Every time I sit down in front of the computer, it’s like I’ve forgotten how to write. The words desert me and my screen remains blank. The beginning of any book is always hard. It usually takes me a couple of days of circling the first scene to get it going. Although most times, I at least have some idea of what the first scene will entail. A place to start thinking about. Not this time though. That’s probably why I’m having trouble.

Writer’s block for me is usually a sign I haven’t done my due diligence in the planning stage. At heart I’m a pantser but doing a preliminary plot outline definitely makes things way easier. I also think it makes the story stronger in the end. More cohesive. At least in my case. Dragon Ridden was a pants moment. Pathfinder, at least the first two thirds, was planned. Most of the books since then with the exception of The Storm’s Whisper have had some outline attached to them. Let’s not talk about whether I actually follow the entire outline or go off into the weeds, necessitating an entirely new outline on the back half of every book.

Usually, I wait until I have a first chapter or at least a first scene to work from before I start a new series. It’s kind of how I know something is ready to go down on paper. The reason Dragon Ridden is my first book and not Pathfinder, despite the latter being in my brain longer, is because I couldn’t figure out where to begin when I sat down to write Pathfinder. Although Dragon Ridden was entirely thrown together with no planning whatsoever, I didn’t feel like I was ready to write Pathfinder back then. I’m kind of getting the same feeling with the book I’ve chosen this time as well. The idea is really cool, the world relatively well fleshed out, but it’s missing that one piece that would allow me to get going.

I think part of the problem is that I’m also rushing. I struck a deal with myself last week. I’d take the remaining time until Firebird 5’s edits returned to work on something new. I figured since I had to reread Aileen’s books anyway I could get a little writing done between reading sessions. Then when I transitioned to Aileen, I could use one day a week or part of the weekend to write in the new series. That’s actually how I wrote the first half of Rules of Redemption too.

Except that’s not going to work if I don’t actually do some writing. It figures that I’d pick the one series that doesn’t have a clear starting point. Not either of the two others that already had a planned beginning. I always make things as hard as possible on myself.

In other news, the cover for Trials of Conviction is in the process of being finalized. I’m hoping to have that book up for preorder by the end of this week. Everything is in place. I just need the cover now.

I’m eyeing December 26 for the release date. Usually I try not to publish around Christmas because of the holidays. Sales can sometimes be kind of sluggish around then. People tend to spend a lot of time with their families. Not everyone has time to read books. The Firebird series has a pretty devoted following though. Those who don’t pick it up the day of will still read it in the new year. From that perspective it doesn’t hurt me to publish around Christmas. And this way, those who do have time will get to read it a little earlier.

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Today was the first real full day back in the editing chair. It was a bit of a slow start. Six days spent doing nothing but sitting on a beach with a book that I didn’t write evidently made me forget how to type. I made so many typing errors this morning that I started wondering if there was something wrong with my brain.

Overall though, I have to say I am so pleased with the state of the book. At least the beginning section. There’s always a fear when I get to this stage that I’ll read it and find the balance off. Pacing, writing, etc. Or that I’ll hate it. Given the amount of time it took to get to this point, that would be heartbreaking. Right now, the words are just flowing with minimal need to tweak things. I doubt my luck will hold to the end, but I’m excited with what I’ve written and can’t wait to share.

Emily has posted the beta and arc reader forms on the book community on Facebook. I’ll probably be ready to pass this book to the beta’s by Wednesday or Thursday of next week. So if that is something you’re interested in, I suggest you head over to the book community to sign up. If you’re not already a member, this might be a good time to join.

Below a few photos of the trip.

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It wasn’t until the husband told me Odin was shaking his head a lot before asking if we still had the medicated ear drops from the last time he got an ear infection that we discovered it wasn’t dirt. While applying the ear drops, we noticed black specks in his fur. At that point, suspicion dawned. A quick search on the internet led me to our culprit. Fleas. And that black “dirt” was flea dust. AKA flea poop.

We commenced de-fleaing procedures immediately. I ran to a store to buy flea shampoo and other things including a flea comb which confirmed our fears. The husband helped me bathe the cats and put on what we realized later was flea medication that expired two years ago. While this won’t hurt the cats, it does affect the efficacy of the ingredients. But neither the vet nor the maker can tell me by how much. So now we don’t even know if the medication is working.

