The Alcazar
Page 34
Leela had returned the siphoned magic back to her people—she told Sera that the moment she had placed the circlet on her head and claimed the moonstone as her own that she could sense the Cerulean magic writhing inside it, begging to be released. She said it felt like turning on a faucet when she at last gave their magic back, a gratifying sense of release. The Cerulean held in the stalactites were healthy and well. Soon the City would move and the Sky Gardens would grow lush and green again and the Cerulean would explore new planets and learn the ways of the universe as they were meant to.
Sera touched the moonstone pendant, no longer hidden beneath her dress but shining proudly for all to see. As long as she had it, she would be connected to them, to Leela and her mothers and her beloved City. She would be able to see them and they her. She would not truly lose them.
Her mothers were standing by the dais, tears in their eyes.
“We love you so much, Sera,” her orange mother said.
“We will miss you,” her green mother echoed.
“I will miss you too,” Sera said. “But you will always be with me.”
“And you with us,” her green mother said.
Her purple mother touched her cheek.
“As long as the stars burn in the sky,” she said, “I will love you.”
Sera’s throat was too swollen to speak. She stepped onto the dais and stood in front of Leela.
“How far we have come,” Sera said, “from climbing the temple spire at night.”
Leela smiled. “That seems a lifetime ago.”
Sera looked out over the sea of faces, staring at her with hope and admiration. “Take care of them,” she said.
“I will,” Leela promised. They held each other tight, their hearts beating in unison, and there was no need to blood bond for them to read each other. Leela pulled away and took out the ancient iron knife. When she cut into Sera’s arms, Sera welcomed the pain. It sharpened her senses. She was not afraid. She was going to a different home, that was all. Home didn’t have to be one thing or another—it didn’t have to be the place where you were born. It could be wherever those you cared about were. Sera suddenly thought herself lucky, to have two homes.
She turned and gazed at the stars as Leela swept a hand to remove the barrier and Sera stepped out into space.
“Goodbye,” she whispered, to the stars, to her mothers, to Leela, to her City. Then she fell.
She landed with a hard thud that sent her sprawling on the ground.
When the dust cleared, Agnes and Leo were standing over her.
“Are you all right?” Agnes asked.
Sera sat up. They were still on Braxos, in the ruins of the Alcazar. The fountain had cracked in two. The tether had vanished and Wyllin and Elysse were gone.
“They just . . . faded,” Leo said. “And then the fountain broke.”
Sera looked up at the sky.
“Is the city moving?” Agnes asked quietly.
“Yes,” Sera said. “It is. At long last.”
“Are you all right?” Leo asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “I am sad to lose it. But I am also happy for them. I do not regret my choice. It was no choice at all, really. It was what I was meant to do.”
He smiled and she laid her hand against his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her palm.
“So,” Agnes said. “Should we go back to Culinnon? We’ve got a lot of plans to make. And we’ll have to sort out what to do about Father.”
“Maybe he won’t be so angry anymore, now that Ambrosine and Braxos are gone,” Leo said. “Maybe Sera’s memory sharing can, I don’t know, help him be more like who he used to be.”
“Maybe,” Agnes said. “Or maybe he’ll just go back to Kaolin and stew.”
Leo grinned. “Maybe that too. But at least Culinnon won’t be so isolated anymore. We can do what our mother always wanted.”
“Yes,” Sera said. First Culinnon and then beyond. She would help heal the scars her people had unknowingly left on this planet. And besides, there was so much more to see and do and learn. She was still Sera Lighthaven, after all. Her curiosity had not been quenched by the fall.
They left the Alcazar and headed down to where Eneas and Vada were waiting for them, Hektor and the Byrne Misarros readying their fleet, the open ocean full of possibility.
Acknowledgments
I often say that every book is its own little monster, and this one was no exception. And no book is ever completed without the help of so many amazing people working diligently behind the scenes. First, to my editor, Karen Chaplin, thank you for the numerous phone calls and hand holding that went along with drafting this book, and for helping me keep all the storylines straight. Bria Ragin, thank you for your infectious enthusiasm for this story and for making sure I got everything in on time. Rosemary Brosnan, thank you for believing in me and this series. My wonderful copyeditor, Jessica White, and production editor, Alexandra Rakaczki, you were both so invaluable in keeping these varied worlds straight and making sure all the little details lined up. Jacquelynn Burke, my amazing publicist, thank you for all you did to help promote this series. To the fabulous illustrator and designer, Jeff Huang and David Curtis, I cannot thank you enough for such an incredible cover—people often think I somehow have any hand in them, which is absolutely laughable, and for which I am eternally grateful that I do not, otherwise my covers would all feature stick figures. And a thousand thanks to Tim Paul for the gorgeous map of Pelago, which made all my fantasy-writer dreams come true.
Charlie Olsen, slayer of self-doubt dragons and defender of insecure hearts, I am eternally grateful that I have you in my corner. And many many thanks to Lyndsey Blessing for handling all things foreign rights related.
Jess Verdi, there is literally no world in which I could write a book without your support and encouragement, your sharp eyes, or your shoulder to cry on. Thank you for always finding the time to have wine and snacks while I ask you a million plot questions. Jenna’s thesis.
Alyson Gerber, you were there for so much of the initial drafting of this book, reading revised scene after scene with such care and always making me feel like I was improving even when I thought I’d gone off the rails. Caela Carter, thank you for the boundless support and for your ability to see the sense in my always weird and often tangled mind.
So many friends have been there for me during the birthing of this book and were instrumental in keeping me sane throughout the writing of it. Thanks to Corey Ann Haydu, Jill Santopolo, Linsday Ribar, Steven Salvatore Shaw, Heather Demetrios, Mike Hanna, Erica Henegen, Clark Solak, Melissa Kavonic, and Ali Imperato. Matthew Kelly, my oldest friend in the world, who could have guessed way back when we were in nursery school together that one day I would be dedicating a book to you. All I ask in return is that you make me the Chef pasta on demand.
To the steadfast crew at Mess Hall, thank you for cheering me on through this process, especially Derek, Max, Cherry, and Dana.
To my Aardvarks, every year I get to work with you I am reminded of why I do this in the first place and leave inspired by your dedication and talent. Thank you all for being so generous and amazing. Special thanks to the merch squad—Anika, Carissa, Daniel, Mary, and Alin.
My incredible family who has supported me from day one, I am so grateful for your love and encouragement and your belief in me as I struggle along this crazy path of being a writer. Thank you to Ben, Leah, Otto, and Bea. And to my parents, Dan and Carol—you guys have been my champions since way back when my dream was acting, and I couldn’t have done any of this without you.
And for Faetra. I miss you every day.
About the Author
PHOTO BY MARLIES HARTMANN
AMY EWING earned her MFA in Writing for Children at the New School and received her BFA at New York University. The Jewel started off as a thesis project but became her debut novel. The other books in the trilogy are The White Rose and The Black Key. She is also the author of The Cerulean; this is the secon
d book in the duology. She lives in New York City. Visit Amy online at www.amyewingbooks.com or on Twitter @AmyEwingBooks.
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Books by Amy Ewing
The Jewel
The White Rose
The Black Key
The House of the Stone
Garnet’s Story
The Cerulean
The Alcazar
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE ALCAZAR. Copyright © 2020 by Amy Ewing. Map art copyright © 2020 by Tim Paul. 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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COVER ART © 2020 BY JEFF HUANG
COVER DESIGN BY DAVID CURTIS
* * *
Digital Edition MARCH 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-249006-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-249002-5 — ISBN 978-0-06-299871-2 (intl. ed.)
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2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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