Holding her arms tightly, the guards marched Cleo toward the palace. As much as she wanted to fight, to scream, Cleo kept her head haughtily high. She would be fierce. This particular fate could ultimately serve her well. Inside the palace, she would be reunited with Nic and Mira. Together they would find a way to escape. They would figure out how to use her mother’s ring to locate the Kindred. With it, she would possess more than enough power to take back Auranos and vanquish their enemies forever.
Jonas had told her to be ready, but for what? She didn’t trust him. A few words spoken in a conspiratorial whisper changed nothing. For all she knew, he was the one to tip Magnus off about her presence in the crowd.
In any case, her fight was not over yet—not nearly over. It had only begun. And yes, Cleo would be strong. Just as her father and Emilia had asked her to be.
She would be strong.
She would reclaim her rightful throne.
She would be queen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Falling Kingdoms would not exist if not for the incredible team at Razorbill and their dedication to getting the world of Mytica into the hands of readers. Thank you so very much to my
amazing editor, Laura Arnold, who knows these characters every bit as well as I do—without you this all would have been way less fun and much less organized!—to Ben Schrank for giving me the chance to be a part of it all; to Erin Dempsey for her support from day 1; to Jocelyn Davies for being awesome from the very beginning; to the wonderful Richelle Mead for dinner at the top of the CN Tower when we discussed in depth my fangirl love of vampires and academies; to Shane Rebenschied for the stunning and dangerously beautiful cover art; and to Jim McCarthy, agent extraordinaire.
And thank you to my family and friends who’ve supported me every step of the way in this breathless journey and who often take me out for lunch and/or dinner when I look in need of a break. This book (and my ongoing sanity) would not be possible without you all in my life! I love you!