In the Shadows
Page 15
could find their source of power, then maybe the curse of immor-
tality would be broken and the Ladon Vitae destroyed. Every
eternal day, every endless winter and infinite summer, she hoped
that Arthur was safe. And with vicious focus she prayed that he
would find what he hunted.
And then one day, the Earth started turning again. She felt it
in the sudden painful thump of her heart, the way the dust motes
seemed to swirl instead of hang lifeless on the air, the way the
ocean no longer felt like an ageless companion, but rather a sleep-
ing giant she could never comprehend.
She knew, then, that Arthur had done it. He’d destroyed the
Ladon Vitae’s power and returned all of them to mortality. And
with the mortal breath bursting in her lungs, she laughed and raced
to the top of her house to watch for Arthur walking up the hill.
He didn’t come.
All her long, aching years of waiting, all Arthur’s suffering and
hunting, and still they were alone. Sometimes she wondered
whether she ought to leave, give up on the lifetimes spent hoping.
But whenever a storm raged over the sea, she watched it. She
remembered his eyes, and she knew she had made the right choice.
Find me, Arthur, she would whisper.
I’ll wait forever.
Come home.
Maine, Yesterday
•
the end
•
acknowledgments
From Jim Di Bartolo
I will never be able to begin any sort of summation of thanks with-
out thinking first of my lovely, talented wife, Laini. We’ve built a
life I couldn’t have imagined possible. Thank you for everything.
My in-house art-director and partner in all things meaningful to
me. Life with you is a magical dream.
For Clementine. You cuddly little comedian. Thank you for
letting me scribble various thumbnails into your sketchbooks
when we’re drawing together. I can’t wait to read your inevitable
books.
Boundless thanks to Kiersten White for creating such lyrical,
lovely, and creepily wondrous text chapters. Your words here are
true artistry, and your ability to create such whole, unique charac-
ters is breathtaking. I’ll never forget reading those first chapters
from you as they e-zoomed my way and floored me. Wow, lady!
Thank you, too, for our friendship before and throughout this
collaboration. It has been a treat!
For Jane Putch. Agent-and-friend extraordinaire. What a life-
improving force and influence you have been in my life and the
life of my family. Thank you for suggesting I approach other
authors to collaborate — and for encouraging me to pursue stories
that I would have fun drawing and painting. This has been a
DREAM project because of you. Thank you for always believing
in me, and for everything you’ve done for Kiersten and me with
this book. You are a gift!
To David Levithan. For early and ever-present praise-filled
enthusiasm, and for your dedication to this book. You excitedly let
us try something different than the norm. For that and your
countless other separate achievements, you sir, are awesome, and
an inspiration. Also, the music you’ve introduced into my life has
fueled dozens of pages herein. Cheers!
To Chris Stengel for hours and hours of thought and care in
book design and collaboration. Many thanks for you and your talent!
To Mama and my late Papa. For their encouragement and
support. And for my foundation. Anything good within my core
is because of you both. Love you.
From Kiersten White
First thanks, always, to my wonderful husband, Noah. I would
have waited forever for you, but I’m so glad I didn’t have to. Also
to our beautiful children, Elena, Jonah, and Ezra, simply for exist-
ing in such an infinitely delightful manner.
So many thanks to Jim Di Bartolo. I wanted something new,
and this exceeded all of my creative expectations. Thank you for
thinking of me, for being so amazing to work with, and for being
such an incredibly gifted artist and storyteller. One word: ears.
Special thanks to the combined talents of Michelle Wolfson
and Jane Putch, our intrepid literary agents, who took this hybrid
weirdo of a book and found the perfect home for it.
And of course to our editor, David Levithan, who is brilliant
and insightful and was willing to take a chance. Thank you for see-
ing our vision for this project and helping us every step of the way
to getting there. No one would have done a better job.
To everyone at Scholastic, thank you for making our book a
reality. From design to copyedits to marketing, we couldn’t have
asked for a better team.
And finally, thank you to our readers for bringing their own
minds and magic to the pages.