brawler. How lucky for me that I found all of these things in the remarkable Joanna Volpe. Many thanks to the entire team at New Leaf Literary and Media, including Pouya Shahbazian, Kathleen Ortiz, and Danielle Barthel.
My editor, Noa Wheeler, is clearly a master of the Small Science. She pushes here, prods there, asks the questions you don’t want to hear, and at the end of it all, you see your story transformed into something so much better. It’s almost like magic.
I want to thank everyone at Macmillan/Holt Children’s. I love this venerable, badass, brilliant house, and I’m so proud to be a part of it. Special thanks to Jean Feiwel and Laura Godwin, who have gone out of their way for this series again and again, the fierce Angus Killick, the glamorous Elizabeth Fithian, the ever on-point Allison Verost, the magnificent Molly Brouillette, and Jon Yaged, who is still punk rock. Ksenia Winnicki, my fellow fangirl, worked tirelessly to reach out to bloggers. Kate Lied got the Fierce Reads tour on the road. Karen Frangipane and Kathryn Bhirud made the beautiful trailer for Shadow and Bone (that’s how epic’s done, son). I’m grateful to Rich Deas, April Ward, Ashley Halsey, Jen Wang, and Keith Thompson, who make books into art. Also Mark von Bargen, Vannessa Cronin, and all the wonderful people in sales who help put my books into people’s hands.
Now let’s talk about my army: the brave and beautiful Michelle Chihara of thisblueangel.com; Joshua Joy Kamensky, who sustains me with music, wit, and kindness; Morgan Fahey, a bold woman who makes bold claims—also a generous reader and a great wartime consigliere; Sarah Mesle of sunsetandecho.com, who understands structure and story and heart, and all of the ways they fit together; and Liz Hamilton (aka Zenith Nadir of Darlings Are Dying), who can work copy and a cocktail like nobody’s business. Gamynne Guillote brought Grisha swag to life with patience and an unerring eye. Love also to Peter Bibring, Brandon Harvey, Dan Braun, Jon Zerolnik, Michael Pessah, Heather Repenning, Kurt Mattila, Rico Gagliano, Corey Ellis, William Lexner and the Brotherhood Without Banners (particularly Andi and Ben Galusha, Lady Narcissa, Katie Rask, Lee and Rachel Greenberg, Xray the Enforcer, Blackfyre, Adam Tesh, and the Mountain Goat), Ann Kingman of Books on the Nightstand, E. Aaron Wilson and Laura Recchi, Laurie Wheeler, Viviane Hebel of HebelDesign.com, David Peterson, Aman Chaudhary, Tracey Taylor, and Romi Cortier. These people supported me and the Grisha Trilogy at every step, and I can’t tell you how much I value and adore them. I want to give a special shout to Rachel Tejada, Austin Wilkin, and Ray Tejada, who helped me expand the Grishaverse with infinite creativity and support.
Certain supergeniuses helped to make the impossible improbable: the lovely Heather Joy Kamensky talked me through the logistics of David’s mirrored dishes; John Williams helped me to build the Hummingbird; and Davey Krieger advised me on the boarding and building of ships and other things nautical (though he will most likely be horrified by the liberties I’ve taken).
Many thanks to the inspiring women of Pub(lishing) Crawl—particularly Amie Kaufman, Susan Dennard, and Sarah J. Maas. Also, Jacob Clifton, Jenn Rush, Erica O’Rourke, Lia Keyes, Claire Legrand, Anna Banks (how dare you), Emmy Laybourne, and the Apocalypsies. Several extraordinary writers supported this trilogy early and loudly: Veronica Roth, Cinda Williams Chima, Seanan McGuire, Alyssa Rosenberg, and the inimitable Laini Taylor. Finally, my LA crew, especially Jenn Bosworth, Abby McDonald, Gretchen McNeil, Jessica Brody, Jessica Morgan, Julia Collard, Sarah Wilson Etienne, Jenn Reese, and Kristen Kittscher. Ladies, without you, I’d get right stabby. Thanks for keeping me (mostly) sane.
I dedicated this book to my mother, but she also deserves extra thanks here. I couldn’t have made it through the first draft of Siege and Storm without her there to read pages, offer encouragement, and keep me in seaweed snacks. She is a marvelous mom and an even better friend. Irritable. Cantankerous. Defiant. These are our words.
I am forever indebted to the incredible booksellers, librarians, and bloggers who talked up Shadow and Bone and foisted it on friends, customers, and hapless passersby.
And finally, to my marvelous readers: Thank you for every email, every tweet, every gif. You make me grateful each day.
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Copyright © 2013 by Leigh Bardugo
Map © 2013 by Keith Thompson
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bardugo, Leigh.
Siege and storm / Leigh Bardugo.—First edition.
pages cm
Sequel to: Shadow and bone.
Summary: Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9460-2 (hardcover)—ISBN 978-0-8050-9711-5 (e-book)
[1. Fantasy. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Monsters—Fictioin. 4. Orphans—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B25024Si 2013 [Fic]—dc23 2012046361
First Edition—2013
eISBN 9780805097115
Grisha 02 - Siege and Storm Page 32