“We should probably give Ash and Natalie some alone time,” Day says, standing up. “I’m sure they have plenty of catching up to do.” She starts walking to the door with Beetle and MJ, then sharply turns and rushes over to me, flinging her arms around my neck. I grunt with pain, but let her hold on to me. “Thanks for saving Nat. You’re a good guy, Ash Fisher.”
I grin as she pulls away and hurries out of the room.
“Roach and Sigur need to see you as soon as you’re up to it,” Beetle says. “There’s a lot of business to attend to.”
I groan, rolling my eyes. “Can you tell them I’m still unconscious?”
Beetle smirks. “Sure thing, bro.” He leaves the room.
Elijah pads over to the doorway. He leans against the door frame while Evangeline sits down on the edge of the bed. Natalie holds Mittens close to her chest.
“How are you?” I ask Evangeline.
“There’s good days and bad. I miss Edmund terribly, but then I remember it wasn’t real.” She sighs. “It hurt losing my heartbeat again, but not as much as I thought it would.” Her glittering black eyes flitter toward Elijah, and he smiles. “I can live without it.”
Evangeline stands up and kisses my forehead, then plants a soft kiss on Natalie’s cheek. She walks over to Elijah and takes his hand. They leave the room, shutting the door behind them. Natalie and I are alone. Mittens leaps off the bed and paces over to the balcony.
“I could use some fresh air,” Natalie says.
I help her to her feet and shrug off the blanket around my shoulders, placing it around Natalie’s, exposing the scar that zigzags down my chest.
“Is it terrible?” she whispers, and I know she isn’t referring to my scar, but the emptiness that lies beneath.
“No.” I place my hand over her chest, feeling the thrum of my heart beating inside her. “I will always be a part of you. That’s pretty amazing, if you ask me.”
She beams up at me, and I quickly kiss her.
“I don’t know what to get you for our anniversary now,” I say. “How do I top giving you my heart?”
She giggles. “I like candy.”
I grin. “Candy it is.”
We head outside. The air is cool and crisp, giving me goose bumps, but I like it. It reminds me of being in my bedroom in the Ivy Church. Grief grips me and I suck in a ragged breath, thinking about my dad. Natalie takes my hand and gazes up at me. I smile softly.
A gust of wind stirs the ash clouds overhead, and for a brief moment I catch a glimpse of cornflower-blue skies peeping between the gray. I hold Natalie closer to me as Mittens leaps about the balcony, chasing the flakes of ash as they dance and twirl on the breeze.
The street below us is buzzing with activity. Trucks roll down the roads, and coalition workers dressed in cerulean-blue jumpsuits mill about the sidewalks, cleaning up the debris. They’ve already started to rebuild the city. Instinctively I look toward the Boundary Wall.
Natalie follows my gaze. “The government wanted to bring it down, but I asked them to wait until you’d woken up. I thought you’d want to be there when it happened.”
“Thanks,” I say.
Bringing down the ghetto wall in Black City is vitally important to me. This is the city that first stood up to Purian Rose; this is where the rebellion began; so this is where the first wall has to be torn down, and I want to be there to see it. It’s what I’ve been fighting for. And when the Boundary Wall is demolished, I’m going to make sure they tear down each and every other ghetto wall in the country. Natalie leans her head against my shoulder.
“There’s been some resistance from some of the states,” she says quietly. “It’s going to take a long time before this country is united.”
“I know,” I say, staring across the smoldering city. “But I’m ready for it.”
It’s not going to be easy. There may be more blood spilled, perhaps even another war, but there will never be a return to the old ways. Our enemies know what they’re up against now. Something that cannot die. Something more dangerous than any weapon. Something like me. I stand up and reach out my hand to Natalie.
“Let’s go bring down that wall,” I say.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s such a bittersweet feeling to reach the end of a series. Ash and Natalie have been in my life since 2009, when one summer evening Ash’s character burst into my head: a vision in tight jeans, a black shirt and a green military jacket, a cigarette dangling between his lips. That night, my dual heart was awakened and I have been lost to them since. But while I’m sad to say good-bye, it’s with a warm heart, knowing they got their happily ever after. It was a little touch-and-go there for a while . . .
One of the greatest parts of this journey has got to be all the amazing people I’ve gotten to know in the YA community over the past few years. They’re the most welcoming, enthusiastic and supportive bunch of people you’re ever likely to meet. I’d like to do a special shout-out to the Apocalypsies, The League of Extraordinary Writers, Damaris (Good Choice Reading), Casey (Dark Readers), Nikki (Fiction Freak), Kate (The Bookaholic Blurbs), Christina (Ensconced in YA), Stacee (Adventures of a Book Junkie), Kristie and Julia (Lost In Ever After), Lívia (Nem harap a . . .), Ryan (Empire of Books), Brad (Book YA Review), and to my guys and gals in the Philippines! The Book Owls say hello! And big squishy hugs to everyone I haven’t mentioned, but who I hope know how much I adore and appreciate them.
Of course, I can’t talk about the YA community without mentioning my partners in crime, Jessica Spotswood and Paula Stokes. Thank you for your funny and sanity-saving e-mails, and for your friendship over the years. You guys are the best.
I am eternally grateful to Amelia Vincent for our long chats over coffee (and your awesome Photoshop skills), and to my critique partner, Tracy Buchanan, for your wise words of advice and friendship. I love you both.
My heartfelt thanks also go to:
The team at Penguin, especially Stacey Barney for your unwavering support, hard work and amazing editorial advice, and Jessica Shoffel, for organizing the kick-ass Breathless Reads tour. I’ll be talking about that for years to come!
My awesome agent, Ayesha Pande, for always being there for me and for your kind words of encouragement, and my film agent, Rich Green, for getting us across the finish line.
Mum and Pops, for your belief in me. I couldn’t ask for greater parents.
My husband, Rob, for your endless love.
And finally, a special thank-you to you, my readers, for joining me on this journey. It was a fragging awesome ride!
ELIZABETH RICHARDS is an award-winning journalist who spent her early career reviewing video games before making the bold (or crazy) move into travel writing, despite suffering from terrible travel sickness.
In her spare time, she ran a successful lifestyle website aimed at teenage girls. She won the Jane Hayward Young Journalist of the Year award for her feature on girls in the games industry, and was named Editor’s Choice in the industry trade magazine MCV.
Elizabeth lives in Buckinghamshire, England, with her husband.
www.officialelizabethrichards.com
Elizabeth Richards, Wings (A Black City Novel)
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