Riven
RIVEN
| THE ILLUMINE SERIES, BOOK THREE |
PRAISE FOR
ILLUMINE
BOOK ONE OF THE ILLUMINE SERIES
“A fabulous YA read, full of many different surprises at every turn! You don’t know what, or who you’ll run into next!” -
UNIQUELY MOI BOOKS
“... Illumine is a fast-paced, action packed paranormal which will keep sinking its teeth into you until you’ve reach the last page!” -
BELLEBOOKS
“I will definitely be reading the next book in the series to find out more!” -
BOOKSTACKSONDECK
“Illumine? What is Illumine? I NEED ILLUMINE!” -
THE READER LINES
“... If you’re looking for a fast supernatural read, this one is perfect!” -
I READ INDIE BOOK BLOG
“If you like YA books about a little bit of magic, angels, and demons, I think you should give this book a try!” -
SYNCHRONIZED READING
“Can’t wait for the second book in this series set to come out this summer. Hurry up summer! I’ve got some reading to do!” -
NAT’S BOOK NOOK
“...[ESSALLIE & KAYDEN’S] witty banter, their smoldering hidden feelings, all of it meshed beautifully and I was smitten.” -
HOPELESSLY DEVOTED BIBLIOPHILE
“... The overriding story arc of a girl who has been kept in the dark as to who she is or what she can do and has to seek advice from a creature that has tormented her nightmares is compelling.” -
READING THE PARANORMAL
“This is surely to have a sequel that I myself will be looking forward to reading.” -
JACQUIE TALENTO
“Alivia Anders’ books must be read; they capture the reader from the start.” -
LEIGH KERN
“I really felt like Essallie was telling her story, the emotions and characters that were concentrated on only made me want to know more as I began to connect with them. The reality spliced with fantasy was the perfect mix for laying out in the beach sun and forgetting about reality.” -
KATIE QUINN
“If you enjoy Angels/Demons with various supernatural creatures thrown in the mix, you should enjoy this story!” -
WILLOW CROSS, AUTHOR OF BIRTHRIGHT
“PERFECT YA FICTION.” -
ALEX RIMANY
“Essie... Was great as a protagonist, and dutifully stubborn. Her personality made for an interesting story, as well as the personalities of the people closest to her... Illumine was a fun, quick read that besides leaving me anxiously awaiting the second in the story, left me smiling.” -
MERA’S YA BOOK LIST
“I absolutely loved this because even though it was a fast read, I never wanted it to end ever. The future can only tell what is in store with Essallie and where her journey will lead.” -
SILENT T’S BOOK BLOG
PRAISE FOR
OBUMBRATE
BOOK TWO IN THE ILLUMINE SERIES
“
Anders' managed to weave paranormal, romantic, and fantastical aspects into her novel with seemingly perfect balance.” -
MERA’S YA BOOK LIST
“I'll tell you what, I didn't know the first thing to expect with Obumbrate. Illumine was such a great read and the cliffhanger at the end had me thinking, "What else could be worse than this." Well, Anders decides to be clever and throw a love triangle, broken hearts, and deceit in the mix! It was hard to believe Obumbrate was a sequel, it was just so different--stronger, in a way--from Illumine.” -
NADÈGE RICHARDS, AUTHOR OF THE BLEEDING HEARTS TRILOGY
“[ESSALLIE] Love her, hate her, wanna be her … GUILTY!” -
LM SMITH, AUTHOR OF THE CITIZENS
“TOP NOTCH - PHENOMENAL.” -
ANGEL ANNE REVIEWS
“Alivia delivers for her readers once again in the second installment of the Illumine series!” -
AMY CONLEY
Also by
ALIVIA ANDERS
ILLUMINE
OBUMBRATE
OTHER BOOKS BY ALIVIA ANDERS
A SHARD OF ICE (APRIL 2014)
A BRUSH OF FIRE (JANAURY 2015)
A BREATH OF LIFE (DECEMBER 2015)
UNWANTED (JULY 30TH, 2013)
PROJECT HALIELLE (2014)
BLACK CROWNS (2015)
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, places, and events are strictly used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination.
Copyright 2012 by Alivia Anders
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact the Special Sales section email at [email protected].
This author can be brought to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact to the Events email at [email protected].
