“Thank you,” I say, but the cook just waves a hand at me, not unlike Redna, and turns back to her work.
I perch on the stool that the girl, Dara, moves near the fire for me, and accept with gratitude the plate of bread and butter she delivers. Around me, the kitchen staff fall back into the rhythm of their work, and after a time, as I finish my first roll and begin on my second, the conversation starts up again.
I lean against the warm stones behind me, resting my head as I watch the servants preparing the midday meal. Dara catches my eye and flashes me a smile before returning to her chopping. Cook brandishes a large wooden spoon at another girl who, apparently, should know better what size pieces to chop an onion into.
When I turn to set my plate down, I find another one has been placed there, a single slice of honey cake set upon it. A special treat, one that no doubt the queen might have had set aside for herself. I look up again, but everyone is busy, leaving me to wonder at their kindness.
I pick up the plate with a sense of hope. There are consequences to silence and consequences to speaking. I do not regret speaking up to defend the serving girl, or stopping Valka before she could finish walking the path from prank to murder, though every action has its consequences.
But, as I sit with my honey cake in the warmth of the hall kitchen, I know that my mother was wrong. I may have fallen, fallen from my family and, no doubt, from the court’s favor—but I am far from alone.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed meeting Alyrra, and will check out her novel-length story in Thorn, a retelling of the Grimm’s “The Goose Girl,” that picks up three years after this tale ends.
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A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.
Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.
When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.
But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.
With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.
Find Thorn at your preferred retailer and add it to Goodreads here.
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Also by Intisar:
The winding streets and narrow alleys of Karolene hide many secrets, and Hitomi is one of them. Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude and who her parents really were. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame.
When the League gets word that Blackflame intends to detain—and execute—a leading political family, Hitomi volunteers to help the family escape. But there are more secrets at play than Hitomi’s, and much worse fates than execution. When Hitomi finds herself captured along with her charges, it will take everything she can summon to escape with her life.
Find Sunbolt at your preferred retailer and add it to Goodreads here.
This story would never have come into existence without the interest and support of my editor at Hot Key, Fliss Alexander. Thank you so much for believing in Alyrra, and for asking for a story about her preceding the events of Thorn. I’ve known the gist of this story for years and it was such a treat (bittersweet though the tale may be) to get to write it. Many thanks also to the whole team over at Hot Key, including Talya Baker and Anna Bowles, for all your work to help bring this story into the world. I am so grateful to you all!
Thanks also to my agent Emmanuelle Morgen, for being my champion and support, in all things big and small. Thorn, and this story, would not have reached so many readers without your faith and hard work. Thank you.
This story owes much of its early growth to the beta readers who heroically returned comments within a very tight timeframe. Rachel Dugdale, Shy Eager, Marielle Kaifer, Tia Michaud, Annemieke Oosterling, and Sara Umer thank you for being the first line of defense and helping me to kick this story into shape! Thanks also to authors Anela Deen, W.R. Gingell, and A.C. Spahn, for your invaluable input. And finally, thanks to Laurel Garver for her careful line edit at the eleventh hour to help put the final polish on this story.
As always, I am grateful to my family—my husband, my wonderful girls, my parents, my brother and his wife—for their support as I continue this amazing adventure that is writing.
And finally, I am grateful to God for granting me these stories to write, the opportunity to share them, and such an amazing cadre of people to support me.
Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveller. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different US states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters.
Prior to publishing her novels, Intisar worked as a public health consultant on projects relating to infant mortality and minority health, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy.
To keep up with what Intisar is working on next, join her monthly newsletter at booksbyintisar.com/newsletter. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @booksbyintisar.
Brambles: A Thorn Short Story Page 4