I left via the front gate. The air was cool and fresh; the recent rains had washed away seasons of dust. People moved without urgency, enjoying the sunshine. I walked slowly and tried to soak it all in: the boulevards, the streets that felt both familiar and new, this place that was both home and not. When I returned to Ceyrun again, it would be a different city. I strolled toward the graveyard. For better or worse, I suppose that it already was.

Finn waited at the gate. His hair was growing longer—although it was still not quite the length I preferred—and his skin had lost its terrible whiteness. Over the course of a few slow months, he had begun to transform back into his old self. His spine had straightened, and the extra teeth had fallen out. He was even returning to his original height, just a few inches taller than before.

His eyes, however, remained a stubborn shade of bright green. In twilight hours, the colour came closer to yellow.

“You’re late,” he said.

“I was enjoying my freedom.”

He smiled. “I’m glad. Millie said she’d meet us at the South Gate. Are you ready?”

I was. We walked through the sunlit streets of Ceyrun, and no visions darkened the shadows, no voices murmured in my mind. I was happy. I was just myself.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I find drawing up a book’s acknowledgements to be a rewarding process, and this is particularly true of Star Eater. This novel owes much to the people who supported me along the way.

The Tordotcom Publishing team has been uniformly gracious and kind in their dealings with me. On the publicity, marketing, and social media side, thank you to Lauren Anesta, Mordicai Knode, and Amanda Melfi. From production, particular thanks to Lauren Hougen for ensuring that last-minute edits were integrated. Thanks also to interior designer Greg Collins, and digital asset designer Jess Kiley.

On the art side, I have enormous gratitude for the work of Christine Foltzer and Sam Weber. I could not imagine a more beautiful cover for this book.

Thank you to copy editor Ana Deboo for handling my chronic issue with commas. Thank you to publisher Irene Gallo, and to editorial assistant Sanaa Ali-Virani.

Ruoxi Chen: my brilliant, sharp, kind, formidable editor. Thank you for your criticism and encouragement, your patience and your insight.

I am also deeply appreciative of Jennifer Jackson. Thank you for being a calm voice of reassurance, and for championing my work. I’m so glad that you chose to represent me.

There are a host of strangers who have been unfathomably nice to me, and they include: Apophis, Sabine Cazassus, G. V. Anderson, Indrapramit Das, Aoife Nic Ardghail, Daragh Thomas, Suzan Palumbo, and Eugenia Triantafyllou. I appreciate you all.

Thanks to Allison Senecal—your passion and enthusiasm has meant more to me than you realize.

I owe a lot to Scott H. Andrews. Thank you for tactfully keeping quiet while I neglected the Beneath Ceaseless Skies slush pile. You are an underappreciated force for good in the industry, and I always enjoy your emails.