Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook)

by Michele G Miller

I could hear the doubt in my own voice.

  We searched throughout the day in vain. Selene couldn’t get a bead on Skye, and there were no tracks of note going into the forest. I had Emeline repeat every word of their conversation the night before, hoping for a clue.

  “She asked about elves and faeries.”

  “What did she want to know?” Cillian asked.

  “Nothing really, she was just curious. Wanted to know if I had ever met any. She said she wondered about something that was said in her prophecy and how it pertained to them.”

  I recalled the mention of nations and all creatures in the prophecy and filed that for use later.

  “What else?” I implored. The time had long passed for me to be calm. The sun was setting and she was still missing.

  “Um, I asked her about going with her to the Castle. I wanted to be there in case she needed me.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She refused,” Emeline sniffed. “She didn’t want me to get involved. She said she didn’t want anyone else to be hurt because of her. She was upset about her friends, especially Janelle, and we talked about them for a long time.”

  I met Rioden’s gaze and then stood up and started to pace.

  “Do you think she went to the Castle on her own?” Rioden inquired, getting up to grab an apple.

  “It would be just like her to go off by herself. She was adamant that she didn’t want to be the cause of our getting hurt. If she was scared enough for our safety, she would be strong willed enough to go on her own.”

  “I checked, and all of my men are accounted for,” Cillian said. “Why would she have even tried to leave without a guide?”

  Running my hands through my hair I threw myself down on the chair by the fire and all but shouted, “I don’t know!”

  I was getting desperate. Selene had tried and tried to track her until she’d passed out from overexertion. The warmth and tingle that was normally present when Skye was near had been gone all day. I knew that she was far away by that point.

  Kneeling by my side, Rioden slapped my knee with his hand. “Xander, they won’t hurt her. If she’s heading towards McClintock, we can catch up with her if we leave now.”

  “You’re right. Let’s go.”

  I couldn’t let myself think of all the things that could happen to Skye if she really was on the road to Montibello alone. Nothing made sense, except that she somehow had found someone to give her directions and a horse.

  We hurried to pack provisions for the long ride. Rioden pulled out some body armor that consisted of a chain mail shirt and a leather top to wear over it. I tied a leather-wrapped scabbard around my waist that held both a sword and a smaller utility knife. Strapping my favorite daggers around my jerkin, I grabbed a heavy hooded coat and wore it over the weapons on my back.

  Feeling antsy to be on the way, I stalked outside to check on the horses. Several Guardians who were prepping for the journey with us milled about in the street.

  Cillian came over, dressed much as I was, and spoke while he adjusted his belt. “We will bring ten men with us and leave the others here to keep an eye out.”

  “As long as they don’t hold us back, I’m good.”

  “We’ll make haste, Xander,” Cillian assured me as he whistled aloud for the men and hollered, “Saddle up!”

  I spied Rioden embracing Selene at the door of their cottage. Selene still looked exhausted. My faith in her had been restored, solely because of the fervor she had used in trying to track Skye. I mounted my horse and waved a silent good-bye to her.

  Emeline stood next to Cillian’s horse and held the great black beast still, stroking its nose as he mounted. I could see the worry for her brother on her face.

  The reality of the situation began to sink in. My priority was Skye, but these men? These men had families or friends who they watched out for, too. The risk that we were all being placed in was tremendous. I wished I had a Braveheart-like speech to shout out. Something to make them all feel better about our duty.

  Rioden interrupted my thoughts as he pulled up next to me. “They don’t worry about the task at hand, Xander. They have trained for this, just like you have.”

  Let’s go get her, Ri. I don’t want her to face McClintock by herself. Not yet, anyway. I don’t know what’s going to happen to her.”

  Spurring our horses on, we set out for Montibello. I tried to clear my mind of the guilt I felt at putting the other Guardians at risk. It was their job to protect their Princess. She was all that mattered right now.

  My current mission was finding Skye.

  Priority number one. Find her…or die trying.

  About the author

  Having grown up in both the cold, quiet town of Topsham, Maine and the steamy, southern hospitality of Mobile, Alabama, Michele is something of a enigma. She is an avid Yankees fan, loves New England, being outdoors and misses snow. However she thinks southern boys are hotter, Alabama football is the only REAL football out there and sweet tea is the best thing this side of heaven and her children’s laughter!

  Her family, a doting husband and three awesome minions, have planted their roots in the middle of Michele’s two childhood homes in Charlotte, North Carolina.

  Never Let You Fall is Michele’s first novel and she is beyond thrilled to have finally followed up on a dream she has held for over 20 years! God willing there will be many many more books to follow.

