by Krista Rose
I glared at him.
Tanner shoved his horse between us. “Leave her alone, Vitric.”
“Can I at least ask her why her eyes are still glowing?”
Still glowing? Confused, I reached up to touch my face. Why would they still be glowing?
“Vanity.” Vitric’s voice was smug. “Every woman’s weakness.”
I swallowed, forced myself to speak around the hard knot in my throat. “What do you mean, my eyes are still glowing?” My voice was hoarse from crying, and I swallowed again.
“They’re white,” Tanner admitted reluctantly, and handed me his waterskin before I could ask. “Scary-white, like they were when you were a Vampyre. Are they supposed to do that?”
“I- I don’t know.” I took a sip of water, trying to ease my raw throat. “No one’s ever been turned back before.” Probably because no one else could survive this, I thought, but kept it to myself.
“Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Of course you do,” Tanner reassured me, and glared at Vitric. I looked away from him, guilty. “He’s only trying to understand. We both are.”
I shrugged. “Fine.”
“How did you become a Vampyre?”
“I sacrificed my soul to the Elder Gods.” Farius’ screams echoed in my memory, and I almost smiled. It was perhaps the only part I did not regret. “I thought you already knew that.”
“I meant a little more specifically.” Vitric leaned back in his saddle. “The Temple of the Burned is an unknown distance away, and very hard to locate. So how did your soul end up there?”
“I don’t know. I never left Fallor.” I huffed, frustrated when they both continued to stare at me. “I performed the rite to give up my soul in Farius’ cellar. The-” I choked, and cleared my throat. “The one who oversaw it, he took my soul with him after.”
“Eoct?”
The fear slammed into me so hard I almost fell off my horse. Even when I had been a Vampyre I had been afraid of him- now that I was human again, it was almost crippling.
“Whoa, it’s alright.” Tanner grabbed the reins from my numb fingers before my horse could bolt. “It’s alright, you don’t have to tell us.”
I shook my head, my stomach still clenching with fear. My horse sidestepped beneath me, uneasy, and I shoved myself from the saddle, taking several steps away to clear my head.
The sky was lightening to rosy pink, the first of the sun’s rays emerging over the horizon. It had been two months since I had seen the sun. The sight hypnotized me, driving all other thoughts from my head as I walked toward it. As a Vampyre, sunlight had tormented me, burning my skin like acid and filling my chest with an unbearable ache. If my eyes still glowed, would I still be unable to withstand the light?
And yet, I was unable to stop myself from walking forward, stretching out my hands toward the dawn until a beam of light touched my skin.
I gasped, but it did not burn me. Instead, it warmed me, chasing the chill from my blood like a benediction of grace. Tears trembled on my eyelashes, casting rainbows across my vision.
I could sense Tanner and Vitric behind me, waiting. My eyes were still frozen on the light dancing across my hands. “Eoct is a monster. Something- something not human. Something terrible.”
They didn’t speak.
“He’ll want me dead now,” I continued, pushing the words out despite the fear that tried to choke me. “He will say I failed.”
“Because you didn’t kill your cousins?” Vitric asked gently.
I nodded. “He’ll kill them.”
“Why does he want them dead so badly?”
“Because-” I took a deep breath. “Because they’re the only ones who can stop him.”
WHISPERS OF HEAVEN
SAGA OF THE ROSE: BOOK ONE
It is a sad truth that in the aftermath of great pain, it is in our nature to seek out the darkness, for we think that we will find healing there. But it is in the darkness that we forget that there was ever light, and grow shriveled and ugly in the shadows where we cannot be seen, twisted into something horrifying in the wake of our tragedy.
A blend of heartbreak, humor, magic, and hope, Whispers of Heaven is the tale of the Rose family: six brothers and sisters chosen by the Gods of their world to face down a great darkness. But evil wears many faces, and it will take the efforts of all: Kryssa, Brannyn, Lanya, Kylee, Alyxen, and Reyce- for them to survive the harrowing trials to come.
AWAKENING
SONGS OF THE SAGA
If you loved the songs of Whispers of Heaven and ShatterStar, then you will love Awakening, an exclusive coloring companion to the Saga of the Rose series. Filled with beautiful illustrations, quotes, and the songs that bring the world of the Saga to life, Awakening will transport you again and again to a world where magic is real and anything is possible.
THE COMPENDIUM
A CODEX OF CA’ERDYLLA
From the creation of the world to the great heroes of history, from glittering palaces to long-lost isles, the Compendium is a beautiful, illustrated guide to the world of the Saga of the Rose. Discover the complexities of magic, explore the beauty of the nine wonders of the world, and listen to the legends and tales that bring the world of Ca’erdylla to life.
