by K. E. Blaski
Could it be true? Had Argathe snatched a soul from the exact place where she’d taken one before? “Lisbeth? Oh my God. Then you know my grandparents. Are they okay?”
“They’re fine. They’re homeschooling you and taking you to a shrink. But geez, that’s not you if you’re here. And now I’m here too. And I’m . . . big.” He held out his hands and examined them. “Like, huge.”
He slid to the ground and his eyes filled his face, his mouth quivering. She kept talking, keeping her voice composed, trying to reassure him, telling him the things she wished someone had told her when she’d first arrived.
“You’re on the planet Astrune—it’s a lot like Earth, but very different too. Your soul, the part of you that makes you—well, you, if that makes any sense—is inside the body of a brave and kind man. He’s my friend, and his soul is inside your body back on Earth. No, no—calm down. He’ll take good care of it,” she soothed. “He knows Nyima. She’s the girl inside my body back home. And he’s heard me talk about my family. He’ll know what to say to them to make things right. And he’ll reassure your parents. He can tell them about what’s happened here. I know this is a lot to take in.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Kyle said before vomiting into his hand.
“Oh, Kyle. I’m so sorry. Just wait there.” She dug around the fallen dining table and found a cloth napkin and a pitcher on its side. There was enough water left to wet the napkin, and she brought it back to Kyle. “May I?” He nodded, and she wiped his face and hands. “Better?” He nodded again.
She sat next to him and put her hand on his arm. “I won’t leave you, Kyle. Okay? I promise. Whatever happens, I’ll take care of you.”
Kyle stared at the skin on her arm as if seeing it for the first time. He surveyed her legs, her feet, and then his gaze traced back up to her neck. “You’re . . . silver.” Then he examined the patch of silver on his own arm and gasped. “I have it too? Is it a rash? Holy shit, is it that flesh-eating bacteria?”
“No. No. You’re all right. Yours won’t spread. It’s metal, but it won’t hurt you. It’s mostly for decoration. Like a medal of honor.”
“But you’re like covered with it!”
“Yes. But inside, I’m still Jennica. Okay? Just like on Earth, insides are more important than outsides.”
“Jennica?” Her heart jumped at the sound of Damen’s voice.
She scrambled to his side. He’d spoken, but his eyelids stayed closed.
“What happened to him?” Kyle had followed her, as if becoming her shadow would keep him safe.
“Poison. I don’t know what kind of damage it’s done to him. He could be paralyzed, bleeding internally . . . all I know is he was in a lot of pain. Damen? Can you open your eyes for me?”
Damen tried. She could see him fighting the weight of his eyelids, then he pushed them open. Shocking gold eyes stared up at her.
“Joss?”
Kyle scratched his head. “Joss? I thought you called him Damen.”
“I did. He is Damen. He has to be. But. He’s Joss now too. I can’t explain this now. Get a torch!” she yelled at Kyle, though she didn’t mean to. His eyes brimmed with tears again. “Bring it here . . . please,” she said, more evenly this time.
Obediently, Kyle handed her the nearest torch, and she brought the light closer to Damen’s face. Damen’s eyes, brown doe eyes with thick lashes—and beautiful, oh so beautiful—looked right back at her.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She hugged him.
“Whoa, your arms. Careful.”
She pulled back. “Is it really you? For a minute, I thought . . .”
“It’s all right, Jennica. I know what you did to save me.”
“It’s true, then. There’s a Cidran with you—inside you.” Two merged souls. He’d never be the same. To keep him from leaving, Joss had anchored Damen’s soul—because she’d asked him to. In her desperation, she’d given Joss permission to enter Damen’s body.
Damen tried to push himself up but failed. Jennica helped him into a sitting position.
“You’re worried,” he said.
“Of course I’m worried. I’m worried you’ll never forgive me. I’m worried you’ll be like Lasca—changed. Have you? Changed? The way you feel—about me?” Could she bear the truth? Could he still tell the truth?
“I love you, Jennica, and there’s nothing to forgive.” He sounded tired, still weak from his ordeal, his voice hoarse. “You saved my life. And I’m not Lasca. I remember everything. All my memories. Still here.” He pointed to his temple. “I haven’t lost a thing. But there is something more—something I’ve gained.”
“What is it?” Kyle asked, reminding Jennica he was still hovering. His youthful curiosity must have temporarily overcome his fear.
“Marcis?” Damen asked.
