The Last Thing to Die

Twenty years ago, Lillian Ashcroft watched the world collapse—and left the man she loved behind.

On the first morning of the outbreak, Thomas Blackwood sacrificed himself so Lillian could escape a city overrun by the infected. She saw him bitten. She heard his final command to run. Since then, she has survived by becoming one of the deadliest hunters in the Eastern Settlements, burying her grief beneath duty, discipline, and the certainty that Thomas died long ago.

Then, during a mission inside the abandoned city, an infected man looks into her eyes and speaks her name.

Thomas is still alive, though nothing about his survival should be possible. His body belongs to the infection, but fragments of the man Lillian loved remain trapped within it. He remembers their engagement, the life they planned, and the promise he made to protect her. Yet every day, another memory disappears, and every moment Lillian spends beside him risks awakening the hunger he can barely control.

Hiding Thomas could cost Lillian her freedom, her reputation, and her life. The settlement’s leaders would destroy him. Its scientists would cut him apart to learn what makes him different. Worse, another intelligent infected is gathering an army and believes Thomas represents the beginning of a stronger species—one destined to replace humanity.

When Lillian discovers that Thomas may hold the key to a cure, she is forced to confront an impossible choice. Saving the world may require her to lose him a second time.

In a world where death is no longer the end, love may be the last piece of humanity left alive.