“She was more into reprogramming the house bots with my brother to say, ‘Giddy’s a loser who should stop trying to spy on us,’ really.”
I laugh, scrambling off the mattress so I can collect our leftovers and shove them in the fridge. As I rinse off the spoons in the sink, I find myself thinking about the Eos project, and what story I want to bring. I think of my father teaching me to dance. I think of Flynn’s sister, and the memory I have of her stopping a bully from rubbing mud in my hair. I think of the first con I ever pulled with Daniela, and the jug of wine we bought with part of the profits and drank together on the roof.
The truth is that I don’t know what story defines me. I’ve spent so long being someone else, anyone else other than Sofia, that I’m not sure I know who Sofia is. There’s no more Kristina, no more Lucy, no more Alexis or Alice. There’s no more Knave either, not unless and until Gideon decides to resurrect him. For now we’re just Gideon and Sofia—whoever they are.
Whoever we choose to become.
Gideon rises from the mattress, turning off the monitors and reaching for the pulleys that operate the shutters on the skylights so that they flood the little loft-size den with sunlight. “So what do you want to do now?”
I tilt my head back, letting the light warm my face. Perhaps I’ll bring them the story of a girl who lived a long time ago, in a country called Iran on Earth, who wrote the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. Music that changed my life.
When I open my eyes, I see a flicker of shadow in the skylight shaft above me. I blink just in time to see a butterfly silhouetted against the light before it’s gone in a flutter of wings.
I look down to find Gideon leaning against the wall, where the framed picture of my father rests on the shelf next to his battered copy of Alice in Wonderland. He’s watching me with a smile that only widens when I catch his eye.
I hold out my hand. “Come dance with me.”
AS WE WRAP UP OUR first series together—though definitely not our last—we are both reflecting on the many people who have helped these books on their journeys from us to you. We are so very grateful to each and every one.
Our wonderful literary agents, Josh and Tracey Adams of Adams Literary, are quite simply incredible. Josh, Tracey, we couldn’t get by without your support, your cheerleading, your words of wisdom, and your advocacy. We couldn’t have done this without you there to back us up. To our film agent, Stephen Moore, and the awesome scouts and foreign agents who helped these books find homes in languages we can’t even read, thank you so much!
This series has been lucky enough to have three wonderful women editing it, and we want to thank Emily Meehan, Laura Schreiber, and Abby Ranger, who at different stages have taught us, supported us, and challenged us to tell the best stories we can. Thank you for your insight, your questions, and your well-timed and encouraging swoons! Beyond our editors, we have a team at Hyperion we adore, and we thank them for everything they do to get our books out into the world—you are all just wonderful! To Jamie Baker, who has endless patience and savvy, and Whitney Manger, who gave this series the covers we join the rest of the world in adoring, thank you! In Australia, we send a huge thank-you and plenty of baked goods to everyone at Allen & Unwin, whom we love more than cupcakes. And that’s saying something.
We have had wonderful readers and critique partners for these books, and for Their Fractured Light, we thank Olivia Davis, Michelle Dennis, Kate Irving, and Brendan Cousins for their speed, enthusiasm, and insight. You are all wonderful! We also thank Dr. Ailie Connell and Dr. Kate Irving for medical advice, and Michelle Dennis for her tech know-how—as always, any mistakes are our own.
We have had wonderful help and support from our friends inside and outside the publishing community. In particular, we would like to thank Beth Revis and Marie Lu, who have been advocates for this trilogy since the very beginning, Kim Nguyen, who is our design guru (and dear friend!), as well as Stephanie Perkins, Megan Shepherd, Leigh Bardugo, Jay Kristoff, and Nic Crowhurst, who are simply vital to our existence. To the many wonderful people in our circles of friends, we love you!