Stars and smoke, p.31
Stars and Smoke,
p.31
She would return.
He laughed and shook his head. The one time a girl managed to work her way into his headspace was the one time he would probably never see her again. It was his lot in life. Sydney was probably halfway around the world right now, slapping some criminal senseless with the butt of a gun. She’d probably forgotten all about him.
The pain stabbed at him again, and he winced at the thought.
He wondered who she might be partnered with now. Was she holed up with him somewhere in some hotel, undercover as man and wife? As business partners?
You’ve got a real knack for torturing yourself, he thought, and pushed the images away to the back of his mind. For weeks, he’d imagined himself stepping out of his studio after practice and into a car full of Panacea agents again, that maybe Sydney would be in there, offering him some other mission.
But no. The cars that picked him up only ever had chauffeurs in them.
He rubbed his neck with his towel, then threw the rest of his stuff into his bag and slung it over his back. He pushed himself to his feet.
The instant he stood up, he saw her through the full-length mirrors.
She was standing just inside the entrance door, leaning casually against the wall with her hands in her pockets and one leg crossed in front of the other, dressed in ripped black jeans and a slouchy sweater that slid slightly down one shoulder.
Her blond bob was a little shorter, but other than that, Sydney Cossette looked exactly the same.
Winter spun around, half expecting to see no one standing there at all. That he had just hallucinated the image of her in the mirror, the latest manifestation of his mind playing tricks on him.
But there she was, the real-life version, her stance the mirror image of the one in her reflection.
At the expression on his face, she smiled.
“I hope you remember me, Mr. Young,” she said.
That same hoarse voice. Winter suddenly felt like he was falling, like the warmth traveling through his veins might melt him. Apparently, none of his feelings had changed.
He broke into a slow grin. “What are you doing here?”
Sydney gave him a bemused smile. “Your autograph?”
He knew right away what she would say next. He knew it by the way his heart leapt, by the way his body lit up at the chance to step back into that strange other world, the world shrouded in shadows and secrecy, the world so different from his own loud, wild, chaotic one. He knew it by the way the air between them seemed to come alive, their old bonds stirred out of hibernation. He knew it by the look in her eyes.
He knew what she would say, and he knew what his own answer would be.
“New mission,” Sydney said. “And we thought you’d fit the bill.”
“Only if I don’t have to work with you again.”
She laughed a little. His heart tugged in response. It was the best sound in the world. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck there.”
“I love bad luck.”
She looked sidelong at him. “Want to hear more?”
He smiled. Sometimes the moon and the sun were in the sky at the same time. Then he took a step toward her, back into her world.
“Lead the way.”
Acknowledgments
Deepest thanks to my intrepid agent, Kristin Nelson, and the entire NLA team. Thank you for championing this newest story of mine, as you always champion me. I’m forever grateful.
All my gratitude to my wonderful editors and friends, Jen Besser and Kate Meltzer, for your wisdom and kindness, your companionship when it’s sunny and your umbrella when it rains. It is the honor of my professional life to build another tale with you both.
Thank you to my tireless, hardworking team at Macmillan Children’s and Fierce Reads: Emilia Sowersby, Kathy Wielgosz, Jennifer Healey, Melissa Zar, Teresa Ferraiolo, Leigh Ann Higgins, John Nora, Kelsey Marrujo, and Tatiana Merced-Zarou. A special, huge thank you to Aurora Parlagreco and Jessica Cruickshank for this stunning cover—I don’t think I’m ever getting over how beautiful it is. There is so much you all do that may never be publicly acknowledged; this is me publicly acknowledging it. What a joy it is to work with you all.
I’m not a spy (Or am I? Who can say…), so I can only write about spyhood from the perspective of an outsider. But several books helped me build Sydney’s character—chief among them, a fascinating autobiography by Amaryllis Fox called Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA. Thank you for sharing your extraordinary experiences, Ms. Fox. Book research has never been more interesting.
