“I don’t see why I have to come, Mother…”
Katorna vi Sumnir took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Sensing her mood, Rage stomped up the mountain trail, driving her hoofs into the ground with extra force. Windrush noticed the older war mare’s warning and widened the distance slightly. Her rider, however, was oblivious, lost to reciting the chronicle of her grievances.
“…After all, it is not truly necessary…”
Aspects, give me strength.
Katorna was never one of those people who naturally gravitated toward children. Her grandmother would pick up every baby she saw, but she never had an urge to cuddle random infants. Babies were fragile and easily hurt. She never planned her own wedding either. She’d known from a very young age that marriage was a matter of duty, and so was childbearing and child raising. She had delayed her marriage, and then she had delayed having children.
It wasn’t until Petra was born that she finally realized what it meant to be a mother. One day, about three weeks after giving birth, she looked into her daughter’s green eyes and was overcome by a sudden, fierce need to protect her. That urge had gripped her for fourteen years now, and she had recently realized that it had done damage to them both.
“…for I am too, a person…”
There was a time, somewhere between Petra turning two years of age and reaching twelve, when Katorna found unexpected joy in motherhood. It was a time when Petra moved through the world, wide-eyed, and every day brought some new discovery or adventure. She was smart, caring, and sensible, or as sensible as a child could be expected to be.
“… I had plans. Plans nobody seems to ever care about…”
But this age… This was intolerable. They had left Wilkair an hour ago, riding up a steep trail into the Selvan mountains through the early morning, and still Petra droned on.
It wasn’t just the incessant whining. It was the casual dismissal, as if their roles had been switched and she, Katorna, was a foolish fledgling in need of guidance. Her daughter had become a selfish creature, focused completely inward to the detriment of everything else. Her own feelings loomed so large within her that their presence had blocked the very idea that others, too, had feelings.
“… I had made an appointment to spend time with Haward…”
Petra’s studies had stagnated. She lost interest in training. She only had three years until adulthood, and already danger waited on every turn, yet she was willfully oblivious to it.
“…We were supposed to view the recent improvements to the rigging of the…”
Was she that insufferable at this age? Surely not.
“… have no interest in riding into the mountains first thing in the morning without being given even a hint of a reason for it.”
“I’ve spoiled you.”
Petra paused for a moment, her mouth open, thrown off her thought path.
“I’ve sheltered you because I love you and because losing your father left a raw wound in my soul. You have become complacent and shallow, and I will not tolerate that weakness any longer, Petraline.”
Her daughter glared back at her, her pretty face flushed. She looked so much like Cellan right now, it was truly uncanny. A thin scalding needle of pain pierced Katorna’s heart and sat there, burning. He was gone.
“Mother, you give me no credit!”
“Remind me, who is Haward’s uncle?”
Another death glare. “Lord Mren vi Jerrad.”
“Did Haward approach you or did you approach him?”
She threw her arms up. “Why does it matter?”
“If it matters not, why don’t you answer?”
“Because you will twist everything I say.”
“I cannot twist a fact, Petra. Who approached whom?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. You never care about my plans, my needs. I didn’t want to come here in the first place. Am I not a person? I’m going back to Wilkair!”
“Leave, then. I shall go by myself, and in a few weeks, we shall have another landslide.”
Petra spun in the saddle. “Ramond wouldn’t…”
“Who?” Katorna sank steel into her voice.
Her daughter flinched, then swallowed. “His Grace.”
“That’s right. His Grace.” Katorna chiseled every word into stone. “You must never forget that your cousin is the Lord of Selva. When he comes to our home to celebrate the Winter Crest, when he smiles at you as he hands you a gift on your birthday, when he comes to check on you after you catch an illness and makes you laugh while you rest in bed, he is always Ramond vi Everard, the Sleepless Duke. His duty is to Selva first. As is yours and mine.”
“He would not do that,” Petra said.
The quiet conviction in her voice almost melted Katorna’s resolve. Almost.
“He would do it in a moment, and he would not waver.”
“Why do you hate me?” Petra’s voice spiked. “Why don’t you want me to be happy? What have I ever done to you?”
“Your happiness is exactly why we are having this conversation now, while there is still time to turn things from a disastrous course. You are an Everard by blood. Your marriage is a matter of state, not of love.”
“You married father!”
For a moment Katorna simply stared at her. “Petra, sweetheart, do you think your father and I were a love match?”
“Everyone knows he fought Torvan vi Sert for your hand!”
“Your father challenged Sert because he’d become convinced that if that man remained in command of the Western Passes, his incompetence would cause the Okulan border to collapse. He did it with full blessing of my brother. It had nothing to do with wanting me to be his wife.”
Petra stared at her, shocked. “But there is a poem…”
“Poems don’t change what truly happened. I love your father with all of my heart and soul. I mourn him daily. But when I came to our wedding, I could barely recall what he looked like.”
“This makes no sense!”
Katorna softened her voice.
“What you feel for Haward isn’t love, it’s infatuation. It is a powerful feeling, a kind of obsession that makes you wait for a glimpse of him and causes your heart to flutter. You think you have found someone who truly understands you. But infatuation is deceiving. It obscures the true nature of the other person and hides their faults. A priest of the Nurturer once told me that it is the Divine’s way to ensure that we continue our lines for if we truly understood all of the flaws of our future partners, none of us would ever wed.”
They rounded the mountain and turned left, climbing higher up the trail.
“What your father promised me on our wedding night wasn’t love. It was something much more powerful. He promised me loyalty.”
“I don’t understand,” Petra murmured.
“A pledge of loyalty assured me that I would never have to kill him to protect the Dukedom. I would never find him in another’s bed. He would never undermine me, he would protect and support me, and everything we achieved would be a credit to us both. He hadn’t asked me to make the same oath. He simply stated how he would conduct himself and left it at that. Your father had honored his promise, and I came to love him. For me, there will never be another.”
Petra opened her mouth and shut it without saying a word.
“Infatuation hides the flaws, but love makes you clearsighted. You see the person as they truly are, and you cherish them for their talents and their shortcomings. Now, let’s return to Haward.”
“He approached me.”
“Was it before or after the Winter Summit?”
Petra squeezed the word out. “After.”
“And what did Haward’s uncle, Lord Jerrad, learn at the Winter Summit?”
Her daughter stared straight ahead.
“You must decide if you are still a child who cannot comprehend adult matters or if you can walk through this world without your hand held.”
