City of Spells (Into the Crooked Place #2) - Alexandra Christo Page 0,124
to ropes and wood, watching the spectacle below with horror. But none dare throw themselves overboard to save their sovereigns. I can smell their fear, mixed with the confusion that comes from the sudden absence of our song.
I meet the eyes of my prince and stroke his soft, angelic skin. Gently, with one hand on his cheek and another resting on the thin bones of his shoulder, I kiss him. And as my lips taste his, I pull him under.
The kiss breaks once we are far enough down. My song has long since ended, but the prince stays enamored. Even as the water fills his lungs and his mouth opens in a gasp, he keeps his eyes on me with a glorious look of infatuation.
As he drowns, he touches his fingers to his lips.
Beside me, Kahlia’s queen thrashes. She clutches at her throat and bats my cousin away. Angrily, Kahlia clings to her ankle and keeps her deep below the surface, the queen’s face a sneer as she tries to escape. It’s futile. A siren’s hold is a vice.
I stroke my dying prince. My birthday is not for two weeks. This trip was a gift for Kahlia: to hold the heart of royalty in her hands and name it her fifteenth. It’s not supposed to be for me to steal a heart a fortnight early, breaking our most sacred rule. Yet there’s a prince dying slowly in front of me. Brown skin and lips blue with ocean. Hair flowing behind him like black seaweed. Something about his purity reminds me of my very first kill. The young boy who helped my mother turn me into the beast I am now.
Such a pretty face, I think.
I run a thumb over the poor prince’s lip, savoring his peaceful expression. And then I let out a shriek like no other. The kind of noise that butchers bones and claws through skin. A noise to make my mother proud.
In one move, I plunge my fist into the prince’s chest and pull out his heart.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
YOU’VE REACHED THE END! Now this is the part where you get to read about all the people I love (or the ones who bribed me into putting their names in here).
First off, I have to thank my parents. Literally, have to. They’re forcing me. Help! (Kidding.) Mum, Dad, you guys are more than I could ever have wished for. I’m so happy to have you by my side, championing me whatever I do.
To the rest of my family, who are far too big to name, and far too wonderful for words. And, of course, to Nick, because although times will change, these acknowledgments never will. I love you. You’re not getting in my book.
To Daniel, who insists I named a character after him before we even met. Who makes me laugh every day and who still gives me first-date butterflies, even now. You’re my favorite person. Even if you are the world’s slowest reader.
Thank you to all my friends in the publishing world and outside of it. To Leanne and Becca, as always, for being the best of friends.To Sasha Alsberg, Sarah Glenn Marsh, N.J. Simmonds, Brigid Kemmerer, Melinda Salisbury, Rebecca Kuang, and Tricia Levenseller. And to Siiri, for always bouncing into my life when I need a smile!
And, gosh, all the people who made this book possible!
Emmanuelle, thank you for being the best agent a writer could ask for, and a great friend to boot. Your championing of all my stories, and all the possibilities they could hold, makes me believe anything is possible. And to Whitney, for helping to bring those words to people and countries I’d never have dreamed of.
To all of the people at Macmillan and Feiwel & Friends who have helped make magic a reality. To Holly, for being a rock-star editor and helping me find the story I wanted to tell. To Morgan, for being the best publicist and always throwing exciting things my way. To Liz and Yehrin for creating a masterpiece of a cover! To Kaitlin, Jessica, and Starr, and to everyone else on the team who played a part in making this book, this series, great. I appreciate you all so much!
To everyone at Bonnier Books and Hot Key Books, my fellow UK crew! You guys are the best and I’m so grateful for all of your hard work, your vision, and your endless enthusiasm for all the stories I throw your way. Thank you, thank you, thank you. To Fliss, to Carla, to Lizz, to Isobel, to every single person who has brought so much laughter and positivity to this whole experience! And to Tina, who I hope to get to work with again someday.
Of course, how could I finish with anything else but a thanks to YOU. Dear reader. Dear friend. Dear person who picked this book up, cracked its pages, and dove straight in, headfirst, ready to be swallowed by adventure.
I created this world for you. I hope you loved it.
I hope it helped you find the magic you have inside of yourself.
Also by Alexandra Christo
To Kill a Kingdom
Into the Crooked Place
Thank you for choosing a Hot Key book.
If you want to know more about our authors and what we publish, you can find us online.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The right of Alexandra Christo and Patrick Knowles to be identified as author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.