Golden

Praise for
MELISSA DE LA CRUZ

for
STOLEN:

“Readers are plunged right in the middle of the action from the first page . . . an action-packed adventure.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“The concept of overlapping worlds on one planet will intrigue readers and raise philosophical questions about the nature of reality. The cliff-hanger ending assures readers that a finale is in the works.”

—
Booklist

“Fans of the first book will no doubt be very happy with where this action-filled trilogy is headed.”

—
School Library Journal

for
FROZEN:

“Like Lord of the Rings in reverse . . . is an original and thrilling escape that will break your heart and make it soar at the same time.”

—Alyson Noël,
New York Times
bestselling author
of the Immortals and Soul Seekers series

“Everything I love in a book . . . Humor, suspense, twists, and above all, originality. Highly recommended.”

—James Dashner,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Maze Runner

“It's a thought-provoking novel, part epic-fantasy, and part social commentary . . . you'll clamor for book 2.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

“An exciting and imaginative story that is two parts vision quest and one part adventure . . . The well-paced action is taut, the characters diverse and finely drawn.”

—
New York Journal of Books

“Romance, magic, and excitement drive the pace of this genre-defying adventure.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Fans of
The Hunger Games
will no doubt enjoy sinking their teeth into this exciting book.”

—
School Library Journal

for
BLUE BLOODS:

“De la Cruz's Blue Bloods introduces a conception of vampires far different from traditional stake-fleeing demons, coupling sly humor . . . with the gauzier trappings of being fanged and fabulous . . . teens will savor the thrilling sense of being initiated into an exclusive secret society.”

—
Booklist
, starred review

“De la Cruz combines American history, vampires and a crew of rich New York City kids, delivering a page-turning debut in Blue Bloods.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Schuyler Van Alen is #9 on the Top 25 Vampires of all time.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

for
WITCHES OF EAST END:

“Centuries after the practice of magic was forbidden, Freya, Ingrid, and their mom struggle to restrain their witchy ways as chaos builds in their Long Island town. A bubbling cauldron of mystery and romance, the novel shares the fanciful plotting of Blue Bloods, the author's teen vampire series . . . [B]reezy fun.”

—
People

“A magical and romantic page-turner . . .
Witches of East End
is certain to attract new adult readers . . . The pacing is masterful, and while the witchcraft is entertaining, it's ultimately a love triangle that makes the story compelling. De la Cruz has created a family of empathetic women who are both magically gifted and humanly flawed.”

—
Washington Post

“For anyone who was frustrated watching Samantha suppress her magic on
Bewitched
, Ms. de la Cruz brings some satisfaction. In her first novel for adults, the author . . . lets her repressed sorceresses rip.”

—
New York Times

“What happens when a family of Long Island witches is forbidden to practice magic? This tale of powerful women, from the author of the addictive Blue Bloods series, mixes mystery, a battle of good versus evil and a dash of Norse mythology into a page-turning parable of inner strength.”

—
Self

“
Witches of East End
has all the ingredients you'd expect from one of Melissa's bestselling YA novels—intrigue, mystery and plenty of romance. But with the novel falling under the ‘adult' categorization, Melissa's able to make her love scenes even more . . . magical.”

—MTV.com

“De la Cruz has, with
Witches
, once again managed to enliven and embellish upon history and mythology with a clever interweaving of past and present, both real and imagined . . . [It] casts a spell.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“De la Cruz is a formidable storyteller with a narrative voice strong enough to handle the fruits of her imagination. Even readers who generally avoid witches and whatnot stand to be won over by the time the cliffhanger-with-a-twist-ending hits.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Fantasy for well-read adults.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“A sexy, magical romp, sure to bring de la Cruz a legion of new fans.”

—Kelley Armstrong,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Otherworld series

G
.
P
.
P
UTNAM
'S
S
ONS

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

Copyright © 2016 by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

G. P. Putnam's Sons is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eBook ISBN 978-0-698-17381-1

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

JACKET ART © 2016 BY STEVE STONE

COVER DESIGN BY THERESA M. EVANGELISTA

For Mattie, always

He laughed and smote with the laughter and thrust up over his head,

And smote the venom asunder, and clave the heart of Dread;

Then he leapt from the pit and the grave, and the rushing river of blood,

And fulfilled with the joy of the War-God on the face of earth he stood

With red sword high uplifted, with wrathful glittering eyes;

And he laughed at the heavens above him for he saw the sun arise,

And Sigurd gleamed on the desert, and shone in the new-born light,

And the wind in his raiment wavered, and all the world was bright.

But there was the ancient Fafnir, and the Face of Terror lay

On the huddled folds of the Serpent, that were black and ashen-grey

In the desert lit by the sun; and those twain looked each on each,

And forth from the Face of Terror went a sound of dreadful speech:

“Child, child, who art thou that hast smitten? bright child, of whence is thy birth?”

“I am called the Wild-thing Glorious, and alone I wend on the earth.”

—WILLIAM MORRIS,
THE STORY OF SIGURD THE VOLSUNG

T
HE
Q
UEEN
L
OOKED
I
NTO
A
VALON'S
Mirror and the mists parted to show her what she needed to see: the future as only she could shape it, the various roads ahead, the consequences of every decision.

She saw great armies in battle, shining cities laid to ruin, smoking and destroyed. Blood spilled on a great tundra of white. Bodies piled in stacks, burning.

The whole world on fire, hope lost, civilization a memory.

Every path, every possibility, led to devastation, to the end of everything.

The end of the world.

Every path, save for one.

The only way forward to a new beginning led to a golden ring inside a gray tower.

But if she chose that path, that future,
everyone she loved would die
.

No one would survive.

Not even her.

She studied the mirror at length and stepped away, closing her eyes. Things were what they were. Avalon could not save the future from itself.

Only one person could do that, she knew.

And in that moment, everything was decided.