The Impostor Queen

Zusatztext “Sarah Fine presents a fresh and fascinating magical world with its own rules and rituals! riveting action and relationships (and a sequel-worthy ending)!featuring a protagonist who grows in wisdom! compassion! and self-awareness.” Informationen zum Autor Sarah Fine is the author of Of Metal and Wishes, Of Dreams and Rust, The Impostor Queen, The Cursed Queen, The True Queen, and The Guards of the Shadowlands series. She was born on the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast. When she's not writing, she's working as a child psychologist. Visit her at SarahFineBooks.com. Klappentext Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, she's lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn't enter Elli. Disgraced, she flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals, some of whom would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. Leseprobe The Impostor Queen CHAPTER 1 The heart lies before me, still, colorful, and more mysterious than I want it to be. I lean over the diagram etched onto the scroll, trying to memorize it all at once. The main vessel that carries the blood to the rest of the body is marked in red ink, and I slide my fingertip across the label. Valtimo. I like the word. It’s vital and meaty. “Elder Kauko, are the vessels in a loop, somehow? How does the blood know when it is time to return to the heart?” Elder Kauko, seated next to me at this sturdy table laden with scrolls depicting livers, brains, all the bones of the hand and fingers, and so many other fascinating things, adjusts his robe over his round belly. “You are so clever, Elli. Yes, it is like a loop. The blood never leaves the vessels, merely travels through the tunnels until it passes through the heart again.” I frown. “Why, though? Why is it so important, if all it does is flow through our veins? What does it do?” He smiles. When I was little, his lips used to fascinate me; they stick out like two grubs pasted to his pale face. “The blood is life itself. It carries warmth to the limbs and strength to the muscles.” My fingers trace the path of the blood into the lungs. “And what about magic? Does the blood carry magic throughout the body too?” The elder lets out a breath as if I’ve elbowed him, then starts to chuckle. “Magic is more complicated than that.” I blow a strand of my hair off my forehead, frustration warming my skin. “I know it’s not simple, but if the blood is life . . .” I glance at the elder, who waits patiently for my thought to form. “When magic leaves a Valtia, she dies. So it seems as if magic is life too. And if that’s true, then—” He puts up his hands, as if in surrender. “My dear Saadella, magic infuses the wielder. It is everywhere within her.” I tap the diagram. “Including the blood?” “Yes, yes. Including the blood. But—” “Can you distill the magic from the blood, then? Will it separate like oil from water if it sits out overnight? Have you ever—” The elder starts to laugh, his belly wobbling. “Darling child, do you ever stop? Some things simply are, and it is best to be at peace with that.” “And magic is one of them,” I say slowly. How many times have I heard that from my tutors? “But where does it come from, Elder? I know the Valtia’s magic passes to the Saadella, but what about the other wielders?” Elder Kauko nudges my hand, which has now curled around the ed...

Product details

• Authors: Sarah Fine
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster USA
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 8 to 12
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2016
• EAN: 9781481441902
• ISBN: 978-1-4814-4190-2
• No. of pages: 336
• Series: Impostor Queen
• Subject: Children's and young people's books