by P. C. Cast
“Huh? What do you—” We turned to our left into the foyer and the guy who was standing there looking out the front window turned. The breath left my body as I staggered to a stop. “Heath?” His smile was unmistakable. “Heath!” I shouted and took off, running to him as my brother went out the back door, leaving us alone. Heath caught me as I sailed into his arms, hugging me as I clung to him while we laughed and cried together.
Finally, he let me go, but only enough so we could look into each other’s face.
“Hey, Zo. Good to see ya.”
“Good to see ya too, Heath.”
He reached into his pocket and brought out a handful of balled up Kleenexes, sharing them with me as we wiped our faces, and I blew my nose.
“Thanks,” I said. “Glad you remembered them.”
“Zo, there’s nothing about you that I’ll ever forget.”
I touched his damp cheek. “It’s not me you’re remembering though. You know that, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I do. Kev explained as much as he could to me. It’s why you didn’t come see me when you were here last time.”
“I wanted to, but I didn’t want to make you sad.”
He bumped my nose with his finger in a gesture so Heath-like that I found it hard to breathe. “It doesn’t make me sad to know that somewhere a version of you is still alive, Zo, ’cause you’ll always be alive in this world—right here.” He touched his chest over his heart.
I cleared my throat and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Better. I’m kicking ass at OU—totally starting quarterback. And, you’ll be happy to hear that I’m watching my drinking and studying way harder than I ever thought I would. I’m a business major with an animal science minor. When I graduate I’m gonna open a kennel where we’ll rescue dogs from shelters and train them to be service canines. It’s gonna be cool!”
“Heath, that’s an awesome idea. Your Zoey would love that.”
“I know, right?”
“Do—um—you have someone?” I asked, my stomach clenching.
He nodded. “Yeah. She’s smart and funny. You’d like her. How ’bout you?”
It was my turn to nod. “Yeah. Over in my world he and my Heath actually became friends, so I know you’d like him.”
And as if on cue, from behind us I heard, “Heath! My man!” And suddenly Stark was there. Heath’s taller than him, but Stark lifted him off his feet in the mother of all hugs before putting him down and pounding his back affectionately.
Heath looked at me—kinda shell-shocked. “Is this him?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, crap. I forgot you don’t know me.” Stark stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Stark. And, damn, it’s good to see you.”
Heath took his hand. “Nice to meet you, Stark. You taking care of Zo in your world?”
“As much as she’ll let me,” Stark said.
“Dude I hear ya. She’s, like, super stubborn.”
“Right?” Stark said.
“And she’s standing right here,” I said, hands on my hips, loving every moment of being able to glare at my guys together again.
“Sorry!” they said together, and then they laughed.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but the circle is ready—and Emily and Lynette have come to say goodbye,” said Stark. He clapped Heath on the back. “Be well, okay?”
“I will. Make her happy, okay?”
Stark’s answer was completely serious. “Always. I will always be there, and I will always try to fill her world with happiness.”
A tear slid down Heath’s cheek. “That’s all I can ask.”
“We’ll wait as long as you need,” Stark said. He squeezed my arm and then left Heath and me alone.
“I know,” Heath said. “You’re all Captain America or Wonder Woman or whatever—and you gotta go be a superhero somewhere else.”
“That’s cooler than the reality, but yeah, I gotta get my people back to our world.”
“I’m really glad Kevin called me. I needed to be able to say bye to you,” Heath said. He took my face between his hands gently and said, “Bye, Zo. I’ll love you and miss you forever.” Then he kissed me—long and sweetly and intimately—until I was dizzy.
I blinked up at him when he finally, reluctantly, let me go. “Bye, Heath. Over in my world, I’ll miss you and love you forever too.” I stepped into his arms and we held each other.
Finally, we parted. “I hope you live a really long, happy life,” I told him.
“I’m gonna try. I’m gonna be the man my Zo believed in.”
“I think you are the man we believed in.” I kissed him softly and started walking away. Then I paused and looked back at him. He was standing there, watching me with those eyes that said he’d loved me since third grade. “She’s waiting for you—just don’t be in a hurry to get to her.”
“Promise she’ll be there for me?”
“Always.” And then I made myself walk away, because if I didn’t, I was afraid I’d never leave.
I wiped my face and blew my nose again, and then joined my circle. Grandma was there, beside Kevin. I went to my brother first and hugged him. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Oh, and I’m glad you’re with Shaunee. I think Aphrodite would approve.”
Kevin smiled through tears and said, “I know she does.”
Then I was in Grandma’s arms. “I shall see you at your brother’s birthday, u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya.”
“You can count on it, Grandma,” I said, kissing her soft cheek.
My friends—my family—had already taken their places, but as I joined them, Lynette and Emily were standing just outside the circle, with Skylar sitting beside Emily, leaning against her leg.
“I’ll look forward to seeing you two again in a few months,” I said, and as I spoke the words, I realized I was telling the truth. I was really looking forward to what the future would bring for them.
“Thank you,” said Lynette. “You’re a big part of the reason things turned out like this.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think love is the reason things turned out like this,” I said.
