by K. Manna
“Alacor? Yes, it’s Alacor. Home!” I shouted, not believing my eyes.
Clear as day, Alacor sat very still ahead, just waiting for us. Water sprayed into my eyes as the island raced toward our homeland. I slowly stepped backward. The gap between us was growing smaller. How would the island come to a stop? As if someone had pressed a slow-down button, the island did just that. The island slowed until it bumped into the mainland of Alacor. The island bounced slightly back. The force of our landing flung me forward and into the water.
Tears filled my eyes as I crawled onto Alacor soil. “We’re home! Home!”
Living in the palace, winning the Royals Rise, and becoming a royal—just a name—meant nothing to me any longer. That dream was dead to me now.
Hell with it all!
All I cared about was being back home and somehow, some way, we had made it here. We had been saved … or what was left of some of us. Now the people of Alacor would know the truth behind the Royals Rise. They would learn about the royals’ insane beliefs and traditions.
Yes, they will know. We are here and for all to see. Anton, Sasha, Preston, and Ricky are proof, living proof. Alacor, here we come. Everyone better be ready for change—a very unthinkable, unimaginable, and life-altering change; a change that I wouldn’t miss for the world.
We made it home. Home at freakin’ last.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Words cannot explain how thankful I am to have found you, Sherry Roberts. You have gone above and beyond in making Royals Rise what it is today. I will be forever grateful for your help and guidance on my publishing journey. Nancy Antenucci, thank you for leading me to The Roberts Group. Without that knowledge who knows where I would be. Thank you, Ruth Akin, for polishing my book even further. And I would also like to thank those involved with the artistic aspect of my novel: Claudia McKinney, Catriona Crehan, Crys Haupt, and NaDay. The cover encompasses my story in one outstanding picture, thanks to all of you. Crys Haupt, I also thank you for always helping me on a whim.
I would like to put out a huge thank you to my loving, supportive family. You are my shimmering rock through absolutely everything. Josh, thank you for always being patient, and helping me with my many, many needs. To my big gor, NaDay, and my sister, Soina, thank you for listening to me rattle on about anything and everything. Thank you to my mother, Lulu, for letting me boss you around whenever I need you. To my liddle gal, Mila, your high energy, needy, stubborn nature has thoroughly made my writing more difficult for me. I thank you for making me work that much harder to achieve my goals. To my close friend, Natalie Bolden, thank you for always being so optimistic, and for your willingness to help in any way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K. Manna has written poetry and short monologues. With the debut of Royals Rise, she steps into the world of young adult fiction. She lives in the Twin Cities of Minnesota with her longtime love and two daughters (gor and liddle gal). She is a radiologic technologist by day and a when-possible writer by night. Finding quiet time to write can be difficult, but this doesn’t stop her from letting her imagination run wild in the wee hours of the night, creating another world, another story.