“He learned that he will not be getting the command of Rozgort as he wanted. Instead, it will be overseen by Uncle Glann.”
There was hope for her yet. “What is the value of Rozgort? What is it Jerrad hopes to gain?”
“The Rozgort Fort guards the town of Brigak on the Eastern Coast. Its lord oversees the sea trade with the Goryni, the Kullans, and the northern edge of the Empire. As to what he would gain…” Petra frowned. “He is greedy. He wants coin. Wealth. He wouldn’t collect tariffs. That is the duty of the portitor.”
“But the lord of Rozgort does determine who has the right to land at the Brigak harbor. He has the power to bar any vessel from it.”
Petra narrowed her eyes. “Bribes?”
“Yes, my sweet. If we can see it, His Grace can see it as well. Your Uncle cannot oversee Brigak for too long. He has other commitments elsewhere.”
Her brother-in-law had his hands full as it was.
“This was a temporary appointment,” Petra said.
“Yes. His Grace communicated two things to Jerrad. First, the Rozgort would be given to someone he trusted, and second, he was willing to wait for Jerrad to prove himself. There were so many things Jerrad could’ve done to prove his loyalty. Instead, he decided to become our in-law and sent his handsome nephew to court you.”
Petra stared straight ahead again, her expression pinched.
“How many times have you run into Jerrad on your outings with Haward? Does he happen to appear coincidentally where the two of you might be? Does he offer compliments to you? Does he tell you that you are intelligent and wise beyond your years and your beauty is incomparable? Does he treat you like a precious jewel, implying that I or His Grace do not fully recognize you for the gift you are?”
Petra gave her a sharp glance.
“You were always perceptive, Petra, much too perceptive to be swayed by honeyed words. Ask yourself, have any of your achievements so far warranted such effusive praise? Have you earned it?”
She was hurting her precious daughter with every word, but it had to be said.
“I am your mother, sweetheart. Nobody in this world wants you to excel more than I do. Nobody is more proud even of your slightest gains. Would I, your parent who is deeply biased, have offered you the same praise? Would your father?”
Petra clenched her teeth.
“When Jerrad sees you, he hears the sound of gold grests clinking as they fall into his purse. You are still three years from being an adult, and he is impatient. He also knows the mediocre achievements of his bloodline are far too few to ensure a union with an Everard. Unless, of course, something dishonorable were to happen. Has it?”
“No!”
“In that case, Haward may continue breathing for a while longer.”
They made another turn. The trees grew taller, denser, hugging the path. The summit wasn’t too far off.
The look on Petra’s face was terrifying.
Now she finally looks like me.
“How much do you trust Nezetta?” she asked. “Think carefully and be honest, for what I am about to suggest may cost you a friend.”
Petra considered it.
“I trust her. She would not betray me.”
“Have her approach Haward and feign interest. If he’s truly devoted to you, he will rebuff her. If not, you will know where you stand.”
“Is that because she is prettier than me?”
“No. Haward turned seventeen this year. No man of his age likes to be told whom to court. If I am right, you are a task he must complete, while Nezetta would be…”
“Entertainment,” Petra finished grimly.
“Yes.”
The green echo of fatefire flashed in Petra’s eyes.
Yes, there you are. Good.
“How do I stop it?”
“Jerrad and Haward?”
“No.” Petra turned to her. “How do I ensure that I am not traded off to some other country for an alliance? How do I control whom I marry?”
“Distinguish yourself. Become so valuable that Selva cannot afford to lose you. Like I did.”
“But you still had to marry father.”
“Oh no, sweetheart. I didn’t have to marry him. I chose to do it. I was the one who suggested it to solidify my brother’s hold on the Dukedom. I wasn’t a prize Cellan won. I had appointed myself his watcher.”
Petra blinked.
The path turned, and a small house came into view, perched near the top of the mountain, surrounded by trees. The horses walked toward it at a slow pace.
“What do you know about the Aspect of the Prophet?”
“His worship is not permitted, although I don’t understand why.”
“It’s because knowledge of the future corrupts those who obtain it. Centuries ago, the Sacred Order of the Prophet chose to meddle in the affairs of the Kingdom and the Empire, seeking power and control. They aimed to become shadow rulers, but their plot was discovered. They were eliminated, and the Temples of the Prophet were razed.”
An older woman, her hair touched with grey, stepped out of the house, and bowed.
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Edna. She is no one, an old woman who lives on the mountain. Her family has a farmstead in the valley below.”
Katorna looked at her daughter to make sure she marked the gravity of what was about to be said.
“The Aspects are reflections of the Divine, Petra. They never truly perish, and there will always be someone ready to whisper forbidden prayers. Tell no one of this meeting. Not Nezetta, not Unna, not your diary. Keep this knowledge secret for there may come a time you will have to use it. Your presence here is proof of the trust I place in you.”
They reached the house and dismounted. Katorna reached into her pocket and dropped a gold grest into the priest’s palm. “A donation for your shrine.”
“The One Who Gazes Forward thanks you, my lady. How can I serve?”
“His Grace departed for Kair Toren three weeks ago,” Katorna said. “He should’ve returned by now, but something caused him to veer from his original goal.”
The report she received was short and confusing. Her nephew had abandoned his knights, and for a time nobody knew where he was, not even Solentine. According to her spy, when Dagarra finally found him, Ramond had been discovered in a house with a young woman and a motley gathering of mercenaries and orphans.
Every day in Kair Toren meant risking discovery, and Sauven, that despicable buzzard, would cherish nothing more than catching the Sleepless Duke breaking the Accords. Ramond understood that, and still he lingered.
“He is behaving oddly, and there is a woman involved,” she said. “I need you to look into her future and his.”
The priest bowed her head and went inside.
“A woman?” Petra whispered.
Katorna nodded.
She had never approved of the way Lorest approached Ramond’s upbringing, although she had understood why it was necessary. Her brother had forged her nephew into a weapon. Ramond did not permit himself the luxury of feelings. Courtship and lovemaking were just another skill in his arsenal.
Her nephew had a smattering of casual liaisons over the years. She knew of at least two cases where he must’ve felt something deeper, for he severed those budding relationships cleanly and completely before they had a chance to grow.
It was utterly unlike him to be diverted from his goal. This wasn’t a romantic entanglement. This was something else, something urgent and dangerous. It worried her.
Edna returned with a basin of water. She set it on a stump before the house, retrieved a bundle of dried herbs from a shed, and crumbled them into the water.
