Christina Dodd Takes You INTO THE FLAME
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Read an excerpt of INTO THE FLAME, the final chapter in the Darkness Chosen series, on the shelves now!
All her life, her family’s valley had been Firebird’s home, and when she got pregnant, it had become her refuge. Now the clear air, the cold temperatures, the relentless familiarity made her face the fact she had avoided all day long.
She had to leave.
As the realization struck her, as she imagined the repercussions, her whole body clenched. She stopped — stopped thinking, stopped breathing, stopped moving, in fear and sorrow.
And in the silence that followed, she realized something was … not right.
From the time she was an infant, Konstantine had walked with her through the forest, teaching her how to listen, what to watch for, when to take flight and when to stand and fight. He taught her the world was full of dangers, and only a fool was unprepared. He taught her exactly as he had his sons.
No, not exactly — more sternly, for she was a girl, and vulnerable.
Now, here she was, leaving the safety of the house, wandering in the night, brooding and paying no attention to her surroundings, all because she imagined her home was safe.
But the forest was too silent.
Something was watching her.
Something hostile.
Something dangerous.
Her papa would shout at her for carelessness, but first he would say — Get back to safety, Firebird. Get back now.
How to get to the house without alerting that thing out there that she was on to it? She made a big deal of shivering and adjusting the band around her ears. Turning back toward the front porch, she walked briskly.
Don’t run, little Firebird, she heard Konstantine’s voice rumble in her head. Running brings out a predator’s urge to chase, and you can’t outrun a wolf or a panther. You can’t out fly a hawk. But you can outsmart them, and you can outfight them.
She slipped her hands in her coat pockets; in one, she carried a small switchblade and she palmed it, then brought it out and held it to her chest. The other hand she brought out and swung as she walked, ready to use it as a weapon or a defense.
If she screamed, her family would come spilling out of the house, but it would be better if they could catch this thing unawares and question it. For she assumed it was human. Human … and something else.
Worse, if she screamed they would know she’d come out alone and attracted this thing, and been unable to handle it herself.
She hated when her brothers had to take care of things for her. They never let her forget it.
Behind her, she sensed movement — something coming out of the woods, daring the open ground to move toward her. The footfalls were almost imperceptible and still cautious, yet the hair rose on the back of Firebird’s neck. Whoever or whatever it was, it was a predator, and it was angry.
She moved more quickly, her gaze fixed on the house where the lighted front room windows beckoned.
Behind her the pursuit intensified.
Her heart jumped in her chest. Her brothers and their teasing be damned.
She opened her mouth to scream.
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