If you are reading this, I am long dead. I have been informed that this is a melodramatic and terrible way to begin a letter. My apologies, but it is also true. I pray that you are reading this far into the new century and that I was able to delay anyone receiving this power for as long as possible. But receive it you have.
I’d like to believe that you understand more than I ever did about what this power is and what it will do, but there are a few things I wish to say, as someone who understands what you are experiencing. The first is: You are not evil. You are not in any way at fault. You have a power that might terrify you, but it does not define who you are and what actions you might take. It took me a long time and one quite insistent person to understand this. It took making many mistakes and some very evil men using me for their own ends. But that is not your fate. Your heart is your own, and you can make what choices you wish, for good or for bad.
The second is this: You can control this power. It will take time and effort, but I promise you, it can be done. As I write this, I have been attempting to lessen my effects on others this past year and a half. It is not gone, and I don’t think it ever will be. But there is improvement. And if some days I still want to run away and hide from the world, want to flee my own skin, I try to remember that I am better now than when I started. And that is what gives me hope.
Perhaps you will take this all very differently than I did. But if you feel, as I have at times, that you do not deserve to be counted among the good or the living, you are wrong. You deserve a life, a full one. You may just have to work a little harder than most to find that.
Finally, I do not know what your world looks like, but if you can, look for the powerless. Look for those who are fighting for something better for everyone. Look for those who are sharing their power to create a brighter, bolder world. I can only suggest that you join them, fight alongside them, and listen to them. I can tell you that it has given my life meaning I was missing.
And if you ever find yourself in need of help, make your way to 57, Golden Square in London, look for the sign that says “Tuffins’s Boarding House,” and ask for Miss Rosamund Wyndham, Miss Catherine Harding, or Mr. Joseph Adeoti.
There will always be a home there. You aren’t alone.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Braddock
PS: If you meet someone who can compel you to speak the truth, avoid them at all costs. You will constantly say the wrong thing and wish you could use your power on them. It is easier to avoid them entirely.
Acknowledgments
THERE WERE TIMES—and more than a few—when we thought this book would never be finished. We wondered to ourselves, would it really be so terrible if the series ended at These Ruthless Deeds? Leave ’em wanting more, right?
Well, if you’re reading these words, we can only assume the book is finished, and if that’s the case, there are a lot of people we need to thank. First, last, and always, is Holly West. Holly, you have been a lot more than just an editor to us over the past three years. (My God. Three years.) Ranging from mentor, cheerleader, therapist, head fangirl, life coach, confidante, biggest supporter, and kick-in-the-butt, you’ve suffered our hours-long phone calls, desperate last-minute changes, and pleading for extensions. And yet, against all reason, you still answer our e-mails. All the best parts of these books are because of you. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. You made our dreams come true three times over, and that’s not something we can easily repay, but we promise to try.
Laura Zats, our dear agent, you are relatively new to our lives but became instantly irreplaceable. Thank you for all the support and advice you have given us so far. Having you on our team, with your fight and your verve, is the best present we could have asked for in 2017. We are so very excited to see what the future brings with you.
The Swoon production team: To Hayley Jozwiak et al., we have not made your lives easy. You have rushed and worked late and been endlessly patient as we toss things in at the deadline. Thank you for all your work making a beautiful book with significantly fewer typos.
Lauren Scobell, we are still suspicious you might be a figment of our imaginations. Can anyone possibly be so insightful, so cheerful, and so easygoing? All at once? It seems impossible. Thank you for all that you have done for us over the past years—the books you have piled into our arms, the squealing over great authors and OTPs, the lunches, and the brilliant input. We are so lucky you found Swoon and that you brought us into the Swoon family.
Emily Settle: We are pretty sure you are our guardian angel. Thank you for clicking “read” on our manuscript. Thank you for telling Holly to read it. Thank you for being our advocate and friend in the years since—your e-mails have brightened our days and, on a memorably bad one, been the reason we kept writing. You are our favorite Emily, even if you don’t have telekinetic powers. Please know that in our head-canon, Emily goes on to have a life full of adventures and joy and weirdness.
To our designers: Kathleen Breitenfeld, Rich Deas, Liz Dresner—thank you for a trilogy of stunning covers and gorgeous interiors. It is your fault that we can’t walk by masks, fans, and brooches without buying them. Our apartments are becoming a little bit weird with all our books displayed, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
To the people in the publishing world who have become so dear to us, we are lucky to count you as peers and friends: Allison Senecal, Gaby Salpeter, Heidi Heilig, Kerri Maniscalco, Lily Anderson, Destiny Soria, Jessica Cluess, Tara Sim, Stephanie Garber, Tracey Neithercott, Kyra Nelson, Tricia Levenseller—we are a little in awe of your talents and immensely excited to read all your future endeavors. Thank you for all your support of us—we probably wouldn’t have made it here without you. Go forth and write more books for us to devour, okay?
To our incredible and growing Swoon Squad: Sandy Hall, Danika Stone, Jen Wilde, Lydia Albano, Shani Petroff, and all those we have not met, this journey would not be the same without you.
Thank you to Judith Flanders for writing a fascinating, inspiring, and indispensable book about the history and culture of murder in Victorian England. And thank you to Dr. Elliot Handler and Dr. Mariam Amin for answering our creepy questions about stabbing people.
Thank you to all our friends, you know who you are because we are going to hug you and beg you for vitamin D the second we emerge from our writing caves. We love you all so much; thank you for being patient with us.
As we have said before, we are both lucky to have stunning parents. They supported us when we told them we wanted to be a screenwriter and actress, they supported us as we began writing a book, and at every turn since. We are sorry you will always have to worry we are about to be broke, but thank you for rooting for us as we pursue these long-shot goals. We know the success we have now and in the future is because of your love.
And to you, the person reading this: Thank you for sticking with us and Evelyn through everything. One thousand pages later and you’re still here, which is pretty incredible and a little terrifying. Thank you so much for reading. We are so thrilled this story resonated with you. Most of all, we hope you know how extraordinary you are, whether your powers are superhuman or not.
Love,
Kelly and Tarun