“Tonight,” she said, and not another word. But even as she left the room, he was with her; walking the silent streets, she felt him beside her. She saw the city, heard her own footfalls, with his senses; and she knew that would be the way of it from this day forward, no way to disentangle, no need to, no desire. The closer she came to Sereva’s house, the faster she went, till at the end she was almost running. It was not the distance she was trying to shorten, but the time. Nightfall was half a day away, and she could only endure the sluggish drag of the minutes if she whirled into frenzied activity. She must pack; she must arrange for transportation; she must secure funds, close the city house, talk to Sereva. Much to do and little enough time. She flung herself toward the appointed hour.

About the Author

Sharon Shinn is the author of the Elemental Blessings novels, including Jeweled Fire, Royal Airs, and Troubled Waters, as well as the Shifting Circle novels, including The Turning Season, Still Life with Shape-Shifter, and The Shape of Desire. Her first novel, The Shape-Changer’s Wife, was a nominee for Locus’s Best First Fantasy Novel of 1995. She has won the William L. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She has also received an RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award and won the 2010 RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has lived in the Midwest most of her life.

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