“Oh, you didn’t notice?” Brella indicated her pile of clothes, languishing on the bathroom floor. “Knife.”

“Wha? Oh.” She looked over. Her kitchen knife, along with its trousers-crafted sheath, was nowhere to be found. “I thought it would be more ephemeral. Like, I don’t know . . . springtime?”

Brella snorted. “If you want to look for meaning in it, you may feel free.”

“Nah.” She stretched her arms over her head, feeling the satisfying click in her spine, then dropped them over Brella’s shoulders. “I’m not a poet, after all.”

Brella nuzzled into her side. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Outside the window, the stars were familiar once more. There was The Barber with his celestial shears. The Rider atop his sparkling steed. The Cheesemonger slicing Soft Eddard with a knife of starlight. But now Scratch knew these gods weren’t alone. There were more infinite formations in the scrambled suns of the forest. Inscrutable skies that revealed gods upon gods, glowing through hidden layers of inky night. There were more than she could imagine, and there would always be more.

“Never,” she said, and melted into Brella’s arms.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

Walk Between Worlds taught me how to write. And while writing this book has been one of my greatest joys, it was also a long and lonely process, and I only made it through because of the love and support of my people. Thank you to Alessandra Amin, Nour El-Rayes, Justine Champine, Megan Detrie, and Kati Sherril for reading what was then known as “Scratch” at various stages of unfocused word vomit, and managing, despite the chaos, to provide me with wildly helpful notes. Thank you to Anna Burke for the edits, the pep talks, and steering me towards Bywater Books. Thank you to Jenn Alexander for showing me how to find a title. Thank you to Tuck Woodstock, Kathy Tu, and T Kira Mahealani Madden for your beautiful words. Thank you, thank you, thank you all.

My deepest appreciation to the fine folks at Bywater Books, especially to Salem West for the initial twelve-pages of notes, followed by the months of continuous support. Thanks to Stefani Deoul, who is terrifying and wonderful and was 100% correct in saying the three consecutive sex scenes needed to be cut. Thank you to Ann McMan for the beautiful cover. It has been an honor working with you all on this book.

Thank you to my family, especially Dad and Jolean, for assuming that this book would be good before you even read it.