Fire Among Stars: Echo Series, #3

By JoAnna S. Morris

Fear.
Panic.
Love.
War.
Heartbreak.
In the end the path is never painless.

Eden Huntleigh and the Rebels have outplayed Cesar for now. 
However the hostile dictator of Empyrean has a few cards left 
up his sleeve, and when Cecily, the mystifying witch that seems 
to know how to defeat him once and for all, disappears, Eden is 
left with a difficult choice- her own life, or the lives of everyone she loves. 

Can Eden survive the flames once she's cast into the fire?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JoAnna S. Morris
• Release date: May 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533453921

Book preview

Echo Among Stars (Book one)

Silence Among Stars (Book two)

To my children, Lyndsey and Noah:

May you always have the fire in your heart to do what’s right.

What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.

Charles Bukowski

My ears are still ringing from the shrieks of horror and confusion all around me. Moments ago we were prepared to surprise Cesar, attacking him from out of thin air, but it seems as though he was already waiting. We’ve played right into his hands…once again. Somehow he’s disarmed us of the one sure thing that we had in our favor—our shields—and now Cecily, a witch whose past includes a love affair gone wrong with Cesar himself, is gone. The only one transported successfully to him. A frightening image of the confident woman I met just days before, now powerless and at Cesar’s demand, flashes before my eyes and the wind is sucked right out of my lungs.

Cesar is the dictator over our province, Empyrean, and if he has his way, that won’t change. Together with the aid of his Enforcers—the humanoid teenage police force—and his gang of heretics that refer to themselves as the Renegades, Cesar has managed to control our people for hundreds of years. I know what you’re thinking: Impossible. How can one man rule a country for centuries and still be alive today, tormenting us with his mere existence? Thanks to Cecily’s recent revelation, we now know that as long as he chugs his slimy green concoction, the great and powerful Cesar is immortal. Cecily created it back in the early days of his reign, when the one thing she wanted more than anything was a happily-ever-after with him.

Because of who we are—the Rebels—Cesar does not take chances. He killed our families and left many of us orphans. He kidnapped my brother, Jude, and my best friend, Millie, trapped them in his dirty dungeon, forced them to listen to the agonizing screams of our loved ones as they died, and used a memory-erasing drug to brainwash me into believing that I loved him and belonged at his side. I came dangerously close to becoming his bride until Leo, Gabe, and Phoenix came to my rescue. It took time but eventually my memories returned and now I’m out for blood. Not just for me but for everything Cesar took from me both mentally and physically. For my brother and Millie. For our parents. For Julian, my one confidante during my days inside the mansion, eradicated in front of us as a warning of things to come. For Gabe, my brother’s best friend, who was selected as an Enforcer but ultimately fought his training and has sided with us, and for every other life Cesar has destroyed under his rule. The list is long and brutal and I will win for them.

I take a brief second to steady myself and gain what little composure I can gather, though from the fuzzy background noise I don’t know how well it’s working. To my right, Ripken, Jude, and Leo, my boyfriend are occupied with trying to figure out how to fix the transportation devices. I reach down, fumbling to gather our shields. My fingers sting from an icy bite of cold when I grip the pendants. Startled, I shove as many as I can into my pockets, though for no other reason than to keep myself busy.

Are you okay? My brother, Jude, surprises me, gripping my shoulder tightly and forcing me back to reality.

Yeah, what do you think went wrong? I look around, taking in the remnants of chaos. My eyes dart around the room searching for any sort of justification but I’m left with an icy chill snaking through my bones and Cesar’s name on my lips. I refuse to speak it, instead a jolt of pain and a rush of metal floods my mouth. I realize that I’ve bitten my tongue as I wipe the blood that has pooled in the crease of my lip. My nerves seem to have gotten the best of me; the longer I stand still the more my knees shake. Jude slides his hand from my shoulder to my elbow to keep me steady.

I don’t know exactly. I’m going to figure it out. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay first. His eyes are wild with worry and his hands are shaking. Cecily had announced that Jude is the brains behind the war, and it’s obvious that he now feels the weight on his shoulders.

Leo is huddled in the corner speaking to Gabe and eyeing me over Gabe’s shoulder. He looks like he’s waiting on me to signal that I need him. Honestly, right now, I don’t know what I need, but I know what I want. Suddenly, I feel selfish heat flush my cheeks.

Don’t worry about me, Jude. I’m fine. I nod slightly to Leo, acknowledging his unspoken request. You should go. I can handle things on this end. Jude turns his head and spies the boy behind him, waiting to rush to me. He stands solid for a moment longer, then smiles weakly before he squeezes my elbow gently and leaves the room. I watch him go, his shoulders are tight, hunched just slightly, and his fists are a ball of white knuckles at his side. What is this going to do to him? How will this change him? After all of this madness is said and done I fear that he will no longer be the same that he once was.

