“You have power over life and death.” Lorcan spoke hesitantly, his voice gruff with emotion. “Can you bring back my brother?”
Evelayn turned in his arms, her eyes wide and her breath held as she looked to the Spirit Harbinger. Was that possible?
He smiled benevolently. “You gave your life, a sacrifice above all others. For this deed, life shall be returned to your brother, if that is your wish.”
“It is,” Lorcan replied immediately. Evelayn felt the way he trembled, scented the hope that sprang up at the Spirit Harbinger’s words.
“Then it is done.” He nodded at the female behind him, and she disappeared. “And you, Queen of Éadrolan?” The Spirit Harbinger looked to Evelayn.
She hardly dared speak her request. “My parents … I know I didn’t give my life, but is there any way … ?”
The look the Spirit Harbinger gave her was so tender, so full of understanding, it made tears prick her eyes.
“Your parents have been gone too long to return to this world. Lothar’s spirit hadn’t been taken to the Final Light yet. I am very sorry. However,” he continued, when the tears slipped out and ran down Evelayn’s cheeks, “you may see them if you wish. That is within our power to do.”
Evelayn nearly choked on the sob that rose in her chest. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, please.”
“Then it is done.” This time, he himself disappeared, along with all the other Spirit Harbingers.
Lorcan and Evelayn stood together, completely alone and silent. Her heart thudded beneath the cage of her ribs as she breathlessly waited. That same light suddenly shone down from above, but this time it landed on the ground in front of them. The Spirit Harbinger materialized first, but he quickly stepped aside. And then, there they were.
Her mother and father stood in front her.
They glowed with the same light as the Spirit Harbinger, but other than that, they looked just as she remembered.
“My beautiful daughter.” Her mother spoke first, and Evelayn choked on a sob.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Evelayn lurched forward, but her father held up his hand.
“I’m so sorry, my sweet girl, but you can’t touch us.” His voice was gentle but firm. “Not yet. But one day, when your time here is finished, we will be truly reunited, I promise.”
“It’s real, then? The Final Light?”
“Of course it is.” Her mother smiled. “And it is wonderful beyond anything you could imagine. But your time to join us has not come yet.”
“I thought I was dying … I thought I’d failed …”
“No matter if you had succeeded in restoring true balance or not, you would never have been a failure, my darling Evelayn. We are so proud of you.” It looked as though a tear slid down her mother’s ethereal cheek.
Evelayn had never longed for a touch more than she did at that moment, wanting to embrace them both. But it was enough for now to know they were proud of her, that they were still there, waiting for her to join them—someday. It was enough to tuck away into her heart and hold her through the many years to come without them.
“And you, Lorcan”—her father’s gaze rose above her head to meet her Mate’s—“we are proud of you as well. When we were alive, we had no knowledge of the depth of suffering you endured in your life, but we have watched you learn—we have witnessed you overcome and change in so many ways. You are truly a worthy Mate for our daughter. And together, the two of you will be able to rejoin our kingdoms in true peace.”
“At last,” her mother sighed, as if saying a benediction or a prayer.
“Will I ever see you again?” Evelayn asked, sensing that their time was coming to a close.
“Not in this world.” Her mother smiled again, but it was tinged with sadness. “But know, Evelayn, that we are with you always. When you experience joy or sorrow, we will be with you. When you give birth to your sons and daughters, I will be there beside you. And when your time has ended, we will be there to welcome you home.”
Evelayn could barely see through the tears that filled her eyes. “I love you both so much.”
“And we love you.” Her father smiled gently. “Don’t grieve our loss any longer, my daughter. If we had not been taken when we were, you would not have become queen and accomplished what you did. Everything happens for a reason. And we will all be together again.”
“Until then, hold our love in your hearts. Both of you.” Her mother looked to Lorcan, too, and Evelayn felt the gratitude emanating from him. He’d never known love like theirs, she realized. And that made her understand how truly blessed she was, even though she’d lost her parents so early in her life. At least she’d known their love for the time they’d had together. That truly was a gift.
“We will,” she said.
“Until we meet again,” her father echoed as the light descended one final time, encompassing both of them, growing brighter and brighter until she could no longer see them. And then, from one blink to the next, the light was gone and so were they.
Lorcan wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her tightly as silent tears slid down her cheeks. Even with the warmth of their love still fresh in her heart, she felt their absence acutely.
But then another voice sounded from behind them, a broken cry that made her and Lorcan both spin around, to see Lothar sprinting toward them, well and whole.
“Lorcan!”
Evelayn had no idea how he’d not only been brought back to life but brought here, to the temple, so quickly. But she was unspeakably grateful to the Spirit Harbingers for it when she felt Lorcan’s joy.
“Lothar!” Lorcan’s voice broke and he released Evelayn to meet his brother halfway, grabbing him into his arms in a tight embrace. “I’m so sorry,” she heard him say, his voice muffled. “For everything.”
“You are my brother,” Lothar said simply. “There is nothing to forgive. I saw what you did—and I heard you wish for me to be brought back. But even if you hadn’t done any of that, I still would have forgiven you. You are my brother,” he repeated.
They embraced tightly again, and then the brothers turned to face her. Her family, she realized with a tightening in her chest. They were her family.
“Let’s go home,” Lorcan said, holding his hand out toward her.
Evelayn nodded through her tears and stepped toward him—her Mate, her family, and her future.
AS ALWAYS AT THE COMPLETION OF ANOTHER BOOK—ANOTHER series—I owe a debt of gratitude to many. The longer I’ve been published, the more I’ve realized writing never really gets any easier. But all of you certainly help!
