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Oliza Shardae Cobriana is heir to Wyvern's Court, home of the avians and serpiente, whose war with each other ended just before Oliza was born. But hatred is slow to die, and not everyone likes the expressive way in which Urban, a serpiente dancer, is courting Oliza—especially not Marus, her reserved avian suitor. And when Urban is found beaten in avian land, Oliza is filled with despair. How can she be expected to lead a unified society if her people still cannot live peacefully together? Before Oliza can try to mend the rift in Wyvern's Court, she is kidnapped by mercenaries, who take her deep into wolves' territory. As Wyvern princess, all Oliza has ever wanted is to see a future where she can find love and take a mate without inciting another war. The time is now. She owes it to her people—and to herself.
Oliza Shardae Cobriana is heir to Wyvern's Court, home of the avians and serpiente, whose war with each other ended just before Oliza was born. But hatred is slow to die, and not everyone likes the expressive way in which Urban, a serpiente dancer, is courting Oliza—especially not Marus, her reserved avian suitor. And when Urban is found beaten in avian land, Oliza is filled with despair. How can she be expected to lead a unified society if her people still cannot live peacefully together? Before Oliza can try to mend the rift in Wyvern's Court, she is kidnapped by mercenaries, who take her deep into wolves' territory. As Wyvern princess, all Oliza has ever wanted is to see a future where she can find love and take a mate without inciting another war. The time is now. She owes it to her people—and to herself.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
The northern hills of Wyvern's Court were filled with the trills of tiny bells, the lilting words of storytellers and the songs of choruses. Enraptured children sat in front of me, waiting for me to begin the story of the first avian queen. Blatantly out of place among them was a friend of mine, a serpiente dancer named Urban, who was lounging near the back, managing to look bored and nervous at the same time.
"Many, many years ago, our ancestors were a collection of small tribes, each led by a different captain and each squabbling with its neighbors over food, water and shelter. When drought caused famine, they became afraid and so were more protective of their scarce belongings.
"In the middle of the worst winter, when early snows had destroyed too many of the crops, a woman named Aleya gave birth to a daughter. She loved her child, but she knew she could never take care of her. So Aleya brought the beautiful golden girl to the mountains and left her there, praying that the wild spirits would care for her.
"The infant began to cry, and soon a pair bond of hawks landed beside her. They cared for the child as one of their own, teaching her the language of the forest and giving her their most precious gift: the skies. They gave the girl some of their magic and taught her how to change from her human form into that of a golden hawk."
I paused there, looking into the wide eyes of my young audience. One of the children had moved closer to Urban and was trying to examine the silk scarf he had tied around his waist—a melos, one of the accessories worn by professional serpiente dancers. Urban glanced at her and she jumped.
"But there comes a time when every chick must leave its nest, and as she grew older, the hawk-girl began to wonder about her true mother. Finally, when she was thirteen, she returned to her homeland. She found her mother and her younger brother, whom she had never known, but was horrified by the conditions in which they lived, by the fear and anger that seemed ever present among humans.
"The girl led first her family and then the rest of her mother's tribe into the woods and taught them how to reach the skies. She showed them better ways to hunt, with a hawk's vision and talons, and so they became healthy and well fed once again.
"Later, other tribes joined them, and each took a form from the wilderness—ravens, crows and then sparrows. For the first time, these tribes lived peacefully together, led by the young queen they named Alasdair, which means protector."
The children clapped happily, making the bells hanging from their wrists jingle.
I smiled, enjoying the story almost as much as I had during my first Festival—until one of the adults who had been nearby noticed her child reaching for Urban's melos again and darted forward to scoop her up and away from Urban. Urban pretended not to notice, but I saw his back tense.
I had told the story of Alasdair the way my mother had used to tell it to me, but I knew that some of these children had learned a darker ending from their parents. Just twenty years before, the myth always would have included the death of Alasdair at the hands of the serpiente. Tales such as these fueled avians' hatred from the cradle.
I tried not to let the avian mother's reaction to Urban ruin my mood. I knew that many people did not approve of his presence there; Urban was not just a serpent—an apprentice dancer, at that—he was widely known to be my foremost suitor among the serpiente. As such, he faced the wrath of mothers with eligible sons, and of course the jealousy of avian men our age, in addition to the...
About the Author-
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes wrote her first novel, In the Forests of the Night, when she was thirteen-years-old. She has since published Demon in My View, Shattered Mirror, Midnight Predator, all ALA Quick Picks for Young Adults, Hawksong, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror List Selection; Snakecharm; and Falcondance.
Reviews-
October 1, 2006 Gr 7 Up-After a war that raged for many years, Oliza Shardae Cobriana has become the heir to both the avian and serpiente thrones. As a symbol of peace at Wyverns Court, she is expected to choose a mate who will become her king, but how can she choose between the serpiente, Urban, and the avian, Marus? When the princess is kidnapped and a note is found claiming she has abdicated the throne, mistrust erupts again between the races. Characters from "Hawksong" (2003), "Snakecharm" (2004), and "Falcondance" (2005, all Delacorte) are mentioned but no prior knowledge of the previous books is needed to understand the plot. A novel about the difficulty of bringing together two very diverse races and the sacrifices inherent in ruling, "Wolfcry" is a tale of the spirit and love that this ruling class has for its subjects."June H. Keuhn, Corning East High School, NY"
Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2007 Oliza, the half-hawk, half-cobra offspring of royal shape-shifters from [cf2]Hawksong[cf1], must decide between an avian or serpiente suitor and risk tearing apart her two peoples' fragile truce. In the end, her peace preserving prophecy-inspired choice is a shape-shifter wolf-woman and abdication from the throne. Although the same-sex romance is chemistry-free, the avian and serpiente cultures' sophistication adds interest.
(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
School Library Journal
"A tale of the spirit and love that this ruling class has for its subjects."
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Random House Children's Books
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