Dragonsbane (Book 3) (57 page)

Acknowledgements

First of all, nobody panic — there
will
  be a fourth and final book in the Fate’s Forsaken series. Y’all keep your fingers crossed for me, and maybe the writing will go by a little faster!

I just want to say again how much this opportunity has meant to me. When I published
Harbinger
, I thought it would be cool to be able to share a story with the world. Little did I know that the world would soon be sharing its stories with me.

You guys have touched my heart. You truly have. It’s a remarkable thing to be able to communicate with people
from all over the globe. And because of the passion with which you’ve shared, I feel I’ve learned not to take a single word for granted — for each one truly leaves a mark. Thank you to everybody who has so bravely written to me. It’s an honor I won’t take lightly.

Of co
urse, I’d also like to thank my intrepid beta readers: Prudence, Markus, and Brad Coish — who trekked fearlessly through
Dragonsbane
, hunting for errors and helping me find all of those bothersome misspelled and downright
missing
words. The way y’all challenged the story helped make for a more polished final product. You guys are awesome!

Special thanks to Bene — whose concern for my characters helped
bring the whole thing together. I was at a loss as to how to put it into words, until your questions forced me to look a little deeper.

Finally, since you all have shared so generously with me, I’d like to share somethi
ng with you. It’s something that was written in answer to a question from a reader — something that I feel is appropriate, given the tone of this third book (and if you don’t like the mushy stuff, you should probably sign off here):

Love is frustrating. That's the horrible, wonderful, messy truth of it. We read books like this because it's so unlike reality that it allows us some reprieve from the harsh light of truth.

In our world, hearts are broken often — sometimes beyond repair. People fall out of love just as suddenly as they fall into it. Sometimes the heartache is all our own fault, and sometimes it's beyond our control.
 Here, there is no such thing as “love at first sight.” If there is any love in the real world at all, then it's because it was fought for, worked for. Love is a hard-won, and often bittersweet, reward.

But in spite of all of this, love remains a powerful salve for the weariness of our world. Someone once sa
id that death doesn't stop love — it only interrupts it. And I think that about sums it up.

Map
of the lands in
Dragonsbane

Appendix
of Characters

Aerilyn:
Merchant by class, and the only child of Garron the Shrewd. Her family is originally from the seas, but ran its trade out of the Grandforest. She is married to Captain Lysander and they are expecting their first child.

Amos
:
A whisperer with the gift of healing, and the grandfather of Kael. He has served as Tinnark’s healer for as long as anyone can remember. Amos was captured by Earl Titus on the night Tinnark was sacked and has been held prisoner ever since. It’s been Kael’s quest to rally an army large enough to rescue him.

Argon the Seer:
A mage with the gift of Sight who is bound unwillingly in the service of the King.

Banagher, King:
The King before Crevan. It was his attempt to force the whisperers into slavery that started the Whispering War.

Beastkeeper, the:
An enormous (and frankly, terrifying) servant of the King. He is in charge of the many shapechangers held in the dungeons beneath Midlan.

Bimply, Mrs.:
Uncle Martin’s head cook — and consequently, his sworn enemy. She considers it her personal duty to keep the patriarch of Gravy Bay healthy … whether he likes it or not.

Bloodfang:
A halfwolf from the Grandforest, the alpha of his pack, and slave of King Crevan. Kyleigh lived with the Fang pack for as long as she could remember. When Bloodfang attacks him in Duke Reginald’s office, Kael has no choice but to kill him with an arrow to the heart — an act that has haunted him ever since.

Brend, Prince (Grainer):
One of the giants Kael shares a stall with while captured in the Endless Plains, and a son of clan Grainer. He’s a bit rough around the edges and has a rather mean sense of humor. Convinced he only had a case of the sniffles, he still doesn’t know that Kael saved him from becoming a Fallow. At the end of
Slight and Shadow
, it’s revealed that Brend is actually the long-lost Prince of the giants — and he owes Kael a favor for rescuing his region. Brend has agreed to fight alongside Kael the moment he asks.

Brock:
The head elder of Tinnark. He’s killed on the night Earl Titus sacks the village.

Callan, General (Horseman):
A giant of the plains, Declan’s father, and the Prince’s previous General. He led the giants bravely against the rebel whisperers during the Whispering War, and it is assumed he died while trying (unsuccessfully) to keep Titus out of the plains.

Chaney:
A boy from the Grandforest and the elder brother of Claude. He travels with Garron’s caravan.

Chaucer:
A merchant who serves as one of Duke Reginald’s managers. After Captain Lysander tampers with the votes, Chaucer is cheated out of the position of chancellor of the High Seas. However, he’s finally voted in as chancellor at the end of
Slight and Shadow
and has been causing all sorts of trouble for the pirates.

