Authors: Zoe Marriott
FrostFire (32 page)
Zira
was orphaned when the Sedorne invaded her country. For ten years she has been in hiding, training to become a warrior priestess. Now the time has come to fight back– and nothing will stand in the way of her people’s freedom. Not even the man she loves.
Trained
in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to recreate herself in any form – a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past.
But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama, or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens, or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands?
Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to capture the heart of a prince – and determined to use his power to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even love.
Darkness
has fallen across a kingdom far away. The queen is dead – killed in the forest by a terrifying beast – and her daughter, Alexandra, suspects that the new woman in her father’s life is not all that she seems. Exiled and betrayed, Alexandra must face magic, murder and the loss of all she holds dear in a desperate struggle against evil.
Zoë Marriott
says of
FrostFire
: “Most stories spark to life when the main character starts to talk in my head.
FrostFire
arrived with three characters talking, all at once. Frankly, they gave me a heck of a headache until I figured out just who they were and how they’d got into this mixed-up love/hate situation. Each of them had their own journey and their own heartbreak to overcome. At its core,
FrostFire
is a story about the thin, thin line between good and evil, and how sooner or later each of us has to decide on which side we’re going to make our stand.”
Zoë lives in North East Lincolnshire with her two cats, named Echo and Hero, and the Devil Hound, otherwise known as Finn.
FrostFire
is Zoë’s fourth book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.
First published 2012 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
Text © 2012 Zoë Marriott
Cover photograph © 2012 Trigger Image/Alamy
The right of Zoë Marriott to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4063-4119-5 (ePub)