I could not have written this book without my brilliant agent, Patricia Nelson, who pointed the way to Blightsend. Thank you for believing in my work from the very beginning, Patricia. You have made my biggest dreams come true. Here’s to many more stories about magical girls with secrets.

Miriam Newman, my phenomenal editor, helped me turn an unruly manuscript into a book. Thank you so much, Miriam. Working with you has been a gift. I couldn’t have done this without your insight, passion, and determination. Thank you for loving Delphernia and Linna as much as I do.

To everyone at Candlewick Press and Walker Books: thank you for working so hard to get my strange little book out into the world. Special thanks must go to Pam Consolazio for making The Turnaway Girls prettier than I ever could have imagined, and to Sarah J. Coleman for creating such an evocative jacket for this story. (Sarah, you sing with ink!) Thank you to Betsy Uhrig and Hannah Mahoney, both brilliant copyeditors, for noticing the details, and to Maggie Duffy, Emily Quill, and Martha Dwyer for catching inconsistencies. And a big, big thank-you to Karen Lotz for reading and suggesting changes.

To every person who read a version of The Turnaway Girls and offered advice: thank you. Your input has helped me shape this story into something I am proud of. I especially want to thank Susan Bishop Crispell, Kathryn Rose, and Heather Clark for their words of wisdom and encouragement. And thanks to Kheryn Callender for reading the earliest version of this story and cheering me on.

To my teachers: Mrs. Knight, who helped me believe I was intelligent enough to write in the first place, and Mrs. Krall, whose kindness got me through high school. Thanks to Alison Lowry, my first creative writing teacher, who told me not to be afraid of dark endings, and to the professors at the University of the Witwatersrand who deepened my love of languages and literature: Claudia Gianoglio, Alida Poeti, Tim Trengrove-Jones, Gerald Gaylard, and Merle Williams. Grazie mille.

To Kate Paterson, who, when I told her I was writing a novel, said, “Of course you are!” Kate, meeting you made five years of legal education worth it. Thank you for not doubting.

To my ouma, Petrusa Johanna Spies, who taught me to watch for fairies in the garden. Your imagination has inspired mine. Thank you.

To my sisters, Tamsyn, Chelsey, and Ashley Chewins, whose soul-shapes match mine. Thank you for teaching me what friendship is.

To my niece, Tatum Seymore, who said, “I want to read that!”

To my parents, Mark and Linell Chewins. Thank you for supporting me on this path. Thank you for loving me so much I couldn’t help but think I was capable of anything. You are my definition of extraordinary.

To my husband, Liale Francis, who looks after me in every possible sense and who introduced me to the songs that inspired this book. Liale, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It would take a thousand pages to detail all the wonder you have added to my life. So I will just say this: thank you for everything. I love you.

Last, to Darfer, who reminded me who I was when I had forgotten.