Roth (23 page)

Authors: Jessica Frances

“What is this thing?”
she asks, her voice shaking.

“Think of it like a parachute
,” I explain, hesitant to place my own on. There is no way I can let her jump.

“Really? Where is all the material for the parachute
, though?” She taps along the back.

“It is meant to prevent you from crashing. You’ll fall through the air
, and as the ground gets closers, it’ll slow you down.”

“Seriously?” Her mouth is agape.

“Yeah, but these have been here for a hundred years, completely unused, and there is a reason we don’t use them anymore.”

“They don’t work?”

I hate that I’m giving her more to panic and fear. “They’ve never failed, but they weren’t necessary. This is connected to our DNA. It might not be safe for you.”

She nods, understanding now. “Couldn’t we just hide out here until we land?”

I want to nod that yes, we can and will do that, but lights suddenly shining at us change that plan. We have maybe a minute until Jeprow’s people reach us.

“Oh
, shit!” Mattie cries, finishing putting on her Aeepla.

I haphazardly place my own on
while I watch as Ival nods his head to me and then drops out of the hole. No last goodbye, not even a command to hurry up.

“Marduke, I don’t know if I can do this. Did I ever tell you I’m terrified of heights? I mean
, that mountain we jumped from when we were running from the fire was one thing, but this?” She pokes her head over the entryway and her face pales.

“I’m sorry, we don’t have a choice. If we stay here
, then we might not get another chance to escape.”

“What if this thing doesn’t work? I don’t think this is a very good way to die.”

“You won’t. Just hold my hand and don’t let go.” I take her hand, hearing voices growing closer as another light shines over us. “Do you trust me?”

She nods her head, sitting with me at the hole
as our legs dangle over the edge. “I love you, Marduke,” she yells out just to be heard over the gush of wind.

“I love you, too.” I give her a quick kiss because a hand flies at us
, and I know we’ve run out of time.

We both scoot forward and then we’re no longer in the spaceship.
We’re falling.

I close my eyes, my hands squeezing hold of Mattie’s
, and I think about the fact we’re about to land on Oden.

Mattie will be on my home planet
, and we have things we need to do. We will need to find her sister and Logan. I will have to get them to a safe place so they can hide. Then, I will have to join my brother and fight Jeprow.

Oden is at war
, and Ival is right, I don’t get to choose whether or not I involve myself. I’m already involved, and I will fight for my people’s freedom. I’ll fight for my own freedom and I will fight for Mattie’s. Oden will not fall, and I won’t let any harm come to Mattie or Riley.

This is not a wa
r I plan on losing.

We will win.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my family and friends who have supported my writing. Much love to my amazing parents, grandparents, Greg, Amy, Amara, Mel, Meg, Carley, Erin, Christina, Kate
, and Leigh. Your many words of excitement and interest has meant the world to me.

Thank you to my editors, Alizon and Kristin
, at C&D Editing. Your continued friendship and words of encouragement often have kept me going.

And lastly, thank you to every blogger
, reviewer, and reader who has reviewed my books, spoken about my books, messaged or emailed me to chat, and for just being so incredibly nice and supportive. Every word has meant a lot to me.

Coming soon!

Book three in the Invasion Trilogy:

ODEN!

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Check out Jessica Frances’s Taken Series!

Taken By Surprise

Taken By Force

Taken By Choice