A Daughter of No Nation (48 page)
Read A Daughter of No Nation Online
Authors: A. M. Dellamonica
He waited.
Don't say “obnoxious,” don't say “obsessive,” oh great, how did I get into this?
“It's a lot, okay?”
He nodded gravely, seeming to examine her. “What if I do believe in some of those things? Fate? Or true love?”
“Superstitious. That's a character flaw.”
“Indeed?” He was still holding her; now she felt him relax fractionally.
“It's okay. I think ⦠you have to have one or two.”
“Flaws?”
“
Courting
someone perfect would be exhausting.”
A ghost of a smile. “No danger of that.”
“Definitely not. Jerk.”
“That's an insult, isn't it?”
“I'm not apologizing.”
“No?”
“Are we going to see the drummers or not?”
“We are,” he said, offering her his arm again, leading her through
Martial
and toward the ferry deck as, behind them, the ships of the Fleet of Nations began, with a slow and formal intricacy, to knit themselves back into a single formation.
Â
A. M. Dellamonica
is a recent transplant to Toronto, Ontario, having moved there in 2013 with her wife, author Kelly Robson, after twenty-two years in Vancouver. She has been publishing short fiction since the early nineties in venues like
Asimov's, Strange Horizons,
and
Tor.com
,
as well as numerous anthologies. Her 2005 alternate history of Joan of Arc, “A Key to the Illuminated Heretic,” was short-listed for the Sidewise Award and the Nebula.
Her first novel,
Indigo Springs,
won the 2010 Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic; she is also a Canada Council grant recipient.
Dellamonica teaches writing courses through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.
A Daughter of No Nation
is her fourth novel. You can sign up for email updates
here
.
Â
ALSO BY
A. M. DELLAMONICA
“The Ugly Women of Castello di Putti”
Â
Thank you for buying this
Tom Doherty Associates ebook.
Â
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Â
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
Â
For email updates on the author, click
here
.
Â
CONTENTS
Â
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.
A DAUGHTER OF NO NATION
Copyright © 2015 by A. M. Dellamonica
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Karla Ortiz
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Dellamonica, A. M., author.
    A daughter of no nation / by A.M. Dellamonica. âFirst Edition.
        pages cm.â(Stormwrack; 2)
    “A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
    ISBN 978-0-7653-3450-3 (hardcover)
    ISBN 978-1-4668-1236-9 (e-book)
    I.  Title.
    PR9199.4.D448D38 2015
    813'.6âdc23
2015023326
e-ISBN 9781466812369
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
[email protected]
.
First Edition: December 2015