No.
He steps toward me, the pistol gets closer. The vial—the murkiness—gets closer.
My chest shudders. “What—what augmenter is it?”
His smile is so like mine that it hurts. “A mixture. Mainly Sleepiness. But there’s some Compliance, Calmness, and Tranquillity for when you wake.”
My mouth dries. I start to try to form words. “What… No…. You—”
I hear the click of the trigger. Too loud.
The augmenters get me in the upper right thigh. I scream, try to move back but something stops me. The air stops me. It presses against my body, won’t let me move.
Heat floods my veins. My muscles start to burn, but then—
I struggle to keep my eyes open. My eyelids are too heavy.
I start to fall.
Three’s face is the last thing I see.
As always, writing a book isn’t a completely solitary process, and there are a number of people I must thank for helping me with Fragmented. Without you all, this book wouldn’t have been possible.
Thank you to my wonderful editor, Deelylah Mullin. Working through the editing process with you has been so much fun. Thanks must also go to Molly Phipps, my amazing cover artist and interior designer. Thank you so much! Fragmented is definitely one of my favorite books I’ve written, and it’s been so wonderful seeing it come to life.
I’d also like to thank T.A. Maclagan, E. Mitchell, and Rachael Bundy, each of whom read an early draft of this book and provided feedback. Your insightful comments were invaluable and really helped strengthen this book. Equally, many thanks must go to my writing groups: the YA Story Sisters, AAYAA, and the NaNoWriMo group. Your support has been amazing and your enthusiasm unwavering. And to Lizzie Colt: thank you for your encouragement, help, and support—even when it meant workshopping the same sentence with me for (literally) an hour and a half! I don’t think I’ve ever written quite so many variations of one sentence!
Additionally, special thanks must go to T.A. Maclagan, Marissa Kennerson, Sue Wyshynski, Heidi Sinnett, Pintip Dunn, Jen Knox, Dr. Jessie Voigts, A Drop of Ink Reviews, Readcommendations, The Literature Hub, and The Story Sanctuary. Thank you for blurbing my books and/or permitting the inclusion of pull-quotes from your reviews of my Untamed series for use in this book. Your support means a lot. Thank you.
This book required an incredible amount of research, and I’d like to thank the team of volcanologists who kindly gave up their time to help me in my research: Dr. Jessica Ball, Dr. Rebecca Williams, Dr. James Hickey, Dr. Erik Klemetti, and Professor David Rothery. Thank you for answering my (many) questions about volcano formation, volcanic rock, lava tubes, and the composition of volcanic gases. Equally, thank you for providing me with countless diagrams and guiding me in my research around Mount Bisoke, an active volcano in the Virunga Mountains of the East African Rift, which became the basis for the Zharat’s Fire Mountain. Extra thanks must also go to Dr. Jessica Ball, for reading an early draft of Fragmented and kindly fact-checking my volcano sections, and to Dr. Rebecca Williams, who provided me with copies of her own photographs of the Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii. It was so much fun learning about volcanoes, and any mistakes in this book are mine.
Next, I must also thank my family and friends: you’ve all been brilliant. Countless times, you’ve blown me away with your enthusiasm and support. So, thank you.
And, finally, I wish to thank my parents and my brother, Sam. Thank you for believing in me, and for your support. Thank you for not getting too mad at me when I kept asking you the same questions over and over again. And thank you for being so enthusiastic about this book. It honestly means the world to me, and I’m very lucky to have you.
MADELINE DYER lives on a farm in the southwest of England, where she hangs out with her Shetland ponies and writes young adult books—sometimes, at the same time. She holds a BA Honors degree in English from the University of Exeter, and several presses have published her fiction. Madeline has a strong love for anything dystopian, ghostly, or paranormal, and she can frequently be found exploring wild places. At least one notebook is known to follow her wherever she goes.
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Find Madeline online:
Twitter: @MadelineDyerUK
Instagram: @MadelineDyerUK
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Website: www.MadelineDyer.co.uk
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Having been tricked into binding herself to the Enhanced Ones in the War of Humanity, Untamed human Seven Sarr has never felt more exploited or used. When Raleigh forces her to develop her Seer powers and use them on a most innocent target, Seven knows it’s only a matter of time before the Enhanced Ones use her to wipe out the rest of her people.
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Certain that the only way to save the Untamed would be to get back full control of her soul, Seven must get the Gods and Goddesses to trust her again. Only they can destroy her Enhanced Promise Marks, and prevent her enemy from controlling her.
* * *
But these are the same Gods and Goddesses who have already branded Seven a traitor and exiled her from the Dream Land, fearing she will cause their deaths. With no way to contact the Gods and Goddesses herself, Seven needs help. And she needs it quickly, before the war is over and she loses Corin, and the rest of the Untamed, for good.
* * *
Yet, in a world as dangerous as this, only one thing’s for sure: no one trusts a traitor twice.
Fragmented Page 36