Publication date: September 21st, 2021
Synopsis:
Entering the woods is forbidden. To go in can mean a fate worse than death. At least that's what seventeen-year-old Laura has been told. But living in a new town with nothing to do, she ignores her mother's dire warnings and explores the forest near her home.
The trees entice Laura deeper into the woods. A mysterious, soothing voice calls her name, and she becomes lost. When a young man finds her, she thinks she's saved. But he insists their meeting is more than a coincidence. For centuries, his colony has been waiting for a savior. With his alluring eyes and gentle smile, Laura almost believes his crazy story.
Caught between worlds, and with her life at stake, she doesn't know who to believe or trust. Her heart tells her one thing and her head another.
Is it her destiny, or will her fate only postpone the inevitable?
Available at:
Excerpt
He embraced me, crossing his arms at his wrists, holding me tightly at the waist. As I drew closer, he kissed the top of my head. I put my arms around his neck, turning until the top of my head nuzzled under his chin "I promised I won't tell anyone about Landaffens or the Grove."
"I know you won't. I trust you, Laura."
Yearning for his lips to meet mine, I raised my head. His lips slid to my mouth. His kiss was soft. Tender. I drew him against me, the ardor of passion bubbling through my body, inflating my being with something I had never felt before.
I pushed my tongue between his teeth, into his mouth, cupping the back of his head firmly while the fingers of my other hand pressed into his back. He jerked away, stunned, as if I'd bitten his tongue.
"What's wrong?" I asked, pushing away from him.
"Nothing, I, I just." He stared at the ground. "You are the first girl I have ever kissed. The first girl I have ever touched this way.
"The first? Really?"
"Yes," he said. "I am inexperienced. Inept."
"You're not inept." I smiled and took one of his hands. "It was nice--really nice. I couldn't tell you hadn't done it before."
"Thank you," he said, squeezing my hands. Brell's words and the airy, whisper-like tone of his voice lulled me into a state of wanting to kiss him even more. "I will see you at the next early sun."
"Yes, at the early sun," I said.
On light feet, I cut through the dead grass to the driveway and tiptoed up the porch steps. When I reached the front door, I lifted my necklace from my shirt and held it tightly in my hand. When I opened my palm, it twinkled like a star. I turned, giving Brell a final wave. The doorknob twisted without much of a rattle, and I crept through the kitchen and down the hall to my room.
Karri Thompson, a native of San Diego, attended San Diego State University where she earned her bachelor's degree in English and master's degree in education. When she's not writing novels and teaching high school English, she can be found nerding out at San Diego Comic-Con and cooking delicious meals for her family. Karri is the recipient of the San Diego Book Awards Best Published Young Adult Novel for 2014.