Katorna crossed her arms. Watching Edna commune with her Aspect always disturbed her. It was proof of powerful forces beyond human understanding. Forces that could not be cut even by the Fatefire.
Edna knelt before the stump, dipped her hands into the water, rested her palms on the bottom of the basin, and shut her eyes.
Silence stretched. Birds sang in the trees. A lazy blue butterfly floated by.
Edna’s eyes snapped open. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean?” Katorna asked.
“The knowledge you seek is beyond my reach.”
There it was again, the same sense of unease she felt every time she thought of Ramond’s trip to Kair Toren.
“Edna, you know me. I have done well by your family.”
“You have, my lady.”
“I need you to try one more time. Please. It is important.”
“I will try,” Edna promised.
She shut her eyes and leaned into the basin.
Her hands trembled. The tremors spread up her arms to her shoulders, then to her chest and face. Her whole body shuddered.
Edna gasped and vomited blood into the water.
Petra gasped.
Blood tears dropped from the priest’s eyes. Edna struggled, contorting, trying to break free, but staying put as if her hands were glued to the basin.
Katorna lunged, grasped her by her shoulders, and yanked her backward. Edna fell on her butt, shaking like a leaf.
A dark cloud rose from the water. Within it a strange orb flared, swirling with nebula of light like a galaxy in a night sky. It flashed and vanished.
“What did you see?” Katorna breathed.
“Nothing.” Edna swallowed. “I saw nothing.”
“What?”
“That woman has no future.”
“Is she dead?”
“She lives.”
“Then how can that be?”
Edna turned. Fear filled her eyes. A deep, powerful terror.
“The Prophet has no power over her,” she whispered.
“That is impossible.”
“And yet it is so.”
Five minutes later they rode back down the mountain.
“How can someone exist outside of the Aspect’s power?” Petra asked.
“I don’t know.” Thinking about it opened all sorts of doors, and Katorna didn’t wish to walk through any of them. “One thing is certain. His Grace must’ve recognized some way this woman could be useful to him.”
So much so that he abandoned everything for the sake of obtaining her.
“He will try to bring her to Selva?” Petra guessed.
“Most likely.”
A woman like that would be dangerous in ways none of them could anticipate. Who was she? What was her power? Why would Ramond risk so much to bring her under his banner? She had no answers.
“What do we do now?” Petra asked.
“We wait and prepare. We are Everards, after all. We never let Fatefire fly unchecked.”
Petra nodded.
They rode in silence, descending down the trail, then climbing again, until the walls of Wilkair came into view, its terraces and towers growing from the mountain as if they hadn’t been built but born of the bedrock itself. Green and black banners flew in the wind. The colors of home.
Petra looked at the castle, her expression wistful and somber. “I love you, mother.”
Katorna vi Sumnir offered her only daughter a brilliant smile. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
Update: this bonus short will be available in an independent companion ebook for This Kingdom. It is not part of Maggie#2.
first?
First!
Silly goose Twix are for kids! Love love love this. Rock on!
Thank you so much! I love it.
+1! 🤗
I hope your meeting went well yesterday! 🩷
+1 🤩
Anticipation is so … frustrating yet delightful at the same time!
What a huge treat! We must have been exceedingly fluffy. Thank you!!
+1
This is so awesome! I love it! Thank you for sharing! I’m so excited for the next book!
I love their family. I cannot wait for book 2!!
I love it! Can’t wait for the second book now!
Only now? I’ve not been.able to wait for it since I started reading Maggie#1 – LOL.
Love it!!! Thanks so much for the snippet! I loved the lesson. You can really tell that the authors have raised teens!
This is such a cool snippet!
Oh wow!
Thank you so much for the glimpse into selva dukedom. i can’t wait for the next one
Oh, wow. Oh, my. Oh, Everard. You are faced with some unenviable choices.
I can’t wait! Thx you🙌🏽
Oh boy, waiting is sooooo difficult! And congrats Enuff on being first🥂🥂
Omguhhhhhh
ditto
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Maggie2 can’t come soon enough!
Great midweek treat!
I’m impelled to say “more please” because I can’t help myself.
Sooooooo good.
Thanks for this treat!
Love, Love, LOVE! THIS SNIPPET! THANK YOU!
Wow – that was just what I needed today!
Thank you once again for catapulting me into another world – truly you both are masters of your craft!
And now with a bump to earth…we have to w*it for the actual book!
Oh, my, oh my. Thank you for the snippet!
It’s going to be interesting to read if or when Maggie meets Everard’s family in Selva. Can’t wait to read the second book.
Oh, so nice. Oh, such a long wait…
Thank you so much.
It’s going to be such a good book…
Oooooooooh, so many little threads of info running through here!
Thank you for immeasurably brightening my Wednesday.
As much as I enjoy Maggie’s POV, it’s so rewarding to see this world through the eyes of other characters. Fascinating. Poor Ramond though, he’s always the Sleepless Duke even to his own aunt.
I love the photo here too. Green and black is just such an incredibly striking combination. Especially with a black-haired woman wearing it!
Thank you for this story!
I have ruined that poor model with my terrible photoshop skills. 🙂
so loved this snippet……
no future, eh……. speculations run amok 😉
can’t wait for book 2 and Solentine’s bonus story becoming accessible
Ohh new characters! Thank you for this treat!
Oh My.
I cannot wait to meet them.
Delicious snippet.
ahhhh this is FABULOUS!!!!!
thank you!
I am completely happy in this moment 🙂
Oh my, I love Katorna already! That was some excellent parenting. The way she put Petras head right again with a few -very pointed – arguments, I love it.
The poor wannabe groom will not know what hit him, hehehe
And then more new magic, and such a powerful one. And Maggie cannot be controlled (or helped?) by the aspects – so she is really on her own in this world. So whatever she decides to do comes as a surprise – even for the gods. I bet they don’t like that very much.
I’m so looking forward to the next book!
+1
thank you!
Thank you, thank you, thankyouthankyouthankyou.
+1
And I feel the need to read TKWNKM again.
And again, again, and once more when the release date for Maggie 2 is announced, and even another for when the date is upon us.
Thank you House IA.
I can just imagine an international TKWNKM day for the international BDH re-read of book 1 before the release of T*WN*M…..book 2……
Oh that is such a good idea! International BDH re-read of TKWNKM
+1
I am so in the same boat as you.
Thank you!!
Just wondering if there will be multiple POVs in the next book or if the extra POVs will always be saved exclusively for blog?