Jennica shook her head. “Marcis is on Earth. This is Kyle. Kyle, meet Damen.”
“Dear Aprica. I sure didn’t expect that. And Noble?”
“Dead. Before the transfer. The poison weakened him, but it was taking too long. I had to kill him. I took off his head with the Sword of Urion.”
“And he didn’t kill you,” Damen said with relief.
“Marcis saved me from transferring back to Earth. Noble tried to force me to go with him.”
“After everything, Noble still wanted you with him? He must’ve loved you very much. In his own perverted way,” Damen added.
“No, it was never love. He knew I didn’t want to go, and he wanted to cause me more pain. He wanted power over me—it was always about power. But I didn’t give it to him. I fought him. And this time, he lost.”
“I’m so proud of you. Wait. The sword!” Damen grabbed her hand with surprising force, and she was glad his strength was coming back. “Marcis must’ve been the one to follow me after I stole it. We shouldn’t leave it lying around . . .” his voice trailed off.
“Help me look, Kyle.”
Kyle and Jennica flipped over pillows and scared away the shadows with the torches, but the sword was gone.
“Where could it be?” Kyle asked her, while she turned over a pillow slashed by hawk talons, tufts of animal hair spilling out.
“Someone took it. One of the soldiers, or . . .” She shook her head, remembering Argathe tugging on her robe. “Argathe must have it.”
“Who’s Argathe?”
“My mother,” Damen said.
Jennica raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Was this a personality change brought about by Joss? Damen had never claimed Argathe as his mother in front of her before.
“She can have it. It’s not worth chasing after her for it. The less I see of that woman, the better,” he added, sounding more like his old self.
Jennica wasn’t sure she liked the idea of Argathe having a sword that could pierce metal skin. Most of her body was silver. The rest of her, though, was as vulnerable as anyone. Sword of Urion or kitchen knife, anything could be a weapon against her if it hit the right spot. What she needed to do was go someplace where no one wanted to kill her. A calm place—one where she could keep her own killing desires under control.
“So what now?” The boy so recently snatched from Earth seemed to be getting a grip on his fear, much sooner than she had when she’d first arrived on Astrune. Kyle was strong for a kid. He’d be a good ally. And he’d need her to answer his ongoing questions.
Though she didn’t know how to answer this particular question. Now that she’d subdued whatever coursed through her body, she felt worn out and without direction. She met Damen’s gaze. “What we need is a plan.”
He reached out to her.
She held his hand. It was warm and strong and very much alive.
“As long as the plan involves leaving this castle together, I’m in,” he said. He let her pull him to his feet, then put his arm around her for support. “What’s the one place on Astrune you want to see?”
There wa
s one place she wanted to go. The one part of Astrune that might look like Earth. A place to help Kyle adjust to his new world. A place to soothe all three of their ravaged souls.
“Esperance Valley,” she said.
“A great plan.” Damen squeezed her shoulder and leaned into her, letting her strength hold his weight.
“What did you gain?” His skin felt warm against her silver arm. “You said there was something more.”
“Hope.” He kissed her cheek.
Her heart opened and filled with love for him.
Together they watched Taros and Candria dip beneath the castle. The city slept below them, its citizens unaware of their newly won freedom.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to the following individuals who have encouraged and supported the nearly five year journey to bring Glimmer of Steel into the world: The Hockhalter family, the Blaski family, the Asner family, the Beasley family, Ann and Brad Morris, Jennifer Loescher, Dana Nuenighoff, and Alice Fleury.
Many, many thanks to all my friends, family, kboard buddies, RVC colleagues, and enthusiastic readers who nominated and promoted Glimmer of Steel during its Kindle Scout campaign. 531 hours on Hot & Trending and 1,436 page views was an exciting and humbling accomplishment.
Thank you to the folks at Slug Pie Stories and Mollusc Bay Books, SCBWI, IBPA, and ALLi.
Special thanks to Michael Carr at Veritas Literary, David Gatewood, and Amy Maddox at Blue Pencil Editing for helping me to mold and fine- tune Damen’s world and Jennica’s place in it.
Also a heartfelt thank you to Fiona Jayde, who knew exactly what a YA Fantasy Horror Romance book cover should look like.
I final thank you to you, dear reader, for spending your valuable time on Astrune. Please consider leaving an honest review. By leaving reviews and sharing with friends, you support the life of this book and help pave the way for future books.
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