The Deepest Blue(113)

I know. And that makes every dive special.

Mayara opened the door to the studio. “Kelo? I’m home.”

He dropped the block of wood he was sanding, and it clattered onto the floor. A bird, she saw. Maybe for a child’s mobile or an over-the-window charm. He looked tired but perfect. A smudge of soot on one cheek. Scraped knuckles. Hair askew. All perfect.

He didn’t say anything. He just crossed the space between them, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her.

As she tasted his lips, she thought her heart had been deep in the blue for a long time. But now it was rising, could see the sunlight, could see the surface. It broke through. The cold was replaced with the warmth of the sun, and the darkness in her vision was replaced by the brightness all around. She was once again back where she belonged.

Once again, she could breathe.





Acknowledgments

When I first created Renthia, I drew a map. I could see it all so clearly: a world with out-of-control nature spirits would be a world of extreme natural beauty, as well as danger. Lothlórien-like forests with cities nestled in the branches. Mountains so high they pierced the clouds. Endless glaciers. And an ocean filled with sea monsters. In the Queens of Renthia trilogy (which starts with The Queen of Blood, continues with The Reluctant Queen, and concludes with The Queen of Sorrow), I got the chance to explore the forests of Aratay and the mountains of Semo.

But I wanted more.

I wanted to know what was happening on those islands I’d doodled to the south. How did the people there live? How did they survive the spirits and the sea?

I’d like to thank my incredible editor, David Pomerico, for exploring the islands and braving the seas with me. And I’d like to thank my wonderful agent, Andrea Somberg, for believing in me from the start, and my amazing publicist, Caro Perny, for always being awesome. I am so grateful to them and to Jennifer Brehl, Priyanka Krishnan, Pam Jaffee, Angela Craft, Shawn Nicolls, Kayleigh Webb, Virginia Stanley, Chris Connolly, Lainey Mays, Ronnie Kutys, Debbie Mercer, Kara Coughlin, and all the other phenomenal people at HarperCollins for bringing this book to life!

I’d also like to thank my family and friends.

A lot of characters in fantasy books are broken. Don’t get me wrong—I love stories about broken characters who heal, whose scar tissue over their wounds makes them stronger than they ever could have been before. But I also think that strength isn’t born only in pain. Strength can be born in love.

I met my husband when we were both freshmen in college. We were next-door neighbors, and we often say that us getting together was either fate or we’re both just really lazy. We meant to send flowers to the university housing department on our wedding day, but never got around to it—which I suppose is a point in the “really lazy” column.

From the very beginning, he embraced my dream of becoming a fantasy writer and made my writing a part of his dream too. Since day one, we have shared every step of this journey. We face life, with all its ups and downs and twists and quirks, together. And that has made me stronger.

So I wrote this book because I wanted to write about a woman who is made stronger by love—her husband’s love, her family’s love, and her friends’ love.

Of course, I am not Mayara. I could never dive off an ancient skull or face a sea monster. Truthfully, I don’t even like dunking my head underwater, even in the shower. But I am stronger, braver, and happier because of the people in my life.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and the depths of the deepest blue, to my husband, my children, my family, and my friends for being my light and my joy.