Anyone who knows me knows I belong to the BTS Army. Winter Young is, of course, a fictional superstar—but creativity inspires creativity, and since 2017, watching this talented band of Asian faces and gentle souls win over the world has been a deep source of inspiration and encouragement for me. I can only imagine how hard it was for you all during the pandemic, professionally and personally, but please know that your creations during that time helped pull this writer through, along with countless others. So thank you, Bangtan, for all the joy you’ve spread. Borahae!
To all the teachers, librarians, and booksellers around the United States—and globally—who continue to fight for diverse books to stay on shelves, thank you, thank you, thank you. Books have been viewed as dangerous since the beginning of time. Thank you for fighting back against that fear, and for your hard work getting books from all perspectives into the hands of readers.
Deepest thanks to my friends and family who have seen this book through many, many iterations with me. All my gratitude to my husband, Primo Gallanosa, for taking extra shifts watching our toddler so that I could work, and to my little boy, for being the absolute light of our lives.
Lastly and most significantly, thank you to you, my reader. All my books are written for you, of course, but this one in particular is dedicated to you because my singular goal in writing it was to make you happy. I know we live in turbulent times; I know you’ve been through a lot. I hope you had fun reading this story and were able to escape for a while with Winter and Sydney. Thank you for giving me the chance to tell you stories. I hope to meet you someday on the road. All my love.
DON’T MISS THESE MUST-READS
BY #1 NEW YORK TIMES–BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MARIE LU
“THE DOYENNE OF DYSTOPIA.” —New York Times
DISCOVER THE SEARING CONCLUSION TO THE BESTSELLING LEGEND SERIES.
IN A WORLD BROKEN BY WAR, A TEAM OF YOUNG WARRIORS IS WILLING TO SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO SAVE WHAT THEY LOVE …
“My favorite YA of 2020.” —Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times– bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series and National Book Award Winner All My Rage
“Riveting.” —POPSUGAR
“Action-packed.” —BuzzFeed
ALSO BY MARIE LU
The Legend Series
Legend
Prodigy
Champion
Rebel
The Young Elites Series
The Young Elites
The Rose Society
The Midnight Star
The Warcross Series
Warcross
Wildcard
Batman: Nightwalker
The Kingdom of Back
The Skyhunter Duology
Skyhunter
Steelstriker
About the Author
Marie Lu is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Legend series, the Young Elites trilogy, the Warcross series, Batman: Nightwalker, The Kingdom of Back, and the Skyhunter duology. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, where she worked as an artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare hours reading, drawing, and playing games. She lives in Los Angeles with her illustrator/author husband, Primo Gallanosa, and their son.
Visit her online at marielu.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
1. Those That Birth Obsession
2. Those That Walk in the World’s Shadows
3. The Jackal
4. The Panacea Group
5. All the World’s a Secret Stage
6. The New Job
7. The Afterthought
8. Rules of the Game
9. The Calm Before the Storm
10. Monsters Look Like Gentlemen
11. Someone Is Always Watching
12. Suspicions
13. What Haunts the Heart
14. Prelude to the Stage
15. More Similar Than Not
16. The Superstar and the Tycoon
17. Characters on a Stage
18. Dangerous Games
19. Dead End
20. Birds from the Same Cage
21. Pivot
22. The Hunter, the Hunted
23. Breaking the Wall
24. Meant to Be
25. Friends and Enemies
26. Just Another Job
27. Silent Beat
28. Bullseye
29. The Good Daughter
30. Trapped
31. Not Over Yet
32. The Final Flight
33. Worthy
34. Breathe
35. The Family You Find
36. The Heart Is Wide and Deep
37. Loyalty to a Secret
38. The Sun and the Moon
39. Could Have, Should Have
One Year Later
Acknowledgments
Also by Marie Lu
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2023 by Xiwei Lu
Logos designed by YY Liak
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Roaring Brook Press is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 • fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Date is available.
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eISBN 9781250852809
First hardcover edition 2023
eBook edition 2023
Marie Lu, Stars and Smoke
