Shadow Sight is Live! Plus Excerpt!
I’m so excited that this last book in the first arc of the Oracle series is finally here! I totally love this cover. And, I’ve added a chapter below for you to check it out.
The DARK SIGHT Series
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DARK SIGHT
CURSED SIGHT
VISSARION
SHADOW SIGHT
SHADOW SIGHT
Chapter One
Water. What had once given Allegra Damascus a sense of peace and safety, was now about to kill her.
Until recently, Allegra had sought a sense of tranquility, a semblance of serenity in immersing herself in water whether it be the pool at her home in the Venara Hills in Fornia, or in the waters of the Endless Sea along the Fornia coast.
Of course, that was only until the god Neptune had attempted to kill her.
Memories of that awful night returned, flooding her mind and Allegra was again trapped within the dark waters of the Endless Sea, waves surging around her as some inexplicable force pulled her deeper and deeper into blackest depths of the ocean.
And now, again, Allegra was trapped beneath the waves, so far beneath the surface that had she been able to see out into the ocean’s depths, she knew she’d have no sight of anything, least of all the surface.
Thankfully, her black pants and skintight sweater hadn’t made things any worse for her. But her military-issue boots had weighed her down, the laces grown so thick, engorged with water, that all her attempts at opening them had failed. She’d resorted to slicing through the ties with her bejeweled dagger, though she’d winced at the time, wondering what Aurelia would have thought of such a menial use for the beautiful weapon.
Allegra blinked, then moved her hand to brush the hair floating around her head out of her eyes. Her long dark blonde locks trailed around her face, like strands of seaweed attempting to engulf her, to suffocate her.
She was trapped in a cabin, aboard the Lady Makara, a ship that had turned out to be a pirate vessel. Allegra was not surprised that the rickety, rust-bucket had ended up blowing an engine, taking on water, and slowly sinking to the seabed. The explosion had been an accident waiting to happen, and more perhaps a curse upon the traffickers who’d lured good, hard-working people into their filthy traps with lies and promises of a better life.
Allegra was glad she wasn’t a god, because she would not have hesitated in striking the men responsible down with a single flick of a finger.
With her lungs pulsing, screaming for air, and her body convulsing, Allegra shook her head, unable to hold out even a second longer. She pushed upward, using the corner of the captain’s desk to kick off hard, and her body moved through the shadowed water, floating upward until she reached the roof of the cabin. The sinking Lady Makara, which had tilted at a slight angle as it drifted to the seabed, had serendipitously provided Allegra with her only means with which to stay breathing and alive. Caught in the corner of the cabin was a precious pocket of air which Allegra was currently using as sparingly as possible, biding her time in the hopes that someone would come for her.
That someone was more than likely going to be Max.
As much as Allegra had to admit she dreaded seeing him again, she had to also accept that there was no other man she’d want to be the one to pluck her from the depths and wrap his arms around her.
“Snap out of it, Allegra,” she muttered silently. “You’re showing sure signs of delirium.”
Max Vissarion was going to be furious with her. Echoing in Allegra’s mind was Max’s voice as he’d demanded she remain at home on Aurelia’s estate in the Charrúa Ranges of Argentina, as he’d insisted her presence was not required to facilitate the rescue of the refugees.
“It’s not necessary for you to accompany us, Allegra,” Max had insisted, his dark eyes flashing as he’d attempted to reason with her. “Surely you see that I’m not being unreasonable. Your life is worth a hundred of ours. Let us go and save those people. Your vision was clear enough for us to know the dangers they faced, clear enough that we can avert the disaster.”
Max’s face had darkened with anger and frustration, and he’d let out a frustrated groan when Allegra had merely shaken her head in response before saying, “I’m coming, Max. Don’t try to stop me.”
Now, Allegra let out a relieved sigh as she broke the surface and expelled a long-stale breath. She craned her neck and lifted her face clear of the water. Taking a few deep breaths, Allegra sank again—fueled again by re-oxygenation and renewed hope—then swam toward the door to the cabin.
Allegra grabbed the handle and tugged as hard as she could, blinking as her movements made her hair float forward around her face, the strands fanning out and teasing her face and eyes. She shook the hair away and pulled again, eyes bugging as she tugged with the desperation of someone who knows that death is imminent.
In most cases, Allegra herself would have been the one to insist they keep going, to demand they not stop until they’d reached their goal, saved the people she’d seen dying horrible deaths in some disaster or tragedy. But today, she was all out of pep talks, all out of passion and determination.
Another tug, and then another—Allegra strained hard, ignoring the stabbing in her lungs as she put all her strength behind the force of her pull. But the door still wouldn’t budge. She let out a groan that burst from her lips in a flotilla of bubbles that drifted and swirled all the way to the ceiling.
Allegra slammed a fist against the cabin door and pushed off again, surging up to the ceiling. She broke through the surface and then gulped in the air, taking deep breaths as she forced herself to calm down. She was about to take her final breath when everything around her shuddered, a low groan reverberating within the cabin. The ship tilted to the side a little more, and then with another growling shudder, it began to slide. Panic engulfed Allegra as she kicked hard to get to the air pocket again, to grab one last breath before she lost her chance altogether.
The ship shook violently now, tilting further on its side. And then the pocket of air was gone.
Allegra let out a muffled cry and floated away, her back thudding softly against the bulkhead. She closed her eyes and thought about the people she and Max and Athena had saved. She’d done her duty. Wasn’t that all that really mattered?
It wouldn’t matter if she died. As long as all those innocent people were safe.
