I’ll never be able to properly thank all the booksellers, teachers, librarians, bloggers, and #bookstagrammers who spread the love for this series—but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying! You truly are the best people ever!
And I have to thank Katie Laird, my assistant extraordinaire, for being my second brain and helping me finally get organized and caught up.
Of course I also have to thank the friends who’ve been there for all of my brainstorming, commiserating, venting, panicking, and procrastinating needs, including Roshani Chokshi, Debra Driza, Faith Hochhalter, Jenn Johansson, Amie Kaufman, Kelly Ramirez, C. J. Redwine, Brandi Stewart, Amy Tintera, Kasie West, and Sarah Wylie.
I also owe a special shout-out to Alexander Morelli—even though he technically already got one in the dedication—because this book wouldn’t be what it is without him. So thank you, Alex, for all your patience and plotting and planning and pep talks. (I could say more, but I think I’ll stop with that awesome alliteration. )
And last but never least, I have to thank my family—Allison, Jeff, Nadia, and Roland, who manage to make me feel cool and tease me so unfailingly that it keeps me humble. And Mom and Dad: I absolutely could not do this super-tricky, exhausting, wonderful, complicated job without you! I promise, I really will try to sleep more next year!
More from this Series
Keeper of the Lost…
Book 1
Exile
Book 2
Everblaze
Book 3
Neverseen
Book 4
Lodestar
Book 5
Nightfall
Book 6
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT © 2012 by DEVENDE PHOTOGRAPHY
SHANNON MESSENGER graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she learned—among other things—that she liked watching movies much better than making them. She’s studied art, screenwriting, and film production, but she realized her real passion was writing stories for children. She’s the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning middle grade series Keeper of the Lost Cities, as well as the Sky Fall series for young adults. Her books have been featured on multiple state reading lists, published in numerous countries, and translated into many different languages. She lives in Southern California with an embarrassing number of cats. Find her online at ShannonMessenger.com.
Visit us at simonandschuster.co.uk
www.SimonandSchuster.co.uk/Authors/Shannon-Messenger
Also by Shannon Messenger
The KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES Series
Keeper of the Lost Cities
Exile
Everblaze
Neverseen
Lodestar
Nightfall
Flashback
Legacy
The SKY FALL Series
Let the Sky Fall
Let the Wind Rise
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
First published in the USA in 2020 by Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
Text copyright © 2020 Shannon Messenger
Illustrations on pages 367, 383–384, and 465 copyright © 2020 by Shannon Messenger
Illustrations throughout inserts and on pages 7, 58, 73, 81, 91, 103, 140, 150, 157, 166, 171, 178, 181, 183, 186, 234–245, 263–267, 270, 274, 277, 282, 284, 374, 376–378, 386, 390, 411–412, 419–420, 427, 441, 443, and 445 copyright © 2020 by Laura Hollingsworth
Illustrations on pages 251, 293–294, 296, 300, 305, 307–313, 315–318, 322–325, 329, 338–339, 342–344, 348–350, 358, 360–361, 431, 436, and 467 copyright © 2020 by Felia Hanakata
Illustrations of ornate frames and scrolls throughout interior by katyakatya/iStock
Illustration of silhouette on page 233 by MrsWilkins/iStock
Illustration of frame on page 347 by xsanchesnet1/iStock
Illustrations of arrows on 360–361 by Petro Bevz/iStock
Illustration of frame on page 348 by Extezy/iStock
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved
The right of Shannon Messenger to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Design and Patent Act, 1988.
Simon & Schuster UK LTd
1st Floor, 222 Gray’s Inn Road
London
WC1X 8HB
www.simonandschuster.co.uk
www.simonandschuster.com.au
www.simonandschuster.co.in
Simon & Schuster Australia, Sydney
Simon & Schuster India, New Delhi
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
PB ISBN 978-1-3985-01171
eBook ISBN 978-1-3985-0118-8
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.