Dedication
For those who don’t want to keep fighting. Fight on.
Shout-outs to Becky Albertalli and Elliot Knight,
who were always with me even when they couldn’t be.
The World of Gleamcraft
Gleamcrafters—practitioners with powers. Applicable to both celestials and specters.
Celestials—their true origins unknown, these people carry powers that have a connection to the stars and sky. Some powers are presented at birth, others surface later in life. The range of their abilities is wide. Celestials can be distinguished by the way their eyes glow like different corners of the universe as they use their gleam. Notable group: the Spell Walkers.
Specters—sixty years ago, alchemy was developed as a way to use the blood of creatures to give humans powers. People who receive their powers this way are known as specters, and the range of their abilities is limited to the blood of that creature’s breed. Specters can be distinguished by the way their eyes burn like eclipses as they use their gleam. Notable Group: The Blood Casters.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
SPELL WALKERS AND ALLIES
Emil Rey—a reincarnated specter with phoenix blood who can cast gray and gold fire, self-heal his mortal wounds, sense feelings from other phoenixes, fly, and resurrect. Known as Fire-Wing and Infinity Son.
Brighton Rey—the creator of the online series Celestials of New York. Drank Reaper’s Blood for the powers of a phoenix, hydra, and ghost.
Maribelle Lucero—a celestial who can levitate and glide.
Iris Simone-Chambers—a celestial with powerhouse strength and skin impervious to most gleam attacks. New leader of the Spell Walkers.
Atlas Haas (Deceased)—a celestial who could conjure winds.
Wesley Young—a celestial who runs at swift-speed.
Eva Nafisi—a celestial who can heal others but gets harmed in the process.
Prudencia Mendez—a celestial with the power of telekinesis.
Carolina Rey—Emil and Brighton’s mother. No powers of her own.
Ruth Rodriquez—a celestial who can create clones of herself.
Bautista de León (Deceased)—a reincarnated specter with phoenix blood who could cast gold fire, self-heal his mortal wounds, resurrect, and remember details from his past life. Founder of the Spell Walkers.
Sera Córdova (Deceased)—an alchemist and celestial who had psychic visions. Founding member.
BLOOD CASTERS AND ALLIES
Ness Arroyo—a specter with shifter blood who can change his appearance at will.
Luna Marnette—a supreme alchemist who created the Blood Casters. No powers of her own.
Dione Henri—a specter with hydra blood who can grow extra/regrow missing body parts and
Stanton—a specter with basilisk blood who has serpentine senses and venomous, acidic, petrifying, and paralytic abilities.
June—a specter with ghost blood who can phase through solid objects and possess people.
POLITICIANS
Senator Edward Iron—a presidential candidate who opposes gleamcraft. No powers of his own.
Barrett Bishop—a vice-presidential candidate and chief architect of the Bounds. No powers of his own.
Congresswoman Nicolette Sunstar—a celestial presidential candidate who can create burning hot dazzling lights.
Senator Shine Lu—a celestial vice-presidential candidate who can turn invisible.
HALO KNIGHTS AND PHOENIXES
Tala Castillo—a Halo Knight with no powers of her own.
Wyatt Warwick—a Halo Knight with no powers of his own.
Nox—an obsidian phoenix that excels at tracking.
Roxana—a light howler phoenix with stormlike powers.
OTHER NOTABLE CHARACTERS
Keon Máximo (Deceased)—an alchemist and specter with phoenix blood who could cast gray fire, self-heal his mortal wounds, and resurrect. He developed the alchemy to give normal people powers and became the first specter.
Kirk Bennett—the curator for the phoenix exhibit at the Museum of Natural Creatures.
Dr. Billie Bowes—a celestial who can cast illusions.
The Silver Star Slayer—a conservative YouTuber.
Epigraph
But true rulers are not born. We are made.
