Let The Wind Rise (Sky Fall, #3) (37 page)
Read Let The Wind Rise (Sky Fall, #3) Online
Authors: Shannon Messenger
“So you’ve seen her?” I ask. “She’s okay?”
“She’s more than okay,” my dad says.
“She has a surprise planned for you,” my mom adds. “But, uh . . . I think you might want to shower first.”
“Yeah,” my dad chimes in. “You smell like crap—literally.”
He smiles at his corny joke, and I think about all the facefuls of manure I got during the battle and head toward the bathroom. “Good call.”
It takes me longer than I meant to shower, but it’s not easy with my injured elbow and all the other wounds I have to clean and bandage.
Plus I keep trying to guess what Audra’s surprise is, and it’s very . . .
distracting
.
My favorite Batman shirt feels tight across the shoulders. All this fighting really has made me stronger. Even without food—
Food.
God, I had no idea I was so starving.
I’m hoping my mom’s making me about ten of her famous torpedo burritos, but when I head out of the bathroom, she’s sitting with my dad on the couch, both of them giving me those horrifying
our baby looks so grown up
smiles.
“So . . . where’s Audra?”
“She’s waiting for you on the roof,” my mom says.
The
roof
?
That kills almost all of my favorite theories.
It’s already starting to get warm, and the air is turning still. But I find a Westerly and coil it around me.
As I do, I notice the compass on my bracelet has stopped spinning.
In fact, it seems like it’s pointing straight to the rooftop.
The wind floats me off the ground, carrying me to where Audra’s waiting, perched on the red tiles, her face turned away from me, focused on the sky.
She’s wearing a dress.
Not a skimpy dress like I’ve enjoyed before.
But I like this one even better.
She looks so . . . normal.
So real.
And when she turns my way and smiles . . .
wow
.
I mean, seriously.
I don’t know what I did to deserve this beautiful, incredible girl. But I’m never letting her get away.
I try to think of something deep and poetic to say. But the best I can come up with is: “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“I’m glad you’re safe too,” she tells me. “I was starting to think you were never going to get here.”
“I know. Sorry, I—”
She holds up her hand. “You don’t have to explain. In fact, I think we should make a deal not to talk about anything stressful—unless you need to. I told the Gales we’re taking today to relax.”
I laugh. “Are you sure you know how to do that?”
She pats the roof tile next to her, offering me a seat. “I figured you could teach me.”
I make my way over to her side—and by the way: Walking on roofs is
way
harder than it looks. I nearly trip twice—but I get there.
When I do, I notice a red-and-white bag peeking out of a thermal lunch case, resting near her hip.
“Okay, am I hallucinating, or do you have In-N-Out?”
“Not hallucinating,” she says, opening the bag and filling the air with the smell of cheeseburgers and French fries.
My stomach growls so loud, we both have to laugh.
“I had your mom get it for me. I remembered what you said about how we haven’t really had many dates. So I thought I’d give it a try. I know we’re just up on a roof—and the food is mostly cold because I didn’t realize you’d be back so late—”
“It’s perfect,” I tell her.
And it is.
I sit next to her and she hands me my cheeseburger and it’s seriously the best moment ever. I get a little choked up by it, actually.
I watch her dive into her own burger without any hesitation or worries about sacrifice—see that look of
oh my God this is amazing
cross her face—and I have to kiss her.
I lean in and—
Gavin lets out a huge screech.
I nearly flail right off the roof, and fling a few French fries at him. “Dude—do that again and we’re having roast hawk for dinner!”
He screeches and hops over to the fries, gobbling them up as he watches me. I guess I should be glad he’s still alive—and that he has good taste in snacks—but it’s easier to like him when his beady eyes aren’t glaring.
Audra whistles something, and he flaps his wings and takes off toward the date grove.
“I told him to leave us alone,” she tells me.
“Alone is good,” I whisper, reaching up to wipe a spot of ketchup off her face.
I’m trying to decide if I should kiss her, or let her finish her burger. She makes the decision for me, grabbing my face and pulling me to her.
As soon as our lips meet, it’s like breathing clear air. Or when the sun finally breaks through on a cold, stormy day.
The leftover darkness haunting me from the battle fades with each press of her lips, and I kiss her back, hoping I can erase anything her mother did.
When we finally pull away, the sun’s much higher in the sky, and the sweltering heat is starting to settle in.
“Do you want to go inside?” she asks, waving a fly out of her eyes.
“Maybe in a minute. Right now, I just want to enjoy this.”
She scoots closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder, and we both stare at the bright puffy clouds and listen to the wind.
