Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky, #2)(112)

The stairs wound below her one last time as she made her way to the library. She picked a handful of books, only the most important ones, and tucked them into a leather sack.

She went to the servants’ quarters next and found a plain brown robe. She traded her tattered white dress for it. She left her hair golden and wild, for she still mourned her brother, but she traded the rich cloak he had gifted her for a plain one, tucking the precious star-lined mantle into a far corner of a shelf for safekeeping.

Her last stop was in the kitchens. She packed food, as much as she thought prudent. She hesitated over the resin lanterns. She lifted her hand, and her palm glowed. She curled her fingers, and the glow blossomed into flame. No, she no longer needed lanterns to find her way.

Once she had everything she needed, she went to the massive front doors of the tower. She had always thought those doors kept her safe from the outside world. Now she suspected they had done just the opposite. She dragged them closed and threw the bolt latch from inside. Someone stubborn could break them open, she supposed, but it would at least deter most thieves and the simply curious. The tower was still sacred. She did not want to see it desecrated or its libraries compromised.

She climbed the stairs to the tower one last time. The sun still burned black over Tova, but now there was a new presence in the sky in the north. A bright star trailing a smoking tail. A portent of change that seemed all too prescient.

She slung the leather bag over her shoulder, settled her cloak, and called the sun god.

Where Naranpa had once been was now a firebird. Her wings spread across the breadth of the tower. She considered going south to the region of the Meridian where sorcery had once thrived and still claimed a foothold, but south was Cuecola and the jaguar man. While the nightmares had lessened in their frequency, they still haunted her, warning her away from the fallen Jaguar Prince’s city. Instead, she launched herself skyward, circling once before heading north, following the new comet’s path to the Graveyard of the Gods. She hoped to find answers there. Perhaps a teacher.

She did not look back.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


I wrote a lengthy and detailed acknowledgments for Black Sun because it felt important for readers to understand the context and motivations of writing an epic fantasy novel inspired by the pre-Columbian Americas. But after surviving a difficult and challenging year, Fevered Star’s acknowledgments are all about gratitude.

I want to thank the team at Gallery Books/Saga who have continued to champion my work and this series. Bringing a book into the world is by no means a solo act, and it not only takes a village, but it takes a village of amazing and talented people who deserve my deep respect. First, thank-you to my editor, Joe Monti, who always saw the potential and pushed me to dig a little deeper and look a little harder with each iteration.

Thank you to Alysha Bullock, Senior Production Editor; Kaitlyn Snowden, Production Manager; Caroline Pallotta, Managing Editor; Michelle Marchese, Interior Designer; Allison Green, Assistant Managing Editor; Madison Penico, Assistant Editor; Jela Lewter, Editorial Assistant; Cordia Leung, Subrights; Sydney Morris, Senior Publicist; Kayleigh Webb, Senior Publicist and Marketer; Bianca Salvant, Senior Marketing Manager; Sally Marvin, VP, Director of Publicity; Jennifer Long, VP, Deputy Publisher; and, of course, Jennifer Bergstrom, SVP, Publisher.

Thanks to John Picacio for another stunning cover. You are an extraordinary artist and I am so glad you are on the team.

Thanks to my agent, Sara Megibow, who has gone above and beyond to support and nurture me, both as a human being and as a client. But most gratefully as a friend.

Thanks to my husband, Michael, for sitting through my late-night ramblings as I tried to work out plot and character arcs and your job was mostly to listen and nod at the appropriate times.

Thanks to my BFF of 30+ years, Anna Liza, who helped me with some of the initial brainstorming for what should happen in book two and for being a huge epic fantasy nerd along with me.

Thanks to my daughter, Maya. You brought your fresh imagination and anime sensibilities to the book and every time I was stuck, you imagined the most wild and unexpected solution. I didn’t agree with all of them, but I like the way you think, kid.

I wrote Fevered Star during winter/spring of 2020–2021 during the height of COVID-19. Some days it felt impossible to write, other days all I wanted to do was escape into a fantasy world. I am grateful for all the authors whose books sustained and inspired me.