“One more!” Kai called.
Elliot tugged on his arm. “Two. We’re bringing Ro.”
He broke into a huge grin. “Yes we are!” He threw the strap of her bag over his shoulder and led her up the ramp to one of the loading entrances.
Felicia met them there. “Greetings!” she called gaily, as Kai presented them. He stood behind Elliot and interlaced his right hand with hers. “It’s Ro, right, dear?”
Ro nodded.
Felicia smiled. “Well, Argos is a Post-Reduction ship. We all have Post-Reduction names.”
“Tomorrow,” Elliot said, signing for Ro’s benefit. “Her name is Tomorrow.” It couldn’t be anything else.
Ro beamed at her and went aboard.
Kai lifted their joined hands to his mouth and kissed Elliot’s knuckles, as she’d done to him so long ago. Elliot burned so bright, she reckoned she could power the ship all on her own.
The interior of the Argos was dim, filled with unfamiliar machines and curious instruments. Elliot’s heart raced, and her breath grew short, but then she felt Kai’s hand, tight and secure around hers. This was his ship. It was extraordinary.
In the cabins, she found her bag and withdrew her grandfather’s compass. As always, the wheel spun and spun, but for once, Elliot knew exactly where she was headed.
Kai chuckled when he saw it. “I suppose it’s fitting,” he said, “that we bring along something from the old world, as we sail off into the new.”
“Tell me,” Elliot said. “How are you going to find your way?”
He reached for her. “I’ll show you.”
They climbed on the deck again. The night had arisen around them, the stars winking into life like the ones in the roof of the cavern sanctuary, but a thousand times more brilliant. Kai held firm to her with one hand, and pointed up with the other. “I can see them, Elliot. I can see them all. In the night, in the day, through clouds and storms and the setting sun.”
She stared at him in wonder. This was his miracle, and he was sharing it with her. “Thank you,” she said, “for coming back for me.”
“Elliot.” He bent his head close to hers, and looked deep into her eyes. His gaze was no longer strange to her. He was just her Kai, the man he’d been born to become. “No matter where I went, I always knew my way back to you. You are my compass star.”
And he was hers.
Acknowledgments
THEY NEED TO MAKE some kind of medal for editors who go above and beyond the call of duty. Kristin Rens, you are a goddess of patience. Were it not for a constancy rivaling Elliot North’s and your passionate belief in this story, I would have gone mad four letter-rearrangements ago. Thanks also to Sara Sargent, who possesses a name worthy of a captain of the Cloud Fleet. I will always cherish your declaration about what you’d do if Kai and Elliot didn’t work it out. I am also grateful to the entire team at Balzer + Bray: Alessandra Balzer, Donna Bray, Emilie Polster, Caroline Sun, Amy Ryan, Joel Tippie, Jon Howard, and Margery Tippie.
I am in debt to my agent, Deidre Knight, for convincing me that I could write this book and helping me dig for the perfect title. Special thanks go to first readers Justine Larbalestier (who called from the other side of the world), Jacki Smith, and Mari Mancusi; Erica Ridley for her brilliant brainstorming advice and Lavinia Kent for her historical romance know-how. And to Carrie Ryan, who offered countless hours of encouragement, brainstorming, critique, admonishment, comfort, and last will and testament wording assistance . . . what do you want? A kidney? A crate of champagne? My firstborn? (Just kidding about that last one—don’t look so scared!)
And to my husband, who got all excited at the thought of me finally writing sci-fi (and less so when I clarified that it would be Jane Austen sci-fi), I hope I haven’t scandalized you with the absence of tech. (I’ll make it up to you next time.) I will never forget our brainstorming session of “but what caused the apocalypse?”
I’m so lucky to have real-world friends who’ll listen to me blather on about the imaginary ones in my books: Elizabeth, Glenn, Chris, Megan, Adam, Maria, Ernie, Eva, Dana, and Shannon; and a family kind enough not to laugh when I explained my premise (Luke, Brian, Ten) and willing to watch Persuasion on TV with me. (Mom and Dad—I promise, guys, good parents next time!) Thanks to Rio for being the best brainstorming-hike partner a girl could ask for, and to Eleanor for so often coming along for the ride. (I’m sorry for accidentally calling you Elliot those times.)
Thanks also to my readers who have been so excited about this story during its long, long gestation. I hope it was worth the wait.
Most of all: thank you, Jane Austen. Thank you for making me fall off the couch at sixteen as I thrilled to Mr. Darcy’s first, horrible proposal; for making me blush if Mr. Knightley so much as took Emma’s hand; and for making me cry every single time I read Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne. Thank you for creating these characters and these situations, for giving generations of mothers and daughters endless topics of conversation, for writing strong women and true love and happy endings. Thank you for giving me the bones of this story, and forgive me for the changes I’ve made to its DNA.
About the Author
DIANA PETERFREUND is the author of the killer unicorn novels RAMPANT and ASCENDANT, as well as the four-book Secret Society Girl series. A lifelong Jane Austen lover and technophile, she lives in Washington, DC, with her family, her BBC miniseries collection, and her smartphone. You can visit Diana online at www.dianapeterfreund.com.
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Also by Diana Peterfreund
RAMPANT
ASCENDANT
Credits
Jacket photograph of girl © 2011 by Jessica Truscott
Jacket photograph of stars © 2011 by Paul Sophocleous
Jacket photo composite by Ana Cruz
Jacket design by Joel Tippie
Copyright
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
For Darkness Shows the Stars
Copyright © 2012 by Diana Peterfreund
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
www.epicreads.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peterfreund, Diana.
For darkness shows the stars / by Diana Peterfreund.
p. cm.
Summary: “Elliot North fights to save her family’s land and her own heart in this post-apocalyptic reimagining of Jane Austen’s Persuasion”— Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-06-200614-1
Epub Edition © April 2012 ISBN: 9780062114372
[1. Love—Fiction. 2. Social classes—Fiction. 3. Family problems—Fiction. 4. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.P441545For 2012
2011042126
[Fic]—dc23
CIP
AC
12 13 14 15 16 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
PART I - The Unbroken Engine
Twelve Years Ago
One
Eleven Years Ago
Two
Nine Years Ago
Three
Four
Four Years Ago
Five
Six
Five Years Ago
Seven
Five Years Ago
Eight
Nine
Four Years Ago
Ten
Eight Years Ago
Eleven
Twelve
Four Years Ago
Thirteen
PART II - Icarus Also Flew
One Year Ago
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Four Years Ago
Seventeen
Eighteen
Eight Years Ago
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Seven Years Ago
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Five Years Ago
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
PART III - True North
Four Years Ago
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Ten Years Ago
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Six Years Ago
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Six Years Ago
Thirty-three
Thirty-four
Thirty-five
Eight Years Ago
Thirty-six
Thirty-seven
Thirty-eight
Four Years Ago
Thirty-nine
Forty
Forty-one
Forty-two
Now
Forty-three
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Diana Peterfreund
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
For Darkness Shows the Stars Page 29