Destined
(The Destined Series)
Jenna Pizzi
Genre:
YA/NA Paranormal Romance
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Host: Lady
Amber's Tours
Synopsis:Destined
(the Destined Series) YA/NA Paranormal Romance about Angels and
Demons.
Lilly has always been plagued by dreams; she dreams of another place and time, a place of pure beauty and light that suddenly erupts into fire and destruction. Then, there is a man with the haunting blue eyes that seem to look right through her very soul. In one fateful afternoon Lilly learns that the dreams are more real than she could’ve ever imagined. They are a link to who she really is; the Gatekeeper to the realms. Born from both light and dark, with her memories bound, she learns that it is her destiny to gather the relics of the flower of life. Lilly must do this in order to close the gates before the under realm destroys them all, but there are those who will stop at nothing to keep her from fulfilling her destiny. There are those who will try to sway her into the dark. She is torn between the love of two brothers; one, her loyal warrior, who has loved her since the beginning, and the other with the enthralling blue eyes that speak to her soul. One brother fights for the light, while the other fell into the darkness. Will she choose the brother that her soul longs for, or the brother that her heart calls out to?
Lilly has always been plagued by dreams; she dreams of another place and time, a place of pure beauty and light that suddenly erupts into fire and destruction. Then, there is a man with the haunting blue eyes that seem to look right through her very soul. In one fateful afternoon Lilly learns that the dreams are more real than she could’ve ever imagined. They are a link to who she really is; the Gatekeeper to the realms. Born from both light and dark, with her memories bound, she learns that it is her destiny to gather the relics of the flower of life. Lilly must do this in order to close the gates before the under realm destroys them all, but there are those who will stop at nothing to keep her from fulfilling her destiny. There are those who will try to sway her into the dark. She is torn between the love of two brothers; one, her loyal warrior, who has loved her since the beginning, and the other with the enthralling blue eyes that speak to her soul. One brother fights for the light, while the other fell into the darkness. Will she choose the brother that her soul longs for, or the brother that her heart calls out to?
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Excerpt:
Samil
ran his fingers through Lilly’s hair. They were sitting in front of
the fireplace.
“You
have no idea how long I’ve waited for this, for just a moment alone
with you again.” He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.
She felt a tingle on her hand. She thought she was just caught up in
the moment. Samil noticed her palm glowing blue and backed up. “No,
not already, you just got here.”
She
looked down and noticed what he was talking about. The palm of her
hand that the compass had branded was glowing blue. She jumped up in
shock and started shaking her hand.
“What’s
happening? Why is it doing that?” She asked him.
Samil
stood and grabbed her hand.
“Don’t
be afraid. It means it is time. It will lead you to the first relic.
I thought we’d be able to have more time together.”
Lilly
couldn’t stop herself; she grabbed him and kissed him.
“If
this ends up being our last moment alone together, then I just need
to feel you, here in the flesh.”
Samil
looked at her questioningly.
“Are
you sure, Lilly? It will only complicate things even more.”
“I
have never been so sure of anything.”
He
lowered her down in front of the roaring fire. She smiled up at him.
He noticed the way the fire reflected in her eyes. He swept the hair
to the side and lowered his lips to her neck and tenderly kissed her.
Lilly trembled at his touch. He ran his hands down the length of her
body. Just his simple touch made her moan in pleasure and
anticipation. When his lips brushed hers, she lost herself to him.
The
door to the room blew open. Usha stormed in. Samil broke his hold on
Lilly as Usha hurled a statue at them. Samil pulled Lilly to her feet
and stood in front of her to block Usha from her outburst.
“What
do you think you are doing, Usha? This is my chamber and you do not
come barging in here.”
She
strode over to them until she was only feet away.
“I
will do whatever I want. I am the princess. How dare you have your
hands all over her? I can smell her on you. It makes me sick.” She
started spinning around staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know why
you don’t get it, Samil; you can never be with her. Ugh! I am so
sick of everyone buckling down to this stupid girl. She’s nothing.”
