Starfall: Exclusive First Look!

The second novella in The Starlight Chronicles Series, Starfall, releases this month (On August 11th 2020). I’m so excited today to share a first look at it!

NOTE: I strongly recommend reading Starlight and Lanterns In The Sky prior to reading Starfall, to avoid spoilers.

 

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JASON’S POV

The icy wind tore at my coat, but it didn’t bother me. I’d been numb for years—I didn’t feel anything anymore.

We’d been on foot for days now. Brinley led us through the treacherous mountain pass—myself, and two other royal army members. I called them by their last names, Greyson and Beaumont.

We were just a handful of the few military members who that had remained in the Starlight Kingdom after Theodore
claimed the throne. It had been our mission ever since to find the angels, who had fled and gone into hiding. Clever beings, they were—and insanely hard to track down.

The majority of the Starlight Kingdom’s army had been made up of angels before the overthrowing. They were elite
beings with ancient ties to Goddess Titania. We suspected their loyalty to her and the Starlighters was what had caused them to flee—after all, the treaty had banished Urenphian kind after Shade had murdered Titania. For Urenphians to now be ruling Titania’s domain was treacherous.

Tiny flakes of snow battered us, catching in my eyelashes, but I pushed on. Maybe once, I’d have dreaded taking a step further, but since that terrible day three years ago, my desires were empty to the core.

Nothing mattered anymore except one thing.

“Hand me that,” Brinley said to Greyson. He was a short man—thin and in his middle thirties. He was holding our only lantern as the others had burnt out a few hours ago. The wind was picking up, and the mountains were sloping upward, gathering more snow by the minute. Shadows fell from the ranges, darkening the pass even more in the snow storm.

Brinley edged up the slope steadily, the snow sinking beneath his heavy boots, peering ahead against the constant
flurry of grey flakes. It was a wonder the storm didn’t lift his skinny figure and carry it away.

“There’s a cave ahead,” he informed us. “We should wait out the storm.”

“But the trail…” Beaumont replied gruffy, wiping flakes of snow from his unruly beard with the back of his hand. “We’ll lose them if we stop.”

As if we were ever going to reach them. We’d been on their trail for the past three years, and yet, we never quite caught up to them.

“We’ll lose our lives if we don’t,” Brinley replied firmly.

Though small in frame, nobody messed with Brinley anymore.

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I followed as he led us up the slope and into the cave. It wasn’t much warmer, but the wind was of our backs for now.

Shivering, the group collapsed to rest in the cave, huddling together for warmth. It occurred to me that I should be shivering too, and when I pulled up the sleeve of my linen, fur coat my arm was trembling, hairs standing high on my arm.

I didn’t feel anything.

“We need to light a fire,” Brinley said, beginning to dig into his supplies sack.

Fire…

My throat tightened, and I had to turn away from them.

Wordlessly, I ventured deeper into the cave—almost thoughtlessly. All I could focus on was distracting myself from what would only be a painful reminder.

The cave was dark, I used my fingertips against the rocky surface of the wall to guide me along as I walked. The rough surface grounded me as the cave sloped down—we’d stopped at the hilt of the mountain pass, and on the other side of these mountains were ocean and cliffside, so it made sense that the cave had eroded over time. The result took me deeper and deeper underground. It was slushier here—I could feel the dampness growing on my fingertips.

Perhaps this cave was home to a creature I should fear. I didn’t, though. My sword was heavy at my side, and I’d had
years of training at this point. Fighting was the only other thing that helped distract me. It was my outlet, and it had become my best skill.

I descended in the darkness for a few minutes, until I noticed a strange blue light. It was soft and weak, but it lit the
tunnel well enough to illuminate a corner. Narrowing my gaze, I walked very quietly towards it. As I got closer, I heard voices.

For the first time in a long time, my heart actually skipped a beat. I couldn’t place the emotion at first, but then I recognized it.

Hope…

After all this time…could it really be?

As I got closer, I began to notice the source of the light—blue glowworms covering the roof of the cave. I also noticed tiny streams beginning to emerge from crevices in the cave, forming a larger stream that was partially frozen in ice.
Sitting at the edge of the stream was…

The two men had stiffened, their gazes already locked onto me—as if they’d sensed me the moment I’d stepped into the cave.

In seconds they were on their feet. One had dark hair and almond shaped eyes that seemed to cut into me like razors. The other had bronze hair and seemed less sharp—but still wary.

The first one bared his teeth, wings sprouting from his back as he plucked a handful of deadly sharp feathers from his wings.

I grabbed my sword, my eyes narrowing like slits.

I’d promised to help Theodore find the Starlight Princess. It was my only chance of seeing Adrina again. But in order for that to happen…I had to become immortal.

That meant taking an angel’s essence.