E0S bleeped, narrowing its lens to see if it really was him.

“. . . Di?” she asked, his name barely more than a whisper. Her eyes were red as if she’d been crying, and she quickly wiped tears away with the sleeve of her new coat and sniffed.

An audience of lantern lights trailed out of the palace behind him, caught up in his magnetic pull like they had when he and Ana had waltzed what felt like centuries ago. He had been a different person then, and so had she.

Around them, the moonlilies began to bloom in the night, as they did every night.

“I am defective, but when I am with you I don’t feel broken at all. I love you.” He took a step toward her, and the lanterns followed, illuminating behind him like the dawning of a sun. “I am yours, Ana of the Dossier.”

Goddess, those words sounded so bright in his head. He loved her. He loved her to the moon and back. He loved her to the stars. He loved her beyond that, and he would love her for a thousand turns around the sun.

For a long moment, she didn’t move. Had he said the wrong thing? Had he not said enough? But there were no words left, even as he tried to find them to fill the silence of the garden. He was a jumble of someone who was and never would be, of misspent technology and second chances—and he was made from the parts of the universe that loved her.

“And I am yours, Di,” she finally replied, and pulled him close to her. She kissed him on the lips, where their words still lingered, and the lanterns swirled around them, flickering like a thousand candles in a dark and empty shrine.

Acknowledgments

Just so we’re all clear: I’m writing these acknowledgments in Comic Sans, knowing that I’ll convert it to Something Less Goofy by the time I get to finishing it. I find Comic Sans (or Courier, or Papyrus) relaxing when I’m writing something hard to put into words.

You’ve come with me this far, so I know you haven’t set it down or forgotten it on a park bench somewhere, to which I say—thank you! If you want to skip all the random names of people you don’t know, just jump to the end. That part’s for you.

First, this book wouldn’t be possible without my editor, Kelsey Murphy. You helped me push my craft and become a better writer, and that I will forever keep with me. Thank you for believing in me.

I also want to thank Jordan Brown. Thank you for letting me go with my gut—it means everything.

And honestly, this book would never have been possible without my agent, Holly Root, who is a freaking superhuman. You saw my potential in Heart of Iron, and the end of Soul of Stars feels like the closing of a well-rounded chapter. Here’s to new stories, new characters, and midnight emails!