This book began as a hasty sketch of a tree and a quote in my journal at 3 a.m. in Scotland. It was one of those lines that I knew was important: The Godchild was born in the tangled roots of the World Tree. Since then, the story has undergone countless transformations over three continents. From that initial seed on Scottish soil to plotting on trains across the Norwegian countryside to finishing a few (completely different) drafts in Seattle, the Ravenborn Saga has lived a dynamic life. And that means there are many people to thank along the way.

First, and always, my deepest thanks to my fabulous agent, Laurie McLean, at Fuse Literary. She has been my knight in shining armor every step of the way. Without her knowledge and encouragement, this book would still just be a scribbled page in a forgotten notebook.

Next, to my editor extraordinaire, Michael Strother, and the entire Simon Pulse team, for taking a chance on me and turning this story into a true work of art.

To my mother, for helping me leave the nest before I knew what it meant to fly; I couldn’t have done any of this without you. To my father, for inspiring my love of books and adventure. And to my brother, for showing me what dedication truly looks like.

To Will Taylor, for helping me fine-tune both this book and my life. And being the sparkly unicorn to my . . . opposite of sparkly unicorn. At least in terms of writing.

To Interlochen Arts Academy, for giving me a boarding school experience worth writing about.

To Adam, for groggily listening to plot points on that aforementioned Norwegian train ride (and the rest of that trip).

To my Seattle writing team—Danielle Dreger, Kristin Halbrook, and Danny Marks—for keeping me on track. Or at least caffeinating me.

And finally, to you, my dear readers, for being a constant source of inspiration.