Finding the Light

By Janelle Stalder

The anticipated sequel to The Dark Princess.

When the path you are on comes to a fork, which way do you turn?

Loyalties are being tested by the fate of one young girl.
Hope French has found herself in the fight of a lifetime, with two sides determined to either destroy her...or save her?
Angels and Demons will come to a head for the first time in centuries.
Now she has to decide who she can trust, and what her true destiny really is while learning to adapt to her new surroundings.
With so much against her, Hope must reach inside to find the ancient power that lies there, waiting to be unleashed.
The only question left to be answered is whether it will be for the good, or evil.

EARLY PRAISE FOR FINDING THE LIGHT

“A spectacular adventure and one heart fluttering ride.” USA Today Best-selling Author, Terri E. Laine, author of Chasing Butterflies.

“Holy hot Cillian Black! This series just gets better and better! I’m anxiously awaiting the next book.” H.D. Gordon, author of The Wolf Wars Series

“Finding the Light was utter perfection. It's such a game changer in the series and I couldn't believe what I was reading. Some of the twists and turns I never saw coming at all and ended up sitting there with my mouth gaping unable to believe what had just happened. Another sign that Janelle is such a superb storyteller.” Kayleigh-Marie Gore, K-Books Review

“Finding the Light was the thrilling continuation of The Dark Princess. Just as the one before, it was an exciting, can’t-put-it-down Urban Fantasy. It’ll keep you asking for more.” Becca Vincenza, author of Art of Death

“I can't get enough of The Balance Series. I don't want to give anything away. All I can say is that I was routing for the wrong person. Will Hope survive this new twist? I can't wait to read more!!” Monica Alvarado, ARC Reviewer

“This book is very good. I love it!!! It was everything I was hoping for. The cliffhanger at the end will make the wait for the next book harder. I highly suggest to read this book ... and this series of course. If you liked the Dark Princess, you’ll love this one! I hate spoilers so you won’t have any just read it already.” Karine Beaulieu, ARC Reviewer

“Janelle has produced another amazing read - thrilling, intriguing, laugh out loud and action packed, I just could not put it down and I was on the edge of my seat with the suspense. I haven't read anything like it since the previous instalment - The Dark Princess... And I will be waiting with baited breath for the next instalment of this amazing series.” Stephanie Cross, ARC Reviewer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Janelle Stalder
• Release date: Sep 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463596302

Janelle Stalder

Janelle Stalder was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. At an early age she developed a love for literature. Her debut novel, Eden, was the first book in a series of four, released in September of 2011. Since then she has released an Adult Dystopian Romance series, the New World Series, hitting the best sellers list on Amazon. She has also released a Mature YA/NA novel, Brush Strokes, that stayed on the best sellers list for contemporary romance for sixteen straight weeks. She is a strong supporter of other independent authors, and loves to interact with her readers. When she's not writing, Janelle is at home with her husband, two children, Aiden and Elora, her little bun in the oven that is on the way, and her two furry children, Alice and Lily. She now resides in a small town in Ontario in her old, possibly haunted, century home.

Book preview

FINDING

THE LIGHT

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Finding the Light, A Balance Series Novel

Published by Janelle Stalder at Smashwords

Copyright 2019 Janelle Stalder

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever including Internet usage, without written permission of the author.

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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover Design by Cover Couture (www.bookcovercouture.com) 

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ISBN: 9781795584043

EARLY PRAISE FOR FINDING THE LIGHT

A spectacular adventure and one heart fluttering ride. USA Today Best-selling Author, Terri E. Laine, author of Chasing Butterflies.

Holy hot Cillian Black! This series just gets better and better! I’m anxiously awaiting the next book. H.D. Gordon, author of The Wolf Wars Series

"Finding the Light was utter perfection. It's such a game changer in the series and I couldn't believe what I was reading. Some of the twists and turns I never saw coming at all and ended up sitting there with my mouth gaping unable to believe what had just happened. Another sign that Janelle is such a superb storyteller." Kayleigh-Marie Gore, K-Books Review

"Finding the Light was the thrilling continuation of The Dark Princess. Just as the one before, it was an exciting, can’t-put-it-down Urban Fantasy. It’ll keep you asking for more." Becca Vincenza, author of Art of Death

I can't get enough of The Balance Series. I don't want to give anything away. All I can say is that I was routing for the wrong person. Will Hope survive this new twist? I can't wait to read more!! Monica Alvarado, ARC Reviewer

This book is very good. I love it!!! It was everything I was hoping for. The cliffhanger at the end will make the wait for the next book harder. I highly suggest to read this book ... and this series of course.  If you liked the Dark Princess, you’ll love this one! I hate spoilers so you won’t have any just read it already. Karine Beaulieu, ARC Reviewer