It sings about new beginnings, and that’s exactly what this is.
The first day of our every day.
With nothing but clear skies ahead.
E
very book takes its own unique journey from inspiration to publication, and this one was my greatest adventure by far. So I want to start by thanking my readers for their love and support—and especially their patience—as I fumbled through all the craziness to bring this story into the world.
An infinite amount of thanks goes to my fabulous agent, Laura Rennert, for her ability to play the roles of adviser, champion, and shoulder to panic on. The amazing people at Andrea Brown Literary also deserve an abundance of thank-yous, as does Taryn Fagerness and all my wonderful foreign publishers.
To my editor, Liesa Abrams Mignogna, thank you for believing in Vane and Audra and giving me the chance to write the ending their story deserved. My deepest gratitude also goes to Mara Anastas, Mary Marotta, Katherine Devendorf, Sarah McCabe, Carolyn Swerdloff, Jennifer Romanello, Faye Bi, Lucille Rettino, Jodie Hockensmith, Michelle Leo, Anthony Parisi, Betsy Bloom, Matt Pantoliano, Amy Bartram, Mike Rosamilia, Tom Daly, Sara Berko, Julie Doebler, and the entire sales team at Simon & Schuster for the time, care, and creativity they each pour into my books. And thank you, Regina Flath, for giving me three covers I absolutely adore, and Shane Rebenschied for creating the most gorgeous artwork ever.
Thank you, Kari Olson, for enduring hours and
hours
of brainstorming (Vane would also like me to thank you for constantly advocating All the Kissing!) And thank you, C. J. Redwine, for braving the deadline trenches with me. I’m not sure I would’ve made it through without our check-in chats. Thank you, Victoria Morris, for being an awesome cheerleader (and an absurdly fast reader). And Sara McClung and Sarah Wylie—no matter how far I drop off the radar, I’m so thankful to know you’re both always there when I need you.
Thank you, lovely writer friends, for letting me lean on you (and hanging with me at events), especially Erin Bowman, Zac Brewer, MG Buerhlen, Lisa Cannon, Christa Desir, Debra Driza, Nikki Katz, Lisa Mantchev, Lisa McMann, Ellen Oh, Andrea Ortega, Cindy Pon, James Riley, Amy Tintera, Kasie West, Natalie Whipple, and Suzanne Young. And thank you to the brilliant teachers, librarians, bloggers, and booksellers who help readers discover my books, especially Mel Barnes, Alyson Beecher, Katie Bartow, Jo Gray, Maryelizabeth Hart, Jillian Heise, Faith Hochhalter, Heather Laird, Katie Laird, Kim Laird, Barbara Mena, Brandi Stewart, Kristin Trevino, Andrea Vuleta, and
so
many others. (If I’ve forgotten you, you officially have my permission to yell at me!)
To my parents, thank you for never letting me give up or doubt myself, and for not judging me (too much) when I find it far too easy to think like my villains.
To my long-suffering husband, Miles, thank you for helping me turn my office into the perfect writing space, and for not complaining when I still set up camp in your man cave during the endless deadline days.
Finally, I have to thank Vane and Audra. Yes, I’m aware that you’re fictional (really, Mom—I am!) but in some ways you feel very real. You were there when I needed to fall back in love with writing, and again when I needed a boost of hope and faith. And even though I’m done telling your story, you’ll still be with me. I’ll think of you every time I look at the sky or feel the wind on my face. But I’m done tormenting you now—I promise! Go forth and enjoy your happy ending!
SHANNON MESSENGER
grew up among the sandstorms and giant bugs of the desert and was not sad at all when her family finally escaped the heat. She’s studied art, screenwriting, and television production, but realized her real passion is writing for kids and teens. The Sky Fall trilogy is her first young adult series. She is also the author of the Keeper of the Lost Cities bestselling middle-grade series. She lives in Southern California with her wonderful husband and far too many cats and believes In-N-Out cheeseburgers are the perfect food. Find her online at
shannonmessenger.com
.
SIMON PULSE
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at
simonandschuster.com/teen
Also by Shannon Messenger
The SKY FALL Series
Let the Sky Fall
Let the Storm Break
The KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES Series
Keeper of the Lost Cities
Exile
Everblaze
Neverseen
Coming Soon
Lodestar
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition April 2016
Text copyright © 2016 by Shannon Messenger
Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Shane Rebenschied
Author photograph copyright © 2012 by DeVende Photography
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Jacket designed by Regina Flath
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Adobe Caslon Pro.
This book has been cataloged with the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-4654-9 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4656-3 (eBook)