As a result of the flea incident, I got nothing of what I’d hoped to accomplish done this weekend. Instead, I did all of the laundry. Sooo many loads. And vacuumed. The entire house. Twice.

I bought a flea trap and caught a couple fleas. That led to us to vacuuming and re-spraying the flea killing stuff on our furniture and carpet yet again.

We also started combing the cats for fleas. Of course, Loki turned into a hell cat because of the bath. The sounds she made were the type of thing that would make me quail in terror if heard out in the wild. This despite the fact that she normally loves being brushed. Odin just sat there and took it, making distressed sounds every so often.

Poor Odin had it worse because he also had to go to the vet because it had been over a year since his last visit and the vet couldn’t prescribe new flea medication until she saw him. It was quite traumatizing for him. He peed in his crate at one point which got on his fur. To top things off, I got a call yesterday saying his blood test was mislabeled and I needed to bring him in again on Friday.

Things are finally getting better though. Loki is enjoying her brush time. I’m no longer pulling off live fleas. Both cats have stopped scratching. However, this is a protracted battle that will last two to three months as the fleas move through their lifecycle.

Please wish me luck. This is quite honestly my worst nightmare. Only I thought it would be bedbugs that would get us. Not fleas on my indoor only cats.

The post the Horror appeared first on T.A. White.

Dragon Con was amazing. There were so many sights and people to see. Thank you to everybody who came out to see me or sent their neighbor, friend, or coworker to procure them a book. I know the lines were long and the heat was unbelievable. It really meant a lot and I consider talking with you about my worlds and characters one of the highlights of my career.

The Con was way more successful than I imagined going in. I envisioned not being able to sale any of my books and having to drag the heavy boxes all the way to Florida and then back to Ohio. Instead, I sold out of books 2, 3 and 4 of the Aileen Travers series by Saturday (I didn’t bring many admittedly), the first book of Dragon Ridden by Sunday, and Rules of Redemption and Age of Deception early on Monday. Not bad considering I think I could have sold more of the Firebird series if I’d brought more.

I also ran out of all of the bookmarks, postcards, and business cards first thing Sunday. Next time I do something like this, I’ll have to make a note to bring way more than I did. At one point, I was rationing the items like a dragon hoarding gold.

The only thing I regret is not making it to the rest of the Con. I was so exhausted each night that I think I fell asleep at nine. It was pretty much get off, get dinner, go to sleep. Thank goodness my husband attended with me to help with things.

A couple of people have been asking if I plan to attend other Cons. I am definitely putting that on my to-do list and checking out which ones are feasible. There’s one or two in Ohio (near where I live. Hence my interest) and RARE in Australia and I think Scotland. My husband and I are trying to work out the logistics. I.E. how do I get books there without breaking the bank? It’s so expensive to ship. Also, will this fit into the writing schedule? I don’t want to go to too many conferences because they are a massive time and energy suck that could be used putting out more books. On the other hand, interacting with fans makes everything worth it and reminds me that there are people who care about these stories. Sometimes my inner doubter makes me forget that.

Returning to Dragon Con is also on that list. I think my husband already started looking for hotel rooms, but haven’t made my final decision as there is something happening next year that we’re not sure of the timing for.

If you have Cons you attend, feel free to drop the name in the comments. I will definitely check out whether they are feasible to attend but I make no promises.

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Then I came inside. This is where things took a drastic turn. Throw up. The foamy, clear kind. It was everywhere. Next to my kitchen table, in the entryway, throughout the kitchen, in front of the stairs. Everywhere. My husband and I tracked it to the basement stairs where we found Odin guarding the steps, leading us to assume he was the culprit. Only, it turns out he wasn’t. No, that was Loki who we found seconds later in the basement next to a huge pile of real throw up and flecks of foam and other stuff on her face.

While I cleaned Loki up, my husband dealt with the throw up. Thinking the excitement was over, I returned to my office to concentrate on the scene I was working on. I’d only just sat down when I looked up to find Loki had followed me and had large ribbons of foamy drool hanging out of her mouth like a rabid animal. Queue my panic. I’ve had this cat for over eight years. The only time she drooled like that was when she licked the spot where I’d put the flea medicine I used on her the first year I had her. I didn’t use it after that.