Janelle has produced another amazing read - thrilling, intriguing, laugh out loud and action packed, I just could not put it down and I was on the edge of my seat with the suspense. I haven't read anything like it since the previous installment - The Dark Princess... And I will be waiting with baited breath for the next installment of this amazing series. Stephanie Cross, ARC Reviewer

EARLY PRAISE FOR THE DARK PRINCESS

This book reminded me why I love urban fantasy. Cillian Black is perfection! I'm obsessed! - H.D. Gordon, author of The Wolf Wars Series

A decadent and intense page-turner, The Dark Princess is a rich paranormal romance you'll want to sink your teeth into. - Casey L. Bond, author of Savage Beauty.

Janelle Stalder weaves a gripping story of love, heartbreak, and adventure. I couldn't put it down and it's impossible to forget. - Becca Vincenza, author of Art of Death.

A dark enthralling tale that’s compelling, sexy and action packed. A turn pager for sure. I couldn’t stop reading. Terri E. Laine, author of Chasing Butterflies.

The Dark Princess has everything you could possibly want in a book. It's filled to the brim with mystery, intrigue, action and romance. The Dark Princess is without a doubt one of my favourite reads of the year so far. Kayleigh-Marie Gore, K-Books Review

ALSO BY JANELLE STALDER

EDEN SERIES

EDEN

EDEN-WEST

EDEN-SOUTH

EDEN-EAST

NEW WORLD SERIES

SWITCH

MASKED

TESTED

UNDERGROUND

SILENCE

BLOOMFIELD SERIES

BRUSH STROKES

SIMPLE BEGINNINGS

DECIDING LOVE

YOUNG LOVE

BALANCE SERIES

BALANCE

POISE

THE DARK PRINCESS

FINDING THE LIGHT

FINDING

THE LIGHT

BALANCE SERIES PART FOUR

One

The Academy

Which Ancient Greek philosopher focused on the idea of an unlimited substance that acted as a source for everything, creating a point of difference for polar opposites, such as light and dark? Silence. Hope?

I looked up, my cheeks heating. My hand stilled over the current doodle of swirls I’d been working on. Uh, I quickly ran my eyes over the book in front of me, but had no idea what I was looking for.

Professor Irwin grunted in displeasure, turning his head to someone up front with their hand raised. I didn’t hear the correct answer, as I tried to sink further down into my seat. Which wasn’t easy, considering they’d been made to accommodate wings, which I didn’t have, unlike the rest of the students in the room. Just one more thing to make me different here.

I’d been at the Academy for a week now, and it hadn’t been easy. While the Academy itself was amazing, my day to day life had been difficult. I missed my mom and dad. I missed my old school in my hometown, with all my human schoolmates, even though they had spent years picking on me. I missed Cat, and my room, and my bed most of all.

I missed actually knowing what was going on during classes. Going to school here made me realize how Penny on The Big Bang Theory felt. The teachers, or professors as they were called here, taught things I’d never even heard about back at my old school. I’d gone from book-nerd to the clueless new kid in the back row in a matter of days.

The Academy was where all young angels came to study. It was their form of school, except that they came here when they were very young, and then lived here until they finished their education and moved onto whatever classification they were assigned. From what I’d picked up in my short time here, there were Soldiers, Guardians, Scouts, Professors, Librarians, and of course, the Hierarchies, who governed the rest of them. They were the highest and also the most intimidating. I had met one, a female, who had come to my father’s castle when they’d decided to send me here, and I wasn’t eager to see her again. She’d been ice personified.

I wouldn’t be any of those classes, however, since despite my distant angelic bloodline on my mother’s side that allowed me to attend here, my father was a higher demon, making me half demon.

And not just any higher demon, the highest of them all. As in, the King of Demons, or the Devil, as history had labelled him.

Which made me the daughter of the Devil.

The princess.

A half breed that no one had seen before. A fact that had turned me into a target for someone who wanted me dead. Which was why I was here, at the Academy. The angelic hideaway that sat on its own rocky island, surrounded by white capped waves of endless ocean, and hidden with a glamour from any human boats that might sail by. I’d been swept up and stashed away until whatever danger remained out there was gone.

How long was that going to be?

No one knew.

Which meant I was stuck here for the foreseeable future, and that truth had sunk in early on, like an anchor in the pit of my stomach.

The Academy was a massive castle, the gardens around it picturesque, almost too perfect if you asked me. Our gardens at home were wild and overgrown, natural looking. These ones were beautiful, but when I’d stood outside looking at them on my first day here, I’d almost wondered if they were even real. I didn’t want to walk the paths or touch the blooms, too afraid to ruin anything.

