A mirror mended, p.11
A Mirror Mended, page 11
part #2 of Fractured Fables Series
My story will still end—every story does—but I no longer know when, or how, or where. All I know for sure is what happens next, and I find it’s enough for me.
I set the apple carefully on the edge of the sink and clear my throat. “Hey, uh, guys?”
The vacuum goes silent. A muffled conversation follows (“Who the fuck was that?” “It sounded like—” “I will flay her.”).
I raise my voice, smiling at my own face in the mirror. “I’m home.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wasted half a day trying to come up with a tortured Snow White parallel for these acknowledgments (Perhaps my publishing team could be compared to seven life-saving dwarves? Could I do anything with the magic mirror bit?) but I failed hard, so all I have to offer is this humble list and a lot of gratitude. This story owes its life to:
My agent, Kate McKean, who simply does not quit.
My editors, Jonathan Strahan and Carl Engle-Laird, who trust me and doubt me to precisely the right degrees.
My cover artist, David Curtis, and the entire team at Tordotcom, who did not have to go this hard, but who did anyway. Special thanks to Irene Gallo, Greg Collins, Christine Foltzer, Matt Rusin, Oliver Dougherty, Isa Caban, Giselle Gonzalez, Megan Barnard, Eileen Lawrence, Amanda Melfi, Dakota Griffin, Jim Kapp, Sarah Reidy, Lauren Hougen, Rebecca Naimon, Michelle Li, Kyle Avery, and everyone from Tor Ad/Promo.
The expertise of J. D. Myall, who saved me from myself, and the thoughtful, patient, generous insight of E. J. Beaton, H. G. Parry, Shannon Chakraborty, Rowenna Miller, and the rest of the blessed bunker.
The friends who’ve seen us through the first years of this frankly miserable decade, who have made us brunch and babysat the kids and left Gatorade on the front porch when we were sick.
My brothers, Eli and Larkin, who provided the memes and movie nights.
My kids, who provide the chaos, and Nick, who provides the order—and the humor and the food and the music, who is the very marrow of my life, the heat at the center of everything, and who is—as I type this—cajoling a three-year-old out of the kitchen cabinet.
TORDOTCOM BOOKS BY ALIX E. HARROW
A Spindle Splintered
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former academic and adjunct, ALIX E. HARROW is now a full-time writer living in Virginia with her husband and their semi-feral toddlers. In 2019, she won a Hugo Award for her short fiction and published her first novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Find her at @AlixEHarrow on Twitter. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Acknowledgments
Tordotcom Books by Alix E. Harrow
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A MIRROR MENDED
Copyright © 2022 by Alix E. Harrow
All rights reserved.
Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Interior illustrations by Michael Rogers
Cover art and design by David Curtis
A Tordotcom Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-76664-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-76665-6 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250766656
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2022
Alix E. Harrow, A Mirror Mended
