Crewel (27 page)

‘I thought maybe you were dropping me off,’ Erik calls to us, his usually droll voice flat. He’s already on the edge of the ruins, and he doesn’t stop for us.

‘Dare to dream,’ Jost grumbles back.

And there it is. The first words they’ve spoken as brothers in front of me. The exchange adds a chill to the frigid night air. Erik stalks forward until I see only his silhouette in the moonlight. We watch him make his way into the metro beyond us, and Jost puts his arm around me.

I shiver in his embrace, staring out at the abandoned remains of Earth. Here time seems to stand still, and yet all around me are signs of decay – the natural erosion of a place forsaken by men. We linger in a moment suspended on the verge of possibility and ruin. But before I can reach out to break its mysterious hold, on the horizon a bloated mass appears, a ship in the air, flying low along the skyline, and from it a sweeping light bursts forth, as though to welcome us back home.

END OF BOOK ONE 

As this is the closest I will ever come to an Oscar acceptance speech, I would like you to imagine me in a beautiful gown clutching this book as you read. Now that you have the proper visual, let us proceed.

Many thanks are owed to my agent extraordinaire, Mollie Glick, whose passion never ceases to amaze. Thanks for getting on that plane. A similar debt of gratitude is due to Janine O’Malley, who understood the book from day one and is the best editor a girl could ask for. And to Beth Potter, who helped me navigate part of the editorial journey. This novel is infinitely better thanks to you three.

My sincere thanks to Simon Boughton and Jon Yaged, who made me feel right at home in my new house. I can’t express how grateful I am for the team at Farrar Straus Giroux and Macmillan.

I’m proud to call Foundry Literary + Media my agency. Thank you to Hannah Brown Gordon and Katie Hamblin for answering all my emails.

I would be a lonely girl if it weren’t for my writing friends, who have been with me every step of this crazy adventure. Thank you, Bethany Hagen and Robin Lucas for laughing, crying, and screaming with me, and Kalen O’Donnell, who came late to the party, but decided to stay.

My husband informs me that my wrap-it-up music is playing and that I can’t thank every English teacher I ever had, so I’ll hit the highlights: Bob Brennan and Alan Hunter, who both kept me reading during the lost years, aka high school. Dr Miriam Fuller, who taught me to look at stories more closely. And Dr Devoney Looser and Dr George Justice, who somehow always knew I had it in me despite evidence to the contrary.

Most important, thank you to my family, who never laughed when I said I wanted to write books but rather cheered me from the margins. To my children, who accepted my ‘job’ early on and proudly proclaimed ‘Mommy writes books’ to strangers. And to Josh – my first reader, my first everything – thank you.

Gennifer Albin holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Missouri, and founded the tremendously popular blog theconnectedmom.com. She lives in Lenexa, Kansas, with her husband and two children. Learn more about her at genniferalbin.com.