She ran her fingers down the front of Samil’s chest. “She won’t
touch you the way I can. She can’t offer you a whole kingdom like I
can. So what is the appeal of some little insipid half breed? She
doesn’t even belong anywhere. She’ll be dead in the end anyway.
Caleb won’t die for her this time.”
Samil
could feel Lilly flinch at the last sentence. She didn’t understand
what it had meant. Usha sensed her shock because she laughed.
“Oh
my goodness, no one told you. How delicious. One of you lives and one
of you dies, Lilly. One of you must choose but only one walks away.”
Lilly
couldn’t contain herself.
“I
don’t understand.”
Usha
laughed.
“Of
course not, that’s why you are stupid. One of you must die in order
to seal the gate. Somehow you have always convinced Caleb to do it,
this time he won’t allow himself to be near you until it is time
for the choice. He will be claimed dark and kill you to seal it. Oh
this is just tasty. No one bothered to even tell her about this. I’m
glad I got the privilege.” She was gloating in her little victory
when Seth appeared in the doorway. Tangela stood by his side.
“Samil,”
Seth yelled out. “I should have known you’d lead a council member
astray. How could you do this?”
Samil
closed his eyes and Lilly could feel his hand squeeze hers.
“Go
Lilly, go with Seth. I will see you when I can.” He covered her
palm with a red velvet napkin so no one would see that it was glowing
blue. Seth lunged at Samil and the two fell to the floor. Lilly could
see Usha pull a sharp object from her leg and she jumped toward
Lilly. Tangela rushed between Usha and Lilly and blocked the knife.
She punched Usha square in her chest. She fell backward and grabbed
her chest.
“You
bitch, I will kill you,” she screamed at Tangela.
“Bring
it, bitch. I’ll see you on the battlefield.” Tangela laughed.
Tangela
grabbed Seth and rushed them out the door. Lilly didn’t want to
stay, but she didn’t want to leave Samil. She wanted to find a way
to be with him again. She looked behind her as she left the room. His
hair was all disheveled and his eyes gave way to his sorrow. Seth
pushed her through the door, grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her
out the door. She watched it close behind her.
They
ran down a series of long hallways. Tangela led the way and Lilly and
Seth followed. Seth stood behind her to make sure no one grabbed her.
She could hear Usha scream at the top of her lungs. She was calling
her minions to find and attack them. Seth pushed Lilly even faster,
but she was barefoot and wearing a thin dress.
They
rounded a corner to the next hallway when Tangela stopped short.
There were five minions blocking their way. They were all smiling
with their jagged teeth. They seemed larger than the ones she had
come across out in Plymouth. One of them took a step forward and
swung at Tangela. She got slammed against the wall. He laughed as she
curled into a ball in pain. Seth jumped in front of Lilly and pulled
a sword off of the wall. He pitched forward and slit the minion’s
chest open. The minion crumpled to the floor in shock. Seth rushed
forward to fight off another one. Lilly ran to Tangela’s side and
helped her up. Someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her off of
the ground. She screamed and it got Seth’s attention. He ran back
to her and stabbed the minion. The minion dropped her, and she fell
to the ground. Seth lifted the sword and swung. He took the minion’s
head clear off of its shoulders. Tangela saw Lilly’s hand and
grabbed hold of it as she yelled for her to run.
“Run,
Lilly. We need to get you out of here. Let Seth fight them. It is
what he was trained for.”
Lilly
followed behind her and they ran up a staircase and down another long
dark hallway. Tangela stopped in front of a large steel door. She
opened it and pushed her through. Lilly found herself back in the
tunnels. This one was different from the ones that lead to Maidstone.
She didn’t like the way it felt so she ran as fast as her feet
would take her. She could feel something around her. She could hear
laughing, but she couldn’t see anything. She felt something
scratching at her arms. She flinched and kept running. Something was
taunting her. She neared the end of the tunnel and she could see a
dim light ahead of her.
