Series: The Descendants #1
Publication date: December 17th, 2016
Synopsis:
Fail the tests and become a slave. Display defectiveness and be put to death.
Monroe Academy was built to separate the weak from the strong. Pass the biyearly leveling and be released into society upon graduation. Fail to be promoted and be stripped of rank and forced into servitude. That was a rule that applied to all but Rayah Bardeau. A student of Monroe Academy, branded as a Null because of her absence of Lighter energy.
With her mother standing as a slave in her place, Rayah was given until the age of twenty to make level six, but at nineteen-years-old and with only eight months until her twentieth birthday, she was only a mere level one. The same level she's been since she was ten. With the stress of her upcoming test, the loss of a friend, and the constant wrongdoings towards her, Rayah could only dream of escaping from Lytonia, and escape she did. Only, when she awakened in her dorm, she couldn't distinguish if she had only dreamt of meeting Soren, a wild and adventurous defect in the Wild Lands, or if she had somehow used her Lighter Form to get there.
But only the elite--the most powerful of Lighters--could tap into their Lighter Forms. Right? And what was the dark energy she used when she and Soren were attacked by Depleters? Was Rayah really as powerless as she thought? Was she a defect? And if she used dark energy, could she call herself a Lighter at all?
Bestselling author Destiny Hawkins brings you the first installment of a gripping dark fantasy where a powerless girl must survive in a society that doesn't accept the weak... or the defective.
Content Advisory: The following book contains vivid depictions of violence and death. Reader discretion is advised.
Available at:
Excerpt
I let my hand drop to my side and began walking but didn't even make it a few feet before hearing twigs and leaves crunching on my left. When I turned my head to see who or what it was, I froze, and my lips parted to inhale.
Oh, no.
Psycho had also stopped walking when he spotting me, looking almost as shocked as I was. If he was any regular guy that I'd spotted in the forest, I would have blushed at his handsomeness. I couldn't see him as well the first night that we met, but now that I was looking at him in the brightness of the day, I couldn't stop staring. The sun rays shining down on him only made it harder for me to turn away, but when my eyes landed on the Life Stones dangling from around his neck, I frowned.
A slow and devious grin crept up Psycho's lips. "Found you."
Right as I started to run, white lighting blasted from Psycho's fingertips. He didn't expect me to slide under it, roll to my feet, and continue running. I was experienced in having others try and use their powers to keep me from escaping, so I naturally knew how to get around some things.
I heard crackles of lightning slicing through the air behind me, barely missing me by a hair each time. Splinters of wood exploded from the trees, warning me not to slow down. Psycho was probably more experienced in chasing his victims than I was in running from my attackers, so I had to consider that he was leading me in the direction that I was going.
I wanted to stop and turn but changing direction would be dangerous. I could turn right, making myself an easier target, I could go in the opposite direction, giving him a few seconds time to zap me, or I could just charge at him and catch him by surprise. He was just an elem. It was the brights that I had a hard time fighting against, since they were so fast and strong, but Psycho--
Fire roared past my face, causing me to slide to a stop. I wasn't paying attention and had almost been burned. The heat of the flame kept me from running through it, making me think back to Artemis and his hot iron rods. I couldn't believe that my thoughts of being burned again and hindered me from escaping. I had run through fire plenty of times before, patting off the fire patches as I got away, but this time I couldn't move. Artemis had done something to my mind, causing me freeze in fear.
Destiny Hawkins is a multi-genre author with a dark imagination and a love for magic.
She enjoys cooking, running, swimming, listening to music, reading, and of course watching anime filled with fantasy! Her favorite genres to read and work in are Fantasy, LGBT, Paranormal, Romance, Dystopian, Sci-fi, and young adult. She's been writing since she was nine years old, with Caged being her very first novel, and she has more to come!! Much... much more.