Clairy (Grainer):
Prince Brend’s little sister, and described as
a rather stunning giantess
. She was an infant when Titus captured the plains and has lived her whole life imprisoned within Lord Gilderick’s kitchens. Jonathan the Fiddler falls in love with her on sight — and loves her even more when she asks him to help pull a prank on the kitchen witch.

Claude:
A boy from the Grandforest and the younger brother of Chaney. He also travels with Garron’s caravan.

Colderoy:
Another of Duke Reginald’s managers. Colderoy is made chancellor at the end of
Harbinger
when Captain Lysander tampers with the votes. But he is voted out of office after Duke Reginald is murdered on his watch, and Chaucer takes his place.

Crevan, King:
The Kingdom’s current ruler. He has murdered the whisperers, declared whispering illegal, and hunts the Dragongirl as his last remaining enemy. He was strangely quiet throughout
Slight and Shadow
and has made no move to right the overthrow of his rulers. With the gates of Midlan sealed so tightly shut, many people have begun to wonder if perhaps he’s gone mad.

Dante (Horseman):
A giant of the Endless Plains, General Callan’s youngest son, and Declan’s little brother. His oldest brother, Dred, murders him as a child and uses his blood to buy his way into Lord Gilderick’s army.

Darrah:
A giantess who was forced to become a part of Lord Gilderick’s plan to breed a new army of giants. She is severely pregnant in
Slight and Shadow
, and only just manages to make it out of the kitchen tower when Kael uses his whispering ability to block the fall of the gate. It is hinted at that Prince Brend has always had a soft spot for Darrah — and consequently, she’s one of the few people he’ll listen to.

Declan (Horseman):
A giant of the plains, the scowling friend of Prince Brend, and middle son of General Callan. Described as being the smallest giant Kael has ever seen, Declan makes up for his size with the ferocity of his strength: he is a berserker, one of the
battlemad
, and is capable of amazing feats while infuriated. Brend makes him General at the end of
Slight and Shadow
.

D'Mere, Countess:
Ruler of the Grandforest, and considered by all to be a flawless beauty … but there’s danger in her icy gaze. She’s forged some sort of alliance with the other rulers — one designed, we can only assume, to seize the throne from King Crevan. D’Mere was the one who set her servant, Elena, to murder Duke Reginald in
Slight and Shadow
. After all, she doesn’t want any loose ends.

Dred, General (Horseman):
A giant of the plains, the eldest son of Callan, and Lord Gilderick’s General. He murders his own little brother, Dante, in order to buy his way into Gilderick’s army. He’s killed by his middle brother, Declan, at the end of
Slight and Shadow
.

Elena:
An assassin from the Grandforest who is revealed to be a whisperer with the gift of war. She’s described as a pretty young forest woman with a rather menacing scowl and wields her twin daggers, Slight and Shadow, with deadly efficiency. She served Countess D’Mere for an unknown number of years before a battle with one of her fellow assassins (Holthan) forces her to go off on her own. She heads out to slay the Dragongirl, learns of the Countess’s betrayal, and instead becomes something like uneasy friends with Kyleigh and company. She sets off on her own at the end of
Slight and Shadow
— determined to live in peace.

Eveningwing:
A young halfhawk bound in service to the King. He serves as both a messenger and spy. He swears vengeance on the man who murdered Bloodfang, and so Argon the Seer sends him to the Endless Plains. After a brief scuffle, Kael frees him — and Eveningwing repays his kindness by helping him rescue the giants.

Finks (Fields):
One of Lord Gilderick’s mages and the head of Westbarn — the barn in which Kael is imprisoned in
Slight and Shadow
. One of his spelled traps blows Thelred’s leg off, and Kael kills him quickly afterwards by charging through his traps and driving a dagger into his chest.

Garron the Shrewd:
A well-known merchant from the Grandforest and the father of Aerilyn. According to Captain Lysander, Garron also captained the ship
Avarice
during the Whispering War — which he then gifted to the pirates (they renamed it
Anchorgloam
). He was killed by wolf monsters in Bartholomew’s Pass.

Geist:
An unremarkable man with an odd set of talents. He teaches Kael a good deal about how to blend in, don disguises, and imitate voices in
Harbinger
. Geist was noticeably absent in
Slight and Shadow
… or was he?

