Runebinder (The Runebinder Chronicles #1)(101)

He may have saved Jarrett. But who would save them from him if Tomás ever came back, if he ever took over Tenn so easily again?

Tenn shuddered. Pulled the blankets tighter. This wasn’t the happy ending he’d wanted. There was still a monster out there.

There was still a monster in here.

Sleep sidled in on him. He felt heavy, though his thoughts raced and drifted in half-slumber. Light flashed across his closed eyes. Silver flickers. Like stars. Like tiny silver fish.

And he was back in the cave. Back in the swirl of constellations. Back in the vision.

The stars coalesced. Became the face of the guy with rings in his lip and anger in his eyes. Became a voice. A feeling.

A fear.

The boy was in trouble.

The boy needed him.

Then the image shifted, and Tomás was there, his hands on the boy’s shoulders, as around them the white stars burst into crimson flame. As the shadows laughed with the Dark Lady’s voice.

Tenn snapped awake. His heart raced and the lamps flickered and all he could sense was the fire, the fire. The knowledge that the boy would burn the world to the ground.

Tenn visualized Tomás’s tracking rune once more.

It was distant.

It was getting farther away.

He pushed himself from the bed and went to the door, stumbling in his weakness. The door opened before his hand was on the knob.

“What is it?” Jarrett asked.

“Tomás,” Tenn said. “The incubus. He’s after someone. And if we don’t get there first...the end...it’s just beginning.”

The twins shared a look. Jarrett stared straight at Tenn, his eyes filled with questions Tenn knew he could never answer. Not if he wanted to keep his friends alive.

Dread settled in Tenn’s gut. Water sloshed with regret and fear. Of what he’d done. Of what he’d do again.

He wanted so badly to have a future, one that wasn’t filled with bloodshed and monsters and magic.

He knew, in that moment, that it wasn’t the future he’d created.

*





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FIFTEEN YEARS.

That’s how long the world of RUNEBINDER has been percolating in my brain. First as a story told at a lunch table, sophomore year of high school, featuring a very not-evil necromancer named Bob and his fluffy sidekick Bane. The plot has changed quite a bit since then. Then as the book that landed me my amazing agent, Laurie McLean, over six years ago. In the time since, the story has gone through many incarnations and three publishing houses, but RUNEBINDER is finally being (re)released into the world in all its diabolic glory.

As you could imagine, fifteen years means there are many people to thank.

First, my heartfelt thanks goes to Laurie McLean and Fuse Literary, for taking a chance on a queer apocalyptic story that—six years ago—seemed too outside the box to get published. She believed in me anyway.

Next, to Patricia Riley, who saw the spark in this book and decided that, yes, the world was ready for a gay, magic-wielding protagonist. And an antagonist with “panty-dropping powers.”

To Asja Parrish, for loving these characters as much as I did and helping them come alive.

To Michael Strother, for bringing this book into its latest form. And, obviously, a huge thank you for allowing most of our Important Business Emails to be relayed via RuPaul GIFs. Werk.

To the entire team at HarlequinTeen for putting their heart and soul into this book and making it a work of art, inside and out. With a special shout-out to T.S. Ferguson and Natashya Wilson, for being the latest to take the reins.

To my publicist Siena Koncsol, for always making me feel like a rock star.

To my family, who believed in me every step of the way. My mother, for letting me fly. My father, for sharing his love of words. My brother, for showing me perseverance.

To Beatrice Schares, for drafting the very first sketches of these characters, and being their number one supporter from the very beginning. Who doesn’t want more half-naked images of Tomás?

To Will Taylor, for the countless hours spent brainstorming. And by that I mean listening to me whine. Sometimes about writing. Usually about boys (sorry not sorry).

To my Seattle writing friends, who kept me sane in the rainy city—Kristin Halbrook, Danielle Dreger, Lish McBride, and Mark Henry.

To my LA wives, for the rosé and writing dates—Kirsten Hubbard, Sarah Enni, and Maurene Goo. I couldn’t ask for a stronger safety net in so strange a place.

To my Scottish family—Adam Wright and Julie Riddell—for being a home when home was far away.

To the countless readers and reviewers who have shared their love of this world and these characters, and kept me going when things got tough.

Never has a story been so close to my heart—a book in which a gay boy can be more than his sexuality, a book in which anyone can save the world. And this book has lived in my heart for a very long time.

So, my final thanks is to you, dear reader, for proving that the world isn’t just ready for diverse YA. The world needs it. Thank you for supporting this and for leaping into a world of monsters and magic and queer love.

Everyone has a story worth sharing. Everyone is the protagonist in a great adventure.

You are the hero we’ve been waiting for.