Emily looked at me through Neferet’s beautiful, emerald eyes—and I saw curiosity and kindness there. “I like you,” she said unexpectedly—and then she hugged me—which really surprised me.
But I gladly hugged her back and whispered the truth. “I like you too, Emily.” Then I disentangled myself from her, wiped my eyes again, and said, “Okay, well, this circle isn’t going to cast itself, and it takes a bunch of concentration and elemental power to open the door between worlds. So, I gotta go.”
As I entered the circle, I heard Emily say, “I wish I could help you get back to your world an easier way.”
There was a weird sizzling and popping sound, and I watched my friends’ eyes go round with shock as everyone gasped. I whirled around to see that dozens of sprites had suddenly appeared to hover around Emily and Lynette. My friends dashed to me as we gawked.
The largest sprite, with a girl’s torso and blue dragonfly-like body, flew down to hover at Emily’s eye level. Around its neck was a blue velvet ribbon and a delicate chain that held an occluded sapphire set in diamonds. She grinned, showing a lot of sharp teeth, and then said,
Dear Emily! We shall always be here for thee!
We have waited so long for you—
For one who can wield us, faithful and true!
So, because you ask, back to their world they go—
Fast, not slow! Slow! Slow!
With the sound of a sigh, the portal between worlds opened in front of us with such force that it pushed us forward, but before we stepped from one world to another, Aphrodite said, “Oh, for shit’s sake, you know what this means, don’t you?”
Damien answered quicker than I could formulate my whirring thou
ghts. “Yes, it means Emily has been gifted with an affinity for Old Magick.”
As we were sucked into the portal and then spit out back in our world, my voice echoed around us.
“Ah, helllllllll! ”
The End … for now?
Acknowledgments
As always, big love and thanks go to Kristin for being the best frontline editor in the universe. Mommy-baby!
We appreciate our Blackstone family so very much, most especially Courtney Vatis, Kathryn English, Anne Fonteneau, Jeff Yamaguchi, Lauren Maturo, Greg Boguslawski, Josie Woodbridge, and Josh Stanton.
Thank you to our personal publicist, Deb Shapiro, who keeps the wheels turning smoothly.
Thanks to our wonderful, hardworking agents, Ginger Clark and Steven Salpeter. We heart you.
A very special thank-you to our loyal House of Night fans who came with us on the Other World adventure. We heart you forever. Always remember—you are strong and unique and worthy of love, always love.
Fan Q&A
You have questions? P. C. & Kristin have answers for you!
Are you going to introduce a new world when this one ends, or is this the final goodbye to our beloved characters?
—CAROLINA ETTINGER
P. C.: As you can see by the conclusion of Found, I left a giant opening for another book/series, but at this time I’m going to focus on the TV series. In the future, though …
Did you ever imagine that the world you created would become as iconic and magnificent as it is in modern literary culture?
—JOSETTE PITMAN
P. C.: I did not. I simply began HoN as I begin everything I write—I create the book I most want to read. I’m honestly astonished when other people love my worlds, too.
K. C.: I was nineteen when we started writing the first book. Even though I’d watched my mom work a full-time job and write books for multiple publishers, I knew that this series would be enormously successful. Was I naive? For sure! But I was also super lucky.
How did it feel rewriting characters for the Other World / returning to characters who were alive in the Other World, but killed off in the original HoN series?
—KATHRYN EMILY
P. C.: Returning to the HoN was like coming home. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed Zoey and the gang until I began writing them again. I love that the Other World has given me an opportunity to revisit characters! It’s nice to see a version of Heath happy and healthy and living his dream. And Jack! It was so great to return him to my beloved Damien.
What steps did you take, or what life choices would you say lead you to the success you have today? With that said, any advice for aspiring authors?
—STINA FITRAKIS
P. C.: Joining the USAF before I finished high school and going active duty five days after I graduated taught me very young the value of tenacity and hard work. I served six years active duty. In the military you do not give up when things get tough, and that’s a lesson that has stayed with me ever since. During my USAF years I gained confidence, independence, and an excellent work ethic, which definitely helped me get published.
My advice for aspiring authors is twofold: (1) Treat the job of being an author as you would any other career. Educate yourself about how a manuscript becomes a book on the shelf of Barnes & Noble. Learn what agents and editors do and don’t do. Take off the rose-colored glasses too many people view publishing through and be realistic about your chosen career. (2) Hone your writing skills. Pay attention to everything you write—and that includes emails, tweets, and Insta posts. What you write represents you. Always.
K. C.: I’ve worked really hard on creating a great circle of people around me. For a long time, I felt like I had to minimize my successes or laugh off my passions because I was trying to fit in with the wrong people. Eventually I realized that I am in charge of who I let into my life. Taking the steps to cultivate personal and work relationships with kind, successful, motivated people has made such a difference in my life.
My advice to aspiring authors is to read (or listen to) as many books in as many genres as you can. Take note of what inspires you, how authors describe scenes and characters, what you love and what you loath. Every book is a class on writing.
I have followed the HoN series from the beginning, and there have been some life lessons I have taken away from the series. So my question is, what is the biggest thing you would like your readers to take away from the series?