+2 Lovely loving reality check
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Just what I needed today, how did you know? I cannot wait to dive into Maggie 2 …. But I must. This keeps the angst and anticipation alive.
I hope HA is beginning to feel rested and able to enjoy it. Meanwhile, we’ll take ALL the snippets and extras, thank you very much!
They are all terrifying and I love it! Also that just makes Maggie even more interesting.
This was amazing.
thank you!
Thank you for this lovely glimpse forward!
Squee!! Lovely tidbit! Thanks for sharing!
oh ohohohohohoh…………
You never, ever fail to rise above expectations.
Amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Wowzer! Waiting nonchalantly for REDACTED! Yeah, yeah, I used worty dirds!
Gahhhh!
Best midweek present ever!
words literally cannot describe at all how MUCH I LOVE THIS OMG
For a moment, I forgot I wasn’t in Kair Toren. Then the snippet ended and I’m launched back to Earth. 🙂 Thank you!
Wow! That was a delightful treat! Thank you for sharing it with us today.
Amazing!
Ooohhhh!! I love the character development. I’m beyond excited to learn more about this world, how Maggie came to it, and how everything unfolds. Super fun escapism.
Reading this I’m like, “Oh the Aspect of the Prophet, you say? The sacred order was eliminated, but never truly perished? This is so pointing us in the direction of the author… oh no, now this woman is spewing up blood and saying the Aspect has no power over Maggie. Well never mind. Back to theory square one.”
Thank you for the snippet! As always, this was such a pleasure to read.
+1
Thank you. This snippet makes the wait for Book 2 even harder to bear. Is there a publication date that can be announced?
Second half of 2027 is all we have for now 🙂
that is so very far 😒
Thank you so much for sharing!! I hope your brain and Gordon’s are recovering!!
OMG!!! Love this so much! Thank you.
YES.
How do you do that?!?! A couple of paragraphs, and I’m deep in Maggie’s world longing for more.
Wow, Ramond’s sister is very formidable, can’t wait for Book II
Katorna is Ramond’s aunt, making Petra his cousin.
Just to avoid confusion down the line 😉
The brother she mentioned was Lorest (Ramond’s father), who is deceased.
aaaaaaah! So happy right now! What a lovely unexpected surprise! I am very chalantly waiting for Maggie 2!
+1
Thank you thank you thank you for the free snippet. 💚
OMG! The implications! There’s even MORE at stake if Maggie is discovered to have foreknowledge! Also loved this bit of Katorna and Petra!
Maybe the Prophet is Adrian LaTour and the reason he has no influence over Maggie is that her presence shattered his plotline into little pieces 🙂
What if Maggie is just a character in Adrian LaTour’s third book (long overdue)? He burned down Kair Toren in book 2. This allows him to restore the city and have Maggie put things right.
SO EXCELLENT! Thank you so much for the snippet <3 Now I have to read it again LOL
Wow, thank you!!! 🤩 that was just what I needed this week. What a treat!
Thank you do much. Excited for all the words!
I will be returning to this until book 2 is out!!
Good gosh was this great!
I’m so excited for the next one!
This was fantastic and has my mind running!!! I hope I hope I hope that Maggie gets to meet them in Book 2 cause wowza, that is gonna be one hell of a meeting. This also helps us understand Everard that much better!!
Doesn’t Tor want to move up the release date? Make it a surprise Christmas present?? We seriously have to w*it all the way till the second half of next year???
*cue torment*
But seriously, been dealing with some hard times these last few months and Maggie and the world y’all have built in TKWNKM has been a key saving grace keeping me going. So thank you!!!
+100
OMG so good. The balance of humans are humans in any circumstances, grand cosmic powers, and fantastical intrigue are *chef’s kiss* as always. The distinct POV, the implications of this and the wider magic mechanics… pure joy, thank you!!
Yes powerful women left and right! I love it so much. Was curious where Katorna was.
Wow! I can’t wait for them all to meet.
Wow! Just Wow!!! Thank you!
Feels like Friday. It’s not Friday, is it?
I loved this so much. Love the insights for Maggie.
I wonder if Ramond knows of this prophet; he seems so amazed when he asks Maggie if she can see the future.
Also totally relate to her thoughts and experiences with motherhood.
My Kid1 just turned 11, attitude going on 15. I love her. The kid I liked and who liked me has dissolved into a puddle of hormones.🫠
AMAZING! When I listen to you audiobooks, I often reflect on how your experiences and values as parents are apparent in your writing. It is really beautiful. I remember reading your posts about Kid 1 and 2, and the adventures and trials you went through with them. Loved those snippets too!
About that – fictional children are so much easier. Real life parenting is much harder and much more involved, which is why we give parents a break through our fiction. We are not our characters, sadly. We lack wisdom and patience.
When she asks herself if she was ever as self centered at 14…. the answer is always yes! All we can do is pay it forward and trust the future adult will look back and understand. ❤️
Yep, that is why there is such a booming industry of books and methods of raising kids ( 98% of which are mostly crap imo, though there are bits to be gleaned from most of them).
14 is a rough age for sure. Kids are eager to stop being children and be more adult like and thus push back against parents, but deep down they still need that presence on their lives, even though they tell us that we are old and don’t understand *lol*.
Having a son that was touched by the music gods, which is the definition of a difficult gift, it is something doubled down upon by serious musical kids. Tis difficult terrain, given they have to commit early to this ( he is a classical musician) , and the emotions of the artist….
And that ‘ you know nothing, you don’t understand ( which with music neither of us did) period seems to last until about 30,at which time time you say something and they are like ‘ when did you become so wise?’ lol.
and just to brag a little, he and his chamber group just released their first album of their own ( they have performed as hired artists for composers own albums).
Congrats on the first album release! So much of this is your work, let me tell you!!!
I was also shaking my head at the part where Katorna said she was hurting her beloved daughter. My husband always said I spoiled my son… and two weeks ago, we had to have an honest conversation about responsibilities and I had to say some things to him (he’s 18 and just started college)… I truly understand the phrase “it hurts me more than it hurts you”, but they had to be said…
Ilona is right, fictional children (no matter how self centered and angsty) are so much more easier … sigh…
Wonderful snippets, thank you.
Squealing with joy!! AHH!
AHHHH!!!!! Snippet!! I love it! thank you for sharing a glimpse into it.
Thank you!