At this point, I called my vet and asked if I should be concerned. They said yes and to bring her in. Thirty minutes later, after fighting through rush hour adjacent traffic, I reached the vet with the non sedated Loki. This is important because a long time ago, it was decided that Loki couldn’t go to the vet unless she was sedated because of how aggressive she was. She is small but she is mighty. And very vocal. As a result, the vet couldn’t draw her blood. So I had to make an appointment for first thing the next day when she was on her chill pill. A sleepless night and an expensive vet bill later, we established that Loki wasn’t in organ failure, which is the biggest fear for a cat that likes to eat plants. No matter if they are toxic or not.

In the end, it appears she was just being a cat.

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Some things may seem familiar, but I hope you enjoy anyway.

Deleted Scene

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The first few days after completing a draft, I’m usually at odds and ends. It takes time for my brain to catch up to the fact it doesn’t need to run as fast or hard. This is about the time I resume regular activities like cleaning my house, cooking dinner, grocery shopping, etc. There’s a period of high productivity after a draft ends. That meant yesterday, minutes after finishing, I hurried to the grocery store and bought all the fruits and veggies in sight. I cooked dinner for my husband and me and cleared the office desk of all the scraps of paper that contained ideas for the book. You could say I restored order to my chaos.

I predict this order will only last another few days and then the fatigue and brain fog that comes with an end will set in. At that point, I become a human shaped slug and start binging books and TV. For now though, I’m going to see how much I can get done before that happens.

I’m quite excited with this draft. This is the first book in at least four or five books where I’ve written it from beginning to end. No abandoning it to restart once I hit a wall. Right now, there is no plan to rewrite a significant chunk either. There might be some massaging here and there. A little context added and a scene or two inserted. But it’s not tearing out half the book to replace it with more words. Of course, that might change once I start the read through, but for now I am flush with victory and the hope that one day I will go back to writing drafts that aren’t complete gut jobs.

The post First Draft Complete appeared first on T.A. White.

Perhaps some of my disorientation is because this last month has been particularly fast due to working on a first draft, having my wisdom teeth taken out, and preparing for the holidays. As a result, I didn’t put as many words in the manuscript as I am used to. Maybe that’s part of the reason I’m feeling a tad disoriented as we embark on a new year.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s was particularly rough. I worked, but I don’t think I could have told you what day it was at any given time. The word count day by day veered from horrendous at 600 words to amazing at 3400. Overall, I’m happing with the trajectory of the plot. There’s something really cool I want to do in the ending, but I’m still trying to figure out logistics—and how to get from where I am to where I want to go.

Christmas for us was pretty good this year. My sister came in from out of town—though she arrived two days later than planned because of the winter storm. While she was here, we went on a hike in Hocking Hills which was beautiful.

For gifts, my husband and I did something different this year. Mostly because he couldn’t think of anything he wanted and I forgot that he’d asked if I wanted a toaster oven/air fryer. So, when I asked for a second thing, not remembering the first, he decided he would just say he wanted that for Christmas and that our gifts would be to us as a family rather than a personal gift.

The second gift was a Theragun elite. According to their website description, it is a smart percussive therapy device. I have to tell you—it is amazing. I worked out on Saturday at Orange Theory and a couple hours later my legs and lower back were aching because it had been a week since the last time I worked out and we’d done some all outs. Fifteen minutes with the Theragun and the majority of my aches and pains were gone. It’s also helped a lot with the tightness in my neck from so many hours in an office chair and the tightness in my hips for the same reason. All in all, I’m so glad he decided he wanted this. Though I do feel a wee bit guilty because he hasn’t used it once.

In years past, I’ve always done a post forecasting the next year in regards to the books and I thought I’d keep the tradition alive. So, here goes. The plan as of now—though as always I make no promises of actually sticking to this plan.

First up—Facets of Revolution’s audio book will be published March 28.

Aileen 6 will be available in Spring. I’m about 60-70 percent through her story. A few more scenes and I’ll get to head in to the lead up to the climax. I also have a deleted scene from Twilight’s Herald I’m hoping to publish via the blog in the next few weeks.

Firebird 5 will be next. I’m sure many of you will be happy about that. I will say I’m glad I took a break to work on Aileen before jumping straight into this book because Kira and company have started speaking in my head and their adventures are going to be spectacular.

Truthfully Firebird 5 will probably be the last book of the year, but if by some miracle I have time, I’ll work on Firebird 6 next or finally start the new secret series. I haven’t decided which.

That’s the plan anyway. Hope everyone’s year is off to a good start.

