“Yes. You are.” His fingers ignite the shockwave within me. “You are Remy. You’re in there, my love.” Then he lifts me into his arms and kisses me until the same salve that has worked so many times before soothes my worries and doubles my passion. As his lips form to mine, my confidence returns and my tears slow. When the kiss ends, he moves his mouth to my ear, as I wrap my arms around his neck. “I will come for you,” he whispers. “You’re strong, you will survive, and I will be there when you do.”
Finally, when I am revived, Leigh steps in as Arek backs away, his eyes never leaving mine. I try to keep our connection, even as the vehicle’s door closes. Everyone watches with a hand to their chest—Sassi and Arek at the front.
Remy is the hope . . . not Willow. Born almost a thousand years ago with a price on her head—to bring Ephemes and Velieri to peaceful coexistence. It seems impossible. On the other hand, this world has already shown me that the impossible can happen.
The realization comes as we drive away from my protection.
My return restored hope to the Velieri. If I don’t trust in the Prophecy, how will they?
The choice is mine to say good-bye to Willow in order to fight for freedom.
I am Remy. I am Velieri. And I will fight.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Acknowledgements
Thank you, God, for being bigger than my limited mind.
A huge thank you to my husband, Ben, with whom I have been given a romance greater than any fiction. You’re still just as supportive and just as sexy twenty years later . . . and I’m grateful to have centuries with you in this life and the next.
To my mom who told me that I could be anything I wanted to be.
To my dad, who taught me about work ethic and truly unbelievable patience.
To my daughters, for teaching me that my only goal in writing is to create strong women characters that raise the level of consciousness in the world.
To Wayne, for always seeing in me what I often don’t see in myself and just listening.
To Blue Sheep Media (Jess, Kyle, and Kat), for loving the series with such passion that you believe in its success. I’m grateful we’re jumping in this together—holding hands and eyes wide open. I can never thank you enough.
To Shannon Huska, I truly thought my books would just sit on the shelf forever, until you were the first to secretly read one. If you hadn’t encouraged me, they might still be accruing dust.
To Michael Mann, Daniel Day Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Trevor Jones, and Randy Edelman, for creating a masterpiece in The Last of the Mohicans. At thirteen this script, cinematography, and soundtrack helped direct my life.
Table of Contents
Front Matter Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Letter from the FBI
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Acknowledgements
Landmarks
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Body Matter
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Out of the Shadows: Book One of the Velieri Uprising Page 26