Hallad’s forehead creased and worry plagued his face. The woman turned away, walking into the night. Erik tried to grab her arm but ended up with a fist full of air.
"Tell me!" Erik yelled after her. "Tell me where Emma is!"
Hallad stepped in front of him, blocking Erik’s line of sight to the woman.
"Erik, you are tired. You need to rest."
"Nei!"
Both Hallad and Rolf wore concern etched into their features.
"She knows! She told me I . . . "
Hallad’s worry changed to condescending, halting Erik’s speech. Rolf appeared frightened that his elder brother danced with the Shadow of Loki. Erik turned, kicking the ground with his foot, sending dirt into the fire pit.
"She hasn’t spoken since we met her," said Hallad, as if speaking to an upset child. "How could she tell you anything?"
"And why doesn’t she speak? She knows, for Odin’s wisdom, she knows and she won’t tell me!"
He bent, picking up pebbles to toss in the fire, throwing them one after the other with a flick of his wrist, causing the charred wood to crack and crumble.
Rolf and Hallad exchanged a worried glance.
"They say when you have seen too much, the gods take away your speech," Rolf offered.
"Forget it. You wouldn’t understand."
Erik chucked his last stone into the embers. The pebble clinked against burnt wood, sparks flying. He stalked across the distance, thumped to the ground and rolled himself in his cloak, wishing the dream would seize him again.
Hallad and Rolf exchanged hushed words from the other side of their camp. Erik suspected they discussed him, but ignored them both. He lay awake until the others settled down. Emma’s sweet face floated in his memory as he fought off the stinging under his eyelids.
After the others nodded off, Erik rummaged through his saddlebag until he found Emma’s golden key. He fumbled with his fingers, affixing the charm around his neck, tucking the piece beneath his tunic. He placed his hand over the key, his heartbeat thrumming under the metal, as a dreamless sleep captured him.
***
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Books by Mande Matthews
The Light Keepers – a ShadowLight Saga Prequel
Bonded – Book One of the ShadowLight Saga
Broken – Book Two of the ShadowLight Saga
Goddess Born – A ShadowLight Side Adventure – Coming Soon
Meet the Author
Hello! I'm Mande Matthews, author of the ShadowLight Saga and Queen's Honor series. I sincerely hope you've enjoyed your journey into the worlds of ShadowLight. I created the worlds nearly two decades ago when I became fascinated with two things: Norse mythology and the concept of right versus wrong (or as some would say, dark versus light).
Back when I conceptualized the story, fantasy normally involved a battle of good versus evil, but I knew in life, there was rarely such a thing as true evil and absolute goodness. Instead, I reveled in the motivations behind different viewpoints, and thus I became obsessed with the idea of showing a world where the absolute truth as society accepts it becomes twisted and turned as new information is revealed throughout the story.
The very first line of the series, "Between darkness and light, there is truth," came to me long before the story ever evolved, before characters appeared on the pages, before I even drew up the preliminary lands, social structures, and magics and just about everything within the text is a search for the proof of this simple byline.
Years later when I decided to complete and publish the story, my tastes and ability had changed, but the underlying question of right versus wrong remained, so I pursued the beast with such vigor that I completed first draft within five weeks. Also, I had grown in my desire to convey emotion and bring a reader into the pages. I can remember when writing Bonded, each and every night I'd send up a little prayer, "Please let me write a story that people would truly enjoy--that they can connect with the world, the characters, the concepts, or the events, in whatever way." I certainly hope that you, dear reader, enjoyed your journey into ShadowLight. I know all the writing gurus say, "write for yourself," and "don't worry about what readers want," but for me, the journey simply isn't complete without sharing the quest with readers.
Thank you so much for sharing your time and imagination in order to venture into the world of ShadowLight. If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review. It helps authors more than you know. I'd also love to hear from you. You can visit to my website at: www.mandematthews.com . And once again, if you sign up for my newsletter at my website, I'll send you a password to access my story vault where I post free short stories for both ShadowLight and Queen's Honor.
Thank you again, and have a magical day.
- Mande Matthews
Contents
Author's Note 3
Chapter 1 5
Chapter 2 9
Chapter 3 15
Chapter 4 20
Chapter 5 24
Chapter 6 27
Bonded 34
Bonded Chapter 1 35
Bonded Chapter 2 41
Bonded Chapter 3 45
Bonded Chapter 4 48
Bonded Chapter 5 52
Bonded Chapter 6 55
Bonded Chapter 7 59
Bonded Chapter 8 63
CONTINUE THE JOURNEY 68
Meet the Author 69
Contents 70
Credits 71
Acknowledgements 72
Connect with the Author 73
Credits
Norse Lullaby by Eugene Field (1850-1895)
Copy Editing
Ann Mauren, AMDesign Studios
Cover Design
AMDesign Studios
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I'd like to thank bestselling author, Ann Mauren. Ann has come to my rescue time and time again. As my critique partner and prized copy editor, she has provided inspiration, guidance, and critical feedback. Her well-trained eye for content, story details, word usage, grammar and punctuation has been a lifesaver. I honestly don't think I'd be publishing this book without her. Thank you so much for your invaluable support and your hard work on ShadowLight's behalf, Ann. I could not have done this without you.
You can find Ann Mauren at:
The Mayne Attraction website, home of Ann's number one bestselling romantic suspense series Mayne Attraction.
AMDesign Studios, featuring Ann's editing, book formatting and synopsis writing services.
Second, I'd like to thank Kathia Donalds, my long-time friend and confidant, and fellow writer. She lent her story critique skills to a number of read-throughs of The Light Keepers.
And finally, thanks to my husband and my mom—two of my greatest supporters. I love you both always and forever.
Connect with the Author
Visit www.MandeMatthews.com
Follow www.twitter.com/MandeMatthews
Like on www.facebook.com/MandeMatthewsAuthor
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