"Tease," Helen whispered as he went to the door.

"Good night, Mr. Hamilton," Lucas called upstairs as he left.

"Good night, Lucas," Jerry replied testily.

About an hour later, Helen heard a tap on the window that Mr. Tanis had finally fixed about a week earlier, and she rushed to open it. Lucas soared into her bedroom silently, dusted with snow. Helen started kissing him before he even had a chance to land, guiding his weightless body to her bed and pulling him down over her.

"Hold on a sec," he said with a warm smile. Lucas held up a wrapped present and gave it to Helen. "I couldn't wait for Christmas."

She peeled the wrapper off as quietly as possible, both of them listening for the sound of her dad waking, and found a framed picture of a single white flower. When Helen looked closer, she saw it was actually a dried wildflower, pressed and mounted behind gla.s.s.

Tears filled her eyes instantly. It was the only thing from her world that existed in this one-the only souvenir she had of Everyland.

"Thank you," Helen whispered, clutching the frame to her chest.

Lucas nodded, wiping her tears away. He took the picture out of her hands and placed it on the table next to her bed before standing.

"Where's your swimsuit?" he asked, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"W-why?" Helen replied, confused. It was twenty degrees out. And snowing. Helen was immortal, not crazy.

"Because you're going to need it when we get to Puerto Rico. It'll still be dark for a few more hours, but we can swim, watch the sunrise, and be back before your dad wakes up."

Helen jumped off the bed and rushed to her dresser. She pulled out a little red polka-dot bikini and waved it in the air like a flag before grabbing her coat and stuffing it in the pocket.

"Live every day like it's our last day on Earth together," she said, beginning their new motto as she jumped out the window.

"For forever if we can get away with it," Lucas finished, joyfully following her.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

This is hard. It takes a small miracle to get a trilogy out into the world, and there are a lot of people who have worked very hard to make that miracle happen for me. I'm just about to forget half of them. Two people I can't forget, mostly because they call/text/email me about every ten minutes, are my amazing agent, Mollie Glick, and my fearless manager, Rachel Miller. They have been my guides, my cheerleaders, and my champions every step of the way, and I am blessed to have them in my life. Stephanie Abou, Rachel Hetch, and Kathleen Hamblin have been my go-to team for all things foreign and confusing, and I can't thank them enough for their expertise and support. Heather Toth, the Chancellor, has proven her infinite patience by answering all of my dumb questions and keeping track of my crazy life. My ever-understanding editor, Barbara Lalicki, and her ninja of an a.s.sistant, Alyssa Miele, have helped both shape my story and shepherd it through the vagaries of the publishing world. Many thanks to them both. I want to give lots of love to my beta readers and fellow "Elevensies" authors, Amy Plum and Tara Hudson, for their encouragement and support. The past two years have been quite a trip, and it's been a joy to share it with them. My friends and family know the drill at this point, but just in case, I want to send them my love. And lastly, I want to thank my husband, Albert. Quite simply, there would be no Starcrossed trilogy without him.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

JOSEPHINE ANGELINI is a Ma.s.sachusetts native and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a major in theater and a focus on the cla.s.sics. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three shelter cats.

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ALSO BY JOSEPHINE ANGELINI.

Starcrossed.

Dreamless.

end.