Diana Pharaoh Francis - The Hollow Crown: A Novel of Crosspointe

Table of Contents

Praise for the Novels of Diana Pharaoh Francis

The Turning Tide

An original fantasy setting... a deftly woven mixture of adventure, intrigue, magic, and romance.

The Green Man Review

The Black Ship

A high-seas adventure with descriptions so vivid, you may feel seasick... the world building is detailed and gives you a feeling of being there.

Romantic Times (4 stars)

As wonderful as the action is, the interactions between the characters are even better.... The world building is fascinating!

Errant Dreams Reviews

Francis spins an exciting tale with plenty of challenges and dangers... an exciting read... a rich and complex world.

SFRevu

The Cipher

Francis has crafted an original world, real people, and high-stakes intrigue and adventure. Great fun.

New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs

Lucy is as engaging a character as Ive met in a long time.

Lynn Flewelling

The first in a fascinating new series by Diana Pharaoh Francis, and so far, its shaping up to be a remarkably intriguing twist on the usual fantasy setting.... Its a refreshing change of pace, and a setting that seems ripe for exploration.... This is definitely a fantasy to look out for.

The Green Man Review

So well described that readers will believe that theyre in the midst of the storm that opens the book.... Intrigue, action, and a bit of romance make for a highly satisfying story.

Romantic Times

Intriguing fantasy... a delightful read.... Genre fans will enjoy Diana Pharaoh Franciss fine character-driven saga.

Baryon Magazine

Path of Blood

Excellent characterizations, intriguing political maneuvering, and some fascinating battle scenes, both mundane and magical, make this sword and sorcery tale a must read for fans of Katherine Kurtzs Deryni Chronicles.

Midwest Book Review

A glorious conclusion... many surprises and plot twists... some so delightfully shocking and incredible that they will stun the reader as they are cleverly worked into the book and provide the unexpected.

SFRevu

Path of Honor

A stubborn, likable heroine.

Kristen Britain

Well plotted and exhibiting superior characterization, it is definitely a worthy sequel that Path of Fate readers will want to read.

Booklist

Path of Fate

Plausible, engrossing characters, a well-designed world, and a well-realized plot.

Booklist

This is an entertaining bookat times compellingfrom one of fantasys promising new voices.

David B. Coe, award-winning author of Seeds of Betrayal

Other Novels
by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Novels of Crosspointe

The Cipher
The Black Ship
The Turning Tide

The Path Novels
Path of Blood
Path of Honor
Path of Fate

ROC

Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First printing, June 2010

eISBN : 978-1-101-18784-5

Copyright Diana Pharaoh Francis, 2010

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARKMARCA REGISTRADA

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHERS NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

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For Tony, Syd, and Q-ball

Acknowledgments

As always, I have a lot of people to thank for their support and input into this book. First, I want to thank Tony, Quentin, and Sydney for their patience and willingness to ignore my more insane moments while writing. Next I want to thank Lucienne Diver and Jessica Wade, without whom this book would never have made it into print, and who, as always, gave me valuable feedback and advice to improve it. I also want to thank my beta readers, Megan Schaeffer, Christy Keyes, Melissa Saw-miller, and Kenna. They gave me invaluable feedback and made this a much better book. They also kept me from sticking my head in the toilet when I thought the book was broken.

I want also to thank all of you wonderful readers who have chosen to read my words. Thank you for picking up my books and for giving them your money, time, and attention. Without you, I could not do this job that I love so very much. For more on my books, to read my blog, or check out some stories Ive written, come to my Web site: www.dianapfrancis.com .

THE WORLD OF CROSSPOINTE

* Countries now ruled by the jutras

CROSSPOINTE

Chapter 1

Margaret had no intention of dying today, though her pursuers had other ideas on the subject and, just at the moment, the odds were in their favor.

She ran down a flight of steps, taking three at a time. Her skirts tangled her legs and she snarled silently as she lost her footing and twisted her ankle. She fell against the wall and pain spun around her leg in rings of fire. She bit down on her cry, tasting blood, then plunged onward, clutching her satchel tightly to her stomach. She could hear the voices of the Crown Shields too close behind. Their armor clanked and their booted feet echoed.

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