  Blog: http://michelegmiller.blogspot.com

  Goodreads: Michele G. Miller

  Facebook: Michele G Miller

  Twitter: @chelemybelles

  Now a peek into

  Blood Debt

  By

  Nancy Straight

  Copyright © 2012 Nancy Straight

  All rights reserved.

  Currently available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and Smashwords

  To find out more about Nancy visit her at

  Authnancystraight.blogspot.com

  “I know it isn’t any of my business, but are you a full-blooded Centaur?” I knew from what Bianca had told me that she was, but I had to keep myself distracted. It was possible for a Centaur and human to marry and have a family, but those children were shunned from our community. Will would have never had Camille at Bruce’s wedding if she weren’t pureblood.

  “Yeah,” she answered with a chuckle, “but I think I’m a defective one.”

  “Defective?”

  “I’m told I’m supposed to be able to communicate with spirits. I can see my mom sometimes, but I can’t hear her. I’m supposed to be able to see the future, but I can’t even tell if that cloud over there is going to produce rain. I definitely can’t read minds either. Too bad I didn’t come with a receipt; Will might want to return me.”

  “I doubt that. I think all that just takes practice.”

  “I hope so.”

  “It’s all still new. Bianca told me you only found out about everything a week ago.”

  “Not even a week ago. I called Will Tuesday night and was on a plane a few hours later.”

  Her eyes were so kind and full of life. I envied her for not having grown up like the rest of us. From the time I was a toddler, I knew what I was, knew that I had to hide my strength and speed from humans, deny who I was. I longed to touch her skin, feel the warmth of her flesh; I shook off my irrational desires and tried to stay on subject. “But you didn’t know you were a Centaur?”

  “Uh, no. I thought I’d found my long lost father. I wasn’t expecting any of this.”

  “Why didn’t your mom tell you, I mean, before. . .” I stopped in mid-sentence when I saw Camille was still sensitive about her mother’s death. Her eyes clouded right there in front of me, and she pursed her lips together. I’d struck a bad chord I didn’t mean to and wanted to comfort her. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not always such a head case. I just miss her.” Camille was in so much pain. I tried to reason that if I only had a single parent and lost her, then was tossed into
all the complexities of our society, I didn’t think I would handle it as well as she was handling it.

  In a happier voice, Camille said, “Let me try to read your mind.”

  “Uh, no. That’s okay. I keep mine blocked all the time.” Panic swept me. I was able to keep my mind blocked, but I worried about my defenses if I got too close to her. I couldn’t let her know how she’d affected me, or how much I wanted her.

  Camille laughed, “Even better, so I can practice without worry of seeing some gross guy stuff.”

  I froze, “Uh, Camille, I don’t think that’s such a great idea.” She ignored me and looked into my eyes; mine refused to look away. I blocked my thoughts with more force than I’d ever used in my life.

  She looked a little frustrated with herself, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Camille confessed, “Huh, nothing. Let me try this.” She swung her legs over the side of the deck chair so we were seated facing each other. Camille put her hands on either side of my temples; our lips were mere inches apart. I heard the splashing of the waves, a seagull echoing a warning overhead, and breeze whipping the flag at the ship’s stern. I continued blocking my thoughts, refusing to let my wall crumble.

  Camille repositioned her hands from my temples, sliding them down, cradling my face in her palms. Her gentle touch threw me off guard. In that moment I didn’t care if she read every thought in my head. My mind’s wall disintegrated in front of both of us. Her eyes widened when she saw a glimpse of my desire for her. I knew I could control my impulses no matter how strong they were to take her in my arms and hold her body to mine. I had just filled her mind with images of the two of us, where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing with her: walking in a tall meadow, the sun bearing down; on a snowcapped mountain, the only heat from our intertwined bodies; swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean near a deserted cove. I savored each of these fantasies and shamelessly shared them with her, each more erotic than the previous.

  What I wasn’t expecting was her reaction to what was going through my mind. I expected her to slap me, to leap away and scream, to call me hundreds of names that I deserved – I never expected that her mouth would close the gap with mine in an instant.

  Her eyes closed, and I felt her soft lips press hard on to mine. My arms did the unthinkable and pulled her seated body off her deck chair and fully onto me. My veins, that last night felt like ice was coursing through them when I saw her, now had molten lava pumping through my body, and I had no recourse but to melt into her. Nothing else in the world mattered beyond the feel of her skin against me, the heat that generated between us, and her mouth on mine. We sat wrapped in each other for a short time before we both came to our senses and released.