young-adult-fantasy

Horeb bent over me and ran his hand down my neck, not stopping when his fingers reached my chest. I jerked backward. "What are you doing?"His eyes were black and intense. "A little taste before the wedding, Jayden?

Without a torch, I stumbled along the paths. The night was dismal. A partial moon hovered bitter and white on the horizon. It was the perfect night for murder.

And darkness will rule.

Why are you surprised when the thing you run from as hard as you can only gets after and better at chasing you ...

I can feel that I'm in a dream, but I can't wake myself up.

I am an Ultimate,_ she vowed, the walls of her heart quaking with ferocity and determination. __nd I have thepower to do the impossible.

Of course, we know that the world sees this wedding as a historical event. The first recorded marriage union between a Lunar and an Earthen since the second era. And maybe that is important. Maybe the love and compassion these two people have for each other is symbolic of hope for the future. Maybe this wedding signifies the possibility that someday our two races will not only learn to tolerate each other, but to love and appreciate each other as well. Or, maybe_ Kai__ eyes glinted. "_ this relationship has absolutely nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with our shared human need to find someone who will care for us as much as we care for them. To find a partner who complements us and teaches us. Who makes us stronger. Who makes us want to be our best possible self.

In preparing for this ceremony," Kai said, setting the bouquet on the mantel behind him, "I did some research and learned that the word Alpha has held many meanings across history. Alpha can refer to the first of something," said Kai, "or the beginning of everything. It can be attributed to a particularly powerful or charismatic person, or it can signify the dominant leader in a pack of animals, most notably, of course, wolves." His serious expression tweaked briefly into a teasing smile. "It has meanings in chemistry, physics, and even astronomy, where it describes the brightest star in a constellation. But it seems clear that Ze__v and Scarlet have created their own definition for the word, and their relationship has given this word a new meaning for all of us. Being an Alpha means that you__l stand against all adversity to be with your mate. It means accepting each other, both for your strengths and your flaws. It means forging your own path to happiness and to love.

They had stood against all adversity to be together, and now they would forge their own path to love. She would be Kai__ wife. She would be the Commonwealth__ empress. And she had every intention of being blissfully happy for ever, ever after.

I think that when every person in this room looks at Ze__v and Scarlet, they don__ see a Lunar and an Earthen. We don__ see an agenda, or two people trying to make a statement. I think we see two people who were lucky enough to find each other in this vast universe, and they weren__ going to let any boundaries of distance or race or even physiological tampering get in the way of a happy life together.

If it had been a color, it might have been green. If it had touched her ears, it might have sounded rhythmic, like the creak of a rocking chair or drone of a bee. If it had a scent, it might have been sweet and drowsy, like fresh pine on the fire.

You're not who I thought you'd be, Cas." "No?" "Your so much better.

Rin thought of the crossbow bolt. Of the whoosh and sting of wind and fire heat and the man who would have killed her. Of pushing in front of Enna. Of almost dying. Of home and Ma and being farther away than the lands in tales, and maybe never going home. Of standing by a strange tree in a faraway wood with girls who spoke the language of fire. Of a queen of Kel who wanted them dead.

Too many adults wish to 'protect' teenagers when they should be stimulating them to read of life as it is lived.

Perhaps being Death's companion would not be the most terrible thing in the world

The smiting and righteous retribution happens less often than you would think - Hades

It is good practice to never fault someone for their birth name, being that it is always of far greater importance how men speak of you, than the name by which you are addressed.

My days are filled with you, and for that I am more grateful than you could ever know