Time is running out to enter the BestSelling Reads Spring Fling science-fiction and fantasy giveaway. So don’t hesitate—enter now. And if you need more convincing, read this #excerpt from the paranormal bestseller
By DelSheree Gladden
“Grandpa, what are you talking about? It can’t just be coincidence that Katie and Maera both died so strangely, and on their sixteenth birthdays, no less,” I protest. “I can’t just leave it alone. There is something wrong. Can’t you feel it?”
My grandpa sighs and looks at the hot chocolate he spilled on the table a moment ago, “Of course there’s something wrong, Arra, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. But trust me, there’s nothing we can do about what’s already happened. You need to start looking ahead, looking to your own future.” Pausing to wipe up the spill with a neatly folded paper towel, he looks as if he is wrestling with a decision.
I struggle to understand his strange words. I didn’t expect to resurrect the lost girls, only to find out why they had died under such strange circumstances. Maybe unraveling the mysteries of their deaths will free them from their forgotten prison. Maybe my dad will be able to let it go. Why does he keep telling me to look forward, to take care of myself? What do I have to do with anything? I want to know about Katie and Maera. A strange feeling suddenly settles over the room. His words are a warning. He is trying to tell me something, something very difficult. I let my other questions float away and turn back to my grandpa.
Finally, he shakes his head and says, “Listen, Arra. Katie and Maera, their deaths weren’t just coincidence. After Maera died, I suspected Katie was next, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. No, I didn’t do enough to stop it. I didn’t believe. We cannot escape our fate, that’s what everyone told me, but I don’t believe that.”
The desperation in my grandfather’s voice begins to scare me. He suddenly looks so much more tired and drawn. I have never seen him like this before. The abrupt change brings tears to my eyes and fear to my heart.
Not wanting to upset him any more than I already have, I say, “Look grandpa, I’m just making a big deal about nothing. It must be just a coincidence. You couldn’t know that Katie would die just because Maera died, right? That doesn’t sound reasonable. I’m sure you’re right, there’s nothing mysterious, just a terrible coincidence.”
“I knew Katie would die, Arrabella. Don’t you doubt that,” he says gravely.
About Escaping Fate
Uncovering the truth behind her strange dreams may cost Arrabella her life, but ignoring them may lead to something even worse.
Turning sixteen should mean driving, dating, and breaking curfew.
It shouldn’t mean certain death.
Arrabella might have been excited for her upcoming birthday if her parents hadn’t just moved her to the middle of nowhere.
Worse than missing the city and her friends is the nightmare that assaults her every night. Stalking her dreams, a raven-haired girl warns her, taunts her, as she is paraded toward her death.
In search of answers, Arra turns to her grandfather, the only person willing to delve into her family’s dark past. Warning her that once she takes the first step, there is no going back, he begins to unwind their awful heritage.
She can’t tell her parents what is waiting for her, so she turns to a new friend, Tanner Wheeler, a young man she barely knows but is immediately drawn to. Together, they unravel a story of selfish betrayal that reaches back to an age of merciless gods and blood sacrifice.
Win Escaping Fate and 9 other great books, on a new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, in the BestSelling Reads Spring Fling Science-Fiction & Fantasy Giveaway.
