Thank you to all the folks at Orbit: my first editor there, Sarah Guan, who brought the series in and gave it a running start, and my new editor, Nivia Evans, who came in to push it over the finish line. My thanks to marketing and publicity gurus Ellen Wright, Paola Crespo, Angela Man, and Stephanie Hess, the UK team including Jenni Hill and Nazia Khatun, production editor Rachel Goldstein, cover designer Lisa Marie Pompilio, copyeditor extraordinaire Kelley Frodel, and everyone else who helped to shepherd this book into the world in fine form.
I’m deeply fortunate that my stalwart agent, Jim McCarthy, has believed in my work and had my back since the start of my career. I’m sure he would like me to write shorter books from now on. （Don’t worry, Jim, I will, I promise! At least sometimes.）
Beta readers Curtis Chen, Vanessa MacLellan, Carolyn O’Doherty, and Sonja Thomas came through once again even when I asked them to do early reads on a 250,000-word novel. I owe them for staying with me on this long road.
Andrew Kishino narrated the audiobooks and I can’t say enough about his talents in bringing this story to life in audio form.
Writing may be a solitary profession, but for me it has never been a lonely one, because of the friendship and support of fellow authors—here in the Pacific Northwest, at conventions across the country and the world, and online at all hours. The word trenches may be long and dark, but they are warm with camaraderie.
Finally, my unending appreciation to my husband and children, for their continued and necessary patience with me while I spent so much of my time with another, fictional family.
I wrote much of Jade Legacy during the global COVID-19 pandemic and the tumultous events of 2020. In addition to all the considerable but expected challenges of writing a climactic series-ending novel, I frequently struggled, as many writers did, to maintain a sense of community, hope, and joy in the creative process. I was reminded daily that life is fragile and uncertain, that there’s triumph in endurance, and that it’s not only Green Bone warriors but all of us who depend on the strength of our clans.
about the author
Fonda Lee is a black belt martial artist, a former corporate strategist and action movie aficionado. Born and raised in Calgary, Canada, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her family. Lee is the award-winning author of the YA science fiction novels Zeroboxer and Exo.
Find out more about Fonda Lee and other Orbit authors by registering for the free monthly newsletter at orbitbooks.net.
if you enjoyed
JADE LEGACY
look out for
THE UNBROKEN
Magic of the Lost: Book One
by
M. A. Carrick
EVERY EMPIRE DEMANDS REVOLUTION.
Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.
Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.
Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.
CHAPTER 1
CHANGE
A sandstorm brewed dark and menacing against the Qazāli horizon as Lieutenant Touraine and the rest of the Balladairan Colonial Brigade sailed into El-Wast, capital city of Qazāl, foremost of Balladaire’s southern colonies.
El-Wast. City of marble and sandstone, of olives and clay. City of the golden sun and fruits Touraine couldn’t remember tasting. City of rebellious, uncivilized god-worshippers. The city where Touraine was born.
At a sudden gust, Touraine pulled her black military coat tighter about her body and hunched small over the railing of the ship as it approached land. Even from this distance, in the early-morning dark, she could see a black Balladairan standard flapping above the docks. Its rearing golden horse danced to life, sparked by the reflection of the night lanterns. Around her, pale Balladairan-born sailors scrambled across the ship to bring it safely to harbor.
El-Wast, for the first time in some twenty-odd years. It took the air from the lieutenant’s chest. Her white-knuckle grip on the rail was only partly due to the nausea that had rocked her on the water.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Tibeau, Touraine’s second sergeant and best friend, settled against the rail next to her. The wooden rail shifted under his bulk. He spoke quietly, but Touraine could hear the awe and longing in the soft rumble of his voice.