We landed easily on the stone floor of the Lenaia caves. The place was deserted, but for some ten or twenty that milled about. When we appeared, those around us stopped and went quiet.
“Elyse!” Rachel’s voice echoed loudly against the cave walls. A stream of rainbowed light tore through the air until her full form was wrapped around me in a hug. “Look at you! You’re . . .”
“Pregnant,” I finished for her. “Yeah. Have you heard from William?”
She shook her head, sad for me, as the others walked up with smiling faces.
Sofia and Edith were at Dr. Nickel’s side, Anna and Chloe cried happy tears, and Nics, Sam, Rachel, and Paul nearly tackled me to the ground.
“Don’t tackle a pregnant lady,” I laughed, though my eyes were on Lilia.
She stayed back, unsure of how she’d be received amongst the group, but I watched as Dr. Nickel drew her in for a hug. He whispered something in her ear, words I couldn’t hear, but I was sure it was a thank you. Without her, none of us would have ever been set free.
Within seconds Alex appeared with Kara and Mac. I’d never seen him smile so wide.
After months of separation, everyone was there. All but one. Even after all the hugs, all the happiness and laughter, I didn’t feel whole without William.
“I need to get out of here,” I whispered to Alex as Kara and Mac stole the show.
“What? We just got here,” he said.
“I need to go to the lake,” I pleaded. It was the only place I hoped he could be. “Please.”
He stared at Kara from a distance and sighed, frustrated at my timing. “Fine.”
Before we left I grabbed Rachel’s hand, “I’ll be right back,” I said, under the noise of the reunion.
Her brow pulled together, but she nodded.
***
We landed near the water, the clay dirt uneven under my feet. My eyes darted around, but my heart sank. “I just want to stay for a while,” I said.
“Sure,” Alex answered, leaving me to myself.
I walked the muddy shore, making my way to the tree I’d leaned against when William had healed my burns so many months ago.
I’d find him, I told myself. No matter what I had to do. After everything I’d been through, my soul knew what it wanted, and it was willing to sacrifice anything to get it. My world. My pride. My life. Something in me sought without reason. It pulled me through the unseen, toward the only thing that mattered.
Then I saw him sitting against our tree, looking away from me. The wind blew his golden hair forward, his strong forearms rested against his knees. I needed nothing else. My heart stretched, reached, like flowers toward the sun. Like the moon on dark nights. Like hope in the deepest, emptiest places.
“William,” I called out. His head turned, and our eyes met.
I walked toward him, then ran, my face twisting into that awful scowl everyone makes before they cry. I was not beautiful in that moment, but somehow I knew he saw beauty in me. He stood when I reached him, amazement in his eyes, like I wasn’t real. His hand touched my face. I never appreciated it before, the simple touch of his hand to my cheek. Now it was everything.
“How are you here?” I asked. His aching eyes moved over my face, like he was trying to memorize every part of me. “Do you . . . remember?”
He shook his head. “Nothing but this. Frenchman’s Lake. I don’t know why. We were fighting Antec, then . . . I just showed up here.”
I closed my eyes, and my heart slowed. “It’s where we said we would meet if we ever lost each other.”
He remembered. Even if it was only the lake. It was something. Nothing in his eyes told me he had forgotten me.
His gaze fell to my stomach. “I had no idea. Is it . . .”
“Ours.” I smiled, pressing his palm to my belly. He touched my face with the other, his thumb grazing my cheek. I welcomed his kiss like warm skin on cold nights, and we clung to each other. Afraid to pull our lips apart, afraid to ever let go.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you God for answering my prayers and for all that you have blessed me with.
Thank you to my mother, Janet, for teaching me how to write, for the unconditional love, and for always telling me that I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up. Thank you for encouraging me to find my passions in life.
Thank you to my sister, Allison, for being my strength in everything. I love you.
Thank you to my husband, Brian, for having the kind of faith in me that never falters, for reminding me to dream big, and for inspiring the true love in my work.
Thank you to my in-laws, Ron & Mary Jane, for helping me make the right choices and for all of the love and support.
Thank you friends and family for cheering me on, spreading the word, reading my books, and for your love.
