“A fucking tree?” I rasped and saw everyone else looked just as confused.
The light pulsed for a handful of seconds, as though determined for us to remember it, and then it blinked out of existence. Her hands and arms, however, remained inked. As I peered down at them, I saw that each leaf was made up of a word. Tiny letters marked her in tongues, but I didn’t understand them, not a single word.
After that, most of us just fell silent. We didn’t have a fucking clue what was going on, and there was no point in even trying to gather our thoughts when we were on borrowed time.
Once we were on the boat, once Eve was away from Caelum, we’d be able to breathe easier, regroup, and then settle on our next step.
But until then, all we could do was breathe and try to strengthen up with some sleep, which is what we did.
When Samuel’s phone buzzed, I awoke, and knew most of the Pack did too. Nestor was awake at last, but Eve wasn’t. She was still slumped in my arms, and even though I’d enjoyed the armful, and had been surprised one of the others hadn’t tried to take her from me, I would have preferred she be awake.
“Another forty minutes until sunset,” Samuel rasped, as he stared down at the screen of his cell.
I peered out of the cave’s mouth and nodded my agreement with that. Purple and orange, pink and gold had morphed into one large patchwork quilt that was growing darker with every minute.
Clambering to my feet meant passing Eve over to Reed, who held her to him like she was a living, breathing teddy bear. I let him, was grateful for how long I’d got to hold her—a thought I’d never imagined crossing my mind before today—and straightened with a groan.
As the sun died, we headed outside. The purr of a dinghy made itself known to us, and as we stared out to sea, I saw a flick of a torch that guided our path.
Within ten minutes, we were on board, Eve was in Eren’s arms this time, and I had my back to my brothers as I gazed out into the distance.
Caelum was there, and the lights were blazing.
They were alive.
They were aware.
And they were a danger to us.
The haven, which had been inside that building, was no more—my life up until that point was no more.
I turned my back on the past, literally and figuratively, then twisted so I could look at Eve. She’d finally begun to stir, almost as though she knew the danger was a little less imminent and she was safe to awaken.
As her eyes flickered open, they snared mine like a hunter’s trap would snare a rabbit.
Behind me was the past, and right ahead of me?
The future.
TO BE CONTINUED IN NINE LIVES
NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED!
Afterword
These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. This story came to me in a blast of inspiration, and while there are those of you who may be wondering why I’ve written it as a trilogy and not a super long standalone, the answer is…
Time.
Oh, and organization.
Those who’ve joined me in my Diva reader group will know that I’m not the most organized of people, and with this trilogy? I’ve had to be. Book one has been with the editor while book two was being written, and while book three was being written? Book one was with the proofreader and book two with the editor. LOL.
It’s been manic.
Even as I upload book one (sneakily,) book three is still being proofread.
So, why didn’t I do it as one standalone?
Because to undertaken this mammoth mission of having all books in the trilogy out, all 260,000 words of it, ready to release all three links to the public on the same day, I needed time, and doing it this way enabled me to do that.
Yes, it’s been stressful, but do you know what? It’s been worth it. This story is so kickass, and Eve was just demanding for her tale to be told, so who was I to get in the way of that? :D
And though this is what dedications are usually for, I have to thank Jessica Rousseau and Bri Bressman from Elemental Editing and Proofreading for their patience, dedication, and hard work. I know I’ve been a nightmare. LOL. And I apologize profusely, and thank you for being my sisters from other misters, accepting I’m crazy, and loving my work as much as you do.
I can’t forget Adina, either. The Write Wrapping is my go to cover design company, and these covers are just banging!! She’s made the ‘write wrapping’ for these badass books, and I’m grateful because, as with Jess and Bri, she was working to an immense deadline.
To Julia for the endless support, D for putting up with my mood swings, and, as always, to my mum and Trev for bringing joy to my days.
Where would I be without any of you?
Serena
<3
Also by Serena Akeroyd
I’d love to see you in my Diva reader’s group where you can find out all the gossip on new releases as and when they happen. You can join here: www.facebook.com/groups/SerenaAkeroydsDivas. Or, you can always PM or email me. I love to hear from you guys: [email protected].
Until I see you there or you write me an email or PM, here are more of my books for you to read…
The Caelum Academy
Seven Wishes
Eight Souls
Nine Lives
Naughty Nookie
Sinfully Theirs
Sinfully Mastered
The Gods Are Back In Town
Hotter than Hades
The Sun Revolves Around Apollo
Five Points, Hell’s Kitchen
A Screwed Duet
Screw You
Screw Me
Filthy Feckers
Filthy Hot (COMING SOON)
FourWinds
Queen of the Vamps
Kingdom of Veronia
Perry & Her Princes
Her Highness, Princess Perry
Long Live Queen Perry
QUINTESSENCE
Charmed by Them
Healed by Them
Worshipped by Them
Protected by Them
Loved by Them
QUINTESSENCE: The Sequels
Sawyer
Andrei
Kurt
Sean
Anchor Pride Series
Claimed by Caden
McKinnon’s Mate
The Corsakis
Three’s Never A Crowd
Old Enough to Know Better
The Federation
A Menage Made on Madison
La Belle sans La Bete Series
Menage Material
A Thoroughly Modern Menage
Forever Theirs
Secrets & Lies
The TriAlpha Chronicles
Origin
Trinity
Triskele
Triad
Triumph
Trierna
TriAlpha
Los Lobos
The Raw Touch
The Salsang Chronicles (written with Helen Scott)
Stained Egos
Stained Hearts
Stained Minds
Stained Bonds
Eight Souls: The Caelum Academy Trilogy: Part TWO Page 25