Despite his words, I kneel to pat the girl-dogs, my sisters Alina and Merile. There isn’t much time left, but I don’t know when—if ever—I will see them again, if someone will eventually find a way to summon their souls back to human bodies.
“Run,” I whisper in Alina’s ear, to Merile, “run as fast as you can and never look back. Run as soon as you see our father’s light.”
Captain Janlav pushes the door open. “Now.”
The girl-dogs dart forth, past his worn boots, into the true night that awaits only some of us. One brown dog, one black one, two Daughters of the Moon, soon become but shadows.
Elise and I follow Captain Janlav to the yard.
As the troika speeds through the night, I hearken my ears to the sounds I know to expect. Elise leans against my shoulder, eyes closed, unable to hold back tears. Despite what she may have done in the past, I am not cruel enough to deny her comfort at this terrible moment. I cradle her slender palms between mine. Her fingers are colder than mine, her heart, too.
I know now what lies beyond exhaustion, at the end of everything. Numbing vulnerability, but also the frailest flicker of hope, the belief that our father, my beloved, will protect us.
And then, gunshots, followed by faraway barks.
About the Author
LEENA LIKITALO hails from Finland, the land of endless summer days and long, dark winter nights. She lives with her husband on an island at the outskirts of Helsinki, the capital. But regardless of her remote location, stories find their way to her and demand to be told.
While growing up, Leena struggled to learn foreign languages. At sixteen, she started reading science fiction and fantasy in English. The stories were simply too exciting not to finish, and thus she rather accidentally learned the language.
These days, Leena breaks computer games for a living. When she’s not working, she writes obsessively. And when she’s not writing, she can be found at the stables riding horses.
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The Five Daughters of the Moon
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE SISTERS OF THE CRESCENT EMPRESS
Copyright © 2017 by Leena Likitalo
All rights reserved.
Edited by Claire Eddy
Cover art by Anna and Elena Balbusso
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
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ISBN 978-0-7653-9544-3 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-7653-9545-0 (trade paperback)
First Edition: November 2017
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