Brenna Yovanoff - The Replacement

She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. “I just figured you’d do whatever it took not to get involved. I mean, it’s what people do.”

“I did try not to get involved.”

“Maybe, but you came through in the end. When it counted.”

There was a whole sprawling world underneath us, filled with ugly, vicious, beautiful people. The line between the two places was thin, hardly a separation, and both ran on pain and blood and fear and death and joy and music.

But for now, the sunset was enough.

I reached for Tate, feeling for the warmth of her hand, and linked my fingers through hers. The only thing that mattered was the weight of her head on my shoulder.

Our lives were limitless and unknowable, not perfect, but ours. This was life in Gentry.

This is just what we do.

There are a lot of people who made this book possible, and even more who made it better. I owe particular thanks to:

My agent, Sarah Davies, for her invaluable feedback and her unwavering conviction that what I’d written was, in fact, a story.

My editor, Lexa, who understood my book, then showed me how to fix it.

Ben Schrank and the Razorbill team, for making a mysterious process less mystifying.

My Merry Sisters, Tessa Gratton and Maggie Stiefvater—Tess keeps me honest and Maggie keeps me from rusting.

Gia for surprise candy-delivery. Also, driving me around when I was sleep-deprived, thereby keeping the roads much, much safer.

Little Sister Yovanoff for taking excellent pictures and writing down all the parts where she was confused.

My husband David, who believed unfailingly—even on days when I didn’t.

And Syl, who has always been willing to read everything I write, and then tell me exactly what she thinks.