Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles

By Julia Crane

Sixteen-year-old Keegan is struggling to keep her huge secret from her friends-she's an elf, descended from a long line of elves that live in secrecy alongside humans.
In elfin society, mates are predetermined but not allowed to meet until they are eighteen. Against tradition, Keegan's brother Thaddeus told her Rourk's name because his visions warned him she'd need Rourk's protection, especially since Keegan will play a key role in the coming war between the dark and light elves.
Rourk finds himself drawn to Keegan's side every time she thinks his name. He wants to talk to her but remains in the shadows, silently guarding her every time she mentally beckons him. A twist of fate thrusts the two of them together when Rourk is forced to step up his protection and make his presence known.
An ancient prophecy deeply entwines Keegan's family and the future of their society. Somehow they must find a way to thwart fate and win the battle...without losing Keegan. With war brewing, and dark forces aligning, will Keegan and Rourk ever have the life together that they both desire?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julia Crane
• Release date: Jun 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458181787

Julia Crane

Julia Crane dreamt of elves and teen androids long before she captured them and put them on paper. She's written and released over fifteen young adult and new adult titles over the past two and a half years. From science fiction adventures to succubus, Julia's fresh voice is easy to read and imaginative. Widely known for her Keegan's Chronicles series and IFICS series, and she has hit numerous best selling list on Amazon.

Book preview

Prophecy: An elfin child on the side of the light will be born with the gift of sight. The son of a great warrior. His father will lead the great battle with his son by his side. This child is the only chance the elves have to avoid extinction.

CHAPTER 1

Keegan’s call echoed in Rourk’s mind. His hands gripped the bar tightly. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and unclenched his jaw. Finishing up his set he stood and wiped his face with a towel. He'd have to finish up the workout tonight.

Closing his eyes, he smiled; she was at her favorite spot. He took in her surroundings, noticing her hair blended in with the fall leaves. He watched the smile spread across her face as she inspected a rock from the creek, and he laughed as she slipped it into her pocket. The first time it had taken him hours to navigate to her location. Now it was just a short twenty-minute hike through some woods. Grabbing his bag he jumped in his truck and headed towards her.

Rourk stood rigid; his lean body tensed as he looked over the edge of the rugged cliff.

Why do I do this to myself? He thought. I shouldn't even be here. She's killing me, I have no self-control.

Since the first time he laid eyes on her, he kept returning to watch from a distance. He hated invading her privacy this way but he felt drawn to her like a magnet, unable to resist.

She stood on the rocks, and the water rushed around her feet, camera in hand as usual. One minute she skipped across the rocks like a child and the next she would stop, a look of total concentration taking over her face. That was when she started snapping photos.

Staring at her, Rourk wondered what she saw through her lens. His cool grey eyes watched as she jumped from a rock and slipped, almost falling into the water. Her face broke into a huge grin. Looking relaxed, she continued to take photos.

Rourk didn't even know her name, but he knew he'd never seen anything so magnificent in his life. Her auburn hair glistened in the sun. Using one of his secondary gifts, he closed his eyes and visualized her face clearly. He brought her into focus like a high powered lens. Her face was almost delicate looking, round with large blue-green eyes and full lips. She reminded him of a porcelain doll with her cheeks flushed from the cold fall air. He knew all too well that looks could be deceiving. She looked so sweet and innocent, but it was her eyes that gave her away. They were bold and daring. Rourk smiled to himself, knowing she would soon belong to him.

There were certain rules their kind had to follow. The first, they could not meet until they both turned 18. In their society, life mates were predetermined. They had complicated methods to figure out these ideal matches which were chosen at the time of their birth. The secret of this formula had a need-to-know basis, meaning he would never know. Although there were many creatures in this world, their kind held their secrets close to their chest.

Growing up knowing that one's other half was out there waiting brought a sense of comfort to Rourk. Ordinarily, neither knew their other half until they became of age. Their society believed it was better this way so they could enjoy their childhood.

So how did he find her?

Someone told her his name. She pulled him closer to her each time she thought of him. It was as involuntary as breathing. When he was younger he could resist with ease. As he got closer to being of age, curiosity got the better of him. Sometimes he wished he'd resisted so he didn’t have to endure the agony of waiting now.

