Date of Publication: October 23rd 2014
For more than 400 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with external struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.
Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?
GWENDOLYN
It was
supposed to be study time. Every Sunday evening between five and eight o’clock,
the halls of the boarding school known as Eurus Academy were silent, the common
spaces deserted. Students were either in their rooms or at the library—where all
that could be heard was the rustling of pages, the clacking of keyboards, and
the gurgle of bodily noises that only seemed to present themselves during the
quietest of moments.
It
was a time for students to feed their minds.
Instead,
Gwendolyn Rose, first daughter of the Duke of Coal, was preparing to sneak out
and feed her soul.
Right
after she addressed the knock on the tower door.
“Just
a second!” Gwen called in a voice some people said sounded like her mother’s,
buttoning her generic uniform cardigan. She made sure the backpack on the bed
was zipped and the trunk by the footboard was locked. She smoothed her raven
hair and opened the door.
“Margaret’s
back,” her longtime friend Hope blurted out, going up on her toes like a child,
making her blond waves bounce and her glasses slide down her freckled nose.
“We’re meeting at the library and
she’s going to tell me all about Boston. I still can’t believe she went to the
Democracy. Her parents must have had to pay a fortune!”
Citizens
were allowed out of the Realm, but only after paying the king a leave tax
determined by social standing and other unknown factors. It was much harder for
a commoner to leave than a courtier—and even courtiers couldn’t cross the
borders into one of the Democracy’s states more than a few times per year
without very special permission.
“Would
you like to come hear about her trip?” Hope continued. “How was your weekend,
by the way?”
Since
kindergarten, Hope had spoken like she thought you’d stop paying attention if
she didn’t get it all out quickly enough.
“My
weekend was fine, thank you,” Gwen said calmly, playing a part. “It was nice to
see my parents,” she lied. “I read, spent some time with my sister, and helped
around the house.”
“It
sounds fulfilling,” Hope said.
If your idea of fun is hanging out
with your family.
“It
was.”
“So,
the library?” Hope pushed up her glasses and looked at Gwen expectantly.
“I’m
meeting my cousin in Stuart.” It felt strange to articulate the excuse that Gwen had
been rehearsing for an hour in her head. “I did my work earlier.”
Ever
trusting, Hope didn’t waste energy trying to figure out which cousin Gwen was
planning to meet—or why. She just told her to have a nice evening and left.
Backpack
slung over her shoulders, Gwen stepped into the corridor and shut the door
behind her. As with many things in Eurus, there were silent reminders of
hierarchy here.
The
sleeping floors of Eurus Academy had regular dorm rooms lining the hallways,
but at the corners, there were four, single-occupancy tower rooms. Larger, with
ornate rugs covering the wood flooring and special heating units to warm the
stone walls, the tower rooms were for the oldest from the five, non-royal
families: Coal, Wind, Tourism, and Oil.
Since
the inception of the Realm, when the Democracy still hadn’t discovered it,
Natural Gas had been the king’s resource. Sons and daughters of the king slept
in the castle—not on campus—so there was no tower room for the Natural Gas
family.
The
oldest girls from the Families slept on the sixth floor; boys on the fifth.
Gwen
tapped down three Italian marble steps to the plush carpeting, the Medieval
feel of the secluded corner tower giving way to a modern-baroque hallway with
cream-colored walls papered from
chair height up with sweeping blooms in varying shades of light blue, metallic
on matte.
She
looked right toward the northwest tower, which belonged to the Brevard family.
Specifically, it belonged to Josephine Brevard. Haakon had no idea, but Gwen
had seen him leaving that room recently. She hadn’t minded: Gwen had no
interest in Haakon. The time to worry about that was many years down the road.
Giveaway!
--------------------
About Cat Patrick:
Raised in a house that was struck by lightning–twice–Cat Patrick is the author of young adult books Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals, and the co-author of Just Like Fate.
As a child, Cat could be found making up stories like her first book, Dolly the Purple Spotted Dolphin; growing corn in the backyard; or performing with a traveling sign-language troupe. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree from Boston University, and worked in public relations for fifteen years. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and twin daughters, and is on Twitter @seecatwrite, or Facebook at authorcatpatrick.
Cat once…
• Interrupted Warren Beatty’s lunch to snap a picture with him.
• Appeared on a game show, but not as a competitor.
• Climbed a 50 foot tower and rappelled back down. (At least she thinks it was 50 feet.)
• Met Muhammad Ali.
• Was on the high school golf team.
• Got a tattoo.
• Was pooped on by a dolphin.
• Performed a high kick routine to Personal Jesus.
• Interviewed Carmen Electra.
• Worked as a “concessionist” at a movie theater.
• Met the guy who created Sonic the Hedgehog.
Cat likes… Crunchy snacks, decaf nonfat lattes, mint chip ice cream, Alan Rickman, zombies from afar, traveling, reading, easy hikes, challenging plotlines, stargazing, silly hats, and boots.
Cat dislikes… Talking on the phone, socks with holes, zombies close up, the flu, mean people, touching ice, copyedits, flying, spiders, squeaky windshield wipers, black licorice, and salmon.
