Girl of Myth and Legend (45 page)

I grab a book entitled
Atenum Vai
, and when I open it a photograph slips out. I pick it up off the floor. My eyes widen and I have to blink a few times. The people in it
move
, and the backdrop, the scenery around them, is like nothing I’ve ever seen—white-coloured bark trees with leaves of silver and tints of blue. In the photo there is a family of five: a mother, a father, a daughter and two sons. They wear ragged clothes—grey, brown and tattered—but they look content. The eldest boy has the same eyes as the hooded man, so I assume this must be him when he was a child. I stare at it for a while and come to the conclusion that this Chosen is a rebel. Ignoring for the moment the coincidence that he was in the vicinity when the rebels attacked, this picture tells me a lot. He is from a poor family, and from what I’ve gathered about the Imperium, the poor suffer just as they do in the human realm. This saviour would have no reason to side with the Imperium. He may not know who I am, but if he does, he must be keeping me here until the others arrive to take me to… to where Korren must be.

I think about this for a moment. I’ve already decided that I want Korren to be safe. After all he’s done for me—regardless of whether he hates me or not—giving myself to the rebels in return for his safety is the least I can do. I can imagine how frustrated he would be at my decision, how to him it would make little sense. Why would a Chosen give themselves to their enemies for their kytaen’s safety? I bet he’d say that. But it’s never been a question of whether kytaen are equal to Chosen; to me that has always been so. No, I want to do this because he’s… what is he? Friend? Enemy? Frenemy? It doesn’t matter what he is to me: I know what I want to do.

The only problem is that I can’t do anything. I’m stuck. Grounded. Trapped. If my saviour collaborates with the rebels, then I have to prepare my negotiation skills, because if I’m not going to them of my own free will, then they will have no reason to set Korren free, already having me. But if my saviour doesn’t know who I am and really does assume I am a lost Chosen, then I can figure out some way to escape, or he might even let me go if I convince him. If I can accomplish that, then I can bargain with the rebels before allowing them to capture me.

I slump to the floor, the photograph still in my hands.

How did I get into this mess? When did I have to start thinking strategically? When did I become such an… unteenager? Why did this have to happen to me? Why couldn’t I just be normal in the first place? Screw non-routine. I want routine back. I want normality back. I even want my
lostness
back. I just want to be a stupid, reckless, boring, average-average-average kid who doesn’t have to think about how to survive or how to rescue her maybe-friend-maybe-not kytaen from a rebellion, or how to escape from a cage in the sky that belongs to a possible enemy who may or may not decide to kill her if, or when, they find out who she is. I just want my world back, the world that Dad and Abi lived in, that I grew up in. I just want it all back.

I look to the picture in my trembling hands and notice a dog, tail brushing from side to side. It’s not a breed I’ve seen before, though I’m not knowledgeable when it comes to those sorts of things. It’s an old dog, its white hairs standing out between the fading colours of what was once a muddy-brown. Seeing the dog makes me remember how I didn’t even go back to the Temples to save Pegasus from the maiden. He didn’t even enter my mind as I was trying to survive. He probably stayed in my room, waiting for me to come back and take him with me. He probably had no idea what was going on, much less that he was going to die.

‘Stupid mutt,’ I mutter, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I decide I hate them both—Dad and Pegasus—for dying, for leaving me… no, abandoning me. Why do the people I love always have a tendency to die, like it’s a habit or something? Or maybe it’s just that I’m cursed. I never believed in curses, but since magic exists, it wouldn’t surprise me if I am the carrier of some kill-those-she-loves-most curse cast by some evil witch with revenge issues.

‘Stupid mutt,’ I repeat, a lump in my throat. ‘Stupid Dad. Stupid stupid
stupid
!’

I think of Korren and how he sacrificed himself so that I could escape.

