“I guess I’ll take my chances.”
You bite into it, the tartness puckering your lips. He sits down beside you and bites into the other half. “Lena,” he says—not to you, just into the air. “Lena Marcus.”
“That’s me.”
“I’m starting to think you’re the only good thing here.”
“We just met.”
“I know.”
He eats his half, biting down, letting the juice spill onto his chin. He abandons it when he’s only halfway through.
“I want to go home.” Just saying it makes your eyes wet. “I want to go back.”
“We can’t. We just have to stay together. We have to stay alive.”
“That seems impossible.”
Somewhere behind you there’s a rush of leaves. You turn, waiting to see the hunters. How many of them this time? You’re trapped on the beach. There’s no way out.
Rafe senses it, too. He moves in front of you, waiting for them. But as the sound gets closer you see the first sign of the birds, flying low beneath the thick tangle of branches. There are hundreds of them. They move out toward the ocean. As they come beyond the shadows their wings catch the light. Blue iridescent. Their stomachs are a perfect white.
They fly out, over you, the air changing in their wake. Then they are gone, darting away, toward the endless horizon.
You still have your hand on the passenger door. You’re staring at the trees, watching the last of them go. The car engine is running.
“What’s wrong, Lena? Are you okay?”
You climb inside. Shut the door behind you, savoring it—that day on the beach. The birds. Rafe’s favorite memory.
“Nothing,” you say as the car pulls out. “I’m ready.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
AS ALWAYS, A big hug and thank you to everyone at Alloy Entertainment. To Les Morgenstein and Josh Bank, for continued faith and support. To Sara Shandler, for the big picture edits that improved this, and every other book I’ve written. To Hayley Wagreich, for talking plot and characters, and for giving every aspect of this series so much love and care. To Lanie Davis, for long-distance phone calls. And to Joelle Hobeika, editor and friend, for meticulous line edits, character notes, and reassurance.
To the good people of HarperCollins: Jen Klonsky, for all-around awesomeness. To Emilia Rhodes and Alice Jerman, for the insights that helped sharpen this book page by page, line by line. Gratitude to all the brilliant women who promote these books, but especially: Gina Rizzo, Kristin Marang, Heather David, Margot Wood, Aubry Parks-Fried, and Christina Colangelo. To Heather Schroder, agent and friend, for her good work and guidance.
I’m grateful for all my friends, in so many cities, for their kind words about this series, and for lending me optimism whenever I need it. I’m especially indebted to the few who read drafts of this manuscript, sometimes with a twenty-four-hour-turnaround. Hugs and gratitude to Aaron Kandell and Connie Hsiao for their outside perspectives. As always, gratitude to my family in Baltimore and New York, for reading each book and cheering me on. Endless thank-yous to my brother, Kevin, and my parents, Tom and Elaine, for love and support.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Kristin Hoebermann
ANNA CAREY graduated from New York University and has an MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. She lives in Los Angeles. You can visit her online at www.annacareybooks.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
BOOKS BY ANNA CAREY
Sloane Sisters
Survival of the Fiercest
Eve
Once
Rise
Blackbird
Deadfall
Photographs by Paper Boat Creative used under license from Getty Images, and Fernando Cortes from Shutterstock.com
Series design by Natalie C. Sousa
COPYRIGHT
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
BLACKBIRD: DEADFALL. Copyright © 2015 by Alloy Entertainment and Anna Carey. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Produced by Alloy Entertainment
1700 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
www.alloyentertainment.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014952812
ISBN 978-0-06-229976-5
ISBN 978-0-06-242788-5 (int’l ed.)
EPub Edition © May 2015 ISBN 9780062299789
1516171819PC/RRDH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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