Peitar’s and my lives were forever changed. Father was dead, and here we were, king and princess. We’d known one another’s true selves for so short a time, and now he belonged to the kingdom, whereas I . . .
I belong to myself, I thought, looking out over the lake. Peitar had agreed that if Innon and I wanted, we could dissolve our betrothal. And, before he returned to Delfina, Tsauderei had told me, Remember what I said. He needs you.
How? I asked. I can’t govern.
Be yourself. It’s the best gift you can give him.
How could I help him, since we’d promised never to nag each other? What was that about perspective? I groaned again.
Peitar laughed. “Now what’s wrong?”
“All that writing. I don’t know if I can do it!”
But I have!
And here it is.
Sherwood Smith first started writing about Lilah’s world, Sartorias-deles, when she was eight years old, and hasn’t stopped since! Her novels include Crown Duel and, for younger readers, the Wren books (Wren to the Rescue, Wren’s Quest, Wren’s War, and Wren Journeymage) and A Posse of Princesses. Wren’s War was both a Mythopoeic Award Finalist and an Anne Spencer Lindbergh Award Finalist. Her story “Mom and Dad on the Home Front” was a Nebula Award Finalist.
She has served on the jury for SFWA’s Andre Norton Award since its inception and is an active member of Book View Café (www.bookviewcafe.com), a publishing nexus for writers, readers, and all those concerned with science fiction and fantasy.
When not writing, she has worked as a teacher and in theater. She lives in California with her family and thousands of books. Visit her at www.sherwoodsmith.net.
ALSO BY SHERWOOD SMITH
The Sartorias-deles Books
A Stranger to Command
Crown Duel
Over the Sea: CJ’s First Notebook
Mearsies Heali Bounces Back: CJ’s Second Notebook
Hunt Across Worlds: CJ’s Third Notebook
Poor World: CJ’s Fourth Notebook
Senrid
Fleeing Peace
Sasharia en Garde: Once a Princess
Sasharia en Garde: Twice a Prince
The Trouble with Kings
The Spy Princess
The Wren Books
A Posse of Princesses
Barefoot Pirate
Wren to the Rescue
Wren’s Quest
Wren’s War
Wren Journeymage
The Spy Princess Page 28