—HEATHER MAY
P. C.: I want my readers, especially young women, to take away the knowledge that they can and should make mistakes, learn from them, and then do better without carrying around the baggage of judgment and hypocrisy under which the patriarchy likes to smother us. Double standards should be called out, barriers should be smashed. I also want the HoN stories to help my readers open themselves to others who are different from them—to know that what’s important is the quality of a person’s character and not the color of her or his skin, what goddess/god she/he does or does not worship, or her/his/their sexual orientation. Basically, I hope HoN has taught its readers to believe that the strongest force in the universe is love—always love, and to live their lives accordingly.
Out of all the characters in the series, who would YOU choose to be in your circle?
—BRANDALYN MARTIN
P. C.: Zoey! She has an affinity for all five elements and the blessing of a goddess.
K. C.: Shaunee! I love me a good fire spell.
When writing not just this series but any of your books, do you have any specific routines you follow, something that helps you focus or keep you motivated to write?
—MAUREEN GURNEY
P. C.: Well, if I had to, I could write anywhere, but I’m fortunate to have a lovely home office. I prefer to write on a treaddesk (yes, I walk and write). My desk holds specially chosen crystals, and I always light scented tealights. I’m a tea snob and I have lots of fabulous loose-leaf teas that I brew and drink while I’m writing, too. My dogs and cat hang out around me and I usually have some kind of orchestral music playing softly in the background.
K. C.: Listening to the mixes I create in the Relax Melodies app through my Bose noise-canceling headphones keeps me focused. Without my headphones, I just stare at my computer. They really put me in the zone.
My question’s for both of you: Which character will always stay with you? How much of the locations and cultural factors were from Oklahoma when writing this series? And were there other places y’all pulled from?
—NATASHA VANNATTA
P. C.: The entire Nerd Herd will always be with me. After fifteen years of writing them, they are part of my life forever—and I couldn’t be happier about it!
I’ve said many times that Tulsa is more than just a location in the HoN. Tulsa is a character. Shining a spotlight on the close-minded, hypocritical Bible Belt culture is a big part of why I wrote the HoN and set a society of Pagan, matriarchal vampyres deep in the middle of evangelical land. I’m happy to say that I’ve watched hordes of Oklahoma teens grow up to be inclusive of others unlike themselves and question the subjugation of the Bible Belt patriarchy. I hope HoN had something to do with that.
K. C.: Like P. C., the entire Nerd Herd will always stay with me. But if I had to choose just one character, it would definitely be Aphrodite. I love her story and her transformation.
If you could bring back a character from any books prior, who would it be and why?
—SARA ABRAHAM
P. C.: Jack! Which I did in writing the HoN Other World books. He is the personification of kindness and love.
What was your favorite part about writing the new book? Did you have a special place you went to for inspiration?
—LIZZY JOCCLEANN
P. C.: I loved writing this whole book so much, but the epilogue is my special favorite! It was fun to bring in Heath and give him and Zoey some cl
osure. It was also awesome to show that Z will get to visit Other Kevin and he her. But my very favorite is the last part where we learn what affinity Nyx granted Emily/Other Neferet.
As for inspiration—I’m always inspired by Tulsa. For this book I returned to Woodward Park and then wandered around Cascia Hall (the school on which I base the Tulsa HoN) and reminded myself of my early HoN roots.
When writing, is it easier to have everything planned out from start to finish or have an idea form and just wing it as you go? Always been curious how professional writers think. When I have to do a paper for class I always have my topic and gather my support and then just wing it.
—KAYLA DOKU DOKU WARD
P. C.: This differs for each writer—there is no correct way to plan and then write a book. I approach it different ways, depending on whether I’m writing alone or with Kristin. If alone I do a lot of research and brainstorming. I make notes and do a rough outline that ends up looking more like a long synopsis. When I write with Kristin we research and brainstorm together then we write a general outline of the book. We divide the cast of characters (who writes the chapter depends on whose character is the focus) and then we outline each chapter for the entire book. Remember, for the HoN Kristin is/was my frontline editor. We don’t actually cowrite the series. We are, however, cowriting a brand-new trilogy at this time called Sisters of Salem.
K. C.: For me, it’s easier to have everything planned out from start to finish. I don’t always write chronologically, so it’s important to know what’s happened before and after each scene that I write. I’m also much less stressed if I have a chapter-by-chapter outline. Then each day is already mapped out and I can skip the plotting step and just get busy writing.
How long does your research process take for the different places in the HoN series?
—ALEXIS MAPLE
P. C.: The HoN series is unique. A huge amount of the research happened before I even thought of the HoN because I lived in Tulsa. I was fortunate that when I began expanding the HoN world to Scotland and Italy I was able to travel to the Isle of Skye and the Scottish Highlands, where I lived on and off for about a year, as well as visit San Clemente Island outside Venice and Capri and Pompei. I was even able to research in New Orleans (for “Lenobia’s Vow”), St. Louis (“Dragon’s Oath”), and Chicago (“Neferet’s Curse”). It’s not really about time, but about travel.
