Blurb:
After the Urenphians took over their home, Lucy and her entourage are forced to retreat to the haven of the Angel Sanctuary. But with Valarie missing, Lucy is oblivious to the lies and secrets staring her right in the face. It’s not until she makes a shocking revelation that she realizes just how much danger she and her friends are in. Will she be able to step into the ruling shoes of her past self before it’s too late?
Meanwhile, Valarie finds herself in enemy territory under the watchful eye of Devian and Reina. But her newly found Shadow heritage and ties to Reina aren’t the only dark secrets in her past… and with the turmoil she’s about to face, it’s possible that she may not make it out of Urenphia as the same person that she once was…
The exciting next installment in The Starlight Chronicles Series will reveal truths to a world they thought they knew—but will they survive in this new world unveiled?
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I was standing under a shadowy, black sky, surrounded by sprawling gardens that glistened in the moonlight. A gentle breeze caressed my skin, carrying cinders from the burning torches that lit the courtyard. I waited—for whom, I did not know yet, but I waited in the dark night and wondered what I was there for.
From the arched doorway ahead, a figure finally emerged from the shadows—like it had melded out of the darkness itself, dressed in dark clothes and sheltering its face from view. I recognized the hair and the stance of the figure. The way he carried his shoulders and moved his legs with such staggering purpose—the sweep of his body cutting through existence itself, until finally, he dared to lift his gaze, and those emerald green eyes bore into mine.
Mixed emotions stung at my heart. One side of me felt a yearning towards those eyes; but that was the part of me that had died long ago, along with the burning flames that singed through my veins.
The other part of me was struck with despair—for those eyes were where my pain lay. They haunted my every living moment, taunted me, and told me what I could not have—what my heart would never accept again, not after all that he had done. The hurt and pain he put me through, the burdens and pressure he laid upon me. The people he tore down to claim me once more.
I was fire—I was not meant to be contained. Not meant to be kept, ordered, and restricted by boundaries. I needed to be free.
Upon realizing that, a sense of claustrophobia came upon me, because I knew—deep down in my heart, in my soul—I was trapped right here. In this memory. In this dream, and I needed to wake up.
Julian reached for me, seeking to hold me…to kiss me…and a sense of longing tainted by repugnance came upon me all at once.
No, I tried to say, but my mouth would not move. Words would not come. Nobody could hear me. I was trapped in my memory—in a past that had already happened, and I could not escape.
I am fire. I am fire. I cannot be contained.
I repeated the words desperately, as those eyes gazed deeper and his mouth drew nearer. His arm snaked around my waist, and his embrace was tight. The part of me that had lived once before did not try to stop him. Leaned into him instead, wanting that affection as much as he did. I could feel our hearts beating together and the tickle of his warm breath upon my lips.
I was screaming.
It shattered, darkness twisting into light, as I lunged upward.
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