Decisions, p.1
Decisions, page 1
Decisions
New Beginnings Series, Volume 1
W.J. May
Published by Dark Shadow Publishing, 2024.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
DECISIONS
First edition. May 21, 2024.
Copyright © 2024 W.J. May.
ISBN: 979-8224736300
Written by W.J. May.
@Copyright 2024 by W. J. May
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Copyright 2024 by W.J. May
Decisions, Book 1 of the New Beginnings Series
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Have You Read the C.o.K Series?
The Chronicles of Kerrigan
Book I - Rae of Hope is FREE!
BOOK TRAILER:
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How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?
Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.
Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?
As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.
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Decisions Blurb
USA TODAY BESTSELLING author, W.J. May, continues the highly anticipated bestselling YA/NA series about love, betrayal, magic and fantasy.
Learn to fight—it is the only option...
Even the greatest of fires, starts with a spark...
Having escaped the clutch of the warlords and left the Tezerin Valley in flames behind them, Kiera and her friends make for the great tower of Wren. But the realm they discover on the journey isn’t the one they left behind.
News has spread about the massacre that befell the dark army, about the fellowship of brave companions, about the girl who can shoot dragon fire from her hands.
By the time they reach the tower, the friends find themselves at the center of a swelling revolution, but fame can be costly, and attention is coming from both sides. Where should they go with new enemies rising against them? Who can they trust, when everyone claims to be a friend...?
Be careful who you trust. Even the devil was once an angel.
Beginning’s End Series
Beginnings
Curiosity
Scrutiny
Foresight
Disavow
Trickery
Wisdom
Decree
Influence
Prevail
Dignified
Honored
NEW BEGINNINGS SERIES
The Queen’s Alpha Series
Eternal
Everlasting
Unceasing
Evermore
Forever
Boundless
Prophecy
Protected
Foretelling
Revelation
Betrayal
Resolved
The Omega Queen Series
Discipline
Bravery
Courage
Conquer
Strength
Validation
APPROVAL
Blessing
Balance
Grievance
Enchanted
Gratified
FULL READING ORDER
Contents
Have You Read the C.o.K Series?
Find W.J. May
Decisions Blurb
Beginning’s End Series
NEW BEGINNINGS SERIES
The Queen’s Alpha Series
The Omega Queen Series
FULL READING ORDER
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Pursue Blurb
NEW BEGINNINGS SERIES
FULL READING ORDER
Beginning’s End Series
The Queen’s Alpha Series
The Omega Queen Series
Find W.J. May
More books by W.J. May
Chapter 1
Five thousand, eight hundred, and forty-one.
Kiera stood beneath the shade of a large hemlock, gazing into the distance as the falling line of shadow receded slowly into the valley beyond. The muscles in her legs were throbbing, and her eyes burned with the smoke of a thousand fires. A thousand fires. For over a day, they had been trekking painfully away from the blaze—thinking only of creating distance, the way a criminal flees the scene of a crime. Over a day, but she could still see it; hanging like a banner in the sky.
Look what happened here. Look what she did.
She blinked once, slowly. The smoke would not clear.
It was rare they would make camp so early; if it weren’t for the vampire’s insistence, it was likely they would have hiked until dark. It was the natural instinct to put as much space between themselves and the valley as they could. But there wasn’t a need, they all knew it. Everyone knew it.
No one was coming after them. It was a valley no longer, but a grave.
Five thousand, eight hundred, and forty-one.
“Take a breath, my love. I’ve got you.”
In the clearing over her shoulder, the vampire was helping the fae get settled beside the newly kindled fire, unsheathing his weapons and lowering him down with the gentlest of hands, oblivious to the cool rigidity of his stare. After marching half a day on a pair of splintered legs, Eden wasn’t in the mood to be babied by anyone. But he allowed Evander great license in all things, and it seemed this was no different. Instead of speaking the sharp words that leapt so quick to his tongue, he merely gritted his teeth and nodded in silence, taking measured breaths as the vampire fussed and fretted to his heart’s content. The fire was too close, then too far. He must not move so much, let the vampire unclasp the buckle. It was a level of patience the others had never seen, white-knuckled and hard-pressed. Yet when the two finally locked eyes, there was nothing of it on his face.
