Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

Then she stepped beyond the stone.

And at long last, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius was home.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS



I think it’s common knowledge by now that I’d cease to function without my soul-twin, Jaeger copilot, and Threadsister, Susan Dennard.

Sooz, you are my light in dark places. You inspire and challenge me to not only be a better writer, but to also be a better person. Your friendship gives me strength and courage and hope. No matter what happens, no matter what might be waiting around the next bend in the road, I know I can face it, I can endure and triumph, because I have you at my side. There is no greater magic than that. I can’t wait to be majestic tiger-vampires with you for the rest of eternity.

To my fellow lady-in-arms and appreciator of all things feral/shape-shifting, Alex Bracken: How can I ever thank you enough for reading this book (and all my others) so many times? And how can I ever thank you enough for the years of e-mails, the countless lunches/drinks/dinners, and for always having my back? I don’t think I would have enjoyed this wild journey half as much without you—and I don’t think I would have survived this long without your wisdom, kindness, and generosity. Here’s to writing many more scenes with flimsy excuses for having shirtless dudes.

These books would not exist (I would not exist!) without my hardworking, supremely badass teams at the Laura Dail Literary Agency, CAA, and Bloomsbury worldwide. So my eternal love and gratitude go to Tamar Rydzinski, Cat Onder, Margaret Miller, Jon Cassir, Cindy Loh, Cristina Gilbert, Cassie Homer, Rebecca McNally, Natalie Hamilton, Laura Dail, Kathleen Farrar, Emma Hopkin, Ian Lamb, Emma Bradshaw, Lizzy Mason, Sonia Palmisano, Erica Barmash, Emily Ritter, Grace Whooley, Charli Haynes, Courtney Griffin, Nick Thomas, Alice Grigg, Elise Burns, Jenny Collins, Linette Kim, Beth Eller, Kerry Johnson, and the tireless, wonderful foreign rights team.

To my husband, Josh: Every day with you is a gift and a joy. I’m so lucky to have such a loving, fun, and spectacular friend to go on adventures with around the world. Here’s to many, many more.

To Annie, aka the greatest dog of all time: Sorry for accidentally eating all your turkey jerky that one time. Let’s never mention it again. (Also, I love you forever and ever. Let’s go cuddle.)

To my marvelous parents: Thank you for reading me all those fairy-tales—and for never telling me I was too old to believe in magic. These books exist because of that.

To my family: thank you, as always, for the endless and unconditional love and support.

To the Maas Thirteen: You guys are beyond amazing. Thank you so much for all your support and enthusiasm and for shouting about this series from rooftops all over the world. To Louisse Ang, Elena Yip, Jamie Miller, Alexa Santiago, Kim Podlesnik, Damaris Cardinali, and Nicola Wilkinson: you are all so generous and lovely—thank you for all that you do!

To Erin Bowman, Dan Krokos, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Christina Hobbs, and Lauren Billings: You guys are the best. I mean it. The ultimate best. I thank the Universe every day that I’m blessed to have such talented, funny, loyal, and wonderful friends in my life.

And to all my Throne of Glass readers: There aren’t enough words in the English language to properly convey the depth of my gratitude. It has been such an honor to meet you at events across the globe, and interact with so many of you online. Your words, artwork, and music keep me going. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything.

Lastly, thanks so much to the incredible readers who submitted content to be part of the Heir of Fire trailer:

Abigail Isaac, Aisha Morsy, Amanda Clarity, Amanda Riddagh, Amy Kersey, Analise Jensen, Andrea Isabel Munguía Sánchez, Anna Vogl, Becca Fowler, Béres Judit, Brannon Tison, Bronwen Fraser, Claire Walsh, Crissie Wood, Elena Mieszczanski, Elena NyBlom, Emma Richardson, Gerakou Yiota, Isabel Coyne, Isabella Guzy-Kirkden, Jasmine Chau, Kristen Williams, Laura Pohl, Linnea Gear, Natalia Jagielska, Paige Firth, Rebecca Andrade, Rebecca Heath, Suzanah Thompson, Taryn Cameron, and Vera Roelofs. Bloomsbury Publishing, Oxford, London, New York, New Delhi and Sydney





Watch the trailer now:





Bloomsbury Publishing, Oxford, London, New York, New Delhi and Sydney



First published in Great Britain in September 2015 by

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP



Published in the USA in September 2015 by

Bloomsbury Children’s Books

1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018



www.sarahjmaas.com

www.bloomsbury.com



Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc



Text copyright © Sarah J. Maas 2015

Map copyright © Kelly de Groot 2012



The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted



All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher



A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library



ISBN 978 1 4088 5861 5