I enjoyed the interplay between mother and daughter. There is a promise of a future young hero reminiscent of Tamora Pierce’s heroines. I would love more.
Thanks
thank you for the treat!
missed tkwnkm soooo much 🥹
Oh what an absolute Treat! Thank you so much! Also hope the meeting went well.
So good! Thank you for the snippet!
This is delightful!!!!!!!!!! Layers and layers!!!!!!!!!!!!
loooooovvvvvveeeeeeeé
So good! Is this a side story/bonus or snippet? I thought I read somewhere that POV would be Maggie for the series. I would love getting other points of view too, especially Everard!
Poor Maggie, she is right to be skeptical of Everard’s interest because he really was shaped that way…but I believe he’s genuine!
These are bonuses. Check here: https://ilona-andrews.com/free-fiction/#maggie
Thank you so much for the bonuses and this world you have created!! 🙂
Love it. Thanks so much.
Wow. Just wow!
Just… brilliant.
What a great snippet!!! Thank you
Thank you!!!
Love this!!!
Thank you! My day is much better now.
Thank you!
Yeeessss!! Just what was needed today, love a little teaser snippet even though it challenges my p*tience!
That was so good!! Aspects preserve us, I wonder if she be friend or foe?! Thank you! Thank you!
I am intentionally not rereading/ listening to TKWNKM, for at least a month, so I can be more attentive to smaller details 😂
If this is a glimpse into Maggie 2, wow. Just wow. While I don’t care to be involved in politics (I have no patience for the game) I do appreciate reading about how its done well:) There are two British shows – Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister – that are witty yet relevant guides to anyone who is interested in knowing how politics make “strange bedfellows”. Highly recommended entertainment!
I love those shows! May need to rewatch them.
Wonderful snippet, as always.
Hope the meeting went well.
In a picture of my niece’s living room, I noticed she had a copy of TKWNKM. This is her first foray into Ilona and Gordon’s writing. She loved it, no surprise. We had a couple of days of a fun texting conversation. She’s looking forward to the rest of, well, everything. Yay!
Lovely surprise to wake to this here in a sunny Melbourne ( Australian) morning, thoroughly enjoyed , Thankyou, grateful BDH member.
Coolness! Thanks so much! So beautiful! I have also made the mistake of spoiling my children as I did not wish them to have lived my childhood. I understand this conversation very well.
Love! 💚
Oh my! What fun! Thank you! ❤️
I really needed a breath of Kair Torren air today!! Thank you!
Awesome
So so good. Thank you 🥰.
Love how mom put the “infatuation” back on track for what it really was. Hard to be a young loved member of His Grace’s family and know who really appreciates you for you …
two questions:
1. “delayed having children” Do they have birth control in Rellas and does Maggie know/have access to it? or is that going to be an awkward convo with Shana in book 2?
2. “we shall have another landslide.” Is this literal or code for something? What was the first landslide?
Is she saying Ramond would eliminate an ineligible suitor?
Your answers are in Book 2. 🙂
Let the Horde screaming commence. 😝
Whew…. That was a powerful “Come-to-Jesus” moment. I can’t wait to get my greedy little paws on the new book! lol
“According to her spy, when Dagarra finally found him, Ramond had been discovered in a house with a young woman and a motley gathering of mercenaries and orphans.”
Well when you put it THAT way… 😅
Oh man! So good 🤩
This is wonderful!! Thank you so much for sharing!
I love this!! thank youuuu
Ooooooooh. so good!! Thank you!
Woooowww!
Soooooooo good! Love the extras that flesh out the story.
As an Australian, I am thrilled that you’re going to be here.
May I suggest that for your kangaroo experiences, you choose either Melbourne Zoo, or the Werribee Open Range Zoo while you’re in Melbourne, or the Australia Zoo (home of the Irwin’s) while you’re in Brisbane. Melbourne Zoo is the easiest to get to, and does have special opportunities to meet the animals, but Werribee or Australia Zoo are worth it.
Also I just replied on the wrong post!
Loved the short story though
So good!
Okay, upon second reading: still excellent. And I now love (and kinda fear) Katorna. So excited for Maggie to have to meet her new family and Ramond’s extended clan. It’s all going to be so messy and glorious.
Thank you! Loved it!
Loved it! Welp, I guess I have to go re-read Maggie for the umpteenth time!
I’m always amazed all over again by how wonderfully talented you are. Loved this! I can’t wait for the next one!
Wow… the impact of an unexpected IA excerpt never fails to give me goosebumps.
OMG pleaseeeee! I am dying for anything Maggie-related!
Loved it! Thanks! I needed a Maggie fix
whoa!! excellent!
Oh wow! This kind of broke my heart a little. Thank you House Andrews.
This is awesome!!! Now I want to reread Maggie (again) but first must finish uni assignment arrrggghhh the agony of wa*ting!!!
This is soooo awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this. I can’t wait to read more.
Like a famous character of another author once said: “my precioooouuuusss”! Hugs to the Authorlords!
Absolutely dying to read book 2. This snippet is water in the desert
Thank you. That was a lovely way to start the day.
Wow and this is the woman that punched the king when she was 14 now her daughter is the same age
Wow, thank you for the unexpected treat! And how exciting to hear about a companion book!
I love how every time I start to read your writing in a rush I need to force myself to slow down and catch references and details. I cannot just blaze through, and that’s a great thing!
I checked the release schedule. This companion ebook is not listed yet.
*fidgeting* Before or after Maggie 2?
*coming back after reading the Maggie POV shorts* What might this companion ebook include?
*thinking through the last year of posts* Will we get to see all the SE bonuses we might have missed out on?
*harnessing Steve (though I don’t really like him)* And what about Maud’s wedding? It’s been over 10 months from Klaud’s short, right?
Hope you guys are recovering from the Maggie burnout. Cheers!
I posted this on Reddit, deserves to go here too:
I am assuming Petra is the 14 year old heir with not enough Fatefire that Everard mentions?
It might be House Andrews greatest strength, the casual way they can sketch periphery characters into intense realness. A pair of characters that may or may not even appear in Maggie 2, and now, you can see an entire novella about them. That story about Petrona’s betrothal and marraige — there is a whole book there if they wanted.
They do this all the time, and it is a big part of what makes their books so good. How many of the side characters do you wish had their own books? THe Horde pushed them into a Hugh book, a Dali and Jim novella, an Andrea book, a Roman book. Maude got her own book. Diana and Augustine. Who doesn’t want a Linus book? Who doesn’t want to see Cornelius get a HEA?
