A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)

by V.E. Schwab

Kell wore a coat that billowed in the wind. It was neither royal red, nor messenger black, nor tournament silver. This coat was a simple, woolen grey. He wasn’t quite sure if it was new or old or something in between, only that he’d never seen it before. Not until that morning when, turning his coat past black and red, he’d come across a side he didn’t recognize. This new coat had a high collar, and deep pockets, and sturdy black buttons that ran down the front. It was a coat for storms, and strong tides, and saints knew what else. He planned to find out, now that he was free.

I wanted to come full circle. Four years ago I sat down in a small flat in Edinburgh and wrote the opening lines of ADSOM--"Kell wore a very peculiar coat"--and just as I played with recurring lines of dialogue in these closing chapters, I knew that Kell's last chapter should return to his coat. His coat, which always knew what he needed before he himself did. His coat, which produced Kamerov Loste's jacket before he joined the tournament, and which now produces a garment for the next chapter of his journey. I wanted it to be my last little nod to the fact that in this series, some doors close and new ones open.