Photographs copyright 2012 by Alivia Anders
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Book design by Alivia Anders
The text for this book is set in Adobe Garamond Pro
Manufactured in the United States of America
Summary: A race against the clock puts half-angel Essallie Hanley in the midst of a dangerous foe determined to capture her.
Please respect the hard work of this author. If you have downloaded this from a third party or file sharing website, please delete it and purchase a licensed copy available at all major ebook outlets.
RIVEN
| THE ILLUMINE SERIES, BOOK THREE |
ALIVIA ANDERS
For Mom & Dad,
Your belief will carry me through.
PREFACE
HIDING
Thunder sounded off in the distance, a faint reminder of old tales on how each time lightning struck, it was an angry and wrathful god seeking redemption or vengeance. Lorena privately shared a dark laugh; the only vengeful god she had ever met had been a woman who dealt with dark magic beyond her control. A woman who only sought to corrupt and swallow every person within her grasp.
A flash of light briefly illuminated the small hospital room, Jessica's pale face glowing amongst the dark. At first glance, she appeared peaceful, like a coma patient submerged in the confines of a peaceful dream. Upon closer inspection, the set of her muscles showed she was not lost under the ocean of her mind, but was fighting to stay underwater. Fingers twitched as they wrapped further into the white sheets, knuckles nearly blending with the over-bleached fabric. Eyelids fluttered as small, panting gasps sounded through barely parted and cracked lips.
Lorena reached forward, her hands only inches above that of her daughter's. Yet, she couldn't press further. To touch her unprotected could bring a wave of sharp hallucinations- premonitions of anything from death to life, love to loss. Even the smallest gesture of comfort without a barrier of gloves or clothes could render her only daughter frozen with the knowledge of her Mother's death.
"Mother?"
Lorena startled in her seat, hands flung backward in a show of palms. She hadn't heard Jessica move, hadn't noticed the slow movement of her head as she turned to face her Mother fully before asking the question with her rough, shaking voice. Her fingers continued to linger, thin pianist hands extended towards the place her mother's hands had previously rested.
"Jessie darling," Lorena's breath came in a startled gasp, clearly caught off guard. "Is everything okay?"
Her daughter reached out further, delicate fingers hovering inches before her mother's eyes. She made a sweeping motion with her fingers, mimicking the crescent shaped bags under her mother’s startled, yet shatteringly beautiful blue stare. "You haven't been sleeping." She phrased it almost like a question, voice light and eerily detached from this world. "What's troubling you?"
Lorena hesitated, lower lip pulled into her mouth as her teeth nibbled on the already-raw flesh. In her mind she had been playing over the options on what she would say in this moment, how it would turn her already unstable world even more shaken, until like wet sand drying out, it fell out between her heartbroken grasp.
“She’s gone, Jessie. Essallie is gone.”
She was unable to meet her daughter’s gaze when she heard the sound of a small, yet undeniably sharp gasp of breath in the room. Lorena could feel the pressure on her tested body as she sat there, as if the weight of Charon had been deposited on her in one fell swoop. But it vanished just as fast as it arrived, the same time her daughter’s unmistakable laughter broke the tenuous silence that had wedged between them.
Looking up, Lorena stared in shock, eyebrows lost high in her frazzled hair. “You’re laughing?”
Jessica nodded, the laughter leaving her gasping for air. Of course, she had known for the last two weeks that the half-angel had been captured, along with her demon lover-pet thing, and had been stowed in the high tower quarters while her body betrayed itself as the Queen’s blood did unspeakable things to her. She knew, because she had been the one who told the Queen it would happen, just as it had all been planned since Essallie’s birth. But Essallie going free had not been part of her vision, nor the Queen’s, and she now understood why her mother was so nervous; the Queen’s failed plans meant she would be returning to Jessica, and punishment would surely follow. Between shallow inhales, she managed to ask. “How... did she get... free?”
“It doesn’t matter how she got free,” Lorena snapped, her voice rising and falling like the Berlin Wall. “What matters now is how soon we leave.”
“What happened to
lying low and staying quiet?”
Jessica bitterly asked, mimicking her mother’s low tones with mock. “Wouldn’t moving your precious daughter ruin that?”
Lorena bristled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, child. This is a change of plans, nothing more.”