People are still pining for an Arabella series. And Aunt Bea prequel. The secretary in for MII; seems fascinating. Stephen Chao (sp?). Heart’s courtship of Penelope. More of Matilda becoming the most powerful Animal Mage ever tested (you know it’s true!).
The list goes on and on.
We’ll never stop asking for them to write books about secondary characters, because then we want books about the secondary characters introduced in the new books about secondary characters.
I really want an Arabella/Tia road trip story. Hell. Raising. With Fashion.
Anyway, I’ve made my peace that this will never end, I will never be sated, they could not possibly write all the stories I want. And I am ever so thankful we have the stories we do have!
My personal heavan is that when you get there, you get to read all the unwritten books your favorite authors never wrote. Eternity seems easy.
+1!!
What a lovely thought.
+1 million (well said)!
You said it!
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
+1
well said!
AAAAAAAAAAAA!
Love it! thank you!!
to know there are people outside KairToren that know of Maggie’s potential is so exciting!!!
SQUEEEE! Thank you for the extra snippet!
I’m also smiling at the fireworks that will happen when the rest of his family find out she is now Solentine’s “favorite” cousin. 😉
Indeed! So many scenes to anticipate!!!
Ahhhh so excited!!!
Love love love!!!
Thank you so much for this tidbit! I really needed something to cheer me up after a long day!
“A dark cloud rose from the water. Within it a strange orb flared, swirling with nebula of light like a galaxy in a night sky. It flashed and vanished.”
I wonder if Edna saw our Earth/galaxy
House Andrews are masters of immersive snippets. Will the companion guide be released this year?
Also, I truly do hope y’all are resting after the Maggie edits and the vellum project even as I chomp at the bit for more
What a gift! Thank you.
**SOUND OF PURE EXCITEMENT**
Oh man, you guys know how to make the horde happy. Thank you so so much. I didn’t think I could get more excited for Maggie two but here I am. Deep breathing, totally challant and wa*ting. Love you guuuyysss!
thank you so much! hopefully your errand went well!
Oooh… who else will get a bonus chapter in this “insanely wanted” e-book?
Yay! Thank you!!
Whoa. Love this!
Ahhhhh this just made me more excited to come back to this world! I hope we get more snippets like this.
profoundly satisfying
thanks
Amazing as always! 😀
LOVE! It made my day. Thank you!
So many viewpoints I would love to see a story from. Everard? Sol? More from Arvel? I live in hope.
I love it. Thank you for this gift.
I must say the “another landslide” tidbit had me in a choke hold all day. Having now read this snippet again, my mind is still spiraling trying to determine what it means.
So, does Everard have the means to induce a landslide?
Who was the victim of a previous landslide?
Wasn’t the reason for Everard’s marriage because another region suffered a loss to their port because of a Landslide?
Did Everard arrange those circumstances and now doesn’t need to?
So, many questions.
I loved this peek into Everard’s family dynamics. It makes the time Ramond had with Maggie and her found family so much more precious.
I hope we see more of them in companion book…
Thank you, House Andrews.
Oh interesting landslide theories!
Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you. I always love your books.
Oh my goodness, thank you for the snippet-gift! I’m so excited for Maggie to eventually make it to Selva.
Oh my God!!! Thank you so much!! I cannot put into words how much I wanted_needed that!!! It is a precious glimpse of the family how driven they are… Thank you
And of course, I can’t wait for the companion ebook.. Can we pre-order it from somewhere???
the Aspect of the Prophet, now that is something they may accuse Maggie of….sometime in the next books
Amazing as always….now I need book 2!!!!
Thank you! 💕
Squee! Thank you so much, I love it. Such a treat!
Excellent, enticing and oh gosh, now I must wait!
ooooohhhhhh. need to wait for a break in my work to read this.
thank you
Such a treat. Thank you for making my day better 🌻🌻🌻
Enjoyed reading it cannot wait for the rest
Beautiful – an another prime example of why there is a BDH. Thank you!
Independent companion ebook?!?!?!!! I am now extremely excited for that! Thank you!
Oh, how we are teased and tormented by the mischievous House Andrews! 🙈
It sounds delightful and I can hardly wait! 😍
PS: HA causes mischief for themselves as well, as the Mighty BDH will now hound them for updates relentlessly 😂
the p*tience will kill me (not)
You guys rock! I love it all. Echoes of Erra and Kate, and Kate and Julie here. love. love. love.
Thank you! This was fun!
Devoured, thank you, please do come again.
Really appreciate a look into Everards. Katorna is one formidable woman
‘Her daughter had become a selfish creature, focused completely inward to the detriment of everything else. Her own feelings loomed so large within her that their presence had blocked the very idea that others, too, had feelings.’
Haha, with a 12 & 15 yr old currently, you have nailed my life experience at the moment.
Excellent writing. Can’t wait for the next release.
Thank you so much!
OMG
I so want more.
Gah!! That. Was. Awesome! These teasers are killing me and I wouldn’t give them up for the world!!!! Thank you, House Andrews 🎉😁💃🏻
Wahhh, thanks for this treat!! I figure Maggie will realise that Katorna is highly suspicious, but I wonder how she will deal with it!
I can hardly wait for Maggie 2!
Oh, I’m betting Katorna has at least a little page time in LaTour’s books. Maggie will think of something.
Bounce Bounce Bounce. A tisket, a tasket, a snippet on a basket! Wild
clapping.
Thank you ever so much for this. I can’t wait to meet more of the Everards.
Oh my god!! The insight into the sleepless duke from one short. Just brilliant! Thank you!
This is a gift. Thank you!
I started reading and was pulled in immediately. The detail, the emotions – I can feel what is going on. Mother and daughter relationship. Oh yeah,
I know all about one of those. The whining made me laugh; and the mom realizing she spoiled her child, well, yep.
The depth of Katorna’s character you’ve given us is a solid picture of who she is. Mother, warrior, widow, worried family member. And her concerns about her nephew help
fill in what is important on the
home front.
At first thought, Petra is a whiney teenager. She keeps it up. Then when her mother questions her, we can see by her hesitation that she actually knows her answers will make the “guy” situation seem as insincere as
it is. She argues that her mother will
twist what she says, yet she is not stupid. Just 14.
It’s great to see – and I could actually see it – when Katorna looks at her daughter and sees herself. She sees hope for her. And Petra shows an inner strength she was born with. She is, after all, her mother’s daughter. In three years, in life, she now knows
she needs to pay attention.
