To be honest, I’m not quite sure where to begin these acknowledgments, because this book exists thanks to so many people working on it over so many years. My eternal gratitude and love to:
Susan Dennard, my jaeger copilot and Threadsister, the Leonardo to my Raphael, the Gus to my Shawn, the Blake to my Adam, the Scott to my Stiles, the Aragorn to my Legolas, the Iseult to my Safi, the Schmidt to my Jenko, the Senneth to my Kira, the Elsa to my Anna, the Sailor Jupiter (or Luna!) to my Sailor Moon, the Moss to my Roy, the Martin to my Sean, the Alan Grant to my Ian Malcolm, the Brennan to my Dale, and the Esqueleto to my Nacho: I literally don’t know what I’d do without you. Or our inside jokes. Our friendship is the definition of Epic—and I’m pretty sure it was written in the stars. (Like a thousand years before the dinosaurs. It’s the prophecy.) See also: Imhotep, Tiny Cups For Tiny Hands, Ohhhh you do??, Cryssals, Henry Cavill, Sam Heughan, Claaaassic Peg, and everything ever from Nacho Libre. Sarusan Forever.
To Alex Bracken, who was one of the first friends I made in this industry, and remains one of my best friends to this day. There are moments when it still feels like we’re fresh out of college with our first book deals, wondering what is next for us—I’m so happy that we’ve gotten to share this insane journey with each other. Thank you for all the amazing feedback, the multiple reads (on this book and so many others), and always, always, having my back. I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Thanks for believing in this story for so many years.
To Biljana Likic, who read this pretty much as I wrote it chapter by chapter, helped me write all those riddles and limericks, and made me believe this story might not actually sit in a drawer for the rest of my life. So proud to now see you kicking ass and taking names, dude.
To my agent, Tamar Rydzinski, who took a chance on an unpublished twenty-two-year-old writer and changed my life forever with one phone call. You are a supreme badass. Thank you for everything.
To Cat Onder—you are such a delight to work with, and I’m honored to call you my editor. To Laura Bernier—thank you so, so much for helping me transform this book into something that I’m truly proud of. I couldn’t have done it without your brilliant feedback.
To the entire worldwide team at Bloomsbury: I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that this series found a home with you. You guys are the ultimate best. Thank you for your hard work, your enthusiasm, and making my dreams come true. I can’t imagine being in better hands. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
To Dan Krokos, Erin Bowman, Mandy Hubbard, and Jennifer Armentrout—thank you for being there for everything and anything. I don’t know what I would do without you.
To Brigid Kemmerer, Andrea Maas, and Kat Zhang, who read various early drafts of this book and provided such crucial feedback and enthusiasm. I owe you one.
To Elena of NovelSounds, Alexa of AlexaLovesBooks, Linnea of Linneart, and all the Throne of Glass Ambassadors: Thank you guys so much for your support and dedication. Getting to know you all has been such a highlight and pleasure.
To my parents: it took me a while to realize it, but I’m tremendously blessed to have you as my Number One fans—and to have you as parents. To my family: thank you for the unconditional love and support.
To Annie, the greatest dog in the history of canine companions: I love you forever and ever and ever.
And lastly, to my husband, Josh—this book is for you. It’s always been yours, the same way my heart has been yours from the moment I saw you on the first day of freshman orientation at college. Considering the way our lives mysteriously wove together before we ever set eyes on each other, I have a hard time believing it wasn’t fate. Thanks for proving to me that true love exists. I’m the luckiest woman in the world to get to spend my life with you.