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First published in the USA by HarperCollins Publishers Inc., in 2016
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by HarperCollins Children’s Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF.
Copyright © Alloy Entertainment and Katharine McGee 2016
Cover photographs © Ilina Simeonova/Trevillion Images (woman figure); Westend61/Getty (window); Hongqi Zhang/Alamy (cityscape); Shutterstock.com (woman head).
Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2016
Katharine McGee asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008179977
Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780008179960
Version: 2016-08-04
For Lizzy
Contents
Copyright
Prologue
Avery
Leda
Rylin
Eris
Watt
Avery
Leda
Avery
Eris
Rylin
Watt
Leda
Avery
Eris
Rylin
Avery
Watt
Eris
Leda
Rylin
Eris
Avery
Eris
Watt
Rylin
Watt
Leda
Eris
Leda
Avery
Rylin
Leda
Avery
Eris
Rylin
Leda
Avery
Watt
Rylin
Eris
Leda
Watt
Rylin
Avery
Leda
Eris
Avery
Watt
Leda
Avery
Watt
Rylin
Eris
Leda
Avery
Leda
Watt
Rylin
Eris
Watt
Rylin
Leda
Eris
Avery
Leda
Rylin
Eris
Rylin
Leda
Watt
Avery
Mariel
Acknowledgments
About the Publisher
November 2118
THE SOUNDS OF laughter and music were dying down on the thousandth floor, the party breaking up by bits and pieces as even the rowdiest guests finally stumbled into the elevators and down to their homes. The floor-to-ceiling windows were squares of velvety darkness, though in the distance the sun was quietly rising, the skyline turning ocher and pale pink and a soft, shimmering gold.
And then a scream cut abruptly through the silence as a girl fell toward the ground, her body falling ever faster through the cool predawn air.
In just three minutes, the girl would collide with the unforgiving cement of East Avenue. But now—her hair whipped up like a banner, the silk dress snapping around the curves of her body, her bright red mouth frozen in a perfect O of shock—now, in this instant, she was more beautiful than she had ever been.
They say that before death,