Their interaction with the Edna is really interesting. What she saw is not what I would have expected – not that I know what I expected. Sometimes surprises are nice.
Excellently done. Thank you for this gift. (Any insights into Maggie’s adopted family will be welcome. Just saying. Lol.)
Thank you so much! Even though I just finished re-reading TKWNKM (for the fifth time), I might need to re-read-read it. It’s so easy just to slip into Kair Toren and never want to come out.
ooooh! I love seeing tidbits of the world outside the main story. Thank you!
What fun, thank you. I have created a special House Andrews folder in my email where I horde these snippets so I can revisit them more easily than trying to find them again on the blog. I look forward to the companion novel someday.
“Infatuation hides the flaws, but love makes you clearsighted.”
Something I have been thinking, but I were not able to put it in so simply, clearly.
Thank you!
+1
This was such a treat! thank you!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SNIPPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *happy dancing while making incoherent squeeeeeeing noises!!* 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
Oohhhh the drama, the tension, the insight, the 50 million questions I now have to add to my *need to know the answer to* list!! I LOVED this!!!!! Katorna is a force to be reckoned with eh? and she sure knows how to handle a teenager who is on the verge of throwing a strop too! She is involved in forbidden stuffs and so now she knows why Ramond went MIA. The Aspect of the prophet has no power over ‘the woman’ Ramond is spending his time with (Maggie)..and no visions can be seen of her future?!! Maggie could very well be in a lot of danger if she gets on the wrong side of Ramond’s aunt… but of course I’m itching to see them all meet up hehehe ^_^
Thank you so much for sharing more of your awesome storytelling! 💖🤗📖Snippet has been devoured and thoroughly enjoyed! *chef’s kiss* 😋🍴
Oh, wow, such a nice treat … and not even Friday!
Enthralling! I dropped every other thought and distraction in my head to start reading. I love this writing team.
First?
Best I can do is 210th 🙂
Delicious amuse-Bouche to whet the appetite 😍
Thank you!!!!
Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!
It’s neat to see how much effort the Evards put into their duty. Maggie is messing up everyone’s plans. Thanks for the short.
Love this little extra. I can’t wait to get back to this world with book 2 next year!!! (hopefully we will continue to get little bits until then :))
I’m so curious the conversations that went down between Katorna and Everard when he briefly returned to bring his men back for the party.
This made my day 😊 Thank you!
Oooo! Fluffy happy snippet bonus dance!!!
Thank you!
Oh, wow. I really enjoyed this short. Thank you so much!
Delightful! (And thanks for the clarification about it’s association (or not) with Maggie #2.)
HA, we don’t deserve you. I got to read this sitting next to the open window while it rains on the colorful autumn leaves, and it was absolutely perfect. Thank you!
Made my week. Thank you 🙂
Thank you. I so appreciate how everything you write grips my attention. Sadly my family has to put up with “leave me alone, I am reading” and “leave me alone until I finish knitting this row.” Sadly I cannot listen to Ilona Andrews audios and knit as I am too afraid I will miss something important so I forget to knit, or I knit and have to rewind and listen better. Sigh. Hard choices.
Drooling for companion e book. Will use the ugly word pat$*;!. Thank you for the preview
There’ll be a companion ebook? What sort of info will it contain? Is it a collection of short stories? Or will it contain the background info on the different characters, families, and locations?
All will be explained closer to preorder going live, at the moment House Andrews plan on it to be a companion guide to Kair Torren, including fiction extras, maps and character lists 🙂
I love it! Have to go and reread book 1, even though I checked out 3 library books and having difficulty getting into any of them.
So happy, happy, happy for this snippet of a story!
Thank you!
🫶🏻Intriguing and appetite- whetting!!
This was awesome. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I’ve only known Katorna and Petra for five minutes but i would shank someone for them. Thank you so much for sharing them (and when i saw “independent companion ebook” i squealed and kicked my heels while holding my phone to my chest)
Hold on, independent companion ebook? Tell me more, please?
More will be announced closer to release 🙂 – there is no official date yet.
Thank you, thank you!
Wonderful discussion and lesson! Especially appreciated the analysis layouts.
Thank YOU!
I loved the snippets, thank you both 🥰
this made my day/week 🫠
Squeeeeeee
That is all.
Whoa! That’s a lot to unpack. First off it’s great! Second, does this mean we might be able to buy a novella in between Maggie 1 &2? Anyway, thank you HA for this mystery snippet. The interaction between mother and daughter rang so true to life! It felt like I was watching a movie of what I was reading. Can’t hardly wait for the next!
Not a traditional novella, closer to a Kair Torren companion guide with collected POVs and other surprises 🙂
I love it! Thank you.
It was so nice to return to Maggie’s world and what an interesting angle on the story.
Intense. And raises questions about his Grace’s motivations in fixing Maggie’s affections that I had thought settled.
I am once again very glad to be merely bourgeoise instead of aristocracy, and free to love and marry where my heart leads — the cost to have pretty clothes and grand parties is much too high for me, though I can see how a different personality type would be fine with the exchange.
What a great side story.
Lovely! It is wonderful how you write such intelligent powerful women.
Love it! Thanks so much for all you do.
I love this! Thanks so much! Can’t wait for more of this world!
Such a unexpected treat! Thank you!
Amazing! Thank you.
Thank you, this was quickly captivating. I look forward to anything else related to Maggie.
This was an awesome treat. I so love the way you write…the pictures you draw and each character is so full of life. Thank you!
Thank you for this. We will treasure this glimpse Of Everhards family
This is so cool omg. No one does world building and magic lore like HA!!
Wow, thank you!
Better than cream puffs! Better than sticky toffee pudding! i’m Dancing!!!!!!
Oh wow. So three dimensional and rich. What a great short. Thank you so much for this.
oh my, I just fell into to this and loved every word. can’t wait!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Oh my days, I cannot express how EXCITED I am for Maggie two! SO EXCITED!!! I hope we get to see her meet Ramond’s family
Thank you so much!
I love knowing more about Ramond’s family. I cannot wait for the book of short stories and book 2 of Maggie. You both rock as authors. BTW have you thought about going to Montreal World Con next year? I know they would love to have you!
Please, please flesh this out into a book!
Love it!
Love it! Thank you.
I loved it! Thanks so much!
Wow. Just Wow..
A companion ebook. Can’t wait, another for the collection..
Love this!