The castle itself was made from a pale stone, boasting turrets and towers. The halls were painted with intricate murals on the ceilings and golden walls. White marble floors decorated everywhere you walked in the main areas, sparkling with the reflections of the grand chandeliers above.

The dormitories were near the south side of the castle, rows of doors that housed simple furnishings of a twin bed and a single dresser. I had been given a room for myself, even though everyone else appeared to have a roommate. I assumed those who knew what, and who I was, didn’t want me in close quarters with a full blood angel. In fact, most of the other angels ignored me, other than casting a few curious looks my way. They didn’t speak to me, or extend an offer of friendship. I wasn’t sure if they were friends with each other, for that matter.

Despite the beauty of the Academy, it lacked any warmth, and that extended to those within its walls. I could see now why Gabriel, the Soldier who had befriended me by posing as a regular student at my old school, and who had been the one to bring me here, had described this place with little affection when I’d asked him about his previous school. No one was mean, or cruel. Some of the teachers were quite tough, and didn’t seem to think much of me, especially my current one, Professor Irwin. The students weren’t cruel either. Everyone and everything was just - cold. Like a painting that was beautiful to look at, but flat to the touch and with no actual life behind it.

No one joked around. People didn’t run through the halls or shout out at each other. Sometimes I’d catch people smiling or laughing quietly together, but it was almost as if this place took the young angels in, and slowly sucked out whatever youth they had in them. That essence that made them truly shine. They were being shaped, bit by bit, into whatever they had been fated to do after all this.

That very coldness was sucking the life right out of me. It was depressing. Not just that I had no one to talk to, missed my old life, and didn’t know anything of what we were learning, but there was absolutely nothing here to lift that dread. No warmth. No laughter. At least, none that I could see as an outsider.

The chimes rang to signal the end of class. I rose with the rest of them, tripping over the white robes I’d been given to wear as I headed toward the front.

Tell me, Miss. French, Professor Irwin said when I reached his desk. What exactly did they teach you in that mortal school you previously attended?

I could sense some of the students who were still filing out hesitate at the door. No one knew I was half demon, they only knew I was part angel, and that I’d been raised in the mortal world before this. That was all anyone had been told, other than the higher ups.

I pressed the heavy book against my chest, meeting his flat gaze. Um...stuff? I said weakly. I could practically see the word idiot written on my forehead in the reflection of his eyes.

Stuff? He said slowly, bushy brows pinching together. Interesting. Perhaps we need to assign you a tutor in order to help you catch up.

Professor Irwin was an intimidating man. He could give Snape a run for his money. His grey hair was slicked back away from his face. His forehead, nose, and chin were all sharp angles that made him look gaunt. Wrinkles lined his weathered looking skin. His wings were smaller than Gabriel’s, I noticed, and always held tight to his body. He wore grey robes the same shade as his hair. A man of little colour, both in appearance and personality. It was clear he did not like me. I’d come to that understanding within an hour of class my first day. I wasn’t sure why that was, but I could guess my apparent lack of intelligence was part of the reason.

A-a tutor?

I had never needed a tutor in my entire school career. The idea that I could fall behind was completely foreign to me.

Yes, Miss. French. A tutor. Did they have those where you last went to school?

Yes, Professor. It’s just, I’ve never needed one.

I’m sure you didn’t. The - stuff, he wrinkled his nose, that they taught you there was clearly not challenging. In this case, I think a tutor would be in your best interest.

Yes, sir, I said softly, my cheeks heating. The few stragglers were still hanging about, witnessing the lowest moment in my academic career to date.

I’ll have them meet you in the library this evening after dinner.

I nodded, clutching my book and turning to walk out, head down as I passed under a cloud of stares. Here they didn’t openly ridicule you, but I could feel their silent judgement on my back as I walked away. I was sure I was a mystery to the other students. Not only was I not a full angel, but I had come from the mortal realm, a place I didn’t think many, if any, of these young angels had been.

It seemed there was nowhere I could go where I wasn’t the odd man out.

***

The library was straight out of a Disney movie. Actually, it put Belle’s to shame. Multiple levels of row upon row of books filled the vast room. Shelves that were made of deep cherry wood, carved with ornate pictures at the ends of each row. I could have spent days just walking around and stopping to admire each and every one of them.

The ceiling curved into a large dome, painted to reflect the night sky, every constellation and planet mapped out. It made me think of Erebus. Of the endless dark sky there, lit up by the millions of twinkling stars.

Golden sconces lit the room everywhere, as did the massive hearth centred in the main floor. It was so big, I had no doubt I could walk right into the blazing flames and not have to duck. Tables were lined up in rows on the main floor as well, already filled with angels immersed in the ancient looking tomes piled in stacks before them.