It’s less than a minute before Leo is at my side.

Well, this is an interesting turn of events. Cesar saw us coming, that’s for sure. Leo tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I shiver as it tickles my cheek. I’m going to have to try to settle everyone down. I stare up at him with a sense of comfort and dip my head in agreement. I just have to figure out how to do that. Don’t worry, darlin’ we aren’t beat yet. He bends down and gently sweeps his lips across my forehead and starts to take charge. A tingle lingers where his kiss touched me. Leo and I have a rare bond called doubles. Leo calls it soul mates. He is quite literally my other half, making us one hell of a dynamic duo. Unfortunately, we recently learned that our fates are sealed together—meaning if one fatally falls, so does the other. There are advantages, of course, but just like everything else, we are still working out the details.

While Leo gathers everyone together, I get an idea. It’s so simple and so stupid. Leo will hate it but right now I don’t see any other choice. I wave my arms back and forth like a madman, trying to get Millie’s attention without any of the boys noticing. Thankfully, they are too preoccupied and it doesn’t take long before Millie sees me. She arches a brow in confusion but sneaks toward me, curiosity getting the better of her.

Are you having a spasm? Millie asks as she glances behind her, making sure no one is watching. I shake my head and pull on the sleeve of her white uniform shirt, which matches my own, and drag her to the back corner of the room where we can be half-hidden by the shadows.

I think I might have thought of a way to figure out what’s going on. I lean in closer to her, my voice barely above a whisper. I don’t want to take any chances that someone might overhear me.

Oh no you don’t, Eden Huntleigh! She starts to back away from me. "I know exactly what you’re thinking and I will not let you do it!" She puffs out her cheek and stomps her foot.

Shh. How can you possibly know what I’m going to say before I even have a chance to say it? I tug on her shirt, bringing her back to me.

You forget, I know you. Blood sisters for life, remember? A slow grin slides over her face, illuminating her green–blue eyes and a distant memory of two little girls lounging in the warm dirt, out of sight from the Bots, clouds my thoughts. Jude and Gabe had been hovering over us, insisting that if we smashed our bloody fingers together and chanted blood sisters for life in unison three times that we would become actual sisters. Trust us, they’d said convincingly. We did it last week. We lifted a sharp-edged rock and punctured our trembling fingers, then watched as the sticky blood dripped on the ground. Of course the boys laughed and teased us horribly for weeks after we both developed infections that sent us to the infirmary for a whole day. We didn’t mind, though. We’d done. We were sisters and no one could take that away from us.

Well, then you know that it’s quite possibly the only plan that’s going to work. Cecily is who knows where, and we have to find her if we want to have any chance at all against Cesar. I can tell by her lack of resistance that she knows I’m right.

"So what’s your big plan? Just waltz on into the palace like Oh, hi honey. I’m home? Worry outlines Millie’s glare. It won’t work, Eden. Cesar is many things but he’s not stupid and the second we start to underestimate him we are done, as in dead." Her voice rises so loud that Gabe and Greyson, who have been lost in their own conversation on the opposite end of the room, jerk their heads around and glare at us. Fortunately, everyone else seems to be so immersed in their situation that they either didn’t hear us or they did and have chosen to ignore us, either way, I’m thankful. I shrug at Gabe, hoping he will ignore us and go back to whatever he was doing. It doesn’t work. His jaw clenches as he surveys our stance, and after a few moments he whispers to Greyson and starts to walk over to us.

Great, I mutter to Millie.

"If this is your plan, everyone here has the right to know. You will need backup. That’s assuming you convince your overprotective boyfriend that this is the way to go. She shakes her head. You’re even more insane than I’ve given you credit for if you think I’ll let you go through with this by yourself. She throws her hand on her hip and whips her hair over her shoulder. I can tell by the way she holds herself that she’s upset, and she doesn’t take her eyes off me until Gabe steps between us. Oh good, gorgeous, you’re here. Why don’t you ask Eden about her idea of our only way out?" She huffs and spins on her heels and marches out of the room.

What is she talking about? Gabe faces me, raising his brows in curiosity and crosses his arms. I take in a deep breath, stare at the floor and prepare to plead my case.

It’s really not that big of a deal. I was just thinking that the only way for us to prevail is for me to go back to Cesar. I shrug my shoulders and grin up at my friend, who is staring at me as if I have grown two heads. What? It’s not so crazy. Think about it: he trusted me once. If I can convince him that I am who he programmed me to be, maybe he will let me in. Gabe’s still watching me but he says nothing as he runs his hand