The post Happy New Years! appeared first on T.A. White.

Facets of Revolution is now available in all the retailers. The print version should be coming later today or tomorrow. I approved it this morning now we just have to wait for it work its way through Amazon’s queue. The audio version is coming but I do not have an ETA yet.

Happy Reading!

The line between loyalty and betrayal has never been so fine.

Chasing the trail of the woman who was once considered her best friend, Kira Forrest returns to the planet of her birth. When a near deadly incident jeopardizes her arrival, Kira will find the secrets she’s worked so hard to hide bubbling to the surface one by one.

Her only hope to control her destiny and protect the ones she loves is to embark on a dangerous rite of passage that may require far more of her than she’s willing to pay. For a hidden menace stalks her from the shadows—it’s target those closest to her.

With the help of her lover and the allies she’s made, Kira will have to fight for her future—and her past.

A reckoning is coming. The Phoenix will have to rise from her ashes to decide once and for all where she belongs.

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3QRwRon

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3QKUn6H

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3QvWmvJ

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3zYFvux

Universal: https://books2read.com/u/mvXrqz

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Preorder now

Available Sept. 27

One

Almaluc – A space station above the planet Jettie

Selene tilted the cup she held to admire the lovely reddish color of the liquid inside. It really was the perfect shade. A delight for the eyes and a promise for the palate.

It was amazing how a love of plants steeped in hot liquid was a universal concept that transcended boundaries of culture and species.

From the seemingly infinite variations of tea and coffee you encountered while visiting human space to the Haldeel’s zier, an underwater flower that released a unique neurotoxin when exposed to hot water that made the lips, tongue, and throat tingle while stimulating the nervous system in much the same way caffeine did humans.

And finally, the Tuann laug, the beverage Selene was currently enjoying.

Closing her eyes, Selene lifted the cup to her lips, breathing in the steam for a short second before indulging in a tiny sip.

Yes. Absolutely perfect.

The taste was unlike anything else Selene had encountered. It wasn’t quite an oolong. Something about the high and low notes in the tea were a little too spicy for that. If Selene had to pick a comparison, she would say it was a much more mellow version of chai. A little bit smoother with a more delicate finish.

It was the kind of tea you might savor in the quiet moments. Those times when you wanted to bask in simplicity.

Selene set the delicate cup on the saucer she held.

“You were right. This was well worth the experience,” Selene told the person sitting across from her.

The woman finished pouring her own cup before setting down the pot and straightening. Everything about her—from her elegant bearing to the floor length robes and the way her straight black hair was arranged so it cascaded over her shoulder—was a carefully crafted image designed to put Selene at ease and lower her guard.

Yukina was about as far from being the refined, gentle creature she was portraying herself as one could get. As the oldest Face of the Tuann emperor, she was someone who regularly swam in the shark-infested waters of some of the most politically dangerous arenas in both the Haldeel and Tuann empires.

She didn’t spend her time sipping tea while exchanging inane chatter with perfect strangers. Not unless it served her agenda in some way.

Selene studied Yukina over the rim of her cup, taking in every shift of the woman’s expression. It wasn’t easy. Yukina didn’t give her much to work with.

There was a reason the forty-three had listed Yukina as one of the top ten Tuann to avoid under any circumstances. The other used deceit and manipulation the same way most breathed air. You could never trust what she was showing you on the surface. It made her a difficult opponent. Even for someone as experienced as Selene in the art of deception and misdirection.

“I am so glad you enjoyed it.” Yukina paused. “If you were to return home, you would find many other things to your liking.”

Selene hid her smile behind her cup. No wonder Kira had so much trouble with this one. For someone as used to saying what she meant as Kira, it would be difficult to play these subtle word games.

Not that Selene thought Kira incapable of it. Selene didn’t think there was anything Kira wasn’t capable of. But such methods would annoy her youngest sister.

And an irritated Kira was rather dangerous.

No, Kira preferred to beat and batter the situation until it took the shape she wanted. She lacked patience. It was her defining weakness—and sometimes her greatest strength.

Selene was different. Patience was where she lived. Sometimes for too long. She would rather the moment pass than risk herself.

In Yukina, Selene saw a kindred spirit. Each understood that words were a weapon every bit as dangerous as a blade. That it took a deft hand to shape and mold them to their maximum potential.

