Mortal: The Valiant Series

By Joanna White

Earth. Home to an alien race called Ietons that have enslaved humankind. Growing up as a slave has made Jace believe he's nothing—just a worthless animal for Ietons like his owner Archer to mistreat. Not only is Jace struggling to make it a day without being brutally punished, but he's also falling in love with Archer's daughter. If they're discovered, death will be the least of Jace's worries.

 

When beasts start mounting attacks, Jace is caught in the middle of something much bigger: a war to save earth—to save the entire galaxy. All Jace wants to do is save as many humans like him as possible and the woman he loves. But how can Jace do anything, when he's only a slave? When he's just a mortal?

 

Or is he?

 

Mortal is a prequel to the Valiant Series and a companion to Immortal. The Valiant Series continues with Rogue, Valiant Book Five.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joanna White
• Release date: Sep 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201140847

Joanna White

Joanna White is a Christian Author and fangirl. Hunter and Shifter are the first two books in her debut series, called the Valiant Series. She writes Fantasy, Science Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction, and more. Her short stories have been featured in several anthologies.  She graduated from Full Sail University with a BFA in Creative Writing For Entertainment. Ever since she was ten years old, she's been writing stories and has a deep passion for writing and creating stories, worlds, characters, and plots that readers can immerse themselves in. In 2020, she reached her personal goal of writing a million words in a year. Most of all, Joanna loves God, her family, staying at home, and being a total nerd. To stay updated and find out more about her novels, where her inspiration comes from, games, giveaways, and more, visit her website at: authorjoannawhite.com

Book preview

Mortal

A prequel to the Valiant Series

Joanna White

Contents

OTHER BOOKS IN THE VALIANT SERIES:

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

1.Chapter One

2.Chapter Two

3.Chapter Three

4.Chapter Four

5.Chapter Five

6.Chapter Six

7.Chapter Seven

8.Chapter Eight

9.Chapter Nine

10.Chapter Ten

11.Chapter Eleven

12.Chapter Twelve

13.Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Survivor

Immortal

Author’s Note

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OTHER BOOKS IN THE VALIANT SERIES:

Forgotten – A short introduction to Hunter

Hunter – Valiant Book One

Rebels – A Valiant Companion Novel

Sightless – A short companion to Hunter

Shifter – Valiant Book Two

Reclaimed – A short companion to Shifter

Samurai – Valiant Book Three

Healed – A short companion to Samurai

Assassin – Valiant Book Four

Victorious – A short companion to Assassin

Rogue – Valiant Book Five

Bound – A short companion to Rogue

Survivor – Valiant Book Six – Coming Fall 2024

Mortal – A Valiant Prequel

Immortal – A Valiant Prequel – Coming 2024

The Republic Chronicles Series:

Dark Magi – A Republic Chronicles Prequel

Light Magi – Republic Chronicles Book One

Shadow Magi – Republic Chronicles Book Two – Coming Soon

The Calamity's Hope Series:

Volcano – Calamity's Hope Book One

Earthquake – Calamity's Hope Book Two

Wildfire – Calamity's Hope Book Three

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Copyright © 2024 by Joanna White

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: [e-mail].

Editing by Laura Johnson.

Second Edition, 2024 by Joanna White.

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Thanks to my family for always supporting me throughout this process. Thank you to all the readers who enjoy the Valiant Series and have patiently waited as I rebrand them. A huge shout out to Laura, who edited both Mortal and Immortal and a big thanks to Anne Hudson who redesigned all the Valiant Series covers! Most of all, thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Chapter one

THE SEMI-FINALS HAD started, and already I ran late. Archer had me scraping crap off the grill of his brand-new top of the line Xetan model LS aircar. When I finished, I rushed to my racer, which was completely different than Archer’s new transport. Where Archer’s aircar had been built for comfort, my racer had been built purely for speed. Though both of them had shields, the aircar’s shield was fully anti-kinetic and able to block all incoming objects and magic. The racer’s shields weren’t that sophisticated. It should have been—given the danger of the races.

