“I don’t want you to go.” The selfish words trickle out of my mouth.
“I don’t want to go. Thinking of leaving you evokes the worst pain imaginable, but I have to do this.” His finger traces tiny circles on my lower back and I’m shivery all over.
“I know,” I admit with a sigh. “It sucks though.”
“It blows all right. This is all I’ve ever known. Duty and responsibility over personal wants and needs. At least when we’re Eterno committed, you’ll be able to come with me on certain trips.”
“I will?” I haven’t given any consideration to that aspect of it. There’s so much I’m still clueless about.
“Yes.” He tweaks my nose. “Haydn can advise you on some of our royal customs and traditions, and I’ll fill in the blanks when I’m back.” He kisses me briefly. Pulling back, he tenderly cups my face. “I could be gone for weeks, Sadie. If we manage to successfully negotiate with our enemy, and they agree to retract, we’ll still have to visit home to reassure our people. And then we have this farce of a roadshow back on Earth. And that’s before I’ve even considered how we might stop your government and my father from accelerating their plans for the conscience transfer. I’ll try to find time to visit you in between, but I don’t know if that’s viable. I’ll have Hayden procure a comport for you.” He taps the black and silver watch on his wrist. “It’s a communications device as well as a teleport controller. We can stay connected that way.” He pauses, gazing at me adoringly. “Stars, I really don’t want to go.”
I nudge closer and kiss his soft lips. “It’s killing me that you have to go, but I won’t be the reason why you don’t leave. Don’t worry about me while you’re away. I’ll be fine. I’m well used to managing on my own, and I’ll have my new job to keep me busy, and my new shadow to drive me to distraction.” I grin so he understands I’m only teasing.
“I love you. Always. Never forget that.” His lips brush the top of my head as I tangle myself in his arms.
“I’ll miss you. Every single day.” I stretch up and press my lips to his, pouring every ounce of love in my heart into the kiss, hoping he can feel how much I love him, even if I can’t say it. My fingers sift through his beautiful hair, and I commit it to memory, along with the feel of his mouth as it moves against mine.
Too soon for my liking, he pulls away. “It’s time.”
We walk hand in hand back into the main room. Logan embraces first Neve and then Haydn. “I’m trusting you both with her life, with mine. Keep her safe.”
“We will protect her. Don’t worry.” Hayden gives him a reassuring pat on the back.
“Train her. She needs to know how to physically defend herself. Use this time to help her understand anything she needs to.” He directs this to both of them.
Neve gives him another quick hug. “We will. Take care, cousin, and don’t worry. She’s in good hands.”
Jeez, you’d swear I wasn’t in the room.
I hate being babied.
Logan faces me one last time, and the pain on his face cuts straight through me. I fling myself into his arms and crush him to me. His hand caresses my neck as his lips claim mine one last time. Tears prick my eyes but I force them away. I won’t let him leave knowing how much our separation devastates me. “Stay safe. Come back soon.”
“I love you. Remember that.” He taps a few buttons on his watch and smiles. “See you soon, Angel.”
And then he disappears. Like an apparition. Here one second and then gone the next.
At once, I’m an empty hollow shell. An echo of what I used to be. Logan’s absence is a throbbing ache in the pit of my stomach and a piercing pain straight through my heart.
Neve takes my hand and we join Haydn at the window.
Emptiness ravages me as I stare outside at the external bleakness. Enemy alien ships crowd the ominous sky. Protestors vent their fear in noisy outbursts, and fighting has broken out on the ground below us. Police violently clash with protestors as tensions accelerate with disastrous consequences. Strewn bodies lie motionless on the asphalt.
I’m unsure if my family is safe, and I don’t have any confirmation Jarod made it out of Thalassic City alive. Logan is gone and his loss already consumes me.
As I stare out the window at the only world I’ve ever known, and I watch it disintegrating before my eyes, a new resolve starts to take root inside me. For once, there’s a real prospect of a new future on the horizon. One I’ve only visualized in my dreams. I’m not going to stand as a nameless faceless number in the crowd and cry for all that’s been lost. I’m going to rise up on the podium and fight tooth and nail for everything I want this world to be.
And if there’s one thing my previous existence has taught me, it’s how to survive.
I’m a survivor.
And I will survive.
Because the time has come to claim the future I deserve.
To be continued.
A Special Note from the Author
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Best wishes,
Siobhán.
TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS. ONE SHARED DREAM
Welcome to Novo: Your new home in Space
For Ariana Skyee, Planet Novo was everything it promised to be until the authorities introduced "The Calling" as their response to repopulation. Now, all seventeen year olds are to participate in this Bachelor-style pageant to find their perfect match, marry, and have children.
But that’s not Ariana’s only concern. Thanks to the government-sanctioned memory erase, she has no recollection of Zane, the mystery boy who haunts her dreams. Things are further complicated when the pageant commences and her feelings for fellow Cadet Cal Remus intensify. Together, they start to realize not everything about their new home is as it seems.
Entangled in a dangerous web of deceit, Ariana sets out to identify the truth. Conflicted over warnings that Cal isn’t trustworthy and alarmed at the government's increasing interest in her, she doesn’t know where to turn. But her search for the truth comes at a high personal price. When her world implodes, discovering the past shapes her future with devastating consequences.
Will I enjoy True Calling?
True Calling is an enthralling young adult science fiction fantasy romance series that has earned rave reviews from readers who enjoyed popular series like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, The Selection, The 100, 1984, and it's even been favourably compared to the movie Elysium. Set between two vastly different worlds (utopian vs. dystopian) and told from two different perspectives, this series will appeal to readers who enjoy any of the following genres: Teen and Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal or Supernatural, Urban Fantasy.
Over 550 Five and Four-Star ratings on Goodreads for the series. This is a fully completed series.
Download your FREE copy of True Calling today:
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Available in all Amazon locations. Check your local store.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Siobhan Davis writes young adult science fiction fantasy romance books, and she is the author of the Amazon bestselling True Calling series. The first book in her new Saven series was released in December 2015.
A self-professed teenager forever—at least when it comes to books, music, and films, Siobhan is totally addicted to teen fiction and superhero/blockbuster movies. She loves baking, shoes, bags, makeup, anti-wrinkle cream, anything pink, Kelly Cla
rkson, Katy Perry, and Robert Pattinson (definitely Team Edward).
Before pursuing a full-time writing career, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in Human Resources over the last twenty years.
She resides in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.
You can connect with Siobhan in the following ways:
Author website: www.siobhandavis.com
Author Blog: My YA NA Book Obsession
Facebook: TrueCallingBooks
Twitter: @siobhandavis
Google+: SiobhanDavisAuthor
Email: [email protected]
BOOKS BY SIOBHAN DAVIS
True Calling Series
True Calling – Book 1
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Lovestruck – Short Story 1.5
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Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.au
Beyond Reach – Book 2
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Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.au
Light of a Thousand Stars –Novella 2.5
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Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.au
Destiny Rising – Book 3
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Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.au
True Calling Series Collection
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.au
Anthologies
The Little Book of Love – Imagine Write Inspire Group
Saven Series
Saven: Deception – Book 1
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Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.au
Saven: Disclosure – Book 2*
Saven: Denial – Novella 2.5*
Saven: Defiance – Book 3*
*Coming 2016
All books are available in all Amazon locations. If your link isn’t included please check your local Amazon store.
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