Thank you to Shelly Tegen for all of the wonderful editorial feedback and to Holly & Chris Youmans for your many many brilliant ideas and suggestions. I couldn’t have done this without you! Also, thank you to Christian LaMonte for helping me find my characters in the beginning. You are all amazing. I’m so glad to have you as friends.
Thank you to Whitney Lee for finding international homes for my novels. I’m still blown away. Thank you to all the international publishers who are translating and publishing my series.
A BIG thank you to the ZOVA team for believing in me and for having faith in my writing. Thanks to Molly the Magnificent for your honest feedback, hard work, brilliant edits, and happy disposition, to Matt for making things happen, to Dan for tying everything together in a neat little package, and to Daniel for creating such amazing covers. I’m so grateful for everything.
Lastly, thank you readers, bloggers, reviewers, fans, etc. I’m so appreciative of all that you’ve done to help me get my books out into the world.
COUNCIL
NAME
BLOODLINE
ABILITY
Adrianna
Hera
Ability control for female Descendants
Antec
Hades
The ability to confine Descendants to the “Underworld”
*The Underworld is a void of nothingness were Descendants are trapped in semi-conscious limbo.
Christoph
Zeus
Ability to control male Descendants
Dimitri
Demeter
The ability to age or grow living things
Lilia
Hestia
Ability control for Council Members
*Must be in the presence of two Council members for Council abilities to work
Marcus
(Dr. Nickel)
Ares
The ability to mimic Descendant Powers
DESCENDANTS
NAME
BLOODLINE
ABILITY
Aaron
Clotho
The ability to revive the dead before the spirit transcends
Alex
Aether
Messenger—The ability to move from place to place using teleportation
Call name: Alaximandrios
Amber
Alethia
The ability to decipher the truth of someone’s words
Cearno
Comus
The ability to make food and drink with extraordinary flavor
Christine
Hegemone
The ability to conjure plants and trees from the earth
Claudia
Selene
The ability to control the moonlight and hypnotize those who stare into it
Edith
Ares
Council Heir—Can mimic Descendant powers once her ability is manifested
Elyse
Asclepius
The ability to heal or poison with her blood
Florence
Pythia
(Delphic Oracle
The ability to see the future
Officer Gomez
&n
bsp; Pasithea
The ability to make others feel relaxed
Mr. Granksy
Hecate
The ability to move objects using Telekinesis
Hanna
Mnemosyne
The ability to erase memories with her blood
Helen
(Ms. Stanzic)
Chronos
The ability to stop time
Ian
Homados
The ability to amplify or impair Hearing
Iosif
Metis
The ability of intuition
Kara
Prometheus
The ability to access to the mind
Luther
Hercules
Lead Hunter
Mac
Soteria
The ability to create safe havens
Nics
Nix
The ability to manipulate light and create darkness or invisibility
Paul
Hermes
Messenger-Flight
Philip
Aether
Messenger – The ability to move from place to place using teleportation
Call name: Philotheos
Rachel
Iris
Messenger – Flight (changes form)
Richard Adler
(Elyse’s Father)
Hephaestus
The ability to manipulate metals, woods, and stone
Riley
Kratos
The ability of great bodily strength
Sam
Dionysus
The ability to change liquid to wine
Sara Adler
(Elyse’s Mother)
Asclepius
The ability to heal or poison with
her blood
Sofia
(Mrs. Nickel)
Aphrodite
The ability to persuade by infatuation
Stephan
Sophrosyne
The ability to restrain the body and Descendant abilities
Victor
Lelantos
The ability to control the air
William
Aphrodite
The ability to persuade by infatuation
Mr. Williamson
Helios
The ability to mimic daylight/sunlight
Unnamed
Anchiale
The ability to conjure fire
Unnamed
Astraeus
The ability to create the illusion of stars
Unnamed
Limos
The ability to cause extreme hunger or starvation
Unnamed
Loxo
The ability to manipulate an objects trajectory
Unnamed
Hecaterus
The ability to control objects using the hands
Unnamed
Penthos
The ability to induce extreme sadness
Unnamed
Tethys
The ability to draw water from the ground
Uprising (Children of the Gods) Page 28