Fearless by Marianne Curley Page A

floor.
    Probably explode.
    Nothing left to bury.
    Shit! I gotta get myself outta this dark space my head is in.
    â€˜Jordy, are you OK?’
    For a moment it’s Ebony I’m hearing and my heart flips over. She’s the only one who knows how to pull me outta this hole. She has the right words, the perfect touch. Her warm hand on my shoulder always calms me. Those violet eyes hold so much compassion for me. And the way she says my name, shortened like a pet name for a puppy, is so damn cute.
    â€˜Jordan?’
    I turn towards the voice, a heartbeat away from whispering her name. It’s lucky I don’t, cos it’s not Ebony in my passenger seat like so many times before. This is Amber . And Luca didn’t kidnap Amber . No, Luca took my girl, the girl I love.
    â€˜Drop me off here, thanks,’ Amber snaps.
    I glance out of my side window into what is arguably the darkest stretch of road between the monastery and Thane’s place.
    â€˜Stop the car!’
    I pull up on the shoulder as soon as I find a strip wide enough. ‘What’s your problem?’
    She’s in a hurry to get out. ‘Unlock my door.’ Her voice could be a sword. It sounds so deadly she could kill me with it. ‘Do it, Jordan, now .’
    â€˜Not until you tell me why you want to walk on this deserted mountain road in the middle of the night, alone.’
    There’s something fierce in her eyes when she turns them on me. A flash of awareness ripples through my gut.
    â€˜Of course I don’t want to walk out there in the dark alone, but it beats being in this car with you ignoring me or lamenting that I’m not the one who got kidnapped!’
    â€˜I didn’t say that!’
    â€˜Not aloud!’
    What do I say to that? Admit it and hurt her more?
    â€˜It’s in your eyes, Jordan, every time you look through me. And I can’t stand to be near you when you’re wishing it were me in her place.’
    â€˜Amber, no –’
    â€˜I love her too, but I wouldn’t want you to take her place. You really are a moron.’
    Amber has to know I don’t really mean it. ‘I miss her so much, Amber, you’ve got no idea.’
    â€˜So much that you’d rather the Prince of Darkness had taken me in her place.’
    â€˜Don’t say that. I would never want that for you.’
    Tears are swimming in her eyes as I take her hands in mine. ‘Please believe me, Amber, no matter what fleeting signs you might read on my face, I DO NOT want you harmed by anyone or anything .’
    She hiccups and scrunches her nose. I try not to smile at how cute she looks when she does that. She sniffs again. ‘Do you mean that? I mean, really, really mean that?’
    I glance up at the stars to gather the strength I need to convince her I’m telling the truth. Then I collect her tear-soaked face in my hands and look into her eyes. ‘As God is my witness, Amber Lang, I swear to you that I would kill anyone who even thought about hurting you.’

12
    Nathaneal
    Twelve Sentinels sit at one time, with each Sentinel serving between seven years and a hundred. It’s a sacrifice and an honour to serve the High King on such a personal level, to deal out his directives, to be the instigators of his law and, along with the Archangels, to protect him.
    Avena has no higher honour.
    We fly night and day across three provinces, past the River of Twin Tunnels and over the Sea of Seven Winds, before reaching the shimmering white sands of Empyrean Island. Michael, Shae and I make our way on foot along a path that cuts through thick tropical growth that resembles a jungle more than a forest.
    Since Michael has been here before, he leads the way. Empyrean was the best place for him after Luca slaughtered his wife, Thereziel, in a vindictive rage, destroying her body and soul. After three years in the Temple, meditating, studying and writing chronicles, he was able to return to his