His elbows on the railing and the wind running through his hair, he laughs.

"But that's not what you were really asking, was it?" he says.

"No."

We both look out at the city. I wonder what he sees. Is it what I see? A future? One that started in a trolley car after two girls tried to leave a party?

No. It started before then. Before my parents, before the war. Before anyone I've ever loved was even born. It started in vampire blood and death warrants signed. And it ends here: human and vampire, leaning against each other, looking at a world unafraid of the night.

"I love you, Dawn."

I hold his hand, and feel his pulse. It beats for me.

"I love you, Victor."

Beneath that night sky, somewhere between here and the oceans, blow the winds that carry dust and sand. And in those winds lie everyone who helped shape this world. They go, from one place to the next, and it matters not whether it is the sun in the sky or the moon. They go together.

About the Author.

J. A. LONDON is the mother-son writing team of Rachel Hawthorne and her son, Alex London. Rachel has written many novels for teens, including the popular Dark Guardian series. Alex, a recent graduate with a degree in Historical Studies, enjoys combining history and fiction to create unique worlds. The Darkness Before Dawn series is their first joint project. You can visit them online at www.jalondon.com.

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The Darkness Before Dawn Novels.

Darkness Before Dawn.

Blood-Kissed Sky.

After Daybreak.

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