The Last Changeling (21 page)

She smiled tentatively. “Guess I'm it.”

He smiled back, in what he assumed was a kingly manner. “Guess you are,” he said, holding out a golden hand and pulling her onto the rug with him.

They rose into the sky as the golden aura faded from around him and settled deep in his chest.

I am Ailenbran Astaeri, Bright Celestial, Ruire of the Tir na nOg, and Lord of the Seelie kingdom.

I have promises not yet kept. Friends not yet made. Enemies not yet met. Mourning not yet begun.

I am Faery.

And I am at war.

END
OF
BOOK
TWO
OF
THE
SEELIE
WARS
T
RILOGY
WWW
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THESEELIE
WARS
.
COM

JANE YOLEN
, called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” (
Newsweek
) and the “Aesop of the Twentieth Century” (
The New York Times
), is the author of well over three hundred books, including
Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic,
and the How Do Dinosaurs
 
. . . series. Her work ranges from rhymed picture books and baby board books through middle grade fiction, poetry collections, and nonfiction, and up to novels and story collections for young adults and adults. She has also written lyrics for folk-rock singers and groups, and several animated shorts. She's done voiceover work and talk radio. Her books and stories have won an assortment of awards—two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, a Caldecott Medal, the Golden Kite Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, two Christopher Medals, a nomination for the National Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award, among others. She has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. She is also the winner of the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Science Fiction Poetry Association's Grand Master Award, the Catholic Library's Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota, the 2012 de Grummond Medal, and the Smith College Alumnae Medal. Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates.

Also worthy of note, she lost her fencing foil in Grand Central Station on a date and fell overboard while white-water rafting in the Colorado River, and her Skylark Award—given to her by NESFA, the New England Science Fiction Association—set her good coat on fire. If you need to know more about her, visit her website at www.janeyolen.com.

ADAM STEMPLE
is an author, musician, web designer, maker of book trailers, and professional card player. He has published many short stories, and CDs and tapes of his music, as well as seven fantasy novels—five for middle graders and two for adults. One of his middle grade novels,
Pay the Piper
(also written with Jane Yolen), won the 2006
Locus
Award for Best Young Adult Book. The
Locus
plaque sits on the shelf next to two Minnesota Music Awards and trophies from his Fall Poker Classic and All In Series wins. His first adult novel,
Singer of Souls
, was described by Anne McCaffrey as “one of the best first novels I have ever read.”

For musings, music downloads, code snippets, and writing advice, visit him at www.adamstemple.com.