A league away, a red trail of smoke called for Merciful Crows. It was time for a chief to answer.

Fie set off down the road.

Acknowledgments

When it comes down to it, all I did was write down the words; there are countless people without whom this book would not exist, and really they should get some of the credit.

First and foremost, the team of highly trained professionals who have made this whole business bearable. Thank you to my agent, Victoria Marini, for steering me through the shoals of this industry, and patiently handing me a life ring whenever I found myself determined to flail in water a mere two feet deep. A thousand-thousand thanks to my brilliant editor, Tiff Liao, who has championed a chief, raised the bar for a queen, and fast-tracked skin monsters with enthusiasm I had scarcely dared to hope for in such a wonderful human being.

A whole bag of thank you to the team at Henry Holt and Mac Kids, particularly the elite squad of publicity and marketing sorceresses Morgan, Jo, Allegra, Melissa, Katie, and Caitlin—I want to lie down just thinking about the work you do, and I know I couldn’t be in better hands. Thank you so much to Jean Feiwel and Christian Trimmer for opening the door to a strange, angry little story, to Kristin Dulaney for sending it overseas, and to Rich Deas and Sophie Erb for designing the perfect book to carry it out.

Thank you to my early readers and critique partners, Sheena, Sarah, Jamie, Paula, Hanna, Emily, Christine, and Rory, for helping me believe I just might have something decent on my hands, and thank you to Elle McKinney, my fellow Sailor Scout, without whom I never would have made it to the end of this road. Thank you for never letting me give up on Fie, or on myself.

Thank you also to so many facets of the YA community, large and small; to the Novel 19s for sharing the journey, to the 2015 Pitch Wars class that has been there for me for this entire roller coaster and beyond, and to the bloggers and bookstagrammers who have been boosting TMC. (Special shout-out to the incredible Hafsah Faizal for commiserating with me on design, merch, and all things Book Hustle.) And thank you to so, so many authors who have extended a hand, an ear, and/or a word to a very nervous debut, helping me with everything from major decisions to my first speaking gig. Without you, I would almost certainly be hiding under my bed for the next decade, which wouldn’t be all that conducive to my career.