Someone was pulling me to my feet then, and pulling Nelly to hers as well. I remember screaming Jackson’s name, refusing to leave without him, and Kayden letting me go to go gather Jackson’s lifeless body in his arms. Tommy ushered us over to the jeep Jackson and I had come in, trying to hurry us along gently as more and more people stepped out of their front doors. I realized that something was missing here, but it was just a breeze of a thought and then it was gone. I wouldn’t remember it until later, after a good amount of time had passed and I was able to step back and let all the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Then Kayden was placing Jackson in the back of jeep, and I was hopping in beside him, lifting Jackson’s head and resting it on my lap, leaning my head back against the window and closing my eyes. I heard the jeep’s engine spring to life and the tires squeal as we sped away. I didn’t look up to see where we were going. I didn’t care.
King William
He sat in the back of the black car, staring out the darkly tinted window and into the trees. He brought his arm up and his suit sleeve slid up, revealing his shiny watch. The festivities should be in full swing now, and soon it would be time to leave. He regretted that he could not have stayed to see them, because he was sure they were a sight to be seen. He wondered what the Sun Warrior had done when she realized she was at her end— that her sister was going to be the one to bring it to her. He wondered if she had fought her back, or if she had given herself up willingly, too blinded by her love, too weak from it to lift a hand against her sister. He had known many Sun Warriors in the past, and their love was almost always what had destroyed them. It was their Achilles heel.
A few minutes passed, then more. The sunrise was almost in full swing, the blue of the sky growing paler and paler. He stared at the trees, casting his mind out to see if anyone was coming, and felt nothing at all. A tiny bit of worry began to seep into him. Jackson and Andre were taking too long.
When Andre stepped from the trees King William felt his shoulders relax a fraction, but the tension came back with a vengeance when he realized that his son was not with him. He watched with narrowed eyes as Andre opened the driver’s door of the car and slid into the front seat. The King could have Searched his mind, but some small voice inside of him must have whispered that he wouldn’t like what he would find there, and he asked the question instead.
“Where is my son, Andre?” His voice was cool, contained.
The Warrior twisted around in his seat, a little awkwardly because of his size, and his dark eyes met the King’s with a very dead stare. “He was killed, my Liege. By the Sun Warrior’s sister, the Accursed girl.”
King William allowed himself a small moment to let this information sink in. It seemed to settle slowly down to his guts and drown there, where it would fester for the rest of forever in very good company. His mouth tasted nasty when he spoke. “And the Sun Warrior?”
Andre hesitated. It was only a tiny hesitation, but during it the King had seen the answer to his question flash across the Warrior’s face. He shook his big head. “She survived, my Liege. They both did, and her sister was…”
King William had to clench his teeth tight to keep from slamming his fist into the tinted glass window beside him. “Her sister was what?” he growled.
Andre didn’t flinch. “Her sister was…saved or something. I don’t know how to describe it. It was like she was brought back from somewhere else.” He paused. “And I think that it was your son’s sacrifice that did it.”
Now that hit him. King William dug his nails into his fists and bit down on his tongue and took in huge pulls of air through his nostrils. After a long moment, where Andre just sat looking unperturbed, the King was able to calm himself a little. “Drive, Andre,” he said.
The black car moved silently forward. The King forced himself to sit back against his seat and think. It seemed the Sun Warrior and her sister were more cunning than he had given them credit for. And now, they had gotten his son killed.
Even being the man that he was, he hadn’t known it was possible to hate someone so much.
If they wanted a war, then that was exactly what they would get.
The End…for now.
Read on for a sneak peak of the final book in The Alexa Montgomery Saga, Redemption, coming in the winter of 2012.
Prologue
Alexa
In the end, we all die. This is not of question. Inarguable. No mystery lay here. The mystery dwells in two questions: How long will our story be, and of what will the pages read? Perhaps I was of a morbid mind. Perhaps I simply believed in destiny in its truest form. But I felt certain that in the war that lay ahead of me, one of our stories would end as prophesized. Knowing now that the prediction was not about me, but about my little sister, my Nelly, I dared hope that somehow I could manage to swap her fate with my own. Take the bullet. Make the ultimate sacrifice.