Perhaps had circumstances been different—had Selene not been kidnapped from the Tuann as a child and grown up in hell—they might have enjoyed matching wits in this fashion.

They could have been—maybe not friends—but acquaintances who regularly challenged each other to a battle of wits.

Selene thought she might have enjoyed that.

As she was thinking, her gaze drifted to the man standing behind Yukina. The armor he was wearing was distinctive of a Tuann oshota, an elite warrior class responsible for the protection of their chosen one, the person they called a sword. Known as synth armor, it was far more advanced than anything humans had created.

Harder than any metal or alloy, it could stop all but the most extreme ballistic weapons. However, it wasn’t without its drawbacks, proving weak to en-blades and a few other types of weapons.

This version was a matte black darker than the void of space outside this ship.

He was tall, towering over Yukina with broad shoulders and a wide chest that pointed to a life devoted to training.

Despite his size, he was trying not to seem dangerous—and doing a bad job of it.

Selene suspected that the reason for that was his eyes. They were the first thing you noticed about him. A gold that was striking against his light brown skin.

He watched Selene with the kind of intensity that said he was trying to peel back her skin to study what lay under it.

“See something interesting?” he asked.

Selene played with the handle of her cup. The revelation of secrets was a delicate thing.

Too much and you risked destroying the very thing you hoped to help. Too little and nothing ever changed.

Selene needed change. They all did.

Very well. A hint then.

“I knew a boy with eyes like yours once.” Selene pretended not to notice the subtle tension that entered the man’s stance or the way everything about him sharpened.

The man tried to stare Selene down, a predator in that moment before it struck. “And what happened to that boy?”

Selene occupied herself with her cup and the liquid inside, done with this topic for now. “Some stones should be left unturned.”

Yukina and the man exchanged a quiet look before Yukina took the lead in the conversation once again.

“You’re very different from her.”

“No one is like Kira. She is unique.”

“You sound admiring.”

“Do I?” Selene swirled the liquid in her cup. “Perhaps that is because I am. She is the best of us.”

“There are more then?” Yukina asked, as if she didn’t already know after Selene’s hint earlier.

“There are.”

“Why won’t they return to us?”

Selene couldn’t tell if the ache in Yukina’s voice was real or not. In a sense, it didn’t matter.

The forty-three were aware that the Tuann yearned for those they lost in an event they called the Sorrowing. It was a time when hundreds of their children were taken from them and hundreds more of their people were killed.

It was a devastating blow for a people who reproduced extremely slowly. The mental bonds the Tuann made with their loved ones made it doubly so. When those ties were severed in such a traumatic fashion, it caused the slow decline of those left behind.

Those Tuann who couldn’t recover perished as they faded away from sorrow.

Selene was sure it felt like a dream to discover not all of those children had died. It was a gift the Tuann would never walk away from. They didn’t realize the cost their former children had already paid for survival. The nightmares they still lived with.

That hell had tempered the two youngest, Kira and Jin. Like phoenixes, they’d risen from the ashes of their beginnings.

The rest of the forty-three weren’t so lucky. They were broken.

Monsters—better left alone.

Selene feared the Tuann wouldn’t accept who the forty-three had to become in order to survive—or what was done to them.

Perhaps because of their long lives there was a rigidity to their social structure. And the stolen children would never be bound again.

She blinked at her tea, dismissing the memories through an effort of will.

Across from her, Yukina reached for her own cup, taking a small sip as she studied Selene in the same way Selene had her earlier. “The trip to Ta Sa’Riel will take up to a month. There will be a lot of time to discover what other things you may have missed in the intervening years.”

A faint smile graced Selene’s face.

Clever woman. Yukina acted like Selene’s accompaniment was already a foregone conclusion.

It was a move taken out of Selene’s own playbook when dealing with her children. How strange to see her own tactics used against her.

While she was considering Yukina, the doorway adjacent to their table dissolved to reveal a pair of people—a mountain of a man in matte black synth armor in the process of murmuring something to his companion.

A woman. Tall by human standards, though still short compared to the man. Gray-purple eyes that seemed like they’d seen all the pain this world had to offer focused on Selene. Their owner scanned her quickly as if to assure herself Selene was in once piece.

Hair the color of wine framed delicate features. Like Kira, it was untamed. Beautiful in its disarray.

Warmth filled Selene’s chest. She’d come.

Against all odds. Despite any arguments the Tuann would have thrown her way.

