Marcus was crouched over the boy, his body taking a protective position. Alvar must be telling the truth. Another sentinel emerged from the trees behind where the boy lay. From there Marcus would be able to do nothing if they took another shot. There had to be some way out. More sentinels emerged behind us and Devyn was now exposed while Marcus was off his horse.
“Get down.”
It was over.
We dismounted. Alvar walked over to us and I gripped Devyn’s hand tightly, my breath fast and shallow. Marcus was busy trying to help the fallen Shadower.
Alvar smirked and nodded to someone over my shoulder. Devyn’s hand went limp and I turned to see what had happened. There was a sharp pinch in my neck, my limbs went limp, and I blinked to clear my vision as everything faded to black.
I came to slowly. My head felt woozy, like everything was slightly distant. I tried to raise my hands to my brow and realised they were tied tightly in front of me. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear. Nothing. I was in a total sensory void.
What was going on?
We had been taken. The sentinels had us.
Despair started to fill me.
I tried to use what senses I had left. I could smell something sharp and pungent.
“Hello? Devyn? Marcus?” I called, my voice thrumming strangely in my throat as I realised I couldn’t actually hear myself make a sound. The sensation of calling out and failing to hear the corresponding cry was unnerving. Even if Devyn and Marcus could, I wouldn’t be able to hear their responses. I stuffed down my rising panic.
Hands went under my arms and I was pulled to a standing position. My own hands were untied and someone grasped my upper arm and dragged me along. I stumbled as I blindly moved forward.
A strange vibration began to pulse through the building, growing to a steady thud. It was heavy and regular and felt oddly familiar. The stone beneath my feet surrendered to sand, and my footing grew less steady as the ground gave way and my knees weakened.
Realisation dawned as I came to a halt. The noise hit me in a wave the second my hearing was restored. The roar of the crowd beat down on me like a physical force.
The jeers and yells of the mob died as I heard the familiar tones of Praetor Calchas.
“You are accused of crimes against the Code. How do you plead?”
* * *
THE END
* * *
Don’t miss Curse of the Celts, the next bewitching chapter in The Once and Future Queen trilogy.
* * *
You can get your copy right here!
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to all at One More Chapter, having been an editor in the past I’ve gotten such a kick out of being on the other side – thank you so much Bethan and Sophie for the pixie dust of tips and nudges that pushed me on to better versions.
I set out to capture a daydream, doodled for years and never expected to be here – thank you Kim for lighting the stepping stones to this castle in the sky and Charlotte for your encouragement and most improbably that magic nod that got us here.
My thanks multiply to all those who helped in the creation – Andrew, who added the shimmer I needed at just the right time. Lydia, for those words and especially for waving your wand to better ones. Tony, for that final polish. Laura, for whispering life into a world of my imagination. Melanie and Claire, and all the folks who breathe into the palms of their hands and float the dandelion seeds out into the winds to let the world know this book exists, thank you.
Special thanks to Jennifer for braving an early read and lending your thoughts to help me knock down some of the neverending decisions. To Ashley for allowing me to pepper an otherwise idyllic Joshua Tree trail with musings about how to unravel some major worldbuilding knots and Ida for inspiring a work ethic when sun and palm trees called.
Last but not least – Úna, my port in the storm, and Eilish, my calm in all storms – it’s been quite a year. Thank you for being there.
And to all of you who find this world… I do hope you enjoy your time here.
* * *
Cx
Author Q & A
How did you go about world-building an alternate history?
‘What ifs’ are something I’m endlessly fascinated by; battles in ages past that decided the fate of countries were often fought by surprisingly few. There are so many ‘what ifs’ as we look back on history.
If the king of Leinster, Dermot McMorrough, hadn’t liked the look of another man’s wife, he wouldn’t have invited Henry II to Ireland, and this book may not have been in English. The Normans conquered England with 10,000 men, the attendance of a lower tier football game. Washington marched on Yorktown and won the American War of Independence with 9,000; a Friday night high school football game would easily accommodate them, plus the French navy assist.
