by K. J. McPike
Kai exhaled loudly when he saw me. “Thank you."
“Don’t thank me yet.” I shut the door and glared at him. “You have thirty seconds. What’s going on?”
“I need to take you somewhere we can talk.” Kai nodded toward the window where we could see Nelson pretending not to watch us. “Privately.”
“We can talk here,” I said. “I’m not about to go disappearing into the night with you.”
“Please, Lali. I’ll bring you right back. I need your help.” He reached out to grab my hands, taking me by surprise. “I’m begging you.”
“O-okay,” I spluttered, thrown off by this pleading version of the boy who’d acted first and asked later just a few short months ago. Seeing him like this was more unsettling than dealing with his pushy side had ever been. “Just let me come up with a good excuse to leave. You’ve already freaked Nelson out enough.”
“We don’t have time for excuses. They’re gonna kill her, Lali.”
A chill crawled up my spine. “What?”
“They’re gonna kill my sister,” Kai choked out. “Unless I turn your family over to the Eyes and Ears.”
End of sneak peek
FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
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Click here to get your copy of Fates Unsparing.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Here we are again! I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to pursue this crazy writing dream of mine, and to have such an amazing support system cheering me on as I do. I couldn’t do this without you!
To my incredibly patient, kind, and loving life partner, Nefer Lopez, thank you for your constant encouragement (and for putting up with me) through another emotional roller coaster of a book. Having you by my side every step of my publishing journey means more to me than I can ever say.
To my wonderful family, thank you for still being excited about my books now that the novelty of my published author status has worn off and for understanding when impending deadlines threaten our FaceTime chats.
To Linh Nguyen, thank you for reading way more versions of this story than any one person should and for the late-night call that is probably the only reason I didn’t give up on publishing this book eight months into writing it.
To Matthew Buscemi, thank you for continuing to believe in my work (and my obsessive, perfectionistic tendencies) enough to let me take the reins and still be a part of the Fuzzy Hedgehog family.
To Alissa Berger, thank you for being such an advocate for Kai’s story even when I was only thinking about writing it, for your invaluable feedback, and your above-and-beyond spreadsheet-making to help me assess every scene.
To BJ Neblett, thank you for slicing and dicing the earliest versions of this story, for still being willing to read updated scenes even after reading said earliest versions, and for not being afraid to call me out when my writing gives away that I’m working myself to the point of exhaustion.
To my awesome Beta Readers, Patrick Hodges, Tiea McDonald, Elijah Shoemaker, and Ashley Tapper, thank you for your enthusiasm in sharing your thoughts on this story and for loving it even before I cleaned up all the typos.
To my Bainbridge Betas, Grace and Libby, thank you for being excited to dive back into the Astralis world (on your summer vacation, no less!) and for letting me know how Kai’s journey moved you.
To Lindsay Tweedle, thank you for your fabulous editing that continues to both amaze me and help me sleep at night.
And finally, thank YOU, Dear Reader, for wanting to see Kai’s side of the story and for venturing to understand him a little more. I know he appreciates it as much as I do.
About the Author
Award-winning author K.J. McPike grew up in rural Virginia, where she started writing stories as a way to escape small-town horrors like Drive Your Tractor To School Day. (Yes, that was an official part of her high school's spirit week.) Nowadays, she opts for a nomadic life and has lived in Spain, Thailand, and Mexico, as well as all over the U.S. No matter where she is around the globe, she is likely consuming too much caffeine and spending more time in coffee shops than her own apartment.
www.kjmcpike.com
Copyright © K.J. McPike 2016
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First Published as Nemesis August 2016
by
Terracotta Rose Publishing in association with Fuzzy Hedgehog Press
Seattle, Washington USA
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Second eBook Edition: November 2017
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to real events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.