Nothing would stop her from convincing the Women of the Song and bringing them to her side. As her grandmother wished, she’d go to the Rose Among Thorns, and once there, she wouldn’t be denied.
Another resolution formed: She’d use her magic. No more would she turn from the Song. Never again would someone die because she couldn’t act.
They’d stop the Northerners from harming more people.
Her hands balled into fists.
Someone must know how to kill a god.
Acknowledgments
Most serious writers learn pretty quickly not to put too much time or thought into a sequel. No matter how much you love your characters and storyline, you never know if a book will sell. Writing time is just too valuable to spend working on something that no one may ever see. So serious writers know that they have to put dreams of sequels aside until the ground is firm beneath them. That’s why having the opportunity to follow through with a set of characters and a premise is so very special.
I am indebted to David Pomerico from Harper Voyager for giving me the chance to see where Claire and Ramiro might go. He believed readers want more of Julian, Telo, and let me add Teresa to that mix. I will do my best not to disappoint. Thank you, David, for making this writer’s dreams come true.
Thank you also to the friends who helped me make sure Beatriz didn’t veer off and become too silly, or that the story didn’t stall somewhere in the middle. Carla Rehse, Angie Sandro, and Joyce Alton kept me grounded with their tough critiques.
For hand holding, I want to thank Laura Heffernan and dozens of other friends for continuing to tell me I’m a good writer on the days when it didn’t feel true. May you never suffer writers block.
And my last thanks go to my parents, children, and husband for not letting me sit at a computer and dream all day. You make me take part in real life where all ideas originate.
About the Author
MICHELLE HAUCK lives in the bustling metropolis of northern Indiana with her hubby and two kids in college. Besides working with special needs children by day, she writes all sorts of fantasy, giving her imagination free range. A bookworm, she passes up the darker vices in favor of chocolate and looks for any excuse to reward herself. She is the author of the YA epic fantasy Kindar’s Cure, as well as the short story “Frost and Fog,” which is included in anthology Summer’s Double Edge.
Find her on twitter under @Michelle4Laughs or her blog Michelle4Laughs: It’s in the details http://www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com/.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by Michelle Hauck
Birth of Saints Trilogy
Grudging
Faithful
Kindar’s Cure
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
faithful. Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Hauck. 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 hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2016 ISBN: 9780062447173
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062447180
Harper Voyager, the Harper Voyager logo, and Harper Voyager Impulse are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers.
HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
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