The Shadow Cats

By Rae Carson

A sweeping, original digital story by the acclaimed Rae Carson, set in the world of her epic The Girl of Fire and Thorns—a debut novel Tamora Pierce described as "engrossing."

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. And it was not Alodia.

Alodia is the crown princess of the realm. The sister who knows how to rule, the one who is constantly reminded that she has not been marked for a grand destiny. But Alodia has plans, and she will be the greatest queen her people have ever known. So she travels—with her hopeless, naive, chosen sister—to a distant part of their land, to begin to secure her supporters. This region needs its princesses, for it is plagued with a curse; the crops don't grow, spring doesn't arrive, and a fierce jaguar stalks in the shadows, leaving behind only empty homes splashed with blood. If Alodia can save them, no one will be able to deny her strength and her sovereignty.

But what she discovers could change the fate of her kingdom, if not the entire world. And it will most certainly change her opinion of her younger sister.

The Shadow Cats is a prequel to the riveting Fire and Thorns trilogy: Book One, The Girl of Fire and Thorns; Book Two, The Crown of Embers; and Book Three, The Bitter Kingdom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062219848

Rae Carson

Rae Carson is the author of two bestselling and award-winning trilogies, as well as the acclaimed stand-alone novels Any Sign of Life and The Empire of Dreams. Her debut, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, was named a William C. Morris Award finalist and an Andre Norton Award finalist. Walk on Earth a Stranger was longlisted for the 2015 National Book Award and won the Western Writers of America Spur Award. Her books tend to contain adventure, magic, and smart girls who make (mostly) smart choices. Originally from California, Rae Carson now lives in Ohio with her husband. www.raecarson.com

Book preview

Dedication

FOR HOLLY MCDOWELL,

FELLOW ADVENTURER AND AUTHOR, SISTER OF THE HEART

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Excerpt from The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Excerpt from The Crown of Embers

Back Ads

Books by Rae Carson

Credit

Copyright

About the Publisher

Prologue

I crouch hidden among the boulders, my body broken and bloodied. Below me, someone is about to murder my best friend, the one person who understands me.

If I act, I will likely lose my own life. If I don’t, I’ll lose so much more.

A chorus of aches and injuries scream at me to stop, but I creep forward. My fingers close on a rock, the only weapon at hand.

1

I despise open carriages, even in the finest weather or upon the smoothest road, and this journey offers neither. The air in the mountains is brisk with cold, as though spring is reluctant to visit here. The mule path we follow shows little evidence of human care; it’s ragged with rocks and roots and steep switchbacks. My rear aches from the constant jolting. It’s a wonder we haven’t lost a carriage wheel yet.

But during the last few days, we’ve passed through remote villages that no representative of the royal family has visited in more than a decade. And I find myself grateful for the one advantage an open carriage provides: it allows me to observe.

What I see fills me with dread.

People line the road as we pass. They are crusted with dirt and weathered by sun and wind, wearing clothes so ragged I would not dress my scullery maids in them. They clutch their children to their chests and watch our procession with curiosity, maybe a touch of misgiving. But as my carriage approaches, the heralds call out, Her Royal Highness Juana-Alodia de Riqueza, Crown Princess of Orovalle! And the curiosity I read in their faces turns to outright hostility.

Some kneel and bow their heads in proper supplication. But others stand stubbornly until my guards rest their hands meaningfully on their scabbards and bark the order to show respect.

I hold my head high and school my features into bland pleasantness. It’s the expression Lord Zito, my personal steward, says often causes him trouble, because he knows it means I’m hiding something.

And right now, what I don’t want the world to see is how angry I am with my father, the king. The situation is even worse than I feared. Papá has neglected this district dreadfully since the end of the last war with Invierne. Now the wealthiest here ignore the capital, preferring to trade with Joya d’Arena, the kingdom across the border, while the poorest flee into the jungle-choked Hinders to join the Perditos, bandits who steal whatever they can from whoever they find. It’s the perfect recipe for rebellion.

When I am queen, I will put a stop to it all. I will regain the loyalty and trust of our people. I will make this region strong again. And to do it, I will need the help of Paxón, the conde who rules this region.

Which is why, when we received an invitation to the wedding of Conde Paxón and a certain Lady Calla, I insisted to Papá that I be allowed to attend. Furthermore, I insisted on bringing wedding gifts fit for a royal ally—with well-armed soldiers to deliver them.