Thank you a million times over to my agent, Josh Adams. You, Tracey, and the entire Adams Lit family have been such a blessing. Thank you for always being in my corner and never giving up on me, even when I’m stuck on bedrest without a single ounce of creative juice left. We made it to the other side, and you were right, I did it!
To my brilliant editor, Lisa Sandell—I am so honored to be able to continue on this publication journey with you. Thank you for your patience with the aforementioned bedrest saga, and for your unending championing of my work. I am so grateful for you in my life!
Thank you to my fantastic publicist, Brooke Shearouse, for your dedication on my behalf. The marketing team: Rachel Feld, Isa Caban, and Vaishali Nayak—you are all amazing. So much gratitude to Mindy Stockfield, Tracy van Straaten, and Lauren Donovan, as well as Rachel Gluckstern, Lori Benton, and Olivia Valcarce. Big squishy hugs to Lizette Serrano and Emily Heddleson for all you both do. And my eternal gratitude to Elizabeth Parisi and Chris Gibbs for the jaw-dropping cover designs. I wouldn’t be where I am without the incomparable David Levithan—thank you. And I can’t forget the lovely Ellie Berger. Thank you all for EVERYTHING! To the sales team and everyone at Scholastic who work so tirelessly to put books into readers’ hands—thank you!!
For always being there for me, for being willing to read different versions of this story on such short notice, giv
ing needed advice, and talking me off ledges: Lynne Matson and Anne Blankman. I’m so grateful to have you both in my life.
Thank you to Erin Summerill for always making me laugh, and for your unflagging support and friendship. I’m so grateful for you!
Kathryn Purdie—you know how much you mean to me. Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be able to keep my head above water without you.
To all the booksellers, bloggers, bookstagrammers, teachers, librarians, and others who have championed my work and continue to do so—I will forever be in your debt. I wish I could name you all individually, but there are too many incredible people who have touched my life, helped spread the word for my books, and been generally AWESOME on all fronts to include without needing an extra book to do you all justice. I am able to do what I do because you of what you do. “Thank you” will never be enough for your tireless efforts to get books into the hands of readers. With a special thanks to Rockstar Book Tours, Storygram Tours, Jenn Kelly, and to The King’s English here in Utah—my favorite bookstore in the world.
Music is my muse, and this time my thanks go out to Jessica Rotter, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Craig Armstrong, X Ambassadors with Erich Lee, Fleurie, Henry Jackman, Rob Simonsen, and One Republic.
To my mom and dad, my eternal gratitude, as always, for all your support, love, and excitement. And my sisters—you know that cheesy saying “Sisters by blood, best friends by choice”? Yeah, that. I love you all so much. Special thank-you to Kerstin for pushing me to write this book—for wanting the sequel so desperately, for reading it so quickly and loving it so much, and doing more than your share to support this series (and me!), and to Elisse for always being my number one beta reader, no matter how busy you are.
Thank you to my other parents, the ones I was blessed to gain through marriage, for all your support and excitement, as always. This year has been a battle, but cancer doesn’t have ANYTHING on you and by the time this book comes out, it will be behind us. I just know it! Much love to you both.
And last on this list, but first in my life and heart, my family—my four beautiful children and my incredible husband. None of this would mean a thing without the five of you by my side. Brad, Gavin, Kynlee, and now Adeline—this is your first true acknowledgment, because you joined our family during the creation of this book. What a special year 2017 has been because of you. Travis, thank you for being my everything and the most supportive husband on earth. If I had to choose between never writing or reading another book again and you, I would choose you. And that’s really saying something.
SARA B. LARSON is the author of Dark Breaks the Dawn and the acclaimed Defy trilogy: Defy, Ignite, and Endure. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband and four children, and their Maltese, Loki. She writes in brief snippets throughout the day and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in “the art of multitasking.” When she’s not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting of her sugar addiction. You can visit her at SaraBLarson.com.
ALSO BY SARA B. LARSON
Dark Breaks the Dawn
The Defy Trilogy
Defy
Ignite
Endure
Don’t miss the first book in Sara B. Larson’s stunning duology: Dark Breaks the Dawn!
Copyright © 2018 Sara B. Larson
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Names: Larson, Sara B., author.
Title: Bright burns the night / Sara B. Larson.
Description: First edition. | New York : Scholastic Press, 2018. | Sequel to: Dark breaks the dawn. | Summary: It is ten years since King Lorcan of the dark kingdom defeated Queen Evelayn and transformed her into a swan, and every year he has offered her the chance to resume her human form, provided she bind herself to him—but this year the kingdoms are threatened by an ancient power, and Evelayn finds that much of what she once believed was wrong, and she realizes that she must join Lorcan in a quest to return the balance of power to their lands before all is lost.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017035312 | ISBN 9781338068788
Subjects: LCSH: Magic—Juvenile fiction. | Shapeshifting—Juvenile fiction. | Light and darkness—Juvenile fiction. | Kings and rulers—Juvenile fiction. | Secrecy—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Shapeshifting—Fiction. | Light and darkness—Fiction. | Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction. | Secrets—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.L323953 Br 2018 | DDC 813.6 [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017035312
First edition, June 2018
Book design by Abby Dening
Map by Tim Paul
Cover art © 2018 by Chris Gibbs
Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi
Author photo by Erin Summerill Photography
e-ISBN 978-1-338-06885-6
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Sara B. Larson, Bright Burns the Night
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