“I am all right now,” Eden said quietly, leaning back on the makeshift bed the vampire had compiled of soft grasses and folded cloaks. “Sit beside me, Evander. Let’s stop for a moment.”
The vampire kissed his forehead, but the words fell on deaf ears. “How bad is it? Tell me.”
While both of the fae’s legs had been shattered in his drop from the birds, they had actually begun to heal in the days spent idling in the Tezerin infirmary. It was only when Mierko had kicked him to his knees, those old wounds had opened again. Since then, they had done nothing but walk.
What choice did we have? If a god is coming?
“I’ve had worse,” Eden replied, with some concealed difficulty. A cloak had been pillowed behind, but he stayed propped on his elbows, like it would be worse to lay flat. “Please sit, mios. I have not the breath to argue it further. My legs will be fine, I need only to rest.”
Evander knelt in front of him, the last of the sunlight catching in his eyes.
It was always in times like these he seemed such an otherworldly creation. A flare of dark beauty, illuminated in a halo of light. His enchanting eyes tightened at the corners. Without seeming to think about it, he reached a single hand, cupping the side o
“We should have stopped sooner,” he murmured, more to himself than anyone. His thumb traced a gentle line across Eden’s cheekbone. “Much sooner. And I should have carried you.” Like the gods themselves were on trial, he cast an angry look towards the heavens. “If we hadn’t been stranded so many hours away from the forest, I would have made—”
“Should we stop now?” Kiera interjected suddenly, making the others look up in surprise. It had been hours since she’d spoken, and even then, it was just a few short words. Now that she had their attention, she gestured blindly towards the smoldering valley. “We were all standing together in the feasting hall, we all heard the same words. Sorne is coming to the valley. For all we know, he could be making his way there right now. Should we have stopped at all? Or should we not still be running? We are on the mere crux of this forest, I can almost see the castle from here.”
The words echoed off the burnished trees, fading into silence.
Of course, she might have said a lot more. She might have said that a day’s trek on foot, would be a mere flash on the wings of a dragon. She might have said they should be seeking cover in the deepest of canyons, in the darkest of caves; and that for the record, the fae would rather die than allow the vampire to carry him. She might have said all of that, but she didn’t.
She turned back to the skyline instead.
Five thousand, eight hundred, and forty-one.
They were still choking on the smoke.
It was quiet a few seconds longer, then Evander turned deliberately away from her, focusing his attention back on the fae. It was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking, but given the darkness of his expression and the brisk movements of his hands, it wasn’t hard to guess the general vibe.
“You would do well to keep silent,” he snapped.
On second thought, vampires are rather blunt.
In the mother of all ironies, he said the words not to Kiera—but to Jesse, who was perched silently on a rock beside her. They might have trekked for hours across a barren wasteland, but since those waves of fire had poured from her palms, the others had been handling her with velvet gloves.
The same did not apply to her boyfriend.
The shifter glanced over in equal parts exhaustion and surprise. Unwilling to argue the point, he merely lifted his hands in surrender, turning with a vacant expression back to the trees.
For an endless stretch of hours, it had seemed like they would never reach the edge of the valley. They had been walking so long, it felt almost strange to be keeping still. Yet despite the never-ending slog, there had not been a moment since the valley caught fire, they had ceased to be moving.
Constantly moving. Never resting, never pausing—clawing every inch of the way.
She remembered the moment it happened, that punishing momentum; the moment they unpeeled themselves from the crusted sand. The smoke had risen like a plume, so vast the sun itself was momentarily clouded. The air smelled of twisted metal, and was hot enough to burn the skin on the backs of their hands. There had been a moment when they’d merely stood there. Stunned by the scope of it, stunned by the heat. The flames had come with a roar, but there remained a deafening quiet in the wake of them. So great a silence, Kiera thought it might rise from the ground and devour her; tracking her cross the length of the earth, haunting her steps to the end of her days.