Gilderick the Gruesome, Lord:
The ruler of the Endless Plains, and it seems as if everyone goes out of their way to avoid his unsettling gaze. It is revealed that Gilderick is a whisperer with the gift of healing. His experiments on the giants turned some of them into Fallows: lifeless husks of men that live only to do his will. He mind-walks into Kael’s Inner Sanctum at the end of
Slight and Shadow
— where Kael drowns him in the icy water of his own fear. But Gilderick is able to escape into the desert with the help of his Fallows …

Holthan:
One of Countess D’Mere’s assassins and a whisperer with the gift of war. He used his superior strength against Elena for an unknown number of years. Kael kills him when he knocks Holthan’s sword into the air and throws him beneath its falling path — effectively skewering him in the dirt of the cornfields.

Horatio:
A cook from the Grandforest who travels in Garron’s caravan. Though he’s failed many times, he is still determined to discover a tasty new recipe.

Hubert, Earl:
The ruler of the Unforgivable Mountains, and a glutton for fine spirits. Ironically, it’s poison placed in a goblet of spirits by King Crevan that ultimately does him in.

Jake:
A spectacle-wearing battlemage from the seas. He’s rescued by Kael and company in
Harbinger
, helps the defeat the Witch of Wendelgrimm, and sack Duke Reginald. In
Slight and Shadow
, he joins Kyleigh on her march through the desert — where we begin to learn a little about his tortured past. He behaves strangely around Elena and even saves her from the fiery blast of an exploding Queen minceworm. He’s rather upset when Elena chooses to leave at the end of the book … but at least she gave him a pair of her gloves.

Jonathan the Fiddler:
A mischievous man and self-proclaimed rogue from the Grandforest. When he refuses to escape with the pirates in
Slight and Shadow
, he’s captured alongside Kael and forced to serve as a bard in Lord Gilderick’s castle — where he becomes instrumental in the rescuing of the lady giants. He falls desperately in love with Clairy, Prince Brend’s little sister, and begs to marry her at the end of the book. After some scolding from Darrah, Brend reluctantly agrees.

Kael:
A young man from the Unforgivable Mountains with reddish-brown hair and absolutely no chance of ever fitting in. He’s spent his whole life in Tinnark, and really doesn’t think he’ll ever have an adventure of his own … but it turns out he was wrong.

Kyleigh:
A beautiful young woman with a rather murky past. She has wandered the Kingdom for an unknown number of years as a halfdragon, a shapechanger, and a dishonored knight. Who knows what sort of mischief she'll get into next?

Laemoth:
Marc’s cohort. He murders Roland in
Harbinger
for a chance to join Earl Titus’s army — a chance that’s stolen from him when he trips and skewers himself on his own sword.

Ludwig (Pens):
One of Lord Gilderick’s mages. Nobody knows exactly what happened to him, but rumor has it that he entered Gilderick’s castle unannounced one day to ask for repairs on his roof, and the Lord of the plains had him locked inside a cage — where he eventually perished. Kael and Eveningwing discover
The
Dreadful Journeys of Ben Deathtreader
inside his cottage.

Lysander, Captain:
A roguishly handsome young pirate captain from the seas. He suffered for five years under a curse from the Witch of Wendelgrimm — one that caused his moods to affect the weather around him. Kael frees him from his curse and he goes on to marry Aerilyn. They’re now expecting their first child.

Marc:
A bully and Kael’s tormentor throughout his childhood in Tinnark. He helps Laemoth murder Roland in
Harbinger
, and then has to fight for his life when Earl Titus turns Laemoth against him. He watches as Laemoth trips and dies on the blade of his own sword, allowing him to join Titus’s army as a bloodtraitor.

Matteo:
A pirate captain, father of Lysander, and brother of Uncle Martin.

Morris:
The helmsman of
Anchorgloam
. He lost both of his hands while fighting in the Whispering War, but that still doesn’t stop him from teaching Kael everything he knows about whispering.

Reginald, Duke:
A crafty businessman and the ruler of the High Seas. He enjoyed a trade monopoly for seventeen years — until Kael helped his managers overthrow him. He languishes in his own dungeons until Elena breaks in and murders him in his cell.

Roland:
Kael’s friend and mentor. He taught Kael how to trap when no one else would, and always seemed to believe that he would go on to do great things. He’s killed in
Harbinger
by Marc and Laemoth — who try to use his blood to buy their way into Titus’s army. He appears in Kael’s dreams as the man in white before finally revealing himself to be dead. When Kael is severely injured in
Slight and Shadow
, it’s Roland who keeps him from crossing Death’s river.

Sahar, Baron:
The ruler of Whitebone Desert, and a fellow with a real eye for finery. He’s blown to bits when Jake accidentally sets off a rather volatile minceworm Queen that’d been nesting beneath his glittering castle.