It took a lot of self-control not to approach her, but Rourk knew that would be breaking the rules. He accepted that they were in place for a reason. He had to be patient. Their time would come. Unfortunately, she was over a year younger than he, which meant he would have to wait longer than he would like. He pondered this as he watched her pack up and head back toward her house.

***

Keegan sat at her desk looking through the photos she'd taken that morning. Brushing aside her hair as it fell over her face, she pulled it into a bun. Securing it with a pencil, she continued to study the shots. She noticed there were a few decent ones she could add to her Tumblr page. She loved photography. Life was nothing more than a series of moments and a picture could capture that moment.

Sighing, she let her mind wander. All she knew about her partner was his name which her brother had told her when she was younger. He said if she ever felt danger to think of his name. Of course, she thought his name often, even when she was not in danger. She loved the sound of it: Rourk. She believed he would be a powerful warrior like her father, but she wouldn’t know for sure until they met. It's possible he would turn out to be a seer like her brother or a healer like her mother. There were many powers passed down through their elfin bloodlines.

Keegan smiled as she thought about what most humans thought of elves. Automatically they imagined Santa Claus' little helpers with enormous ears. This could not be further from the truth. Seriously, she had never met an elf that worked for Santa.

Evolution had allowed them to blend in with the humans. The females tended to be smaller than average. Most were between 4'9-5'2 tall. The part about pointed ears was true. However, their ears were pointed in a cute way, and not excessively large like those in most mythology projects. The fact that their ancestors were from Ireland, the elves tended to have reddish hair.

Keegan was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening. It was too early for her parents to be home and her pesky brother was at Sam's house. Quickly she closed her eyes and pictured the front door, and what she saw brought a smile to her face. It was Anna, one of her best friends. Anna had been trying to sneak up on her since they first met in the fourth grade. Keegan debated with herself whether or not to let her succeed this one time. Smiling, she knew that was not an option. She focused her mind and felt the tingling throughout her body. She was in no hurry because Anna couldn't see her. Invisibility was Keegan's main power. Personally she thought it was the coolest ability in the family, but they did not agree. Her mom thought it was ironic that invisibility was her ability because Keegan always wanted to be the center of attention.

Down in the kitchen Anna wistfully looked around. She loved coming to Keegan's house. It always felt so inviting; there was a certain calmness about being there that radiated throughout. It was probably the soothing sound of the rushing water from the massive wall fountain, or maybe it was the energy from the crystals collected by Keegan's mother. Whatever it was, the moment she stepped through the door a sense of serenity washed over her.

Once Keegan was right behind Anna, she focused her mind again and tapped her shoulder. Gotcha!

Anna turned and laughed.

Oh Keegan, I always know when you are there. If you only knew I had secrets of my own.

Anna never let on because she knew Keegan enjoyed winning. It was a small price to pay to keep her best friend happy.

Keegan's eyes glanced over her eccentric friend to see what style she’d adopted for the day. Anna was wearing a top hat. Her bangs, which she habitually pushed to the side, were now purple. Today's ensemble of choice was a grey tank top, a blue cardigan, and a pink skirt with flowers that came just above her knees, and to pull off the look, she wore silver sparkly Converse shoes.

You know I hate you, Keegan said with a grin.

Anna stared at Keegan indignantly. Why would you hate me?

Who else could pull off that outfit and make it look natural? Keegan said.

Anna gave a little curtsy and giggled. Thank you.

You are not going to believe what happened today! Anna said, grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down.

Playing along Keegan said, Let me guess, Xavier finally asked you out?

I wish! For a brief moment, the excited look vanished from Anna's face and was replaced with sadness. Xavier had been her friend since childhood. Anna had recently realized her feelings for him were more than friendship. Sadly, he did not return her feelings.

All right, just tell me what has you so excited, Keegan said.

Well, I was walking to the bus when I saw a sign for a New Age fair tomorrow! Anna jumped up and down. It's a sign, we must go!

Keegan grinned. Anna, you seriously believe in all that nonsense?

