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    Dark Side of the Rainbow
    Dark Side of the Rainbow
    Dark Side of the Rainbow
    Ebook90 pages1 hour

    Dark Side of the Rainbow

    By Danielle Paige

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    About this ebook

    Good is Wicked and Wicked is Good in the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series!

    This digital original novella is the eighth installment in the series’ prequel arc and reveals how the wonderful world of Oz began to crumble when Dorothy Gale returned—including Rainbow Falls, Oz’s paradise hot spot.

    Polychrome, Princess of the Rainbow, has a pretty cushy job. She spends her days surfing at Indigo Beach, playing with her pet unicorn, and occasionally checking in on the tourists vacationing at Rainbow Falls, where she is—technically speaking—in charge. When Dorothy arrives, Polly is less than thrilled. She’d much rather flirt with mysterious surfer Bright than play tour guide to a spoiled wannabe princess. But Rainbow Falls won’t be paradise by the time Dorothy’s done with it. And Polly may have to leave her life of leisure behind, to become the ruler her land needs.

    Danielle Paige delivers a dark and compelling reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire, and follows some of literature’s most beloved characters as their lives intertwine to bring about the downfall of Oz.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 31, 2017
    ISBN9780062423818
    Dark Side of the Rainbow
    Author

    Danielle Paige

    Danielle Paige is a graduate of Columbia University and the author of the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die series. Before turning to young adult literature, she worked in the television industry, where she received a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for several Daytime Emmys. She currently lives in New York City.

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      Book preview

      Dark Side of the Rainbow - Danielle Paige

      CONTENTS

      One

      Two

      Three

      Four

      Five

      Six

      Seven

      Eight

      Excerpt from The Witch Must Burn

      Back Ads

      About the Author

      Books by Danielle Paige

      Copyright

      About the Publisher

      ONE

      Polly was bored and lonely. Again. She looked out through the Rainbow Citadel’s clear crystal walls at the brilliant multicolored light of Rainbow Falls. She saw countless floating islands ranging in size from as small as her pet unicorn, Heathcliff, to two or three times the size of the entire Rainbow Citadel. Dozens of her guests sunned themselves on the island’s rainbow-hued sand beaches, sipping jewel-colored cocktails and snacking on sunlight puffs and prism pastries. Rainbow Falls’s Sprite staff, each wearing his or her own version of the informal Rainbow Falls uniform (wispy, ephemeral scarves wrapped like saris or fluttering behind them loosely on the warm, tropical breeze, revealing a considerable amount of tanned, toned flesh), carried piled-high platters of sunfruit and cloud bread. Half of them had sat down themselves to nibble at their wares or take heavy pulls on flasks of glowing light liquor.

      Polly yawned and looked away. Rainbow Falls was the most popular tourist destination in Oz. The guests slept in hovering hammocks sheltered by huge trees with broad emerald leaves that deflected even the worst of the rainbow monsoons. The balmy, tropical air never changed temperature. Sunfruit grew on trees and cloud bread floated through the air in clusters that were easy to break apart anytime you needed a snack. And pools of rainbow light lapped against the warm sand beaches. Everybody was always happy in Rainbow Falls, because Rainbow Falls was paradise.

      But being happy all the time, Polly reflected, wasn’t quite the same thing as having companionship. Or much to do. Because even though Polly was officially in charge of Rainbow Falls, everything just kind of ran itself.

      Don’t you think it’s strange to see so little of your subjects? Ozma asked.

      What? Polly turned around to face her cousin. She lit a rainbow husk cigarette, exhaling a long plume of multicolored, lavender-scented smoke that Ozma waved away irritably. They’re good for you, Polly said, rolling her eyes.

      They make you a lazy space cadet, Pol, Ozma said.

      I’m not lazy, Polly said. She and Ozma were cousins, the way that all fairies were cousins. She loved Ozma, of course, but sometimes she could have sworn that Ozma brought out the absolute worst in her. In addition to being the Queen of Oz, she was a total square. Ozma was just so serious about her responsibilities all the time, which made her kind of a drag. We’re fairies, Ozma. We’re supposed to be laughing and dancing and free. We’re supposed to rule like the tides rule the sea. So maybe Polly was a little spacey, but that had nothing to do with rainbow husk smoke. She was just a free spirit. She’d inherited the role of ruling Rainbow Falls, but following the rules wasn’t really her thing.

      Neither was staying in one place.

      I don’t understand why you won’t come with me to Munchkin Country for the dazzleberry cordial festival, Polly said, changing the subject. "It’ll be fun. I’m going to go dancing every night. Last year I met this supercute farmer and we spent the whole weekend—"

      Like I said, I can’t believe you just take off all the time, Ozma said severely. You’re supposed to be running a kingdom, Pol. Everything we are is about taking care of this place. Like a garden, not an ocean. I see my subjects nearly every day. I ask them about their concerns. I think about new laws that will help better their lives. I worry about the health of Oz. But you just . . . Ozma waved a hand dismissively.

      My subjects are fine, Ozma, Polly said, blowing another plume of smoke at the crystal window. Look at them. Do they seem unhappy to you? They don’t notice whether I’m here or not.

      Ozma shook her head, but then she smiled. I don’t want to fight about it, she said. Let’s just spend some time together and enjoy ourselves until I have to go back to the Emerald City.

      Polly smiled in relief. Your wish is my command, she said. Want to hit the beaches again?

      Sure, Ozma said. That sounds great. Maybe I can even get a tan.

      But as Polly gathered up her beach gear—translucent caftan, basket of snacks, and a blanket woven from cloud silk—she tried not to let Ozma see her face. She knew what would actually happen as soon as they settled down on some isolated, flawless beach: Ozma would get an important message from the capital and dash off, leaving Polly to bask alone in the tropical Rainbow Falls sun. It happened every time Ozma came to visit—which wasn’t very often, and Polly was surprised she’d even gotten Ozma up here this time—and Polly was tired of it. Tired of Ozma’s nagging, tired of looking for things in common with her uptight cousin, tired of defending her freedom-loving ways.

      The truth was, Ozma didn’t know how to have fun. And at the end of the day, she and Polly were nothing alike, no matter how hard Polly tried to enjoy herself with her cousin.

      She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, concentrating on the sound of distant waves.

      What are you doing?

      I was meditating, Polly said. Ozma was so literal. It was exhausting.

      Annoyed despite herself, Polly led Ozma to her absolute favorite beach. Parasol trees floated a few inches over the swirling, rainbow-colored sand. A pool of blue light lapped gently against the shore. Polly threw down her gauzy caftan as Ozma politely averted her eyes—as if Polly cared who saw her naked, she thought—and in a clean, graceful arc, dove into the blue light. She somersaulted lazily and then surfaced again, flicking drops of blue light out of her eyes. Come on in, it’s perfect, she urged Ozma.

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