Here’s a special inside look at the final novel of the Defiant Trilogy. Join Faelan as she tries to put back together the broken pieces of past and present.
She leaned back in the pilot’s chair, staring at the stars out the ship’s front panel. She loved this eternal night, but her heart no longer belonged to the deep space that once brought peace to her soul. Tonight it didn’t, nothing eased the guilt that tore at her, or the hatred she felt towards the people that had stolen her future. She couldn’t sleep with these thoughts in her head. Every time she closed her eyes, she imagined killing them all, one by one.
“Faelan?”
Faelan jumped and twisted, going for her gun in the same motion. Her finger was on the trigger before she could stop herself, but at the last second her brain seemed to catch on and she titled the gun just in time to keep from shooting Mikhal as she pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit the wall over his left shoulder and ricocheted, making her flinch. Mikhal didn’t even move. He just stood there, motionless, staring her down. Faelan swallowed and dropped the gun to her side immediately, staring back.
“Uhh…” she licked her lips, trying to find the words to speak but wasn’t sure what to say.
Mikhal rolled his shoulders and walked through the doorway he was standing in. His expression didn’t change but she could hear the barely clipped anger in his voice. “I was going to ask what you were doing but I don’t think I want to know now.”
Faelan sat back down in the pilot’s chair and stuck her feet up, shrugging, “I stopped myself last second.”
“You almost shot me.” He glowered at her.
“Don’t sneak up on me and that won’t happen.” She flashed a grin but he wasn’t amused. She could see his fists starting to curl.
“I wasn’t sneaking.”
“Oh please, everything you do is sneaky.” Faelan replied, holstering her weapon. Her voice was nonchalant like she hadn’t almost killed him. “I swear sometimes you don’t even make a sound. It’s inhuman. Besides, I didn’t shoot you. Like I said, I stopped myself.”
“The ricochet could have gotten me or you just as easily as if you’d shot us yourself.”
Faelan snorted, “You’re no fun.”
“Nothing about this is funny, Faelan.”
She rolled her eyes and sat down in the pilot’s chair. “So serious.” He looked like he wanted to shoot her himself, but instead he moved to the tiny kitchenette and rummaged for food. “Throw me those chips.”
“Get them yourself.”
“Why are you so grumpy?” She demanded and leaned forward in her chair, turning it so she could see him better.
“You almost shot me!” He hissed and wheeled to face her. “How grumpy would you be if someone almost shot you?”
Faelan shrugged, “Honestly, if I was angry every time someone tried to shoot me I’d never be happy.”
“You’re psychotic.”
“So says the man everyone calls the Bone Breaker.” He glared at her again, but as he made his way towards her, sitting in the co-pilot’s chair, he dropped a bag of chips on her lap. Faelan grinned and ripped them open. “I knew you liked me.”
Hope you enjoyed this excerpt, look for Defiant III March 2018
Much Love,
C.M.
Author C.M.Herndon 