The Drowned Woods (88)
The corgi wagged his tail, then walked to the man’s side and sat down beside his ankle. He looked up, tongue lolling.
“I see,” said the second of the folk, smiling. “Farewell.” And then they vanished into the wood, leaving the mortals behind.
The man and the woman journeyed with their hounds, skirting the edges of Annwvyn. And near the eastern footholds of the mountains, they found a fledgling village. They stayed a night in the tavern, listening to the villagers discuss the fresh vein of copper they’d found and how the town would surely be prosperous.
The young man and young woman found a place on the edge of town, near the forest. There would be timber to build a home, if that was what they chose. The two sat upon a grassy hill, fingers tangled together as they gazed at the countryside. Their corgi napped in a patch of wildflowers, the sunlight warming his fur. The sheepdog fell asleep beside him.
“Do you want to stay here?” asked the woman. “It’s beautiful, but I’ve never stayed in one place before. At least, one place that wasn’t a fortress or a thieves’ guild. What would we do here?”
The young man shrugged. “I heard the villagers say they don’t have a gravedigger yet. I’ve enough experience dragging corpses out of woods—might prove a decent occupation. This place looks like a nice one for a graveyard.”
“We’re going to need a well,” she said. “If you want to build a house nearby.”
“Then tell me where to dig one,” he said, nudging her shoulder. He had little fear of touching her now that the magic had been taken from him. It made her smile.
She sank her fingers into the damp soil and called to the water below.
And the water answered.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WRITING A BOOK feels a little like planning a heist. And like every heist, it cannot be accomplished without a good crew.
Firstly, to my agent, Sarah Landis. Thank you for your guidance, your keen eye for edits, and your hard work. And to everyone at Sterling Lord Literistic, I appreciate you so much.
To the team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers—you’re all amazing and I am so lucky to be counted among your authors. To the accomplished and dedicated editors who helped this story take shape: Hannah Milton, Hallie Tibbetts, and Alexandra Hightower. A big thank-you to my publicist, Sydney Tillman, and the marketing team: Stefanie Hoffman and Shanese Mullins. To Savannah Kennelly, whose Instagram Stories always make me smile. To Victoria Stapleton, for all her hard work with School & Library. To the art director, Sasha Illingworth, and designer Jenny Kimura, for creating a cover that made me gasp aloud when I first saw it. (That tree! So pretty!) To Brittany Groves, Marisa Finkelstein, and Virginia Lawther, for keeping everything smoothly on track. To Kathryn Carroll, for the lovely audiobook. And of course, the biggest of thank-yous to Alvina Ling and Megan Tingley, for continuing to give my characters a home.
To my fantastic team at Hodder & Stoughton—I’m so glad to be working with you. Thank you to my brilliant editor, Molly Powell. To the talented and tireless Natasha Qureshi. To proofreader Liz Ward, thank you for catching any mistakes. To my publicist, Kate Keehan, and Callie Robertson in marketing. And a huge shout-out to Lydia Blagden, for making the UK edition so beautiful.
To some of this book’s earliest readers: Kailey Steward, Billie Bloebaum, Kalie Barnes-Young, Sami Thomason-Fyke, Katie Bircher, Cody Roecker, and Gabrielle Belisle.
To all the booksellers and librarians who have supported me over the years—I wouldn’t be here without you.
To all the book boxes, bloggers, tweeters, Instagrammers, BookTubers, TikTokers, and anyone who has ever recommended my books to a friend. I appreciate you more than you will ever know.
To my friends, thank you for listening to me ramble about characters, plots, and the industry. You know who you are.
To the family, who has been with me since the beginning. Particularly my mother, without whom I couldn’t have weathered the last two and a half years. If I had to be trapped inside a house with anyone, I am glad it was you.
And lastly—thank you, dear reader.