Shadowcaster Read online

  Right, Hal thought, staring out to sea at the spot where the pirate ship had disappeared over the horizon. If Lyss Gray wasn’t a soldier he could plan a future with, maybe she was a queen he could serve one day. Once he’d seen to his family’s safety.

  “It’s not good-bye,” he said again, this time so softly that it was lost in the sound of the wind and waves.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Writing a book is a lot like having a child. It takes about the same length of time, and for much of that time, you’re on your own. Some parts of it are lonely, painful, and disgusting—so that you wonder what made you start down this road in the first place. After all, many people live full and rewarding lives without having written a fantasy novel, let alone a series.

  Then there are the other times. Times when you feel that quiver deep in your belly, or when you strike that chord of possibility that tells you that this is the start of something good and true. When answers to the what-if questions come fast and fluidly. These harbingers of joy get you through the other bits.

  And then when you deliver that metaphorical child, red and wrinkled, squalling and uncivilized, you find other hands waiting to receive it and love it. Wise women (and some men) stand ready to advise you on how it can reach its full potential.

  I continue to benefit from the savvy counsel of my agent, Christopher Schelling, who, having run off to the city decades ago has inexplicably returned to the country, where he grows writers and other creative types (also tomatoes.) Thanks to my foreign rights reps, Chris Lotts and Lara Allen, who have sold my books in so many places that I now want to visit in person.

  The publishing team at HarperCollins has worked hard to introduce this new series to the world. Wise woman and senior editor Abby Ranger helps me rein in all the pretty horses and make sure we actually get somewhere without leaving the reader behind. Emily Brenner, Kate Jackson, and Suzanne Murphy have contributed their sagacity and support to this project, while Rose Pleuler offers much-needed assistance.

  Managing editorial and copy editing makes sure no detail is overlooked along the way. Thanks to Emily Rader, Bethany Reis, Mark Rifkin, and Josh Weiss.

  The design team of Erin Fitzsimmons, Amy Ryan, and Barbara Fitzsimmons from Harper and illustrators Sasha Vinogradova and Alessandro “Talexi” Taini have outdone themselves with covers for the series. Designers, art directors, and illustrators are the gatekeepers who entice readers into my world. It’s up to me to make them want to stay in that dangerous place.

  The publicity, sales, and marketing staff are critical in getting my work in front of readers. With the Shattered Realms, they have had the dual task of reaching out to fans of the original Seven Realms series as well as finding new readers willing to take a chance on four massive books about a star-crossed queendom. Thanks to the publicity team of Stephanie Hoover and Cindy Hamilton, the marketing team including Julie Yeater, Bess Braswell, and Nellie Kurtzman, and the sales group including Jennifer Wygand, Kathleen Faber, and Andrea Pappenheimer, this spin-off series has received a warm welcome.

  As always, thanks to my husband, Rod, intrepid book-hauler and the most responsive webmaster ever, my sons and other early readers, and all of the other writers who offer critique, support, commiseration, sage advice, and the occasional glass of wine. I raise my glass to all of you.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo by Augusten Burroughs

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA writes fantasy for teens of all ages, including the Heir Chronicles and the Seven Realms series. Her critically acclaimed books have appeared on numerous state awards lists. She lives in Ohio with her family, and she is always working on her next novel. Find out more at www.cindachima.com.

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  BOOKS BY CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA

  THE SHATTERED REALMS SERIES

  Flamecaster

  Shadowcaster

  THE HEIR CHRONICLES

  The Warrior Heir

  The Wizard Heir

  The Dragon Heir

  The Enchanter Heir

  The Sorcerer Heir

  THE SEVEN REALMS SERIES

  The Demon King

  The Exiled Queen

  The Gray Wolf Throne

  The Crimson Crown

  CREDITS

  Cover art by Alessandro Taini

  Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons

  COPYRIGHT

  Endpaper map illustration © 2009 by Disney Enterprises, Inc., from THE SEVEN REALMS SERIES by Cinda Williams Chima. Reprinted by permission of Disney·Hyperion Books. All rights reserved.

  Additional map illustration by Laszlo Kubinyi.

  SHADOWCASTER. Copyright © 2017 by Cinda Williams Chima. 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.

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  * * *

  ISBN 978-0-06-266291-0 (international edition)

  ISBN 978-0-06-238097-5 (hardcover)

  EPub Edition © March 2017 ISBN 9780062380999

  * * *

  17 18 19 20 21 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  FIRST EDITION

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