by Shannon Hale
“But I wanted—,” Jef started.
“Not a word, Jef,” said his wife. “You let her relax a time and just be. That’s what she needs. I mean, is that what you need, Rinna?”
Everyone looked at her now, question in their eyes, waiting for her response, and she could see that they did want to know.
“I don’t mind helping out still,” said Rin, “as we figure things out.”
Rin wanted to start the next day fresh and feeling like herself, whoever that was, to let home seep into her and nudge loose that scared little girl, to balance the dizziness and get her feet under her again. Part of that would be telling the truth to her nephews and finding Wilem, asking for forgiveness and trying to explain. That thought was chilly and hard, but good too in its way, because she knew it was right.
“I missed you lots,” little Hinna said, rubbing her face into Rin’s side.
Rin laughed. It tickled. “I missed you too, Hinna.”
Ma still had her arms around Rin’s neck, and she asked in her ear, “Are you staying, my girl?”
“I’m staying.”
Ma sighed, her breath scented with juniper berries.
Rin checked inside herself—strong in the middle, a core that stretched from her belly to her throat, hands touching others like leaves brush leaves, body close to Ma like the roots of great trees wrapped together.
I’m Rinna-girl, she thought, and I’m Agget-kin. I’m a tree-speaker and a people-speaker. I’m Razo’s sister and Dasha’s, Enna’s, and Isi’s friend. I’m many things, some that I don’t even know yet.
All the hands and voices pulled her into the clearing of the homestead and onto a seat by the fire. A hearty lunch stew filled bowls; laughter and excited chatter bounced off the trees. Rin was silent. She tried to read her own self as she often had others, and she saw much fault. How could her family know her when she never expressed a wish or an opinion? When she feared herself and hid behind her ma?
Slowly, carefully, she could change that. It no longer seemed a hopeless task. With her ma beside her, nieces and nephews hugging her legs, the voices of her brothers and their wives falling over her like rain, she was deluged in home. She felt so aware of her family, they seemed a part of her own body. They loved her, she knew. That was a place to start. Now it was her turn—it was time to let her family meet Rin.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to the following:
• Dean Hale and Victoria Wells Arms for their usual spot-on feedback and inspiration
• Deb Shapiro, whose publicity fu is strong
• Barry Goldblatt, a knight in shining armor
• LittleRedReadingHood.com, where my fan base begins
• My blog readers—squeetusers, who did a lot of buoying-of-Shannon’s-spirit through this tricky book
• Melissa Bryner Whiting, whose reaction to The Goose Girl first sparked the idea for this story
• Bonnie Bryner, Kayla Huff, “Big” Maggie Thatcher, Kindra Johnson, and Nikki Mantyla for loving my children while I wrote
• The King’s English, the Salt Lake County Library, and all those lovely book people everywhere who get excited about matching the right book to the right person
• Bryant, Thatcher, Gabe, Kira, Mari, Livie, Tessa, Ellie, Max, Levi, and Maggie, the children in my family, who were very much in my heart as I wrote this book. May good stories surround you, comfort you, keep you safe, and make you feel at home.
Also by Shannon Hale
THE BOOKS OF BAYERN
The Goose Girl
Enna Burning
River Secrets
Forest Born
Princess Academy
The Book of a Thousand Days
First published in Great Britain 2010
Copyright © Shannon Hale
This electronic edition published 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
The right of Shannon Hale to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4088 1192 4
www.bloomsbury.com/shannonhale
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