“I cannot go back to Iceland,” I said finally. “Not to live, anyway.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Can you not?”
I shook my head. “Ulf is family. He always will be. But it is he who must go back, so he can mind the kingdom in my absence.”
His gaze held mine. “And why is that?”
The wings of my furies beat at the walls of my chest. “Do you not know?”
“I do not,” he said. “All I know is that I love you, and I would be lost without you.”
I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pressed his forehead to mine.
“I would have to be a cold and heartless thing to leave you to such a fate.”
He smiled, and his hands came to my waist. He kissed my cheek, my nose, and finally my lips. “That you could never be.”
Acknowledgments
As I write this, my family is dealing with the aftermath of a mudslide that cut off access to our neighborhood in a rural area of western Washington. The last week has been long and stressful, but thanks to members of my community, I have been able to focus on the final steps for getting this book out to the world. Huge thanks to community road board members Samantha Idle, Korren Karahalios, and my husband, Jason Knox, as well as all the other neighbors who are putting in huge effort and long hours to help resolve this crisis. You guys are my heroes.
thank you . . .
To my agent Robin Rue and her assistant Beth Miller (who is also a terrific agent) for so many things—for all the things. Also to Mandy at Blackstone Publishing, who has done a terrific job supporting the first book in this series, The Absinthe Earl, as well as to all the great marketing, editorial, and production folks at Blackstone.
To my wonderful, kind, and enthusiastic editor, Corrina Barsan, for seeing things I couldn’t and helping to enrich this story and make it the best it can be. And my copyeditor who worked on both books, Ember Hood, for her great work and for being a fan.
To authors Lorraine Heath, Mary Jo Putney, Maria V. Snyder, and Amanda Bouchet. Also bloggers Tammy, Riley, Justine, and Has (and so many more), as well as all the enthusiastic bookstagrammers out there.
To Jeff Lilly, my trusty language and Celtic expert, who knows his stuff and also always has an encouraging word.
To poets everywhere, but especially those I was inspired by and have quoted in this work: W. B. Yeats (“The Two Trees”), William Blake (“Little Boy Lost”), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”), and Catherine Martin (“ErlKönig’s Tochter”).
All my love to friends and family for continuing to support my work, especially Jason, Selah, Talia, Debbi, Dominic, Lisa, Mark, Diana, Laurie, Donna, and Melissa.
Finally, to the person or persons I know I have left out: forgive me, and know that I couldn’t have done this without all of your wonderful help and support.
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