Looking shocked she said, Certainly, there has to be something more in this world than what the average eye sees.

If you only knew Anna, there is so much more to this world than humans know, Keegan thought. However, she was not about to reveal that knowledge.

Don't forget to call Lauren and fill her in, Keegan said.

But of course. If there were only the two of us we couldn't be called the three amigos.

Keegan rolled her eyes, laughing.

Anna hung out for a while and then headed home. Keegan decided to look through her photos again. Her favorite was a photo of a leaf blowing by itself in the wind. It reminded her of herself. She often felt all alone, just floating along. As much as she loved hanging out with her human friends, she wished she could tell them what she truly was.

Staring at her photos she decided her favorite thing to photograph was the beauty of nature. There was something fascinating about the outdoors. It amazed her that she could document the seasons as they changed through photographs. Elves loved nature and that was something she hoped evolution never changed.

Putting the camera and computer away, Keegan knew she should go to bed. Time always seemed to get away from her when she found herself caught up in the editing and uploading of her photos. It was hard enough for her to wake up on time, not to mention when she stayed up all hours of the night.

Lying in bed, a faint smile played on her lips as she thought of Anna's eagerness for the fair tomorrow.

CHAPTER 2

Keegan woke up late as usual after hitting the snooze button too many times. The blaring of the alarm had finally gotten on her nerves. Rolling out of bed and into the bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long auburn hair was a tangled mess. Mascara was smudged under her eyes and all she wanted to do was crawl back in bed. Hearing her family downstairs having breakfast, she decided to join them.

Her mom was surprised to see her. What gets you out of bed before noon on a weekend?

Plopping down on the stool Keegan said, I have plans with Anna. She reached over and grabbed a slice of toast off her dad's plate.

You're lucky your mother burnt the toast or you'd be in trouble, Dad said.

The toast isn’t burnt, Mom said, laughing.

Keegan’s mom stared at her over the tea cup. I'm sure you guys will have fun. Don't stay out too long. Do you need any money?

Sure, Keegan said, I can always use a little more for Starbucks.

Keegan looked over at her brother as he slowly ate his cocoa pebbles. Hey Thaddeus, any plans today or are you going to do your recluse act and stay in your room?

"For your information

Reviews for Coexist

[KatieNielsen · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Couldn't make it through this book. The story is interesting but the writing is awful. The author skips from one character's POV to another's, sometimes within the same paragraph. Basic rules of grammar are almost nonexistent. The two stars are for the potential that this story has with proper editing.

[tybugg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

love this book can't wait to read the second one

[jami_leigh · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

good in concept, but another one I could see the ending coming miles away. Things got wrapped up in too neat a package to solve what was supposed to be this EPIC fight, and then just when you think there's a twist, nope, end of book. The unresolved questions were tacked on loosely at the end.

[aishaoak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. I'm so going to get the other books like right now. I'm not normally a huge fan of YA books, I tend not to read them anymore, because well I'm no long a young adult. I like my books with a little more raunchy than YA can give me, but I saw this one the cover looked cool and it was a free kindle download, so clicked and read in my spare time. Let me tell you how happy I am that I did so, this book was pretty freaking awesome.It's about the Fae!! I LOVE reading about the Fae, and this author's interpretation of the Fae was pretty cool, intense, and engaging. I did have a few little issues with the story, more editing issues than anything else, in the very first page actually the very first sentence, it's states that "Keegan's call echoed in his head" then a few pages (page 4) later while he's watching her, Rourk states "he doesn't even know her name"; um but you just said it a few pages ago, that doesn't make sense. There was another scene were he was told to follow her and an incident happened he called her dad to let him know, then a few pages later when her dad pulled him from the case Rourk wanted to know if he was being punished because her dad figured out what he did, he already told Keegan's dad so the continuity there is off.I also found it odd that the Fae would battle in such a way, it was organized and with rules, it kinda didn't go with the story, like slightly off tune; before the end of the story I was wondering what made the 'light elves' better than the 'dark elves' if they are both on the battlefield wholesale slaughtering each other simply because they were different. That elf showed up for his people just like you showed up for yours. And of course as I continue to read she answers these questions. I knew the last few chapters of the book were going to be heartbreaking from she heard the roar; I knew that the price she would pay would be horrible, and yet I couldn't feel sorry for her, she was a bit of an idiot. I did shed a few tears for Rourk, but I won't tell you why, you have to read to find outIt's a very engaging, quick read, the author managed to build her version of the Fae world without bogging the book down in chapters of information that wasn't pertinent to the story. The way it was written, you didn't feel like this was the first book, more like your peeking to the world of Keegan & Rourk and when you stop reading there story still continues. I loved that the dialogue flowed well, her parents clearly were in love and shared that love with their children. I thought it was awesome that her parents were willing to break the rules about soul~mates and allowed them a great little time together,I can't wait to read the other adventures of Keegan & Rourk and what happens now to their world, once the battle has begun.I hope you enjoy it tooHappy reading