In this version of history, Western Europe and Northern Africa would have been a single political entity for two millennia, which meant I had to consider what impact that might have had within and without. If the Romans had maintained their presence across Europe, one of the earlier pillars of this world was the easy conjecture that technical advances would have happened earlier, another was that some of the societal structures would have been inherited from ancient Rome.
Without the Imperial colonisation driven by Spain, France and England, what might these cultures and development of other cultures have been like? A world where the nations of native north and south Americans had continued uninterrupted, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Apache, the Comanche all thriving into the modern day. The African nations benefiting from the wealth of the land they lived on, making them less Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and more Marvel’s Wakanda, or so I had fun imagining. Rich magics and more traditional societies made… well, more of that in book two.
* * *
What challenges did you face in crafting this world?
Choosing a turning point so far in the past left me with a lot of explaining to do. And everybody has different interests or periods they believe are key and want to know how they went in this alternate universe.
I did do a parallel timeline; unfortunately, I couldn’t put it all in, as my characters are themselves only interested in certain points in the past. Some key turning points remain but are twisted, or never happened at all: the Danes came and ultimately merged kingdoms with Mercia (putting Mercia further north than it was in reality), the war of the roses became a Union, Oliver Cromwell simply never rose to prominence; in that era my Britons were in a raging war with the Romans; or maybe he did… and, if so, he lived in Anglia.
* * *
What inspired you to write this series?
How we interact with the world around us, how it shapes us and how our cultures and beliefs shape it just fascinates me. Hundreds of generations in the past, present and future will see the same rivers and mountains; landmarks change or remain the same. The architecture of our cities tells tales of the past – the wealth or poverty of different eras, the changing tastes and capabilities of the people who live in them.
I’ve always particularly adored older buildings and the histories contained within those spaces – spaces we now occupy. As a child, I passed a Round Tower on my way to school, a building for early Christians to flee to when Vikings or less Christian folk raided. Vikings.
The fields around abounded with the remains of bronze age ringforts or raths, protected in Ireland for centuries by the belief that the little folk would have their revenge if their home was damaged, leaving the landscape dotted with the homes of those who lived millennia ago. Across the road was an estate where once lived the disgraceful rake known as the Fighting Fitzgerald, a famed Georgian duellist who kept a pet bear. My local town had seen pitched battles between the landed French and the English stationed at the barracks there. These days I walk through a movie studio lot in Los Angeles to my office, in the footsteps of Laurel and Hardy, Judy Garland, Jennifer Aniston… it absolutely blows my mind.
Growing up wit
h so many eras and histories around and thinking about those who trod the same paths before us has inspired many a daydream. No matter where I’ve travelled in the world I’ve easily been transported to times and places past, from hidden Templar temples in southern Italy in the time of the crusades to Moorish castles in Portugal to Aztec empires in Mexico to the sophisticated urban spaces and societal structures of ancient civilisations in Greece, China, Mexico, Peru. The list is endless.
When I started to capture this story, I was inspired by the city around me; London tumbles with stories and locations evoking different times, I just tripped over these ones.
Exploring the World of The Once and Future Queen
Londinium
The Roman Walls
The roman walls are still visible in multiple places around the city of London from the Tower of London up to Liverpool Street Station, along to the Barbican Centre and down to the river by St Paul’s Cathedral.
Spare a thought for the enslaved Britons ripped from their once peaceful homes to build it by the red-cloaked invaders. I added a second outer wall to account for an expanded city in later more populous centuries.
* * *
The Amphitheatre
When I started to explore Roman London in a bit more detail, I had no idea that London once held a site where gladiators fought to entertain the elite of the outpost. Much less that I would be able to visit… and you can too. Discovered in 1987, part of the excavation is open to the public visiting the Guildhall Art Gallery.
* * *
The Forum
Again, there was a basilica and forum in London, nowhere near the size of the one in Rome with its multiple basilica, but the basilica in London stood as tall as present-day St Paul’s. Leadenhall market now sits in its place, still somewhere for people to shop, eat and generally gather.