As
she reached for the door, she felt a burning sensation across her
stomach. She grabbed her stomach and kicked open the door. She made
it to the other side and collapsed on the ground. Keith and Amy
rushed to her side.
“Oh
Lilly, you’re bleeding all over the place,” Amy cried out.
Lilly
looked down at the dress, it was slit open across her stomach. She
could feel a sticky liquid but because the dress was so red, she
couldn’t tell how bad it really was. Keith ripped off his coat and
wrapped it around her.
Tangela
ran through the realm door. She saw Lilly on the ground and Lilly
could see the concerned look on her face. She ripped pieces of her
shirt and held it to her stomach to try to stop the bleeding.
“I
hope Seth’s close behind, this isn’t good. We have to get her
help.”
Keith
picked her up in his arms.
“Forget
about Seth then, we have to get her help now. Just tell us where to
go.”
Tangela
looked torn.
“I
can’t heal this. This needs special attention. Seth won’t know
why we weren’t here, but you cannot get her the help she needs
unless one of us is with you.” She thought about it.
Lilly
could feel her world turning black. She was getting sick of passing
out. She couldn’t even count how many times she nearly died in the
last few days. Tangela ushered them to the end of the alleyway. Just
as they were rounding the corner to Court Street they heard Seth call
out to wait. He saw how badly Lilly was wounded and had a look of
panic on his face.
“We
need to get her help now.”
He
led them to a boutique on Court Street named Laughing Moon Boutique.
To the outsiders and tourists it looked like a new age store, but to
the other world it was a place of healing. It was after hours so
Tangela knocked hard on the door. Her knock seemed to be a sort of
code. The door crept open and a woman’s head popped out.
“Yes!
Can I help you?”
Tangela
spoke in a different language and the woman quickly opened the door
and rushed them inside. Once they were in, the woman bolted the door
and lowered a brass bar across it. She led them into a back room and
down a flight of stairs. She pointed to a cot and told Keith to place
Lilly on it. Lilly could hear talking and then the pain took over.
She was sweating and couldn’t stop writhing in pain. Amy kept
wiping her forehead and Lilly could see her crying.
The
woman spoke to Tangela.
“What
did this? Do you know? How long ago did it happen?”
Tangela
immediately answered her.
“It
was the Akki-Oni, the dark spirits in the Hyvania tunnels. We were
almost through when they struck out and scratched her.”
The
woman, whose name was Batya, quickly rushed about her room grabbing
different herbs. She mixed Skull Cap, Mugwort, Perilla and Feverfew.
She turned it into a paste and rubbed it on the claw marks. Lilly
could immediately feel the burning stop. She lit a candle made of
Mullein. She told them it was to ward off evil spirits. She crushed
berries of a Pokeweed plant and held Lilly’s head up and forced her
to drink it.
“I’m
sorry for this, Lilly. This will not be pretty, but if it does its
job you will vomit out all the toxins from the Akki-Oni’s toxin.”
Within
seconds of swallowing Lilly felt nauseous. Like a true friend, Amy
held her hair as Lilly retched into a trash barrel. Keith sat by her
side and kept a damp cloth on her forehead. She honestly didn’t
think she was going make it. She had never experienced that level of
pain. She wasn’t sure if she had any fight left in her. Her mind
wondered, what is the point?
When she felt there was nothing more to throw up, she closed her
eyes. That was all she remembered of that night.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jenna
settled into America's hometown where she proudly calls home with her
family. She is an avid book reader and collector with an entire room
dedicated to her passion. At the age of twelve years old Jenna began
writing, determined to be just like Stephen King or Dean Koontz.
For
her it all starts with the flick of an image. From there a story is
born. Being an eternal romantic, Jenna is a true believer in happy
endings. It's the rest of the story that anything is possible.
Writing is her passion. It is something that helps her unwind at the
end of the day. She likes to tell stories that will pull at your
heartstrings, or simply whisk you away even for just a little while.
So grab your favorite blanket, and a hot cup of coffee and settle in
for the ride.
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