Wolfsbane (38 page)
Authors: Andrea Cremer
“I know.” The reality of this scene was settling into my bones, making them ache. This was the only chance I had to make up for leaving Ren behind. If I ever could.
Cold winter air covered my body like a cloak. Its chil slipped beneath my skin, restless, already battling the tiny spark of hope crackling in my veins.
In the short time since I’d joined the Searchers, I learned the true cost of the Witches’ War. Its casualties no longer strangers—Lydia, Corrine, Monroe, my mother, even Ansel—the weight of their deaths and my brother’s loss were now chained to me like an anchor threatening to drown me in a dark ocean of fear and regret.
This place was as quiet as that kind of death.
Choked with the skeletal remains of my former life, casting twisted, ghoulish shadows. They posed no real threat—only snatches of the past, painful memories that clung to me like cobwebs.
Hope was real. Burning brighter than the stars that hung above us in this empty winter night. Corrine and Monroe were gone. They’d sacrificed everything for their son. And he was here. It was too late for them, but Ren could stil be saved. And I was the only one who could save him.
This is only about love.
He was out there. Alone. Waiting for me in a house where only the ghosts of our past were welcome.
Staring at the wreckage of the life we could have had, I knew it
wasn’t
about love or Shay or the Searchers now. It was about sacrifice—and redemption, loss that could have new meaning.
Hope. A second chance. Ren could help us win this war. Together we could make the blood, the grief, the pain worth something. I knew I couldn’t leave him behind again. Not now and not ever. Even if it meant I’d end up sacrificing myself as wel .
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Three cheers for the Wolfsbane pack! Charlie Olsen, Richard Pine, Lyndsey Blessing, and the fabulous team at InkWel Management have been priceless navigators, always keeping this ship on course.
Without the wit and wisdom of Michael Green, my sojourn in the world of publishing wouldn’t be half as enjoyable. The insight and sharp eye of Jil Santopolo deftly shaped this book into beautiful form. Jil —thanks for sharing adventures in writing and trapeze with me! Penguin Young Readers Group have become like family: Don Weisberg, Jennifer Hal er, Emily Romero, Erin Dempsey, Shanta Newlin, Jackie Engel, Linda McCarthy, Katrina Damkoehler, Amy Wu, Felicia Frazier, Scottie Bowditch, Courtney Wood, Anna Jarzab, Julia Johnson, and al the fantastic sales reps. Thank you for the work you do and for cheering me on.
So many labors of love made this book possible.
Thanks, always, to my amazing critique partner Lisa Desrochers. One of the benefits of being a writer is gaining so many exceptional writing friends: Cynthia Leitich Smith, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Kiersten White
—I’m so grateful for your kindness and enthusiasm.
To my parents, Darrel and Patricia Robertson, for possibly being even more excited about my books than I am. For my brother, Garth, for never letting me give up. And for Wil , who lit a fire inside me that wil never go out.
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