I chose an empty one near the fire, dropping into one of the plush, leather chairs that were stationed at each table. My eyes scanned the room. No one else paid me any attention, their focus solely on whatever it was they were reading. I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting in a library, waiting to be tutored, when there were bigger, more important things happening back home.

It killed me not to be with my friends and family, finding out who had tried to kill me, and dealing with the problem myself. Instead, I was here, doing school work I didn’t care about, completely in the dark about what was going on, or when I could return home.

My mind drifted to Aaron Brooks, the boy I’d gone to school with since fourth grade. One of the many who had spent the majority of those years picking on me. The same boy who had tried multiple times to kill me using lessor demons, failing miserably, only to abduct me himself and torture me for a week. That boy was now dead.

And not by my hand.

The thought of him made my hands curl into fists. I still wasn’t sure just what Aaron was, but what I did know - what everyone knew since last I’d heard - was that he had been working for someone else. Who? That was the part we didn’t know. And until their identity was discovered, I was stuck here.

Playing student.

Learning things I no longer cared about. Because my mother and father preferred to send me away where they knew no one could reach me, than let me stay with them in Erebus, the demon city, in my father’s stronghold with them.

Cillian wanted you to stay, my inner voice piped up.

I told it where to go, and quickly swallowed the unwelcome tears now pushing their way up my throat. Cillian Black was the one person I couldn’t bring myself to really think about. Not unless I wanted to embrace the empty ache in my chest that always accompanied thoughts of him.

No, it was better to just push him to the very back of my mind, and focus on more important things like -

Ancient philosophy? A musical voice said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I blinked, lifting my head to meet a pair of curious golden eyes. Not the bronze, molten gold of Gabriel’s, but a strange rose gold that almost shimmered like the metal. Where the brownish sparks in Gabriel’s made his eyes a deep gold, hers were lighter and like nothing I’d ever seen before. Long, thick auburn hair flowed freely to her mid-back against the typical white robes everyone wore.

I recognized her immediately. She sat up front in two of my classes, and was one of the students who answered the most questions. I had no idea what her name was, even though I was sure the professors had said it often enough.

Sorry? I said, sitting up straighter.

You’re here for tutoring on ancient philosophy, no? Aren’t you, she glanced down at a small piece of paper stuck to the front of her book, Hope?

That’s me, I said lamely, offering a weak smile.

She let her books slam down on the table, the sound causing me to jump in my seat, and earned us a few dirty looks. I’m Rosalie, she said, offering her hand.

I shook it. Hope, I said, even though we’d already established that.

Professor Irwin says you need a bit of help getting caught up. How much did you learn on ancient philosophy at your old school? Rosalie sat down, spreading out her books, papers, and pencils in a meticulous way that had me completely captivated. She was like a robot, positioning everything in a matter-of-fact way that made me think she did this quite often.

Uh... I said, losing my train of thought as I watched her pull out a sharpener and sharpen a pencil until it was a perfect point like the rest of them, lining it up beside the other three. I glanced up to see her waiting patiently for my answer. Nothing, I answered.

Nothing? Her perfectly arched brows pulled together as she tilted her head. A few freckles dotted her nose, and her lips were a perfect shade of pink that I could tell was completely natural. She looked like a doll, and was kind of adorable when she appeared confused as she did now. Lila and her gang of evil heinous lackeys at my old school would have had a field day with someone like Rosalie. I apologize, I don’t understand.

We didn’t learn about ancient philosophy at my old school, I said. We just did the basics.

She nodded once, slowly. The basics.

Math, English, Science, Gym, and so on.

Gym?

Physical education, I clarified.

She looked downright stumped.

Like, sports...and stuff.

Sports, she said, looking down at her neatly laid out things. Interesting. Well, I guess we should start from the beginning then.

Two hours later I wasn’t any closer to remembering these Greek guys’ names, despite Rosalie’s incredible knowledge. To give her credit, she tried, but I just didn’t have it in me to care. We packed up our things when one of the librarians came around to say curfew was in thirty minutes.

Do you miss your old school? Rosalie asked as we stood and headed for the doors.

I miss some parts of it I admitted. Everyone here is so...depressing.

She smiled. It’s definitely not your average school, but don’t hold it against the students, we’re technically still in mourning.

I looked at her in surprise. Mourning?

She nodded, holding open the doors for me to pass through before following. When one of our own passes, it’s custom for there to be at least a two-week mourning period. It will be ending in the next couple of days.

Huh, I said, looking at the other students walking by with a new sense of understanding. I didn’t think...

What? She asked when I hesitated.

It’s just...I thought you guys were...immortal.

We are, she said with a short laugh. "For the most part.