“I hear he’s very busy these days.”
“I think he’ll appreciate the reward.”
He lowered his voice. “If it involves you out of that dress, I have no doubt I can convince him.”
“You won’t stop until you’ve created a scandal, will you?”
“The demon made me do it. What vital message will the world’s most handsome privateer be taking to Ketterdam?”
Zoya sighed. Tragic to think a woman might have everything she desired and still have need of a thief.
“Get a message to the Crow Club,” she said. “Tell Kaz Brekker the queen of Ravka has a job for him.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Rule of Wolves is the seventh novel I’ve written in the Grishaverse, a story that began with a girl trying to find her way through the dark. As Zoya would say, it’s not a metaphor. But I’m still grateful to all the generous people who helped light the way.
Thank you to everyone at Imprint: Dawn Ryan, Hayley Jozwiak, David Briggs, Raymond E. Colón, the meticulous John Morgan, Camille Kellogg, my talented editor Erin Stein, who lets me pitch her wild ideas, and Natalie Sousa, who has worked so hard to make these books beautiful. I’m deeply grateful to the wonderful marketing, publicity, and subrights teams at MCPG: Kathryn Little, Melissa Zar, Teresa Ferraiolo, Julia Gardiner, Lucy Del Priore, Allison Verost, Mariel Dawson, Kristin Dulaney, Kaitlin Loss, Jordan Winch, and Team Triple M: Molly Ellis, Morgan Kane, and Madison Furr. Thank you to the remarkable sales team of Jennifer Edwards, Jessica Brigman, Jasmine Key, Jennifer Golding, Mark Von Bargen, Matthew Mich, Rebecca Schmidt, Sofrina Hinton, and Taylor Armstrong. Also to Jon Yaged, who didn’t fit into any of these lists.
As always, I am glad and lucky to be a part of the New Leaf Literary family. Thank you to Hilary Pecheone, Joe Volpe, Veronica Grijalva, Victoria Hendersen, Meredith Barnes, Abigail Donoghue, Jenniea Carter, Katherine Curtis, Kate Sullivan, the always on-point Jordan Hill, the relentless Pouya Shahbazian, and my agent, Joanna Volpe, who somehow saw the destination before I did—and managed to get us there.
Sarah Rees Brennan and Holly Black lent me their extraordinary brains and helped to shape the earliest drafts of this book. Marie Lu and Daniel José Older steered me through to the end with kindness and insight. Thank you to Kyle Lukoff and Jesse Deshays, who aided me in telling Hanne’s story. Robyn, Rachael, Ziggy, Morgan, Michelle, Sarah, Theodora, Jimmy, the Platinum Patties and the Pajama Pals—united in alliteration, all kept me going with humor, smarts, and the occasional delivery of ceramic ghosts. Thanks and love to Christine, Sam, Emily, Ryan, my beautiful mother, and Wally, who makes everything better. And E, I know you don’t like me to make a fuss, but thank you for being my friend, my familiar, and the only person I could love more after eleven hours in the car. A final thank-you to Jean, who is loved and remembered.
ALSO BY LEIGH BARDUGO
The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising
The Six of Crows Duology
Six of Crows
Crooked Kingdom
The King of Scars Duology
King of Scars
The Anthologies
The Language of Thorns
The Lives of Saints
PRAISE FOR THE
GRISHAVERSE
“A master of fantasy.”
—THE HUFFINGTON POST
“Utterly, extremely bewitching.”
—THE GUARDIAN
“This is what fantasy is for.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“[A] world that feels real enough to have its own passport stamp.”
—NPR
“The darker it gets for the good guys, the better.”
—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“Sultry, sweeping and picturesque … Impossible to put down.”
—USA TODAY
“There’s a level of emotional and historical sophistication within Bardugo’s original epic fantasy that sets it apart.”
—VANITY FAIR
“Unlike anything I’ve ever read.”
—VERONICA ROTH, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DIVERGENT
“Bardugo crafts a first-rate adventure, a poignant romance, and an intriguing mystery!”
—RICK RIORDAN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PERCY JACKSON SERIES
“This is a great choice for teenage fans of George R. R. Martin and J. R. R. Tolkien.”
—RT BOOK REVIEWS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LEIGH BARDUGO is the New York Times–bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse （coming soon to Netflix）， which spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, the King of Scars Duology, The Language of Thorns, and The Lives of Saints—with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Leigh grew up in Southern California and graduated from Yale University. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles. You can sign up for email updates here.