Kira’s face revealed a worry Selene knew she didn’t deserve. Not after all that she’d done. The wrongs she and the rest of the forty-three had turned their faces from. Determined not to see. Or feel. Or interfere with.

Despite all the anger and hurt, Kira had set it aside to come to Selene’s rescue. Willing to risk everything.

It was why the forty-three loved her and Jin so much—though they made sure the two never realized.

Kira and Jin were the sun and the forty-three the planets that watched over them from afar. Only intervening when the worst possible outcome was assured.

Such as was the case on Rothchild.

There was a loud clink in the sudden silence as Yukina set her cup down harder than necessary.

“Why did you bring her here?” Yukina demanded of the mountain standing next to Kira.

“She’s rather persistent when she wants to be.” Graydon prowled into the room, his movements like that of a lion. Someone dangerous and assured of his place at the top of the food chain.

Kira remained motionless on the threshold. Her hands moved in an unobtrusive gesture Selene remembered from their childhood when any form of unauthorized communication would result in a beating.

Roughly, the gesture meant, “Do you need assistance?”

Selene ran a finger along the rim of her ear. “Do not interfere.”

Once, her ears had been as pointed as the Tuann’s across from her. Now, like the rest of the forty-three and Kira, they were docked to allow them to blend in with humans easier. Just one more scar that separated them from their former brethren.

“I don’t care how persistent she is. Her presence here is not welcome,” Yukina said to Graydon as he sprawled in the seat next to her.

“You’re welcome to try to move her,” Graydon rumbled with an amused look that said he looked forward to the attempt.

It was strange. If asked, Selene would have said Graydon was far too loyal to his emperor and his position as the emperor’s Face to be here, helping Kira circumvent another Face’s will.

Yet that was exactly what he was doing.

Kira stepped into the room, revealing the man waiting behind her. Selene sucked in a harsh breath as recognition darted through her.

Taller than Kira, the man wore a pair of wire-framed glasses that managed to make him seem almost nondescript.

“Alexander,” Selene whispered.

Hope was a fragile concept, and it was one of the first things their masters had beaten out of them. What was the use of wishes and dreams when your present was filled with nothing but survival at all costs?

That loss made you forget that such a thing ever existed in the first place.

She never in a million years would have hoped for Alexander’s interference in this matter. Life had taught her to be pragmatic.

Something as innocuous as a prince riding to a damsel’s rescue was as far out of reach as the sky was for a frog stuck at the bottom of a well.

“What is the meaning of this?” Yukina demanded as Selene experienced the unsettling sensation of butterflies in her stomach. Something she thought she was much too jaded to ever entertain.

It took a moment to understand Kira’s expression, the pinched, almost combative look that made her seem as bristly as a porcupine.

Kira was worried, Selene realized with a soft amazement.

She shouldn’t be. She’d given Selene a gift beyond measure by convincing Alexander to come. Selene had always thought she was done with that fleeting emotion called hope. Kira had shown her she wasn’t.

What a lovely discovery after all this time.

Alexander spared Selene the briefest of glances as he entered. Kira shadowed him, keeping to the edges of the room. As if by doing so, she could keep her presence unobtrusive.

Unlikely, but Selene appreciated the attempt.

“Would anyone care to explain why the Tuann abducted a Haldeel citizen from one of our planets?” Alexander asked, coming to a stop beside Selene.

He reached down, dragging a chair out from the table with a loud squeal before lowering his bulk into it.

For such a big man, he could move silently when he wanted to.

“I’d consider your next words carefully if you don’t want a war,” Alexander advised when Yukina simply stared.

Graydon reached for a bowl of fruit, snagging one of the blue spheres and popping it into his mouth.

“She is Tuann,” Yukina finally said.

“She is a Haldeel citizen. As such, not even your emperor can remove her from our borders against her will.”

Alexander placed a token on the table before pushing the button at its center. An image with Selene’s face was projected into the air, along with a full set of papers proclaiming her citizenship of a Haldeel planet.

Yukina studied them for half a second. “They’re legitimate.”

“I know.” The smile that touched Alexander’s face was sharp and faintly mocking. “Why do you think I’m here?”

“Why weren’t the Tuann informed that one of us had applied for citizenship?” Yukina asked.

“You’re our allies; not our masters. Do you think the Haldeel are required to keep you apprised of our own affairs?”