* * *
The Governor’s Palace
There are three suspected locations of the original Governor’s Palace in London.
A large structure under Canon Street Station that is now largely believed to have been administration buildings.
There is also a likely site under Suffolk lane.
The last is the one I went with, the site of the medieval Winchester Palace, for no better reason than I have always enjoyed stopping and wondering at the lives lived there on my way to Borough Market for my cheese fix. But also because, given the growth of cities, I figured during a period of dominance the Romans would have pushed south of the river, and leaders in power do like room to spread out.
* * *
Richmond Palace
My first proper job in London was in Richmond and the path to our Friday pub lunch took us through the remains of Richmond Palace where Henry VIII once lived. My mind explodes at the idea of strolling across the grounds where such intrigue and power plays existed before he moved further west after putting poor old Wolsey out of his Hampton home.
* * *
Isabella Plantation
There is a gated Victorian woodland garden in Richmond Park in which I have spread out a blanket and spent many a happy summer afternoon reading. It’s full to the brim with native and exotic flowers and trees, overflowing with colour, including wonderful crimson acers and bright rhododendron circling tranquil ponds…
Thank you for reading…
We hope you enjoyed Secrets of the Starcrossed! Do leave a review if so on all your preferred platforms to help spread the word!
You can also add the paperback and audiobook editions to your collection!
Dying to know what happens next?
* * *
Treat yourself to the next bewitching instalment in The Once and Future Queen trilogy by the inimitable Clara O’Connor with the utterly enthralling Curse of the Celts.
You can order your copy right here!
And don’t miss the third and final instalment, Legend of the Lakes…
You can order your copy right here!
Be sure to follow Clara on Twitter @clara_author for all the latest updates!
You will also love…
In the mood for even more page-turning fantastical fiction?
You will adore An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, a heart-pounding fantasy adventure following an enslaved scholar and a rebel soldier as they take on the malevolent Martial Empire in a brutal world inspired by Ancient Rome where defiance is met with death.
Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.
* * *
Get your copy here!
You will also fall instantly for Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, the gut-wrenching opening salvo in a bewitching chronicle of salt and honey, iron and blood, eyes the blue of sunsburned skies, and the forever burning in the dark between the stars.
Look now upon the ruins in her wake. As pale light glitters on the waters that drank a city of bridges and bones. As the ashes of the Republic dance in the dark above your head. Stare mute at the broken sky and taste the iron on your tongue and listen as lonely winds whisper her name as if they knew her too.
* * *
Do you think she would laugh or weep to see the world her hand has wrought?
* * *
Get your copy here!
And don’t miss The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty, an unputdownable saga of windswept sands and elemental spirits following the epic quest of a notorious healer-turned-thief on the streets of 18th-century Cairo when she accidentally summons an equally sly djinn warrior to her side.
Greatness takes time, Banu Nahida. Often the mightiest things have the humblest beginnings.
* * *
Get your copy here!
Happy reading!
About the Author
Clara O’Connor grew up in the west of Ireland where inspiration was on her doorstep; her village was full of legend, a place of druids and banshees and black dogs at crossroads. Clara worked in publishing for many years before her travels set her in the footsteps of Arthurian myth, to Mayans, Maasai, Dervishes and the gods of the Ancients. The world she never expected to explore was the one found in the pages of her debut novel, Secrets of the Starcrossed, which is the first book in the The Once and Future Queen trilogy.
* * *
Clara now works in LA in TV. At weekends, if not scribbling away on her next book, she can be found browsing the markets, hiking in the Hollywood Hills or curled up by the fireside with a red wine deep in an epic YA or fantasy novel.
Books by Clara O’Connor
The Once and Future Queen Series
Secrets of the Starcrossed
Curse of the Celts
Legend of the Lakes
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
* * *
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
* * *
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
* * *
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
* * *
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
* * *
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
&n
bsp; www.harpercollins.com
Secrets of the Starcrossed Page 37
