Conduit Series: Illustration and an excerpt: Presh

“I can’t push you,” I say gently. “Some choices have to be your own. Not everything is determined by fate alone.”

Startled, her eyes flick up to meet mine. “Can you get me home?”

“I’ll die trying,” I say, aware that I’ve uttered my own destiny — a single, short thread of it, at least — as the words fall from my lips. 

I’ve never been great at keeping my mouth shut, even when I’m trying. Or ignoring a knowing even when doing so was in my best interest.

I reach for her.

She steps closer to accept my hand.

The thin threads already connecting us solidify so suddenly and sharply that it’s like a punch to the gut. I lose my breath within the momentary onslaught of sensation. It settles into an unadulterated rightness. More than a simple thread of destiny. 

I’ve never felt the like before. Even accepting my inheritance was less … steady, less resolved. But most essence-wielding is like that. Most essence, most power, grows slowly, and not necessarily steadily.

“What … what was that?” she asks in a whisper.

I meet her gaze, blinking and still feeling a little out of body. “Fate,” I whisper back. “It seems … we are meant to be here, in this moment and beyond.” 

She smiles. It’s tentative, shaky. Her grip on my hand is almost punishing.

“What’s your name, sweetness?”

“Presh …” She exhales hope along with the gift of her name, fortifying the connection between us further. Then she inhales strength — I can see it flooding through her — and gives me more. “Precious Guerra.”

I lean into her, taller by a half-dozen inches. My necklace swings forward, drawing her attention again. “Zaya Gage,” I say. Then I add, teasingly, “Granddaughter of Necessity, Daughter of Darkness and Night.” Even though I’m speaking the utter truth. As I always must when I’m about to walk the path of my own destiny. 

To my death, I had no doubt. 

Presh giggles quietly, as I’d hoped she would. Though depending on how much of the family history I’m willing to accept as pure truth, I’m not lying.

– Awry (Conduit 1), Chapter 1

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2024

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