[clovestoread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very intriguing story! A quick read for me but lovely all the same. Review coming soon!

[lilcrickit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story line flowed fairly well, and I thought the characters were well developed and fleshed out wonderfully. I like how the female lead characters are strong-willed and not willing to just sit by and let someone else do the work but they actively take part in the outcome of their futures.Llona is such a funny character, I loved to reading the thoughts in her mind and her humor is so witty and just like a normal teenager though she is anything but normal. She is the embodiment of light and there is evil lurking in the shadows waiting to for her. I like the lore that McClellan has created in this work, I have never heard of anything like it that I can remember reading and am intrigued as to how the journey for all the characters will unfold. All the characters are believable,as one can envision them clearly in the mind in all the settings as the authors gives such great details about each one. About the plot, Llona the main character is an orphaned Aura, which is a group of women that light gets passed down from generation to next to guard it from the evil Vyken, who desire to kill them by drinking the blood of an Aura which will make them powerful. Chocked full of interesting things. May her best not friend, as they both are cautious about opening up to other can create fire. Christian her guardian is such a nice male character, he teaches Llona to defend herself even though it is against the rules of their society and could very well cost him his job. Yet, Llona keeps him on his toes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to find out what happens with Christian and Llona.

[bookworm_lisa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Keegan is sixteen and an elf. There are certain events that are mapped out for her. Her chosen mate was chosen at birth, they will meet at age 18 and marry and live happily ever after.

Keegan finds Rourk's name out before she is supposed to. He watches her. When she thinks of him, he is pulled to her. This makes him the perfect guardian. Her father assigns him to protect her, of course she doesn't know that he is near.

War breaks out between the good and the bad elfs. The race of elves could be wiped out if the war continues. Keegan and her brother are key elements to stopping the war and the continuation of their species.

I liked the book. I will say that I am extremely frustrated with the ending. Darn it all, if she didn't leave me anxiously awaiting the next book. I have to find out what happens.

[srfeike · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

On the surface, Keegan is your typical 16-year-old girl. She spends her time hanging out with her friends, shopping, texting and dating. But Keegan is an elf. She is really living a secret life, trying to fit in with the humans, all the while just passing the time until she turns 18 so she can meet her chosen mate. I liked this book. I thought this was a fun story. I liked that we got to meet both Keegan and Rourk and see the story from both of their point of views even though they did not get to meet right away. I thought the plot made a great story. The characters were fun and overall likeable. This is the first story I have read focusing on elves, and I liked the elfin world that the author created. One thing I really did not like about this book was the overall length. The book was short, and it just felt too rushed. I would have loved to see the main characters been given more depth. Some of the supporting characters, such as Anna and Donald, seemed almost a passing thought. You get their point of view very quickly one or two times in the story, and that is really all you get to see of them. It would have been nice to have a little more background on them as well. There were too many scenes that also felt too rushed, and I would have liked to have them elaborated on as well. The other thing that bothered me was the very quick changes in point of view. There was no transition between the thoughts of one person to the next. Sometimes I would have to actually back up a couple of sentences as I was reading because all of the sudden I realized that the point of view had changed, and then changed again, without warning. Overall, I liked this story; I just wanted more of it.