Mina: human, twin to Malou, part of Galen den’ Mora
Malou: human, twin to Mina, part of Galen den’ Mora Sawyn: sorceress who killed the king and queen of Olmdere and now controls the kingdom Rooks: soldiers of Sawyn’s army
Ingrid Engdahl: queen of the Ice Wolves
Luo Yassine: king of the Onyx Wolves, older brother to Taidei Taidei Yassine: prince of the Onyx Wolves, younger brother to Luo
Courts
Olmdere (capital: Olmdere City): home to humans and the Gold Wolf pack Damrienn (capital: Highwick): home to humans and the Silver Wolf pack Taigos (capital: Taigoska): home to humans and the Ice Wolf pack Valta (capital: Rikesh): home to humans and the Onyx Wolf pack
Acknowledgments
Thank you to all my amazing queer readers and our allies for embracing (and excitedly demanding?) more types of queer fantasy stories. I hope you feel seen and welcomed into the world of high fantasy!
Thank you to my Mountaineers for celebrating my books both online and out in the world. You are the most amazing group of readers, and I’m honored to share these stories with you! The best mountains to climb are fictional ones xx.
Thank you to all of my family for supporting and encouraging me to pursue the career of my dreams. To my husband and children: I adore the life we’ve built together and love you endlessly.
Thank you to all of my amazing patrons for making this novel possible! I love creating worlds with you! A very special thank you to my fae and royal fae patrons: Jaime, Linda, Nicole, Leslie, Marissa, Traci, Amy, Ciara, Drea, Hannah, Kelly, Maggie, Mandy, Mariah, Sarah, Shanda, and Virginia. Your support means so much to me! I can’t wait to take you on more fantasy adventures!
To my writer friends: thank you for lifting me up through the writing of this book and on my author journey. I am so grateful to have you in my corner cheering me on, guiding me, and helping me find my own way!
Thank you to my book wifey, Kate, for all of your support and for the amazing job you do formatting my gorgeous novellas, designing merch, and keeping the A.K. shop running! Thank you to Sabrina for keeping Team A.K. going. I so appreciate all of the work you do!
Thank you to my amazing agent, Jessica Watterson at SDLA, for championing my stories and for supporting me through this wild journey of publishing. I love working with you and look forward to many more bookish adventures in the future!
Thank you to the whole Harper Voyager team all over the world. It has been a pleasure working with you all on this new series. Thank you to my amazing team for championing this book and supporting diverse stories. A big thank you to my editor, David Pomerico, and to Natasha Bardon, for helping make this story the best it can be!
Lastly, thank you to my fur babies, Ziggy, Bruno, and Timmy, for saving me in the anxious moments of getting this book out into the world.
Announcement
We hope you enjoyed the first installment of The Golden Court trilogy. Want more romance and magic? Turn the page for a sneak peek at the fifth and final book in the Five Crowns of Okrith series . . .
The Amethyst Kingdom
Coming Summer 2024 from Harper Voyager wherever books are sold
The Amethyst Kingdom
Carys didn’t get far from the dining commons, her stewing anger making her pace outside the doors.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
Gods, she needed to end this. Leaning against the stone archway, she listened as the competitors finished their lunch, paying particular attention to the footsteps of the people shuffling from the dining commons and into the hallway.
When she had last seen Ersan, neither of them had been particularly adept at fighting. But Carys had developed her fighting prowess in her years of being a soldier in Hale’s army. She only prayed that Ersan had continued on his highborn trajectory and hadn’t invested in his swordsmanship. His wooden leg would surely hinder him in the melee too. At least then the first competition would excise him from her life again.
She listened eagerly for the tap of Ersan’s cane. When it came, she took a deep breath, waiting for Ersan to pass her narrow hiding space between the main entryway and the side corridor.
When Ersan passed, her hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him into the narrow corridor. She hoped it would leave a bruise on his back as she slammed him hard against the carved wood. In the blink of an eye, her knife was unsheathed from her belt, and she stabbed it into the beam a hair’s breadth from Ersan’s head.
Those dark eyes didn’t so much as flinch, as if he’d expected this exact situation to unfold.
“Hello, love,” Ersan said with a wink.
“Stop telling people I’m your Fated,” Carys seethed, ignoring his cavalier greeting.
“This seems a bit like the kind of intimidation Councilor Elwyn warned us against, no?” His smile was taunting, only incensing her further as his eyes shifted to the dagger beside his temple. “Are you nearing your cycle then? You were always particularly murderous around that time—”
She yanked him off the column and smashed him back into it again, hoping every nodule along the carved wood would leave bruises down his spine. Gods, it would feel good to impale her knife into his guts and twist. She pinned him with a venomous look. “I’m not joking! Stop saying we’re Fated!”
His scent hit her like a crashing wave, like Arboan clay and blossoming snowflowers and sunshine over the ocean. He smelled like every good memory that now filled her with grief. It made her fist clench tighter in his starched, white shirt. He’d taken every moment of joy. He’d taken everything from her. And she still didn’t really understand why.
“But it’s the truth. You are my Fated.” Ersan’s midnight eyes twinkled against his lashes, so thick that from a distance they seemed lined with kohl. His face was still all the same sharp lines, but his strong jaw was now covered in dark stubble all the way up to his defined cheekbones. His straight black hair was just long enough to be pulled back into a low knot at the nape of his neck, and stray strands fell across his thick black brows. “Why should I lie to anyone about it?”
“If you weren’t here, you wouldn’t have to lie. And you shouldn’t be here at all,” Carys gritted out, yanking her knife free and clenching it in her hand. She debated holding it against his golden brown skin, wondering how good it might feel to draw blood. “You just couldn’t stay gone, could you?”
“You think I’m here for you?” Ersan chuckled, his mouth quirking with cruel amusement. “You truly have a sense of entitlement, don’t you? Carys, I’m here the same as any contender. I’m here for a crown.”
“What about Arboa?”