—MARIE LU,
THE ROSE SOCIETY
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
The World of Gleamcraft
Epigraph
One: Bright Night
Two: Prisoner
Three: Death’s Hold
Four: Nightmare
Five: Iron Manor
Six: Like Father, Like Son
Seven: The Journal
Eight: High and Mighty
Nine: Oblivion’s Edge
Ten: Poison
Eleven: Reunion
Twelve: The Luminary Union
Thirteen: The Heroic Crime
Fourteen: The Odds
Fifteen: Fire and Flight
Sixteen: Resetting
Seventeen: Propaganda
Eighteen: The Unchosen One
Nineteen: The Cloaked Phantom
Twenty: Dark Hearts
Twenty-One: Ultimately
Twenty-Two: Halo Knight
Twenty-Three: Silver and Sapphire
Twenty-Four: Infinity Savior
Twenty-Five: Training: Brighton Edition
Twenty-Six: Brighton of New York
Twenty-Seven: Bright Star
Twenty-Eight: Another Knight
Twenty-Nine: Impersonate
Thirty: The New Ember Sanctuary
Thirty-One: Paper Bird
Thirty-Two: Track
Thirty-Three: Reversing the Cycle
Thirty-Four: Pawn to Queen
Thirty-Five: Morning Nox
Thirty-Six: Infinity Senses
Thirty-Seven: The Scent of Blue
Thirty-Eight: The Sound of Skin
Thirty-Nine: The Weight of Nothing
Forty: Power Couple
Forty-One: Dayrose
Forty-Two: Predecessor
Forty-Three: Mother
Forty-Four: History
Forty-Five: Sera Córdova
Forty-Six: Bautista De León
Forty-Seven: Honor
Forty-Eight: Oblivion Night
Forty-Nine: Forevermore
Fifty: The Silver Star Slayer
Fifty-One: Sunrise
Fifty-Two: Eclipsing
Fifty-Three: The Debate
Fifty-Four: Breaking
Fifty-Five: The Void
Fifty-Six: Changing the Narrative
Fifty-Seven: Ghostly
Fifty-Eight: The Speech
Fifty-Nine: Fury
Sixty: Unmasked
Sixty-One: Villainized
Sixty-Two: Strategy
Sixty-Three: Cell
Sixty-Four: Rebel
Sixty-Five: Strike
Sixty-Six: The Bounds
Sixty-Seven: Manhunt
Sixty-Eight: Firefly’s Flames
Sixty-Nine: Solitary Confinement
Seventy: Hunt the Shifter
Seventy-One: Winner
Seventy-Two: Infinity Reaper
Seventy-Three: The Smile
Seventy-Four: Marnettes and Córdovas
Seventy-Five: Skybreaker and Shape-Shifter
Seventy-Six: Family
Seventy-Seven: Traitor
Seventy-Eight: Overpower
Seventy-Nine: Shining Brighter
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Adam Silvera
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Copyright
About the Publisher
OneBright Night
BRIGHTON
I drink every last drop of Reaper’s Blood while looking up at the Crowned Dreamer.
The elixir smells like burning bodies and tastes like iron and charcoal. The blood from the century phoenix, the golden-strand hydra, and the dead ghosts is heavy on my tongue like mud. My throat is burning and I’m this close to spitting out the rest, but I force myself to swallow it all because this Reaper’s Blood is game changing. I wasn’t lucky enough to be born with powers—to be born a celestial. But now that I’ve absorbed these creatures’ abilities, the world will get to welcome me as their new champion—a one-of-a-kind, unkillable specter.
I drop the empty bottle and it rolls toward my brother, who has been stabbed. Emil is eyeing me like a stranger as I lick my lips clean and dry them with the back of my hand. I’m about to help him up when I stumble, falling onto my knees. My vision becomes fuzzy. It’s as if everyone in the church’s garden is spinning slowly, then faster, faster, faster. My entire body feels like countless fingertips are grazing my skin. I suck in the sharpest breath of my life, like someone has been strangling me and finally lets go, and before I can full-on panic about whatever is happening, light surrounds me.
I’m glowing. I’m nowhere near as bright as the Crowned Dreamer above me, but I still feel like my own constellation—the Bright Brighton, the Bright King, whatever you want to call it. I have no idea if all specters experience this warm white glow when getting their powers.
