BooksBarbecue
Back We Are Blood and Thunder
Chapters (32)
  1. PROLOGUE
  2. ONE
  3. TWO
  4. THREE
  5. FOUR
  6. FIVE
  7. SIX
  8. SEVEN
  9. EIGHT
  10. NINE
  11. TEN
  12. ELEVEN
  13. TWELVE
  14. THIRTEEN
  15. FOURTEEN
  16. FIFTEEN
  17. SIXTEEN
  18. SEVENTEEN
  19. EIGHTEEN
  20. NINETEEN
  21. TWENTY
  22. TWENTY-ONE
  23. TWENTY-TWO
  24. TWENTY-THREE
  25. TWENTY-FOUR
  26. TWENTY-FIVE
  27. TWENTY-SIX
  28. TWENTY-SEVEN
  29. TWENTY-EIGHT
  30. TWENTY-NINE
  31. EPILOGUE
  32. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thunder crashed, lightning flickered as the storm intensified, a jet of ice-blue electricity streaking down onto the dry wood of the funeral pyre. A spark caught. Great winds toppled the flaming torches, feeding the fire. Lena breathed deeply and smelled smoke. She felt the urge to fill the sky with clouds…

Think of all we could achieve … all we could master …

She shook her head sharply.

Enough.

As Lena drew the storm cloud back into herself, gasping, she caught a glimpse of Constance’s body encased in flames, as if in a tomb of light.

The opposite of the dark tombs honeycombing the mountain.

And then her hair caught fire, and her dress, and Lena could see no more of Constance in the blinding brightness.

The storm had returned to Lena’s heart. The sky was clear and calm again, the stars brightening. The glow of the funeral pyre felt suddenly peaceful, like a beacon in the night, promising haven.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Years ago, the beginning of a story popped into my mind: it was an image of a girl who was marked, running for her life through swirling clouds … But as yet, I didn’t know why. There are so many people who have helped me find out in their own ways.

To Mum and Dad, thank you endlessly for all your love and support over the years—you’re the best parents anyone could hope for. And Jeff, thank you for weathering all the storms of married life with a writer, cooking my dinners, and always knowing how to make me smile.

To Natasha Pulley, my very own bestselling author on call and official Font of Writing Knowledge. I would be lost without you! And to Catherine and Tim, my earliest readers—thank you. You’re crazy and wonderful and I love you for it.

Thank you, too, to everyone in my writing group. You are invaluable sources of advice, inspiration, fun, and prosecco. Jess Rigby, Jess Rule, Katherine, Maddy, Natasha—you’re all so talented. I’m truly lucky to benefit from your intuition and encouragement!

I am fortunate to have a day job that I love as much as writing. The Chicken House team has been so supportive, but a big shout-out to Laura for reading an entire early version of the manuscript. Thank you, Rachel L. and Barry: you’re the best of bosses. Esther, Jazz, Lucy, and Sarah: you’ve all shared every step of the journey with me—this book truly feels like a team effort!

An extra-special thank-you to the two people who together made this dream a reality: my agent, Veronique Baxter, and my editor, Zöe Griffiths. Veronique, I can’t thank you enough for your persistence, patience, and general loveliness—you found my story a perfect home. Zöe—with your ever-cheerful and insightful guidance I’ve written a story I am truly proud of and had the chance to tell it to the world.