Summerkin (19 page)

Authors: Sarah Prineas

BOOK: Summerkin

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Phouka snorted.

“I know.” She straightened and patted him once more on the neck, then headed for the Lady Tree. The summer night felt cool and soft; stars twinkled overhead and a fingernail moon crept up over the trees.

A dark shadow loomed on the path before her, and before she could even catch her breath she was surrounded by pucks who jostled past her, bumping her off the path, their eyes flaming in the night. “Farewell, Lady,” one of them said; she heard a laugh and caught a glimpse of sharp teeth. Then they faded into the night and were gone.

She stared after them. The pucks, leaving. Had Rook gone with them? He might haveâshe'd seen a familiar-looking dog in their midst. If he was awake and well enough, he must have gone. With a sad sigh, she turned back to the path and headed on toward the Lady Tree.

As she came nearer, she saw that the lights of the houses in its branches were out; her people were asleep.

No, not everybody was asleep, she realized. There was an orange glow coming from the other side of the Lady Tree. She padded through the grass and came around the Tree and stopped, staring.

Sitting around a campfire were Fray and Twig, each with a cup of tea in her hands. Circling the fire, Fer sat down next to them. In the tree overhead, she heard her bees buzzing sleepily.

“Hello, Fer-Lady,” Fray said.

“Hello,” Twig echoed, and then gave a huge yawn. She leaned her head against Fray's broad shoulder and sighed.

“Everything's okay?” Fer asked.

“Yup,” Fray said. “All well.”

“Is there any more tea?”

Fray nodded and reached for the kettle that was keeping warm next to the fire.

“It's all right, I'll get it,” Fer said. She didn't want to disturb Twig, who was now fast asleep. Quietly she found a cup and poured out tea.

“We thought maybe the High Ones would try to make you stay at the nathe,” Fray said.

“Oh no,” Fer answered, and yawned. “I wanted to come home.” She settled with her back against the Lady Tree, feeling its solid strength, its branches reaching high up into the starry sky, its roots plunging down into the darkest depths of the ground. All was well in her land. It would be even better if Rook were here, but she knew him well enough. He'd be back, and she could figure out then if they were really friends or not. She took a sip of tea and sighed with perfect happiness.

“That was a strange thing you did, Fer-Lady,” Fray said. “Swearing your oath to us.” She was silent for a moment, as if thinking. “It feels different.”

“It is different.” Fer remembered what the High Ones had said. “It's a change.”

“What does it mean?” Fray persisted.

Fer gave her a sleepy smile. “It means we are friends, Fray.”

The wolf-girl nodded, smiling back. “Friends, yes, Lady. And we are kin, too.”

Yes. And kin, too.

Acknowledgments

Many thanksÂ .Â .Â .

To this book's intrepid first readers: Greg van Eekhout, Deb Coates, Rae Carson, and Jenn Reese.

To my editor, Antonia Markiet, whose wise guidance helped me unravel this book and knit it back together again.

To my agent, Caitlin Blasdell, whose critiques always make me a stronger writer. Thanks, too, to the Liza Dawson Agency.

To the wonderful HarperCollins team, starting with associate editor Rachel Abrams, and then editor Alyson Day, senior production editor Kathryn Silsand, editorial director Phoebe Yeh, president and publisher Susan Katz, senior art director Amy Ryan, senior designer Tom Forget, production director Lucille Schneider, associate publicist Olivia DeLeon, and cover artist Jason Chan.

To Connie Mutel, whose book
The Emerald Horizon: The History of Nature in Iowa
has shaped my understanding of what it means for land to be tame, and for it to be wild.

To Dozer van Eekhout-Will of the flopped-over ear.

Jon Michael Hansen for archery, Jennifer Adam for horsery, Deb Coates for doggery.

To my parents, my grrrl-power sistersâKate, Maude, and Winnieâand to my husband and wildling children.

Ingrid, is it time for lunch?

About the Author

Sarah Prineas
lives in the midst of the corn in Iowa City, Iowa, and can usually be found writing fantasy novels on a stealthy silver MacBook Air called Dash. Prineas's Magic Thief series introduced readers to the irascible wizard Nevery and his gutterboy apprentice, Connwaer. Sarah holds a PhD in English literature and recently taught honors seminars on fantasy and science fiction literature at the University of Iowa. She has an amazing dragon action-figure collection and occasionally bakes biscuits (although she says hers never seem to turn out as tasty as Benet's do in
The Magic Thief
).

Sarah is married to John Prineas, a physics professor, which comes in handy when she's writing about magic. They are the parents of Maud and Theo. You can visit Sarah online at www.sarah-prineas.com.

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Also by Sarah Prineas

The Magic Thief

The Magic Thief: Lost

The Magic Thief: Found

Winterling

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Credits

Cover art Â© 2013 by Jason Chan
Cover design by Tom Forget

Summerkin

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 hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Prineas, Sarah.

Â Â Summerkin / Sarah Prineas. â First edition.

Â Â Â Â pages cm

Â Â Sequel to: Winterling.

Â Â Summary: After defeating the evil MÃ³r, Fer must compete in a contest that will either seal her fate as the ruler of the Summerlands or send her back to the human world forever.

Â Â ISBN 978-0-06-192106-3 (hardcover bdg.)
EPub Edition Â© MARCH 2013 ISBN: 9780062208545
[1. MagicâFiction. 2. IdentityâFiction. 3. ShapeshiftingâFiction. 4. ContestsâFiction. 5. Fantasy.] I. Title.

PZ7.P93646Su 2013

2012026751

[Fic]âdc23

CIP

13 14 15 16 17 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1