The skin around Yukina’s eyes tightened. She didn’t like that question, and it was easy to see why. Alexander’s argument had the advantage of being legally full proof. The Tuann would be hard-pressed to come up with a counter that would allow them to take Selene without her permission.

If she wanted, Selene could take the hand Alexander was offering and walk out of here free and clear. The Tuann wouldn’t be able to touch her. Their enemies, on the other hand, wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded.

They were the ones the forty-three were most concerned with.

The wisest choice would be to take the exit Alexander procured and disappear. It would take time, but she could establish another home for herself and the children Kira had rescued. She would have peace in her life. Far from the threat of danger.

Nothing would change. Particularly not her.

As if from a distance, Selene heard herself speak up. “I’ll go.”

Kira straightened from the wall.

A balloon built in Selene’s chest. “I’ll go with them. I’ll accompany the Tuann to their home world.”

Relief replaced the tight feeling of that balloon. She’d done it. She’d taken that first and hardest step into the light.

“What are you doing right now?” Kira loomed over Selene in a manner Selene knew wasn’t meant to be intimidating. Her sister couldn’t help her nature. Even as a child, Kira’s stare could make others back down when she was angry. As an adult, that ability had only grown.

Ignoring the hot splash of power against her skin, Selene reached for the pot of tea and filled a second cup before handing it to Kira.

Bafflement showed on Kira’s expression as she took the offered tea.

“They issued an invitation, and I am accepting,” Selene said by way of explanation.

Kira raised the cup and blew on its surface before taking a small sip. She made a pleased expression. “You have obligations. Remember?”

“I would never forget.”

The children were Selene’s heart and soul. They were her salvation at a time when she’d contemplated ending the monotony of her existence.

Selene didn’t think Kira was aware of how close she’d been to the abyss when that first child was brought to her. Or maybe Kira knew, and the children were her solution.

Selene had taken that first child and built a life around them and the others that followed.

She would never leave them in danger.

“I’ve already made arrangements for another to take up my duties in my absence.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.”

Selene had never been surer of anything.

Something inside her said Kira would have need of her soon. That her presence was necessary for the other’s survival. If that was the case, Selene planned to accompany her—whether the rest of the forty-three approved or not.

“Much as it pains me to say—I agree with Kira. It will not be easy to leave later.” Alexander’s gaze bored into the side of Selene’s face.

Kira continued to sip her tea, watching the byplay between them with a look of avid interest.

“It is time,” Selene said, facing Alexander.

His disapproval over this course of action radiated from every line of his body.

Selene channeled the calm that had served her well in the worst times of her life as she met his stare. One no less intimidating than Kira’s own.

Selene didn’t let herself waver, despite the instinct warning her to retreat. That she wasn’t as powerful as either of the other two. It was one she had practice in denying.

She wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed. This was her path. She would take it no matter the cost.

Alexander’s eyes closed in defeat. “Very well. If that is your wish.”

Kira gave him an appalled look. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say? She tells you she’s going and you’re like, okay?”

Alexander glared at their youngest sister. “She isn’t as reckless as some I could name.”

Kira’s scowl deepened. “I’m not reckless.”

A scoff came from across the table. The target of Kira’s ire shifted to Graydon.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave in two days,” Yukina said, quick to press her advantage.

To her credit, there was no sign of smug victory, her expression as calmly poised as it had been before Alexander and Kira’s interruption.

“Not quite.” Alexander gave the emperor’s Face an unamused smile. “I’ll be accompanying Selene to your planet.”

A choked sound came from Kira as she lifted her head to stare. “Is this a joke?”

Alexander ignored her as he focused on the Tuann.

Yukina gave him a polite smile that did nothing to conceal her dislike. “As noble as your offer is, I’m afraid you’re not invited.”

Alexander lifted a hand, ki pooling his palm. Before the rest could react, he slammed his hand onto the table. A concussive wave erupted.

For a split second, nothing happened. Then the table crumpled as if a giant had smashed it as flat as a thin piece of paper.

“Whoa.” Kira’s expression hinted at a jealousy Selene found amusing.

If her sister wanted, Kira could do far more than flatten a table.

Faint interest showed on Graydon’s face before he selected another piece of fruit from the sideboard and popped it in his mouth.

“What about now?” Alexander asked with a smile as polite as the one Yukina had just offered him.

Yukina’s gaze lifted. “The Tuann welcomes the return of our child.”

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