Awaken
Daughters of the Sea Book #2
By Kristen Day
Self-Published
Published on: October 2, 2012
The sacrifices we make have the power to shift the very fabric of who we are, and ultimately who we are meant to be…
After learning of her true destiny as the intended Leader of the Tydes, Anastasia Whitman must now embark on a perilous quest to the Underworld before the age of eighteen in order to plant the seed of immortality and complete her essence to become a true Sea Goddess.
But before she can make her legendary journey, an unexpected new student transfers to Lorelei; initiating a sequence of events that will unravel Stasia’s new life, and test the boundaries of her relationship with the mysterious, dark, and sexy Finn Morrison. The line between the Underworld and the Living begins to blur as gruesome ghosts, morbid reveries, and pure evil haunt her waking hours as well as her sanity. Once the details of Finn’s own startling destiny are revealed, the dangerous secrets he’s been hiding will threaten the very love Stasia believed to be indestructible. As time begins to run out, she will be forced to choose between the one she loves and the destiny she cannot escape.
Prologue:
The
familiar call of seagulls diving for fish amongst the crashing waves pulled him
from his restless slumber. His tired,
bloodshot eyes opened and gazed upon that same weathered stone ceiling looming
above. As they roamed down the sloped
wall where he kept count, he pushed back the agonizing hopelessness encasing
his heart. Another long night behind him
simply meant another long day before him.
He swung his legs over the side of his cot and gently placed his worn
feet on the stone floor. It was always
bitterly cold in the morning. He
shivered as he glanced down at his too-skinny legs and the dirt that clung to
his calloused feet. His ragged, cotton
shorts now hung low around his emaciated waist and his faded blue shirt had
been discarded long ago; traded for a sunken-in, bare chest. He smoothed down his gray hair and thick
beard; wondering if today would be the day.
Sighing,
he stood and collected the conch shell he kept hidden within a crack in his
counting wall. He found the last mark
and bent down to add yet another. He
never counted days; only nights. The
darkness always brought out his worst nightmares and he was continually amazed
he had made it through so many.
Thousands of marks littered the wall before him; a diary of solitude and
sheer will captured forever in stone.
As he did
every morning, he padded over to the window and looked out over the rolling
sea. The lone window of his small room
faced east, allowing him one pleasure amidst the hell that had become his life. Sunrise.
At first each sunrise brought only tears to his eyes while the slow ache
in his chest grew, threatening to rack his body with a sadness no man should
bear. What those brilliant colors
dancing across the sky stood for only served as a reminder to his unending
loss. Another night bereft of her loving
arms. Another day without her magical
presence. Over the years the pain had
receded, but her memory never faded.
Neither did the seed of hope she had planted so long ago. It grew every day, branching out and becoming
the only thing that kept him alive. Many
nights he had peered out of his window at the white sand far below. He thought of how easy it would be to end
this torture and return to her. But he
knew he had a bigger purpose and he would not let her down. He would endure and wait until his heart beat
no more.
Once a
week he was allowed to stroll along the beach and speak to the others. But it was only a brief illusion of
freedom. They could feel the eyes that
watched their every move. The others had
become his only companions. For years
there had only been seven. But a couple
of months ago, a newcomer had arrived.
He could hear her anguished cries at night and her deep despair was
evident in the scratches along her arms; the victims of her own
fingernails. She too finally succumbed
to the seclusion and hopelessness; becoming void of emotion and as hollow as
the rest of them. His thoughts moved
back to the present and the brilliant ball of light inching its way above the
horizon. This is when he felt closest to
her. He closed his eyes and called upon
the memory of her ever gentle, loving eyes.
“My love,
I have lived to see yet another dawn cast its light upon this retched spit of
land. Thankfully, this dawn brings new
hope for my weary soul. You appeared to
me in my dreams once again last night, but for the first time I heard the sweet
melody of your voice. You spoke to me
and breathed life back into my withered heart.
You told me to be patient; to remain steadfast. You assured me the hour is growing near and I
know the words you speak are true.
Indeed, it is almost time.”
Kristen
Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to
escape at every opportunity. She loves
all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky.
She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she
prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing
reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima
beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).
She is the
author of the DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA trilogy, which includes FORSAKEN, AWAKEN
(Oct 2012), and CHOSEN (Winter 2012).
She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal
romances. She’s loved to write for as long
as she can remember. Her first published
work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the
color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her
elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word
officially began. She was the only kid
in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh
- its okay.
When she’s
not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea,
watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains
of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and
graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.
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