There were glimmers of fear, but we shone purple and red, valor and rage that this demon would try to extinguish so many lights, so many songs. Men Shen boomed a warning, all defiant resonance:
WE STAND
WE DEFEND
NO SURRENDER
Here as one, amid these swirling stars, we would save Greenheld or fall forever.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, we tip our hats to our faithful readers. Thank you for sticking with us and allowing us to create a story this bizarre, big, bold, and beautiful.
RACHEL:
Thanks to my co-writer, Ann Aguirre, who helps me steer our OTP so beautifully. All the love to my wonderful husband, Cat Conrad, who has been there for me for over twenty-five years and continues to stand by me for better or worse. The last year has been a challenge, so he should know how much I appreciate him. Extra thanks to Lucienne Diver, for always believing in me and being the best agent in the world. Thanks also to Justina Ireland and Sarah Weiss-Simpson. This book wouldn’t exist without their invaluable contributions. Finally, I send much affection to book lovers everywhere. Thank you for loving and living in the worlds we build.
ANN:
I’m starting with Rachel Caine again. I still can’t believe we’ve written two books together! It never feels like work; it’s all joy, all the time. Next, I thank my wonderful husband, Andres, who always asks, “Is there anything I can do?” Somehow the question always makes me feel better, even when the answer is no. Thanks to Claudia Gabel, who never seems to think our ideas are too weird for deep space, and great appreciation to my agent, Lucienne Diver, who is the answer to a question I didn’t know I was asking. Special thanks to Justina Ireland for her critical insights and to Peter Stenson, who named the Sliver. (I promised to give him credit!) Thanks to my son, who always listens to my plot problems and sometimes he solves them. I also need to thank the people who supported me while I was working on this book, including but not limited to: Bree Bridges, Karen Alderman, Fedora Chen, Kate Elliott, Charlotte Stein, and Suleikha Snyder. Finally, much love to the readers who are all in for sexy space whales. We’re writing your book of love.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
RACHEL CAINE is the coauthor of the Honors series and has written more than fifty novels in multiple genres, including young adult, thriller, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and paranormal romance. She is best known for the #1 internationally bestselling fifteen-book Morganville Vampires series and her Weather Warden series in urban fantasy. She lives and works in Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband, artist, actor, and comic historian R. Cat Conrad.
www.rachelcaine.com
ANN AGUIRRE is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with a degree in English literature and the co-author of the Honors series. Before she began writing full-time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. She writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens.
www.annaguirre.com
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BOOKS BY RACHEL CAINE AND ANN AGUIRRE
Honor Among Thieves
Honor Bound
Honor Lost
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COPYRIGHT
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
HONOR BOUND. Text copyright © 2019 by Rachel Caine LLC and Ann Aguirre. Frontispiece art copyright © 2019 by Patrick Arrasmith. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text 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 HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover art © 2019 by Jeff Huang
Cover design by Aurora Parlagreco
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018946242
Digital Edition FEBRUARY 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-257104-5
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1920212223PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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