body. I felt the agony of his loss right down to my very soul.
“He just needs some time, Jem. He’ll come around,” offered Ben, his voice a comforting promise.
I nodded, though I didn’t fully believe it. Frankly, I wasn’t sure there was enough time in all the clocks of the world to undo the damage I had done. But I refused to abandon all hope. Not yet anyway. As long as I was still breathing, there was still time to make this right again.
“So…is this a bad time to ask if I’m the only one that saw Trace’s Alt port in to save Dominic?” asked Ben, his gaze flicking to each of us for confirmation.
“You’re not the only one. I saw him too,” I answered as everything suddenly clicked together.
For future Trace to port back just as Tessa was about to vanquish Dominic had to mean that she had been successful in doing it, and for some reason unknown to me, Trace ported back in time to stop that from happening, thus altering our Timeline altogether. But why?
Why would Trace save Dominic from certain death?
There were still so many unanswered questions plaguing me—so many things that had yet to make sense. I realized in that moment, that our story wasn’t over yet. Not by a longshot.
Squaring my shoulders, I wiped away the last tear that had fallen and pulled myself together. I would give Trace the space and time he needed to deal with what I had done, and then I would find a way to bring him back to me; to earn his trust back, even if I had to do it one excruciatingly small step at a time.
Filled with purpose, my gaze shifted to Dominic laying on the floor before me as a quiet fire ignited in my belly. I would find a way to bring him back, too. Even if that meant I needed to break his heart wide open to do it.
“You still have those chains at your house?” I asked Ben as a lulling song of redemption started to fill my heart.
He looked at me curiously. “Yeah…why?”
“I’m going to need you to bring them over to my house,” I said as I reached down to grab Dominic by the collar of his shirt and then calmly dragged him out of the room with me.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you so much for reading Incipient and for staying on this crazy train with me. I hope it was worth the wait and can’t wait to chat it up with you all in my Facebook Reader Group. As always, if you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. As an indie author, your feedback and support mean everything to me.
Irreverent, The Marked Book 7 is already up for pre-order with the finale coming shortly after that one. To stay updated on my upcoming releases (as well as teasers, bonus content and pictures of my adorable son), follow me on my social media below. Pre-Order Book 7: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Q4GLQYG
MAILING LIST:
FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/biancascardoni
TWITTER:
www.twitter.com/biancascardoni
INSTAGRAM:
www.instagram.com/biancascardoni
WEBSITE:
GLOSSARY
ANAKIM
A race of people born with the spirit of man and the blood of angels; Descendants of Nephilim
CASTER
A Descendant of Magi Angels; ability to cast magic, control elements, and manipulate energy
CINDERDUST
Magical powder created by High Casters that sends a Revenant to Sanguinarium
DARK LEGION
Descendants that have turned against the Order; pledged to the dark side/ Lucifer
DAUGHTER OF HADES
Descendant of Lucifer, prophesied to raise Lucifer and bring on the end of days
INVOCATION
An ancient ritual used by the Order to invoke Anakim abilities
LUCIFER
The first Angel to be created and the first to fall; imprisoned in a tomb in Hell
REAPER
A Descendant of Transport Angels; capable of teleporting, time travel, and mind reading
SANGUINARIUM
Realm of perdition for Revenants that have been vanquished
SEER
A Descendant of Messenger Angels; ability to communicate with the Spirit Realm and predict the future
SHIFTER
A Descendant of Guardian Angels; capable of shifting into animal form, and telepathy
SLAYER
A Descendant of Warrior Angels; possess super strength and ability to sense demons, siren-like blood
THE ORDER OF THE ROSE
A secret organization that oversees all Anakim affairs
ANAKIM INDEX
SLAYERS (Warrior Angel Descendants)
Jemma
Tessa
Gabriel+
Karl*
Thomas*
Jaqueline+
REAPERS (Transport Angel Descendants)
Trace~
Peter *
Linley*
CASTERS (Magi Angel Descendants)
Nikki
Caleb
Carly
SHIFTERS (Guardian Angel Descendants)
Dominic+
Ben
Julian
SEERS (Messenger Angel Descendants)
Morgan
DARK CASTERS (Pledged to the Dark Legion)
Arianna
Annabelle
Anita
Pricilla+*
* Character is deceased
+Character is a Revenant
~ It’s complicated
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Tricia Simpson for proofing this book as well as talking me off the ledge, yet again. You are seriously the wind beneath my mangled wings, girl. I don’t know what I would do without you. Also, a big thank you again to my cover designer for yet another gorgeous cover.
Thank you to my son, Jaxon, just for just existing. You did absolutely nothing to help me write this book, and actually kind of slowed me down a little too, but you are the absolute sunshine in my life and are worth every single missed writing day. Mama loves you, munchkin.
Thank you to my main squeeze slash baby daddy Jeff. I can’t imagine how annoying it must be to see the back of my head for so many weeks on end, but I love you for putting up with it and for picking up the slack when I’m off in Hollow Hills land. Love you more with every day that goes by.
Thank you to my mom, dad, and my stepdad for being the most wonderfully supportive parents a daughter could ask for. I appreciate all the school pickups and the weekend sleepovers so that I could finish this book on time. Words cannot express how much I love and appreciate all three of you.
And finally, thank you to my freakishly patient, amazingly supportive, awesomely enthusiastic readers who have continued to ride this crazy rollercoaster of a series with me. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I don’t know what I did to deserve all of you, but I thank my lucky stars every day that I have such a wonderful group of people who love and cherish these characters as much as I do. Also, get ready for the final two books, you guys. It’s about to go down!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bianca Scardoni is a paranormal fiction writer who resides on the East Coast of Canada with her family. She graduated from college with a degree in web design and went on to build an online writing community in 2004. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time reading, watching vampire shows, eating junk food, and staying up too late.
For upcoming book releases, bonus material, and additional information on the author, please visit her website: www.biancascardoni.com