Of Beast and Beauty

  “We should find Needle.” She pulls away, her breath rushing hot against my lips. “She’ll be scared to death until she knows that we’re all right.”

  “That you’re all right.”

  “We’re all right,” Isra corrects. “She likes you. Maybe more than she likes me. She’s been frustrated with me lately.”

  “You’re a very frustrating person.”

  “You’re one to talk.” She smiles and kisses me on the cheek before jumping to her feet and reaching a hand down to me. I take it and hold tightly as I lead the way back to the gathering stones.

  To our right, an imposing mound of rubble and a cloud of lingering dust is all that remains of the city of Yuan. I wonder, for a moment, if the sight makes Isra sad, but when I glance at her, she’s staring out at the newly living desert, a peaceful look on her face. Where the land was once cracked and barren, grass waves in a light breeze, birds sing in trees lush with rain-damp leaves, and night flowers lift pale faces to the darkening sky.

  Soon, the stars will come out and Isra and I will sleep beneath them, our first night together in the new world. I will hold her tightly and tell her I love her, last thing before she closes her eyes, and first thing when she wakes in the morning. I will tell her every day for the rest of our lives, and more important, I will show her.

  I will show her that loving her is my greatest truth, and the most beautiful thing I have ever known.

  IN THE BEGINNING

  IN the beginning was the new world and hope brighter than the stars.

  The broken were made whole, the Banished were welcomed home, and all people—Smooth Skin and Monstrous—were transformed by the planet that loved them.

  There were, of course, those who feared the sudden changes in their world, who cursed their new skins and their old enemies, but there were far more who celebrated, who were grateful and eager to live in peace.

  In this particular beginning, there were also a girl and a boy whose love had saved the world, and who refused to let the world slip back into darkness. Together they became the king and queen of a new nation, and led their people as wisely as they could. Sometimes that meant leading them into hiding. Sometimes it meant leading them into battle, and when it did, the boy and the girl fought their enemies fiercely. But when the battle was won, they remembered to be merciful, to begin again with love for their enemies as well as their friends.

  Love was the gift they gave their world. Love made them happy for many, many years, until it was time for yet another beginning.

  On the night their souls slipped away—within moments of each other, surrounded by children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the first great-great-grandchild with green eyes like the queen’s—the Summer Star split down the middle, leaving two stars in its place.

  One was white and as pale as Queen Isra’s skin when she was a girl, the other a luminous orange like King Gem’s scales when he sat before the fire. They were celebrated and named Beauty and Beast, but none of the king or queen’s people would ever say which star was which. They would only look kindly on the stranger who’d asked and say, “Beauty is wherever you find it, and Beast is there when you need to defend it.”

  Centuries passed and cities rose and fell, wars were fought and lives were lost, but every summer, when Beauty and Beast appeared in the night sky, somehow the people remembered to love a little harder, and never again did their planet fall into darkness.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped in the birthing of this book. To my agent, Ginger Clark; my editors, Michelle Poploff and Rebecca Short; and to the entire team at Delacorte Press, who are amazing at all they do. Thanks to Julie Linker and her daughter, Annabelle, my awesome friends and beta readers. Thanks to my family for their unfailing support and encouragement, and to my husband for bearing with me through my typical drafting angst (you have my fret cycle down to a science now, my love, and always help me through it). Last, but not least, thank you to my readers. Every email and letter means so much. I am honored to have the chance to tell you stories.

  STACEY JAY is the author of Juliet Immortal and Romeo Redeemed and many other books for young adults. She lives in a gently haunted house in California wine country with her husband, their two sons, and her beloved Janome sewing machine. Learn more at staceyjay.com.