Hidden Deep (36 page)

The nest rocked. Both of us sat up straight, the tender moment displaced by alarm. Lad jumped to his feet as two large hands came over the edge, gripping and pulling, and then Nox’s head appeared. Lad’s body tensed, his hands curling and clenching.

“You are
the last
person I want to see right now. What do you want?” he demanded. Our happy reunion had lasted all of thirty minutes before this unwelcome interruption.

Nox hesitated. I’d never seen his face look so serious, so completely free of any attempt to charm. When he spoke, his voice was grave.

“Lad, you have to go back to Altum. Now.”

“Nice try, but you had your shot. We were kind of in the middle of—”

“It’s your father.” An excruciating pause. “He’s dead. Lad—you’re king now.”

I was still sitting in the nest’s floor. Beside me, Lad’s legs swayed. I reached out and placed my hand on his calf, trying to impart some small amount of strength to him, to comfort him somehow. He looked down in my direction but not exactly at me. I’d seen the same expression on my mom’s face the night my dad told her he had been with another woman. Nothing else looks like that particular combination of shock and blinding pain.

Without a word, Lad moved toward the edge of the nest. He was going home. I scrambled to follow him, still on my knees.

“I’ll come with you.”

He whirled to face me and barked out a harsh “No!”

Stunned by the ferocity of it, I sat back down and looked at him.

“I… I’m sorry, Ryann. I think you’d better not.” He looked like he might say more to me, but he didn’t. He raised his hands to his temples and grabbed a fistful of hair in each one. The veins in his forearms stood out clearly.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again he turned to Nox, who had stayed in place, half-in, half-out of the nest.

“Take her.”

And then Lad was gone, over the edge of the nest. Within seconds, I heard the scuffle of his feet in the leaves on the forest floor. And then there was silence.

I stared at Nox. Thanks to my seated position and his semi-suspended one, we were on eye-level with each other, practically face-to-face. His mysterious hazel eyes were narrowed and piercing. Was he trying to hear my thoughts, too? Could he?

I couldn’t speak, but Nox did, belatedly answering Lad’s order—the first command of his new king—
take her
.

“I will.”

Thank you for reading HIDDEN DEEP, Book One of the Hidden Trilogy. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Reviews help authors more than you know!

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The Hidden Trilogy continues with Book 2, HIDDEN HEART, coming soon. Here’s a sneak preview of the story:

17-year-old Ryann Carroll thought she knew who she was… a small-town Southern girl just trying to survive her parents’ messy divorce and find some peace for herself. She thought she knew what she wanted… a summer job, a car, a first date that didn’t suck, and NO complications from a serious relationship—any guy in her life would simply be icing on the cake.

But now… she’s not only in love, her boyfriend Lad is an Elven prince, and Ryann’s learned she’s part Elven herself. Things could hardly get more complicated than that.

More importantly, she’s learned the world’s top celebrities… those actors, musicians, athletes, and politicians who seem a little too beautiful and talented to be true… are actually Dark Elves. And they’re using their glamour and the increasing popularity of fan pods to control more and more humans. But why?

With her best friend Emmy leaving soon to join the fan pod of a famous actor, Ryann has to find out the answer. And she can’t do it alone. But after the shocking murder of his father, Lad’s duty is to the Light Elves, and Ryann’s not sure whether his top priority is their relationship or his people.

In this second book of the Hidden Trilogy, true friendship will take Ryann from rural Mississippi to the glittering city of Los Angeles. And true love will take her to places she never expected to go…

It was her, or at least it might have been her, if she’d cut her hair and gotten major highlights, which she probably had. The girl turned, and I saw her face. Another false alarm.

It was my first big Hollywood party, and I was the lame zebra trying to keep up with the stampeding herd, moving through a sea of designer dresses, and beautiful faces, and crystal champagne flutes. Emmy was here somewhere. She had to be, because if she wasn’t, I’d have no idea where else to look.

Having already searched the first three floors of the massive, glass-walled modern museum of a house, I walked out onto the roof deck where the sounds of a slick alternative band filled the moist salty air, pumping up the party guests to an even higher pitch.

Scanning the scene, I finally spotted what I was looking for—not Emmy, but the next best thing. The one person who knew for sure where she was, where she’d been the past four weeks. He was leaning against the balcony railing, his perfect form framed by a backdrop of stars over the Malibu beach, and naturally, surrounded by a crowd of adoring young women.

Adrenaline surged through my veins like the surf I could hear in the background. Finally, after everything I’d gone through to get here, I was so close to finding her.

Preparing to charge Vallon Foster—huge Elven bodyguards be damned—I planned to demand Emmy’s whereabouts and immediate release. A strong hand gripped my shoulder and slid down to my waist. I was pulled back against the solid warmth of a large male body.

“Calm down, Ryann,” a smooth familiar voice murmured at my ear, “and let me handle this.”

With considerable effort, I slowed my pace and we approached the movie star together, hand in hand.

“Sweetheart, I’d like you to meet my good friend, Vallon Foster.” His voice was comforting, full of loving assurance.

I forced myself to smile and appear something less-than-hostile as Nox introduced me.

“Vallon, this is Ryann… the newest member of my fan pod.”

This is an important part of the book for me, because without the people named here, HIDDEN DEEP wouldn’t exist.

Huge thanks go to my lovely editor Judy Roth and to Cover Your Dreams for another beautiful cover.

Thank you to my husband, who never doubts my abilities and expects the best, and my precious boys, who make me laugh every day, put the joy in my life, and have to be the easiest kids on the planet.

To my lifelong bubba Chelle, who loves me no matter what, to Margie, for being a cheerleader and wonderful friend in every way, and to the Westmoreland Farmgirls, who are always ready to read and celebrate.

I am constantly inspired (and set on the right path) by my amazing critique partner, McCall Hoyle and special thanks to Kim for all the help on this one. Love and thanks to the rest of the fabulous GH Dreamweavers and Dauntless girls for the fun and friendship, and special thanks to my Lucky 13 sisters for their loyalty, good advice, virtual Prosecco, cupcakes, and cabana boys. #teamworddomination. Big hugs and forever love to my Savvy Seven sisters. Thank you Mary and CM for all the great book (and life) talks.

No acknowledgments could be complete without mentioning my first family. I’ve been blessed to have a mother who made me believe I could, a brilliant and loving dad, a funny and loyal brother, and the best sister anyone’s ever had. Thank you to Joanne and Larry, for all the support, encouragement, and boy-clothes shopping! And thank you to the rest of my friends and family for your support and for just making life good.

Amy Patrick grew up in Mississippi (with a few years in Texas thrown in for spicy flavor) and has lived in six states, including Rhode Island, where she now lives with her husband and two sons.

Amy has been a professional singer, a DJ, a voiceover artist, and always a storyteller, whether it was directing her younger siblings during hours of “pretend” or inventing characters and dialogue while hot-rollering her hair before middle school every day. For many years she was a writer of true crime, medical anomalies, and mayhem, working as a news anchor and health reporter for six different television stations. Then she retired to make up her own stories. Hers have a lot more kissing.

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