Shadowborn - #AtoZChallenge

“Don't look back until you've written an entire draft, just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the preceding day. This prevents those cringing feelings, and means that you have a substantial body of work before you get down to the real work which is all in ... the edit.” 

― Will Self

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Shadowborn

Lila Gray #2

UF / Romance / Fairy

by Jocelyn Adams

Why me? 

That’s the question Lila Gray asks every time yet another bad guy tries to destroy the earth, and she learns she’s the only one who can stop it. Once again, something’s on the prowl, leaving hundreds of comatose, soulless victims in its wake.

Couldn’t the deadliest assassins of the Otherworld go after someone else instead of the brand new Queen of the Seelie? One who still hasn’t adapted to her new role. 

Lila would ask Liam Kane, King of the Unseelie, for advice, but something’s off with him, too. He’s holding back. In some way. About some thing. In fact, he refuses to tell her what’s going on.

The truth holds Lila back from the greatness of her role—the people she was born to lead—the man who she desperately loves—and the solution to the latest war raging around her.

To find the answers, she’ll need to fight through her own darkness and embark on a journey through her psyche. 

If she doesn’t succeed, the Shadowborn will claim not only her world, but her soul.

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Excerpt:

On a battle cry, Nix slammed into my back. Air rushed out of my lungs, leaving me hunched in a coughing fit. I wheezed and staggered forward. “You are so dead.”

“As you keep saying.” The captain of my guard snickered, the infuriating sound jacking my frustration to a new level. “It’s about time you buck up and get it done, don’t you think?”

Gritting my teeth, I planted my left foot and kicked back with my right. He swept my supporting leg out from under me. I crashed chest-first onto the floor, my boob damn near exploding underneath me. Pain spiraled up my spine, and the stone walls of the training room blurred.

A roll brought me to my weary feet, and the room back into focus. Red tinted my vision.

Rage swelled in my soul, stirring a dark energy Parthalan left behind after he’d bonded with me. Nix rushed me again. I dodged, grabbed his wrist and used his momentum to send him into the block wall, his grunt bringing a smile to my face. He pushed against the stone with his foot as I raced to crush him against it. His elbow cracked into my ribs and sent me to the floor staring at the red ceiling of the Seelie Castle again.

“God dammit.” I rubbed my chest and focused on the white, rib-like cross beams above my head, though little white Faeries dancing in my vision obscured most of it.

When I asked you to teach me how to fight, I didn’t mean for you to beat the hell out of me every damn day.” Testing the tender bruise on my shoulder, I said, “I still have marks from yesterday. If I was human, I’d probably be dead by now.”

Nix chuckled and leaned over me, a few strands of his platinum blond hair falling loose from the tie he’d secured it with. “You ask, and I deliver the goods. You know that.”

I jumped to my feet and paced the length of the small space, my hands pushing at my sweaty hair as I considered my next move. “You know why I need this training.”

He crouched, wary eyes following my movements. “Not really. Every time I ask you what happened the day you killed Parthalan, you change the subject. Maybe I should ask Liam.” As usual, Nix said the new Unseelie king’s name as though he’d licked dirt off his boot.

The jab snapped my energy to attention. Roaring, I ran at Nix, threw my elbow into his ribs and knocked him off balance while I tried not to relive the memories resurfacing after more than a year of keeping them at bay. “Rourke killed Garret while I could do nothing but watch. He was just a kid.” My brother. I’m so sorry I failed you.

“Shit. No wonder you’re so driven.” Nix edged closer, rubbing his mid-section. “I think we should stop—”

“I can’t stop! I should have been able to save him. And I should be kicking your ass by now.” With a launch forward, my foot struck out in search of his knee, but he sidestepped with a quick leap. My finger jammed in his direction. “Something’s coming. Something bigger than Parthalan. Bigger than the fall of civilization.”

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