‘I thought you hated me,’ I say. ‘I thought you wanted me to not exist. So why do something like that? What changed?’ I clench my fists, trying hard to hold back my stupid, stupid tears. ‘To hell with you, Dad, Pegasus, Korren, Abi. I hate you. I hate you all.’ The tears spill over again, and I bury my head into my hands. ‘What’s the point of all this
living
when you’re all dead? What’s the point of me being alive if I’m just going to end up alone?’ I wipe away my tears with my sleeve. ‘Where are you, Korren?’

I’m so weak that all I can do is cry. All I can do is cry.

‘At least you can cry…’
says a voice from the past.
‘…that means… something in your life holds some im-portance.’

I clench my fists.

Korren. It may be impossible. It will definitely be danger-ous. I won’t abandon him, though. He’s all I have now in this entire world, and I will find him.

Maybe crying is all I’m good at, maybe being a pawn for others to use is all I’m meant for, but I want to do more than sit here and be prey. I don’t want to ever have to watch the people I love die. I don’t want to ever kneel helpless and grovelling. Not again—ever. I’ll become strong. Strong enough to stand up against the people who seek to make me crawl. Strong enough to be the Pulsar I was born to be. Strong enough to be the girl of myth and legend.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION, WONDERFUL READERS!

Wow! You made it to this page, which means you read the book! (That or you skipped to the back of the book to spoil the ending – naughty!).

*Ahem*

YOU THERE! Yes, you. I am officially calling you (or rather kindly and humbly requesting you) to arm your keyboards, tablets and phones and leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, social media, your blogs or anywhere you can! It would be so helpful, even the shortest of reviews, and it would mean so much to me. Also, feel free to give this book to a friend or family member. It’d be great if you could enjoy this book together.

Finally, if you’d like to get free bonus materials and receive updates on future books, go to my website at
GiselleSimlett.com
. You can also like my Facebook page
www.facebook.com/thechosensaga
and follow me on Twitter
@gisellesimlett
.

Thanks for giving this book a go.

Giselle.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would have never made it to publication without the support and dedication of a number of people.

First, a great big, whopping thank you to Andrew Brown from Design for Writers, who created the beautiful front cover that made me cry!

A humongous, continent-sized thank you to the wonderful Tony Flyer at Jefferson Franklin Editing. None of this would be possible without you.

Peter Guess, thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to the book.

To Adam Cushman and his team at Red 14 Films, who created the book trailer that was phenomenal in every way.

A triumphant thanks to Courtney Doyle. Her portrayal of Leonie in the audiobook is simply extraordinary. I knew from the moment I heard her she was my Leonie.

A tremendous thank you to Julian Gill for his portrayal of Korren. You managed to get to the heart of Korren, and I will forever be grateful for your hard work.

A very special thank you to Joshua Carrenca, Janette Ramos and Curo Gilang.

Heartfelt, slightly awed thank you to the inspiring composers of The Chosen Saga: Girl of Myth and Legend Soundtrack: Karina Marilen Z, Joshua Benz, Joanna Karselis, Maja Jovanovska, Gavin Somerset, Paul Werner and Sandro Nelipa. Also to the ones who made it come alive, the vocalists: Aika Zabala, Sarah Clanton, Kelly Goddard, Maria Alfonsine and Pael Gutierrez.

To my BETA readers, but in particular: Deb Rhodes, Nori, Kristie, Hamish L, Peter, Gabby Crowler, Carolyn Bean, Andy J, Silvia, Celia Shannon, Linda Hull, and to all the others who gave me critical feedback.

A shout out to Anna Veronica Malabanan, Alexander Hemus, Cherry Ocampo and Eriel Johnson.

To my beloved husband Max who believed in my writing when I gave up, and who has probably listened to every version of this story 100 times – thanks, honey.

*Breathes* OK. Phew. I think I just ran out of ways to say thank you. But I’m not done! There’s one last, and very important thank you I have to give, and that is to you, dearest reader. I thank you for giving me, Leonie and Korren a chance. Even if you hated the book, I’m still grateful you picked this up. To those who loved it, I dearly hope you’ll pick up the next one. All I want to do is write write write and bring enjoyment to others, and hopefully now I can. Truly,
truly
, thank you.

Keep smiling,

Giselle Simlett.