Arianna leans back against Nate’s chest, but her dark brown eyes meet mine. “Is this, then, the end?”
I sigh. “In a way.”
Zhen scowls from the other side of the room. “That’s a rubbish answer.”
But it isn’t. Wrapping up this trilogy has been difficult. It’s too much like saying goodbye.
“Go ahead, Cath. Write those acknowledgments.” As usual, Nate’s the one to urge me on. “Start with Lauren and CJ.”
He’s right. Both of you—my brilliant, faithful alpha readers—have been lifelines. You read the messiest of versions so everyone else could read a cohesive one. You held me to deadlines and demanded the next chapters.
But if I stop there, I’d be leaving out friends like Laura, Marian, Jenn, Anne, and Angie, who suffered through various stages of writing angst and reminded me to press on. Thank you, Sophia, for reading the dev edits as I finished them. Julie—this would not be here if it weren’t for you. And Patrice, your solid understanding of my people and of story is such a blessing!
Thank you to Sharon and Michelle, who gave fantastic feedback, and Angela, who suggested Quincy’s name. Talis, you know why Connor chose that name, and I still say they should all sit around a campfire and talk. Chawna, I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and encouragement.
Nate bursts out laughing. “Add Peaklings and your Colorado Realmies. You know, the ones you killed off.”
Arianna frowns. “That is not funny, Nathaniel.”
He grins. “They asked for it.”
“I do not understand why anyone would want to be written into a book only to be ruthlessly eliminated.”
“Makes sense to me.” Nate flashes a smile so broad his dimple appears. “If I were going to ask to be put into a book—”
When she spins in his arms, he stops, and his eyebrows—which aren’t as perfect as she thinks—soar.
“Nathaniel!”
He glances at me and grimaces. “Point taken. I retract the thought.”
“You’d better,” Alec growls.
So, thank you, Kirk and John. And to my Peaklings, for wisdom in action scenes.
Jordan drums her fingers. “Your street team.”
Definitely. I must thank Sophia, Chrissy, Lauren, Hailey, Stephanie, Angie, Julee, Angela, Jess, and Jess, as well as the rest of you. Your help has been invaluable. (Also, they voted for kittens, so everyone can give them a round of applause!) I’ll add here a special thanks to Samantha, whose kind messages were globe-spanning hugs. Your guess about Arianna’s surname was spot-on.
“Don’t forget the readers,” Zhen adds.
As if I could. Thank you. For reading, recommending, reviewing. I don’t think I could ever express how much that means to me. And to my family, thank you for putting up with the long hours of seat-in-the-chair and the blank looks when you asked me a question and my mind was not in this world.
No one needs to remind me about Enclave. Steve, thank you for taking a chance on an unknown author with a weird story with its initially bald protagonist, drones, and giant bugs. Lisa, thank you for teaching me more about editing than I would have learned on my own. Sarah, for the copy edits. Megan, for proofing and for ongoing encouragement. Jamie, for your mad typesetting skills. Lindsay and Trissina, for handholding and wisdom. And another thank you to Emilie, who knocked this cover out of the park. Thank you, Oasis and Taylor, who have brought this book to audio and reached so many people. And to my fellow Enclave authors, especially Jasmine and Sandra.
The room grows quiet, and we watch the kittens tumble near Kye’s knees.
I finally answer Arianna’s original question. “This isn’t really the end, not when the story is in the readers’ minds and hearts.”
Eric huffs. “I guess.”
“But you can’t be finished, Cathy.” Kye catches a wandering kitten and hands it to James, who cradles it for a moment, then sets it with its siblings. “Not without the most important acknowledgement.”
“No,” Max adds, “you can’t forget that.”
I haven’t.
And to the Author of the best story ever written, to the Author of life itself, unending thanks.