The Onyx Vial (Shadows of The Nine Book 1) (43 page)

But Asrea had caught whispers, and shared them with Ariana: Killian had his father frozen at his feet in that courtyard, ripe for the kill
—
and yet, the man was still alive.

Killian
may have saved them out there, bravely facing the very thing he'd turned his back on. But it didn't change the fact that Falken Fyrenn was still out there, destroying people's lives.

For every two steps forward, she took one back and three sideways. It was ironic that to be a force of change to the Fyrennian world she'd have to partner and train with the Fyrennian Prince; and, when Hunter returned from his apprenticeship with the Mustangs, she had no doubt, him as well.

At least she and Hunter were on better terms. Witnessing him break down at the realization that he was not related to the man he had called grandpa had snuffed out any lingering doubts about his motivations. Later, in the quiet of the healing ward, she had found the courage to admit she'd been wrong about him and apologize.

And somehow, without letting that new partnership affect her, she would have to find a way to maintain her current level of study of the portal books, as well as learn to care for a creature she knew very little about.

All she knew was that she could hardly bear to let it out of her sight, and, in the few times she had, its cries had proved to everyone that the feeling was mutual. They were bonded. 

But she could imagine it grown
—
the trouble it might cause her if she let that behavior continue for either of them. Inky bird footprints across fresh portal book pages… A predatory swooping to defend her during training, resulting in injury…  

She lifted the Daeixs to her face. The baby bird squirmed and fumbled to its feet, then blinked and gazed at her with wide, indigo eyes. It made a soft, contented, chortle-squeak
—
a much nicer sound than the blinding, deafening squawk from the courtyard. Its head bobbled as it stretched its neck to get closer to her.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," she muttered, touching her nose delicately to its beak. "Don't we, Petrichor?"

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am so grateful to everyone who has been a part of this writing journey with me. Thank you to my mom, Kim Beard and my sister, Andrea Twaddle, for being nothing but encouraging the day I proclaimed, "I could write a book," on our road trip, and proceeded to spend the rest of the trip laying the groundwork for this story, bouncing ideas off of you as we went. I don't even remember where we were going. Just that I was with you, and it was perfect.

Thank you to my dad, Kevin Beard, for being so supportive the day I finally got the courage to tell you I wanted to write books, not become a professional golfer. {I think it's fair to say, I was always a little too dramatic for that}. You made it possible for me to change majors and dive into my dream without fear.

Thank you to Carolyn Haines, for being the most awesome Creative Writing teacher I could ever have found. Your encouragement and your wonderful personality came to me at the right time.

Thank you to Michelle Ladner and Jeannie Holmes for being the best writing friends ever. We have been through so much together. Without you, this book would not be what it is today. Neither would I.

Thank you to my husband, Josh Lampley, for sticking with me, for being the catalyst for this publication date, and for picking up the slack as I barreled headfirst into this deadline. You are awesome. I am so grateful for you. I promise I'll clean the house now.

Thank you to all my beta readers for helping me make this deadline. I have seven minutes to upload this, so I will have to add your names later. Just know that you were instrumental in making this not look like a mess, and I hope you enjoy what things I named after each of you!

And of course, thank you, newest reader, for taking a shot on this story and reading it till the end. You are awesome. And you are helping make my dreams come true.