‘My love is like a lily fair, White her skin and gold her hair … You’re quite right, I can’t.’ Carin gets up and pulls Marith up after him. ‘Bandits, then. Shall we start tomorrow? Go roving across the wild woods in search of dragons and damsels and rich caravan trains?’
‘We could. Why are we getting up? It’s comfortable here.’
‘Because I want to go down to the sea.’ Carin scrambles down the rocks and splashes into the water, waves breaking over his boots. ‘Let’s catch a selkie!’ He steps backwards and the water hits him around his waist. ‘Gods! It’s cold!’
Marith follows him, laughing.
They clamber around on the rocks, and Marith almost slips and falls in, and when they eventually make their way back up to their horses they’re wet through and breathless and happy, and when they ride back to Malth Salene they’re scolded for arriving at dinner late and dishevelled and caked with wet sand.
Acknowledgements
There are so many people I need to thank for helping in the making of this book.
First off, my agent Ian Drury and everyone at HarperVoyager, who between them changed my life by taking this book on.
The writers and readers who have inspired and supported me. Mike ‘Beyond Redemption’ Fletcher. Mark Lawrence. Daniel Polansky. Rjurik Davidson. Christian Cameron. Graham Austin King. Andy Remic. Adrian Tchaikovsky. Marc Turner. Mike Brooks. Joanne Hall. Steve Poore. Tej Turner. Sammy K. Smith – go Grimbold! Lenora Henry – your time will come, my friend! Quint VonCanon, creator of beautiful pictures. Sophie E Tallis, creator of beautiful maps. Adrian Collins and the team at Grimdark Magazine. Rob Matheny and Philip Overby at Grim Tidings. Marc Aplin at Fantasy Faction. M. Harold Page at Black Gate. Mike Evans, Thomas Clews, Laura M. Hughes, Kareem Mahfouz and everyone at Grimdark Writers and Readers, my special spiritual home-from-home.
Allen Stroud and Karen Fishwick. Jo Fletcher. Helen Smith. Ben O’Brian. Nic Davis. Coffee Corner. My local Waterstones.
Gareth Thomas and Julian Barker and everyone in PP, who put up with me living in Irlast rather than at my desk.
Judith Katz. Melanie Wright. Kate Byers.
This book is dedicated to my father, who introduced me to fantasy and history and mythology, and who taught me how to write.
About the Author
Anna Smith Spark lives in London, UK. She has a BA in Classics, an MA in History and a PhD in English Literature. Besides her fantasy novels, she has also been published in the Fortean Times, Hansard and the poetry website www.greatworks.org. Previous jobs include fetish model, English teacher and petty bureaucrat. Anna can often be spotted at SFF conventions wearing very unusual shoes.
www.courtofbrokenknives.org
@queenofgrimdark
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
London, SE1 9GF
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
http://www.harpercollins.com