Yay free TKWNKM fiction!!! Waiting for Maggie #2 just got a bit easier 😄
Btw, it’s almost time to re-read Maggie #1… Yet again 😂
Thank you for the short! Love it!!!
>^_^< V
“I don’t have an heir, so the Dukedom would pass to my cousin. Her Fatefire is only a shadow of mine, and she is barely 14” – Ramond
Hey, is Petra the cousin?
🙂
Question: Why wouldn’t it pass to Katorna instead? She’s the old duke’s sister–why would Katorna’s daughter be higher in the line of succession than Katorna? When I initially read the line about the dukedom passing to his cousin, I assumed he didn’t have any older/closer blood relations still alive, but clearly that’s not the case. What am I missing?
Maybe because if Katorna died it would go to Petra anyway, so why not save steps? For that matter, we don’t actually know how Rellas does inheritance. Clearly not strict patrilineal if Petra’s in line at all, but they might do “boys first and girls only if there’s no boy heir”. It might also have to do with strength of magic, especially among the Great Families (e.g. eldest child who inherits the full magical talent inherits the title and it only passes to someone with weaker magic if nobody with the full talent is left).
I find it odder that her Fatefire is weaker than Ramond’s. Katorna is Lorest’s brother, so you’d think that as direct descendants of the ducal line both Katorna and Petra would have gotten the full talent.
LOL Katorna is Lorest’s *sister*. Oops.
My thanks also for the wonderful book and extra snippets!
I had the same reaction as Stephanie. Skipping an adult for her minor child seems problematic for a succession. Perhaps Ramond was speaking generally, that the dukedom (ultimately) “would pass” to Petra, Katorna’s heir, especially because Katorna isn’t planning to remarry. But what did trip me up is that, even if Petra is the immediate heir, Katorna here seems perfectly competent and capable of running Selva, even just as regent. Does Katorna also have very limited Fatefire and is that really all that bothers Ramond about the future for Selva?
I actually don’t think that there’s any reason to expect magic to pass equally (or develop at the same age) to all descendants. In fact, Sauven was terrified to discover that Ramond had the same powers as Lorest (at a young age).
“I actually don’t think that there’s any reason to expect magic to pass equally (or develop at the same age) to all descendants”
I wouldn’t expect the inheritance of magic to work perfectly for sure. However, the Eight Great Families have been in place for hundreds of years in no small part because of their magic, and I don’t think that would have worked if the next generation didn’t inherit the full talent at least most of the time.
That was delightful! Thank you!
Just reading the name “Everad” makes me calm.
This is why Maggie can’t die??!?!
You spoil us with all these freebies. Thank you so much. I love it when a world expends and we meet new characters.
“This is not part of Maggie 2″…YET. We need Maggie 1.5, which explores 5-6 side characters for ~300-400 pages. Just a small snack for the horde. please…feed us we are wasting away. thank you
How did I miss a snippet for almost 3 days??!!! So happy to get a snippet!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!
Thank You!!! It was wonderful to get this glimpse into the Everards family.
Thank-you! I’m all for companion books!
Love snippets of other POVs. Puts richness into the story.
Wow, even characters I never met before our compelling and I want to know MORE.
oh. well, this is lovely. not sure how I missed it earlier, but I’m so happy to have stumbled across it.
many thanks to the authorlords!
Devoured it too fast. Brain freeze. Must.. re…. read…
Thanks House Andrews!
Whooo hooo!
Exquisite!!! THANK YOU
Question! Then why could Matheo see Maggie in his visions?
Why wouldn’t he be able to? She exists, she is a person. I am not understanding the question.
My bad. I should’ve elaborated. “The Prophet has no power over her” and “How can someone exist outside of the Aspect’s power?”
If Edna is unable to “see” Maggie because she exists outside the Aspect of Prophet’s power, then why could Matheo see Maggie in his visions?
The priests of the Aspect are foreseers. Mattio is a far seer. Valdimar words and descriptions
“Matheo was the real thing. He didn’t see the past or the future, he saw
the present, and his visions were brief but clear. It made him the perfect scout.”
Andrews, Ilona. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, Maggie the Undying 1. Tor, 2026. page 85, hardback edition
I see, I see. Forgot this part. Thanks for the explanation sage and mod R!
*incoherent squealing*
thank you so much as always, brilliantly written
House Andrews,
You’ve gone and done it again! Honestly, I can’t even describe how into your writing I get even for a short snippet… I was back in the Rellas, totally committed to Katorna and Petra and now I have to go back and re-read TKWNKM.
Thank you so much!
We are blessed and not worthy of it
Late to the party but wanted to express my appreciation for the great bonus snippet! Thanks Ilona!
Obsessed with this series and everything related to it! What a treat this was! Curious to see if we get her pov in the future, would be fun to see her thoughts about Maggie after they meet
Btw. we have not yet learned how they communicate fast over long distances, have we?
– How Sol/Sol’s Agents got the news to Ev so fast that R was dying that he could get there in time
– How the spy now informed Katorna this quickly
It can’t be by rider, because that takes 10 days
… it’s like every paragraph in this short hints at more mysteries to uncover! Book 2 cannot come soon enough
Thank you! I needed this today.
Your snippets are just the best, there’s so much story packed in there! Happy sigh
Amazing. Such a treat! Thank you!
I had this image of Eva Green from Kingdom of Heaven speaking to a mini her.
I look forward to it.
Sqeeeeee!!!!!
Thank you so much for the snippet!
New ship for the future – Petra meets Matheo……so long Havard! Hehehe
Can’t w@!t for T*WN*M – but we must – that horrible p word…
*-+-* CHILLS!!! *-+-*
I am waiting for the goosebumps to go down.
Insightful interaction between mother and daughter — it took a moment, but she did get her daughter’s attention and led her to an understanding that others had wants and needs that drive them, and that the daughter must not be blind to those — or she will be unhappy and unhelpful, unable to honor and serve. But the mother left hope for something beautiful … and more realistic … than what she had been thinking previously.
Love!!!
I have a question. For clarity, does the “An Errand on the Mountain” bonus short currently within the current TKWNKM e-book or is in its own independent e-book.? Will it it ever be converted into an audio book?
From the article:
“Update: this bonus short will be available in an independent companion ebook for This Kingdom. It is not part of Maggie#2.”
I meant “is” not “does”. Sorry about that.
„Independent companion ebook“ is music to my ears!
Fabulous! Thank you
I like where this story line is going.