I slipped into the driver’s seat of the racer, slamming my finger on the main switch to prime the magical prisms. As soon as they kicked to life, the holographics appeared at the front of the racer, created by a magical spell powered by the prisms that allowed me to control the vehicle. Turning over my left shoulder, I slipped my left hand into a holographic-spell control behind me and pressed it to start the grav-pod underneath the racer.

It took a few seconds to heat up, but when the faint humming buzzed to life, I knew I was in business. My eyes quickly scanned all the holo-controls; the magic-spheres powering the crappy shields powered up and ran, and the grav-pod shot a small burst of energy that lifted the entire racer a few feet off the ground. Content everything started fine, I quickly slid my finger along the main holograph-spell centered in front of me that powered up the magic-infused cylinders in the back of the racer.

The old cylinders my racer had worked slower than others, which meant they took longer for the magic to start firing up. Eventually, when they did, the cylinders would begin shooting a series of spell bursts as thrust, which would allow the racer to move.

C’mon, I muttered. I should have started them several minutes ago, but, instead, I got stuck doing Archer’s crap. All the other competitors already did their pre-flights. Cursing, I used my left hand to control the grav-pod and lift the racer higher in the air. As soon as I reached high enough, I checked the magical levels in the cylinders. It moved in the yellow, rising toward the red. It needed to be in the red, but that would have to be good enough.

I punched the main holo-spell control, and the cylinders lurched as the racer finally accelerated.

Grabbing the holo-spell control stick, I jerked it backward to tilt the racer upward as it continued forward to where the pre-flights took place. I double checked all the holo-spell controls. Once I felt sure everything powered up and ran smoothly, I started doing my pre-flights.

The announcer called for us to line up at the starting line, but I had just barely finished running a small warm-up lap. I lined up beside the other racers. The orbed-lights began clicking down, and I clenched the holo-spell control tighter, breathing deeply. Everything felt calm; perfectly still. The orbed-lights clicked on, one by one from purple to green to blue, every second going by like an hour.

The final light clicked on bright silver, and then we took off. A deafening sound resonated through the air as all the magical magical cylinders burst to life at once. My ears rang, but I had done this so many times, I had gotten used to it, familiar with it.

My eyes darted back-and-forth, looking all around me, including above and below me. I shifted the grav-pod so I was a little lower and glanced above me, checking to see how many racers flew up there.

We had left the main stands seconds ago, and most of the racers, including mine, followed the main track through the middle of the forest. Aircars followed us, with people using spell-scrolls to capture our movements in a picture for the audience to watch back at the stands.

I returned to facing forward, paying attention to the path ahead and where I needed to go. So far, everything looked open, so I slammed the holo-spell control forward, accelerating.

Four other racers flew around the same level I did that I could count. Most of them bashed each other, desperate to get a split-second advantage. One racer, to my left, knocked his racer against mine. My teeth clacked together from the force, almost biting my tongue off. I pushed down and turned the holo-spell control to the left, tilting my racer and sliding it underneath his. With a sudden movement, I jerked backward and to the right, forcing his racer upward. The maneuver caused his racer to flip into the air and catch a tree limb. His racer erupted in a sea of debris that flew in a wild burst like hail. I smiled as the surge of adrenaline pounded its way through my veins. Another Ieton had gotten hurt, hopefully choking on dirt and grass. The thought made me feel pure ecstasy.

I hated them. All of them.

Pressing my lips together in a firm line, I pushed the holo-spell control forward. The movement accelerated the racer even faster and brought me directly behind another contestant. I raised the grav-pod so I flew higher than him and slammed the grav-pod all the way down. My racer landed on top of his, which drove his into the ground. A huge cloud of dust and debris flew into the air as his racer tumbled across the track.

Glancing at the holographic map on my right, I searched for the nearest racer. Three of them flew directly ahead of me, not including the leaders, but came to a very tight left turn. I backed off the holo-spell control, curved to the left around