Though the light of it flickered deep down inside me, I would not allow myself more than a candle of hope that both Nelly and I would defy the Fates and see our stories continued at much greater lengths. The book of life I was currently writing would become illegible, useless, if the one my sister composed ceased to give it explanation.
This is not to say that I have no self-worth, or that I seek death as a hero, only that I believed in my soul that I understood the meaning of life as it applied to me, that I accepted it, that I would embrace it if it chose to test me in its truest form.
If fate is a real thing, if destiny finds us with or without our hands in the matter, and destiny truly had pegged my sister to receive an early death with the return of a liberated people, I could only hope that the universe would accept my exchange, though even this would be a defiance, though not a worst case scenario by any means.
However, I haven’t ever been good at taking orders, and my spiritual belief in few things is very strong. As I raced toward a war that promised death and heartache and destruction, toward fate and destiny, that candle of hope cast shivering licks of light inside me. I had to allow for the possibility that life, even one such as mine, would inevitably have a fairytale ending.
But, in truth, I had stopped believing in fairytales long, long ago.
Books by H.D. Gordon
The Alexa Montgomery Saga
Blood Warrior, Book 1
Half Black Soul, Book 2
The Rise, Book 3
Book 4 to be released December 2012
Paranormal Thriller
JOE
Praise for the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga
“H.D. Gordon’s writing was very thought out and her words flowed and kept me reading till late in the evening.”- tana-someofmyfavoritebooks
“Further adding to the writing skills, the world that Gordon created was so imaginative and brilliant that I was simply enthralled.” - xxdaydreamer21xx
“H.D. Gordon has written a book that well spellbound you. She has created characters that linger long after the book is read and put away.” – NayNay
“There are good books, great books, the ones that make you laugh out loud and cry and the ones that you know are going to be best sellers since page one. Half Black Soul is even better; it´s the kind of book you know is going to make history!” – Karla Book Addict
“If you haven’t read Blood Warrior this is not a series to be missed and I would suggest this series to anyone who loves YA Paranormal Romance. I genuinely loved this book and I cannot wait for the next book. I really think this series is going to just get better and better. HD has definitely surpassed herself!” – Kay K-Books
"I LOVE this book, I can’t even seem to find words to tell you at the minute, My heart is still pounding from it as I write this. Believe me when I say this is seriously good and I loved every minute of it." Jessica – Book Passion for Life
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my mom for listening tirelessly to my writing, this story truly wouldn’t be worth telling without you.
Thank you to my dad f
or always encouraging me and allowing me to live my dream.
Thank you to my sister, Moo, for telling me to let Nelly go crazy. I think I did. And, my sister, Gianna, for finally hopping on the train.
Thank you to Nicole Passante. You know what for.
Thank you to my amazing beta readers Nicole, Karla, Kay, Terri & Dave, for always handling my last minute files with grace and for staying up into the wee hours to read for me, you guys are amazing.
Thank you to Regina Wamba at Mae I Design for this amazing cover.
And most importantly thank you to my fans & bloggers everywhere. I am humbled by your love of this series. Your support means the world.
Soraya and Akira, really, it’s all for you, babies.
About H.D. Gordon
H. D. Gordon is the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga. Blood Warrior, the first book of the Alexa series was her debut novel and has held a spot in the top 100 fantasy bestsellers for over a month. Half Black Soul is the second book in this series and H. D. plans to complete Alexa’s tales by the end of 2012. In June of 2012, Joe, a fantasy/thriller about a young clairvoyant, was released as well. H. D. is a lifelong reader and writer, a true lover of words. When she is not reading or writing she is raising her two daughters, playing a little guitar, and spending time with her family. She is twenty four years old and lives in the northeastern United States.
Connect with H.D. Gordon:
Website: http://hdgordon.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/hd_gordon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HDGordonauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5189455.H_D_Gordon
The Rise (The Alexa Montgomery Saga) Page 24