According to my informants, his bride-to-be is a lovely young woman with a wealthy father. But it would not matter to me if she were a crofter’s daughter. It’s past time for the conde to marry. He was a tremendous soldier in the last war. Afterward, he pursued hunting and drinking with the same ruthless tenacity—until he met his match in a giant boar who gored him. If it were up to me, I would knight the boar for putting an end to Paxón’s wild ways and making him look to his legacy. A conde with a family is a man with something to lose, and a man with something to lose is always more eager to stand behind the shield of a strong king. Or queen.

I intend to know his measure and show him mine before he becomes my vassal.

A ruckus from behind causes me to whirl in my seat, and my temper flares. My fifteen-year-old sister, Elisa, follows me in her own carriage, accompanied by her nurse, Lady Ximena. She always carries a bag full of pastries when she travels, and now she throws bits of bread to the scrawny children lining our rocky road.

Mothers urge them toward the carriage, knowing the guards will be reluctant to draw blades against them. Emboldened, the children slip through their formation and bang on the sides of the carriage, thrusting up dirty hands for more. A baguette drops onto the dusty earth. Three small boys scramble for it, pulling it to shreds.

My sister is delighted. She grins enormously and breaks her bread into pieces as fast as she can. I signal to Zito, but he already moves toward her carriage, barking orders. That’s the exact moment Elisa realizes her predicament, that her naive generosity has created a mob. The smile dies on her face as she recoils against her nurse.

My hand flies to my bodice where my dagger lies hidden. The guards shout at everyone to disperse, but one boy tries to climb inside the carriage. Lady Ximena shoves him back into the waiting arms of

Reviews for The Shadow Cats

[devilwrites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My Rating: Good ReadThis review will be short, sweet, and to the point. With no spoilers!The Shadow Cats is a 54 page prequel to Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns, which debuted last year. I wish I could find the specific word count though, because the story, despite the electronic page count, feels shorter than 54 pages. No matter. It's not a tale that's absolutely necessary to the understanding of The Girl of Fire and Thorns; rather, it's an icing story. You know, as in icing on the cake? If you've already read Carson's debut, The Shadow Cats is a nice little prequel that explores the world through the eyes of Elisa's sister Alodia, and we learn a little more about the tension between the sisters, and how Alodia really views Elisa and her gift.The full review may be found at my blog. NO SPOILERS, and I've linked to it below. As always, comments and discussion are welcome.REVIEW: Rae Carson's THE SHADOW CATSHappy Reading!

[stephxsu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a short read, but in my opinion didn't actually add much to the story world. It's discussed as supposedly giving insight into the potential that Alodia sees in Elisa before The Girl of Fire and Thorns takes place, but the most insightful aspect of that for me was reading the summary of this supposedly occurring insight: in other words, I didn't really feel that insight taking place in this short story.

[pacey1927 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I adored "A Girl of Fire and Thorns". Its sequel may be the most single most anticipated book for me during this year. So I was pretty excited to read this short story about Elisa's older sister Alodia. Alodia is supposed to lead her people and at this point in the timeline Elisa's just the chubby younger sister who happens to have a Godstone (which foretells her greatness). It was nice seeing Alodia's side of things. She is a strong heroine who takes matters in her own hands when a young girl is presumed taken and/or eaten by a giant cat of some type. This is a short (very short) story and maybe $2.99 is a little high of an asking price, but it is a full story and I think it definitely does add something to the series as a whole. If you loved the first book, this one is worth picking up. I enjoyed every page of "The Shadow Cats". (Also this is a great refresher for the new book!)

[wanderlustlover_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alodia's story! I have been dying for this for a long time. I'm hedging this one toward a four, but I think that maybe it should be a 3.5. Yet if I have to choose 3 or 4, for Carson I will only round up.

I loved the friendship. I love the view of our spoiler regular!heroine from her sisters eyes, and how guarded she is by her NurseMaid. I wanted so much more of Alodia's thoughts on her sister's wilfully ignorant upbringing, but I like that we saw all the steel and smarts that we've been hearing about Alodia from her sister's pov for two books.

I'm admittedly a little disappointed that so far in this whole series there's not a single man who can handle power or rulership wisely. I don't want to read it as a gender bias, but I'm starting to get that way. Who knows how I'll feel given another six months or year to the next book. Definitely advise reading this with it's two sister novels!

[LindsayGonzales · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a-frickin-mazing!!!!!!