“I love you, Ella.”
Suddenly, I feel the weight of him lift from me, the blinding sunlight replacing his face. I command myself to reach for him, pull him back to me, yell for him to not leave me, but I am deadened to this world I am fighting to return to for him.
I love you, Raj.
“Ella.” I can’t think in the thickness filling my head to recognize the voice immediately.
“Ella.” The strong accent makes me think of Raj, trying bringing me back to the natural world.
“Raj.”
There is no response from my transporter. I sway side to side in his arms as he carries me. I mumble once more as I lay suspended in my deliverers arms. “Raj.”
Fighting against the draw of peace in the darkness, my arms find some life as I touch the rough fabric of a soldier’s gear. My eyes find new life, just as my body is beginning to, and I open them to see the face of the man who crossed Raj and me both. Zaid.
The moment I try to push against his chest, he hoists me up higher into his chest, forcing my head into his shoulder and bringing his mouth to my ear. “The risk was too great, Ella. They have taken him.”
Weak beneath his grip, I stare helplessly over his shoulder as he walks away from the rubble and bodies that was once Makan Lil ‘Amal. My cry for the small broken bodies of children, some maybe my girls, and the soul that captured mine in this very place meets the sound of sirens and yelling soldiers, not yet reaching this world caving in all around me.
As my heart breaks, my soul takes flight, set to wander in search of the one certainty, the one love that has been stolen in this darkest hour. The one love that crossed the stars to consume me, and the one I will risk stealing the moon to get back, no matter what.
Having always been passionate about the written word, Venessa Kimball embarked on writing what would become her debut novel, Piercing the Fold: a young adult urban fantasy series in 2010, with a 2012 release with Crushing Hearts Black Butterfly Publishing, it quickly finished out as a four book series. Venessa has also written a compelling teen contemporary series, the Evan series.
Venessa also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name V. Angelika. When she isn’t writing, she is keeping active with her high school sweetheart and three kids, chauffeuring said children to extracurricular activities, catching a movie with her honey, and staying up way too late reading.
Connect with her at:
www.VenessaKimball.com
http://www.facebook.com/venessakimballauthor
http://www.twitter.com/venessakimball
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Other Novels Published by Venessa Kimball
YA/ Teen Urban Fantasy/ Sci-Fi series
the Piercing the Fold series
Piercing the Fold: Book 1
Surfacing the Rim: Book 2
Ascending the Veil: Book 3
Transcending the Legacy: Book 4
Piercing the Fold: the Complete Urban Fantasy Collection Boxed Set
YA/Teen Contemporary Fiction Series
the Evan series
Dismantling Evan: Book 1
Saving Gavin: a Novelette, vol 1
Resurrecting Gavin: a Novelette, vol 2
Reviving Evan: a Novella 1.5
Novels Published by Venessa Kimball
Writing as V. Angelika
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Crossing Stars Duet
Cross the Stars (Crossing Stars Duet #1)
Steal the Moon (Crossing Stars Duet #2) - Coming Soon
I have said this a million times, and I will say it a million more: It takes a village to produce a novel. The village I have been blessed with has helped bring this novel from imagination to realization. It could not have been accomplished without the energy of so many behind the scenes; Rebecca Berto with Berto Designs for bringing the Cross the Stars cover to life; Kristina Circelli with Red Road Editing for her keen eyes; Imad Lyzzaik for making sure my Arabic translation and usage was up to par and while keeping the linguistic depth this cross cultural story calls for; and to Julie with JT Formatting for bringing all the elements together to fancy the readers’ eyes.
Dawn Miller, thank you for being an extraordinary friend first and a meticulous critique partner second. Your critiques, opinions, and nudges to push the characters make my stories more compelling than I originally imagined they could ever be.
To my beta readers, I have always asked you for brutal honesty and you have obliged. Thank you for that!
To my launch team, Darlings, thank you for embracing and spreading the word about my writing and being my biggest cheerleaders on my writing journey. I am truly blessed to have fans as great as you! Special thanks to Tanya Rutherford and Jamie Deann for discovering the names of Ella and Raj.
Austin DD gals, I love you dearly. Thank you for the inspiration and motivation you infuse into the atmosphere every month at our gatherings. I owe you a cheese tray and antipasti tray next time my friends.
To the bloggers and community of readers that have put energy and time into posting and spreading the word about my writing, you have been the life line for my books as they make their way into sea of novels and novelettes. I have the utmost respect and appreciation for all that you do to spread the word for authors worldwide.
Much love to all of you,
~V
Cross the Stars (Crossing Stars #1) Page 31
