“You will be maddeningly wonderful at whatever you choose, Elias. But what do you want?”

He answers swiftly enough that I know he’s been thinking on this for a long while.

“Tas wants to learn scimcraft along with a few other children in the Saif caravan,” he says. “And our future emperor will eventually need lessons in a dozen subjects.”

The thought of Elias teaching Tas, the Saif children, and Zacharias makes my heart melt a bit. “You’ll be an incredible teacher,” I chuckle. “Though I feel for those children. They will not get away with anything.”

Elias pulls away from me, and I realize after a moment that he is holding an object, spinning it so fast that I cannot get a look at it.

“Before any of that, I—ah—have something for you.” He stops and lifts his hands to reveal an armlet—intricately carved with apricot blossoms and cherry blossoms and Tala blossoms, a veritable garden of fruit. Along the edges, in vivid script, he has inscribed the names of my family. Words fail me, and I reach out to take it, but he does not give it to me. Not yet.

“I wish I could live a thousand lives so I could fall in love with you a thousand times,” he says. “But if all we get is this one, and I share it with you, then I will never want for anything, if—if you—would—if you—” He stops, hands gripped so tight around the armlet that I fear he’ll break it.

“Yes. Yes.” I take it from him and put it on. “Yes!” I cannot say it enough.

He pulls me up into a kiss that reminds me of why I want to spend my life with him, of all of the things I want with him. Adventures, I told him. Meals. Late nights. Rainy walks.

Later—much later—I lift my cloak from the earth and shake the dust off.

“You can’t complain.” He runs his hand through his hair, and a torrent of sand pours out. His smile is a white flash in the night. “You did say you wanted me to talk you out of your clothes in inappropriate places.”

He dodges my shove with a laugh, and I pull him to his feet.

Elias laces his fingers through mine as we walk. He tells me what he hopes to do on his first full day home, his baritone thrumming in my veins like the sweetest, deepest oud playing a song that I wish to hear forever. What a small thing it seems, to walk with the one you love. To look forward to a day with them. I marvel at the simplicity of this moment. And I thank the skies for the miracle of it.

A thick layer of cloud rests atop the eastern horizon, and the sky pales, the deep orange glow of an ember breathed into life. High above, the stars whisper their goodbyes and fade into the depthless blue dome of the firmament.

—30—

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

How do I thank you, reader, for staying with me to the end? You create fan art and cosplay and wait for hours to have books signed. You name kids and kittens and puppies after Ember characters. You cheer with me and cry with me and lift me up. With all my heart and soul, thank you.

For thirteen years, my family has ridden the highs and lows of this journey with me. My loving appreciation to Mama, Emberling #1. Your duas have carried me farther than I ever dreamed. Daddy, thank you for the gift of willpower and for always asking how I’m doing, first.

Kashi—for letting me steal your softest shirts and our greatest memories, for gales of midnight laughter, for listening to me read and dwelling on the shape of a word, and most of all for believing, long before I ever did—thank you.

My boys, my always-little ones, your patience and positivity inspire me every day. All of it, every good thing, is for you.

Amer, late-night writing partner, calmest of voice, fiercest of allies. Thank you for helping me find my way through this book and life in general. I would be lost without you. Haroon, champion to end all champions. You are a badass, and every year that passes cements this further. Thank you for fighting on.

Alexandra, fellow warrior and worrier, she who always believes. I know this end is really just a beginning, but I cannot imagine any of it without you. May we reach ever higher.

To my sister Tala—with each book, I failed to find the words for us. So I’ll just say that I will never hear a DM song and not smile and think of all we have survived together.

Great love to Heelah, for the laughter and memes; Uncle and Auntie, for your duas and belief in me; Imaan, Armaan, and Zakat, for reminding me why I write; and Brittany, Lilly, Zoey, Anum, and Bobby, for your prayers and love.

Cathy Yardley, mentor and friend, I am so thankful for your steady encouragement and for helping me make sense of my own weird brain.

Penguins, thank you, thank you, thank you: Jen Loja, for believing in and supporting me, but most of all for time, a gift I shall never forget; Casey McIntyre, Ruta Rimas, and Gretchen Durning, for your patience and for tirelessly going over this manuscript a million times; Shanta Newlin and the always-hustling publicity team; Felicia Frazier and the phenomenal sales team; Emily Romero and the wildly inventive marketing team; and Carmela Iaria and the awesome school and library team.

My deep appreciation also to Felicity Vallence, Jen Klonsky, Shane Rebenschied, Kristin Boyle, Krista Ahlberg, Jonathan Roberts, Jayne Ziemba, Rebecca Aidlin, Roxane Edouard, Savanna Wicks, and Stephanie Koven; and to the international publishers, editors, cover artists, and translators, for making the Ember books the best they can be in so many beautiful languages.

Ben Schrank, life takes us on unexpected paths, and I’m glad that for this bit, we walked together. Thank you for all that you have done for me and for this series.

Nicola Yoon, I could not have done this without you. Thank you for reminding me of all the beauty the darkness holds. You are an extraordinary friend and a beautiful person. Renée Ahdieh, beloved sis and always ally, thank you for your wisdom and love, for being you, through thick and thin. Lauren DeStefano—who was there with kind words on the hard days and a stern word on the lazy ones, my forever DRiC, I’m very grateful for you.

My heartfelt thanks to friends who have offered love, puppy/baby/kitten pictures, chai, music, and advice: Abigail Wen, Adam Silvera, Haina Karim, Nyla Ibrahim, Zuha Warraich, Subha Kumar, Mari Nicholson, Sarah Balkin, Tomi Adeyemi, Samira Ahmed, Becky Albertalli, Victoria Aveyard, Leigh Bardugo, Sona Charaipotra, Dhonielle Clayton, Stephanie Garber, Kelly Loy Gilbert, Amie Kaufman, Stacey Lee, Marie Lu, Tahereh Mafi, Angela Mann, Tochi Onyebuchi, Aisha Saeed, Laini Taylor, Angie Thomas, and David Yoon.

A long overdue thank-you to journalists and writers who have left their mark: Philip Bennett, Terry Brooks, Milton Coleman, Alison Croggon, Tony Reid, Marilynne Robinson, Arundhati Roy, Mary Doria Russell, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Keith Sinzinger, Anthony Shadid, Jason Ukman, Elizabeth Ward, Emily Wax, Kathy Wenner, and Marcus Zusak.

My books would be pale shadows of themselves without the music that inspired me. Thank you to the National for “Terrible Love,” Rihanna for “Love on the Brain,” Zola Jesus for “Dangerous Days,” the Lumineers for “Salt and the Sea,” Aqualung for “Complicated,” Kendrick Lamar for “DNA,” Hozier for “Would That I,” Arcade Fire for “My Body Is a Cage” performed by Peter Gabriel, Autumn Walker for “Barking at the Buddha,” and the Nooran Sisters for their performance of “Dama Dam Mast Kalandar.”

My last thanks, always, are to Him, An-Nur, the Illuminator, the voice that speaks in the lonely night, the hand that has spared me so much grief. All things, in the end, come back to You.