After some length of time, one of them had jerked back to life. We have to go. She’d never know who said it. Probably the vampire. They had picked up their things and skittered backwards, eyes darting from pyre to pyre, like there was a chance that great army might lift themselves from the ashes and come back to life. For a while they watched it. Then with almost eerie synchronicity, they’d turned around to face the forest, putting the smoldering wreckage at their backs.
Time had lurched by in uneven bursts, sometimes stalling out entirely, as they forced themselves across the length of the valley—the only point of movement, pinned beneath an endless sky. It had taken a little while for the shock to wear off, for their ears to stop ringing. Then by noon it had grown so unbearably hot, they were unable to keep their minds on anything else. They peeled off layers of clothing, limping along, as the silence filled with the sound of their shallow breathing.
Now that they were in the cool embrace of the forest, they wanted very much to take those layers back. But the vampire had claimed them as bedding for Eden’s recovery, and there wasn’t a person among them brave enough to issue a reply.
“Let me see it,” Evander coaxed softly, already easing the boot off the fae’s leg.
It was a delicate process, punctuated by several involuntary gasps of pain. Each time, the vampire would still apologetically, looking as if daggers were being dragged across his skin. He’d kneel with endless patience, waiting until his lover caught his breath, before easing the boot a bit further. When he rolled up the leg of the fae’s pants, his face whitened by several degrees.
“Eden,” he said quietly, “I think there’s a misalignment with the bone.”
The fae clenched his teeth, having come to the same conclusion several leagues back.
“Like I said...I’ve had worse.” He shifted painfully, trying to see for himself. When his eyes fell upon the purplish bruising and jagged angle beneath the skin, he slumped back with a sigh, saying a quiet curse in his native tongue. “The other is much the same. Can you fix it?”
Evander lifted his eyes uncertainly. Such an injury was beyond their usual scope, requiring the skill of an actual healer. But given that they were sitting in a crop of trees at what felt like the end of the world, such a thing seemed unlikely. At any rate, he would not allow the fae to suffer any longer than was necessary. If Eden had asked him to grow wings, he would find a way to see it done.
“Of course,” he said quietly, casting a quick look around the clearing. There was nothing but rocks and windswept grass, nothing that would help. “Would you like something for the pain?”
Knowing now what had to be done, the fae propped himself higher, keeping silent only by biting fiercely at the inside of his lip. The mortals remained oblivious, watching his progress with matching looks of worry. Only the vampire could smell the fresh dots of blood.
“No, just take—” Eden pulled in a sharp breath, closing his eyes as an agonizing jolt shot up his kneecaps. “This is bearable. Just make sure to take—” Another jolt, this one took the breath from him. The image went white, and his features stilled. “I would like something for the pain.”
Jesse abandoned the rock and knelt in front of him, staring intently. “What is best?”
“Imoneth,” the fae panted, gripping the cloak in fists. “But Evan would be—”
“Evan would be faster, but he’s not going to leave your side,” Jesse replied, kicking off his shoes. “I have some talent at this myself.” There were few creatures that could rival a vampire in speed, but none was better than a wolf for tracking scent. “At any rate, I’m doing this to get away from Evander,” he added, stripping off his tunic and dropping it on the pile. His blades and cloak were soon to follow. “The man has become intolerable, it has little to do with you.”
The vampire lifted his eyes with a scowl.
For the first time in hours, Eden cracked a smile.
“I would gather something extra for yourself,” he cautioned, glancing between them. “He’s hardly in the mood to play.” He started to say something more, then glanced abruptly towards the forest, peering into the shadows and coming up blank. His face tightened in apology, like he was sorry for the bother of it. “I haven’t seen any—”
“I will find them,” Jesse said calmly, squeezing his shoulder as he passed. “Just don’t do anything foolish whilst I’m away. Climbing, wrestling. I’d avoid the vampire entirely...”
Evander’s eyes flashed in the dimming light. “Run fast.”
Perhaps it was because it was a vampire who said it, perhaps it was because he could no longer control his smile, but never had the shifter fled the camp with such speed as he did that night.
