The First to Die at the End (Death-Cast #0)(113)

Valentino inched closer to the camera, so close that it’s like he’s a breath away.

“Before Death-Cast called, you told me the truth about grief. How as long as you keep existing and breathing that you’ll eventually live again. You have to live, Orion.” Valentino tapped his chest. “This heart isn’t my heart or your heart. It’s our heart. I love you, Orion. Live enough for the both of us.”

The video stops there, but my tears only get started.

Valentino Prince loved me—and I got to hear him say it. I get to hear him say it for the rest of my life, even if it’s just the one time echoed forever.

I’m no longer a short story. I’m now a novel.

Better yet, I’m a work in progress.

I have all these new blank pages, and I’m going to live a life worth writing about.

Valentino called me his co-captain on his End Day, and I’m going to treat him as my cowriter through my life.

I’ll discover more firsts and never hold back when creating those moments.

I’ll go for runs through the city as if I’m still his personal tour guide.

I’ll write an epic story about an immortal character named Vale.

And I’ll maybe even fall in love again, and I’ll make sure I say it before it’s too late.

This is the beginning with many more firsts to follow.

I hold my favorite ValentinOrion pictures to my heart.

His heart.

Our heart.





Acknowledgments


This book tried to end me, but I’m here, YAY!

First, a gigantic thank you to my editor, Alexandra Cooper! Writing a prequel to my favorite fictional universe was incredibly difficult and Alex was so patient and understanding and helpful, even when I would call and say stuff like “Hi, I need to completely rewrite one of the narrators!” and “Guess whose book that takes place in winter needs to be set in the summer instead!” and “Can I have one more week with these edits?” when it was definitely more than one more week. This book wouldn’t be what it is today without Alex trusting my chaotic process and all her guidance in helping me reach the heart of this book—in every version I pitched.

My extraordinary agent and fellow night owl, Jodi Reamer, for championing me and reading this book even though They Both Die at the End scarred her so badly that she was scared to go turn on the lights in her home. For real, huge props to Jodi for always hearing me out—if you know me, you know I talk a lot and have a billion ideas at any given moment.

Kaitlin López’s assisting was TOO helpful! Kaitlin is the one who realized that this prequel couldn’t take place on New Year’s Eve/Day because of two random details in They Both Die at the End that next to no one would’ve noticed. And as badly as I wanted to shrug off that continuity because switching seasons—especially a holiday season!—was no easy task, I would’ve been haunted by not doing the work. Props to Kaitlin’s editorial eagle eye for making this book make sense. (Don’t even get me started on the time zones.)

My publisher aka HarperCollins! Shoutout to Rosemary Brosnan, Suzanne Murphy, Michael D’Angelo (especially for the brilliant title that improved the course of this story!), Audrey Diestelkamp, Cindy Hamilton, Jennifer Corcoran, Allison Weintraub, Laura Harshberger, Mark Rifkin, Josh Weiss, Allison Brown, Caitlin Garing, Andrea Pappenheimer and the sales team, and Patty Rosati and her team for being the absolute best. And cover designer Erin Fitzsimmons and artist Simon Prades for teaming up again to create this romantic, haunting cover of my dreams.

My agency aka Writers House! Shoutout to Cecilia de la Campa, Alessandra Birch, and Rey Lalaoui for all they do to get my books across the world. I’m blown away by their reach.

My friends! Luis and Jordin Rivera kept me sane, and Luis let me spoil this book over and over while I was drafting to keep me hyped about the story, and he hooked me up with great ideas like the secret subway station. Elliot Knight was the first person to hear me read from this book, which was especially meaningful in ways that are obvious to us and don’t have to be laid out on this page. Becky Albertalli put up with me as I cycled through a million different potential narrators for this book. David Arnold for staying my bro/fake husband and Jasmine Warga for being the only person I want to eat (vegan) candy with in a bathtub. Arvin Ahmadi for hyping up my third-person writing like it’s the best which means a lot since Arvin is the best so there’s a lot of best-ing happening here. Sabaa Tahir for always letting me know when I get something right and helping me figure it out when I got it wrong. Robbie Couch for all the pastries I come home to after he’s been housesitting for me (and other sweet friend stuff too but mainly the vegan snacks!). Victoria Aveyard, whom I’m starting to suspect doesn’t live in Los Angeles because we never see each other here, but I love that we text a lot. Alex Aster, a new friend who became a great friend as quickly as it takes for her to record a TikTok aka super fast. Angie Thomas for writing a prequel before me so I could bother her on what goes into it. Marie Lu, Tahereh Mafi, and Ransom Riggs—I’ve always admired these incredible humans, and I’ve been lucky enough to get closer to them during my time out in Los Angeles. Rebecca Serle, I’m so proud of our journeys, both personally and professionally. And Nicola and David Yoon, I love their big hearts—especially because it means they won’t unfriend me even though I curse too fucking much.