The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
 Copyright © 2023 by Rowenna Miller
 Excerpt from The Magician’s Daughter copyright © 2023 by H. G. Parry
 Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio
 Cover illustration by Arcangel and Shutterstock
 Cover copyright © 2023 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
 Author photograph by Emily R. Allison
 Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
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 First Edition: March 2023
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 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Miller, Rowenna, author.
 Title: The fairy bargains of Prospect Hill / Rowenna Miller.
 Description: First edition. | New York : Redhook, 2023.
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022032675 | ISBN 9780316378475 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780316378574 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Novels.
 Classification: LCC PS3613.I55275 F35 2023 | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220711
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022032675
 ISBNs: 9780316378475 (trade paperback), 9780316378574 (ebook)
 E3-20230113-JV-NF-ORI
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Copyright
 Dedication
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
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 49
 50
 51
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 53
 54
 55
 56
 57
 58
 59
 60
 61
 62
 63
 64
 65
 66
 Acknowledgments
 Discover More
 Meet the Author
 A Preview of "The Magician’s Daughter"
 Also by Rowenna Miller
 Praise for Rowenna Miller
 
 
 
 
 Begin Reading
 Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 Praise for Rowenna Miller
 
 “A gorgeous weave of romantic fantasy and urgent politics.”
 —Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives
 
 
 “Miller places immigrant ambition and women’s lives at the heart of her magical tale of politics and revolution. I was utterly enchanted by this unique, clever, and subtly fierce fantasy.”
 —Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
 
 
 “Miller deftly weaves a thrilling tale of revolution and turmoil in a complex fantasy world.”
 —Cass Morris, author of From Unseen Fire
 
 
 “Miller caps off the Unraveled Kingdom trilogy with a seamless blend of magic and heart, all under the cloud of war and revolution. Smart, thrilling, and full of charm, Rule is the perfect sendoff for the tale of Sophie Balstrade.”
 —Mike Chen, author of Here and Now and Then
 
 
 “A delight, woven through with rich detail. Magic, sewing, and an achingly good romance—what’s not to love? A deeply satisfying read. I’m dying for the next one!”
 —Alexandra Rowland, author of A Conspiracy of Truths
 
 
 “One of the best novels I’ve read this year! Torn is masterfully written—full of fascinating politics and compelling characters in a vividly rendered, troubled city. Sophie is a believable, layered, and wonderful heroine; her journey from ordinary to extraordinary is a joy to read. I absolutely loved this book!”
 —Sarah Beth Durst, author of The Bone Maker
 
 
 
 
 
 By Rowenna Miller
 The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill
 THE UNRAVELED KINGDOM
 Torn
 Fray
 Rule
 
 
 
 
 For Heidi, who went on ahead, and for Jenna and Erica, who stayed behind for now.
 
 
 
 
 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Where flowers bloom unfading
 And leaves are ever green
 Fortune’s winds are shifting
 By fairy touch unseen
 —Folk song
 
 WHEN THE MADISON Railroad laid the tracks at the base of Prospect Hill, there were no roads cleaving the thickly forested slopes and no houses overlooking the distant river. A few farmsteads were nestled into the beech woods on the other side of the crest, out of view of the rail workers driving spikes through oak ties into untouched clay. Horatio Canner was one of those rail workers, and when he looked up into the tapestry of boughs, he thought it was the most beautiful place he’d ever seen.
 He took his lunch breaks at the edge of the clearing for the railway, shorn saplings and ragged trunks of great oaks and walnuts crowding the space where sunlight ended and the shade of the forest began. Horatio sat on a walnut stump, feeling a bit like a trespasser. And then he heard a soft rustle and saw a shimmer of light in the shadows of the branches.
 A girl. Not a girl, exactly, he amended, as he stood hastily and swept his hat off his close-cropped hair. A young woman, hovering on the edge of adolescence, eyes wide and thin lips parted to speak. Instead she turned and slipped between the trunks. After a moment’s hesitation, he followed. It seemed almost as though she led him on purpose, slowing when he lost the pale form of her white dress through the trees, hastening again when he came too