Reckoning

Cover Copy

The Great Extinction, the prophesied war between the humans and the Supernaturals, has begun.

Born a Supernatural, Juliet Sawyer has the ability to save the world from disaster. But after barely escaping the underground, power-sucking prison known as the Void, she finds herself on the brink of death and in the middle of a vengeful war. To survive, she’ll have to make a deal with her human captors. But the stakes are raised when she learns the government is holding her sister hostage. To rescue her, Juliet must become a weapon for humanity, fighting against her own kind—including Riley West, the boy she fell deeply in love with—and by whom she was abandoned.

Forced to desert Juliet, Riley is on a mission to capture the human’s president and bring her to the Supernatural’s king. But if he fails, there will be no stopping the Night of Grief, which will unleash horrors capable of destroying humans and Supernaturals alike. With battle lines drawn, amid a flurry of secrets and betrayals, can Juliet and Riley rescue their love as well as all life on Earth? Or will someone get caught in the crossfire?

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Books by Sonya Weiss

The Tazavorn Series

Revenge

Reckoning

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Reckoning

The Tazavorn Series

Sonya Weiss

LYRICAL PRESS

Kensington Publishing Corp.

www.kensingtonbooks.com

Copyright

Lyrical Press books are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2016 by Sonya Weiss

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First Electronic Edition: June 2016

eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-729-5

eISBN-10: 1-60183-729-1

First Print Edition: June 2016

ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-730-1

ISBN-10: 1-60183-730-5

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

For the minions-you are warriors extraordinaire

Acknowledgements

A book is a collaborative effort and while the author creates the world, there is a team of people in the background working hard to make every book the best that it can possibly be. For that reason, I’d like to shine the spotlight on Jennifer Herrington, an editor with the patience and disposition of a saint. Not only does she work hard on every book that crosses her desk but so does Renee Rocco who touches books with her brilliant wisdom. For the copyeditors, cover artists and other team members who work so hard-thank you-this could not be done without you.

I’d also like to send out a big thank you to the circle of friends who provide laughter, love and get my zany sense of humor-Marry Wing, Dala Dolan, Dennis Dolan-go Utah!, Judy Maurice-Steigert, Audrey Higgans, Alison Bliss,  Kris Salley, Cheryl Medina, and Renee Conner.

Lynn, Dineen and Adriana-you are the three musketeers of sweet encouragement-thank you!

Tanya Webb, who is and always will be my hero.

Chapter 1

Earth, in the year 2034

JULIET

I’d forgotten the execution of revenge always brings a reckoning. Revenge was the reason for my predicament. I’d told myself I was following my destiny to save the humans, but that was a lie. In truth, I’d wanted to get even with the leaders of our world for murdering my father.

I choked back a sob as I fought the despair threatening to overwhelm me. I needed to save my little sister, Maisy, but I was trapped, unable to get to her. She and the other mixed-blood children with her depended on me to protect them from the humans and the Supernaturals and instead I was deep in the bowels of the Void. It was a triple D place to be. Dark. Dank. Dangerous.

The cold, dark, stone walls of this Supernatural prison were designed to absorb our power. Robbed of our abilities, we were as weak as the humans.

Careful to avoid the loose rocks dotting the ground all around me, I struggled to my feet, worry over my sister’s safety driving me to move my aching body.
Shut down the fear. Shut down the pain. Do whatever it takes to get out.

A noise to the left caught my ear.

Riley moved haltingly toward me. Even in blue jeans and a T-shirt, his royal bearing was unmistakable. He drew his arm tight against his body as he favored his ribs. Failure and guilt struck again, smacking me in the face. He’d had to save me and I hated that.
Hated
leaning on him when I knew what I would be called on to do to him.
Falling in love with Riley wasn’t logical, but when does the heart ever listen to logic? It simply looks into the eyes of the other person, into their soul, and falls. The idea that once he knew my secret he might not ever forgive me, much less love me back, chilled me to the bone.
Could I handle seeing the love disappear from his eyes?

The tip of his black Converse caught on a rock and he pitched forward, throwing his hands out to catch himself. The muscles in his arms flexed and he rested his forehead against the wall for a second, shaking his head as if dazed, which I didn’t doubt he was. The fall into the opening from the castle above us was a neck breaker. We’d been lucky to live through it.

Riley had risked his life and given up his freedom for me. By jumping into the Void with me in his arms, he’d found a way to stop my own power from killing me.

I made a sound that was half laugh, half sob as a conversation with my late father popped into my thoughts.
Use your power for good. Remember your purpose, Juliet.

Sure, Dad, but what good is having power when it comes with a nasty side effect like death?
I didn’t have an autonomic fail-safe to govern the temperature of my power like all the other Supernaturals did. Every time I used my power, I risked being barbecued from the inside out. When my last manmade fail-safe blew, I’d almost died and Riley had saved me then too.

I blinked back tears and smiled when Riley reached me. Putting my hand on his side, I checked the area he’d favored, and my hand trembled as I remembered the intimacies we’d shared.

“I’m okay,” he said. I knew the words for the lie they were. He was far from okay physically and emotionally. His handsome face was covered in bruises, his skin scraped raw in places. Wounds caused when his own father had tried to kill him. Riley reached for my hand, faking a smile. Even in his battered state, he was still incredibly hold-my-breath hot, making me forget everything I wanted to say at that moment.

I put my other hand directly over his heart, taking comfort in the steady beat.

He skimmed his fingers across the side of my cheekbone in an achingly sweet caress as if touching something precious to him. My name escaped his lips on a breath of reverence. With a low sigh, he shifted closer, tangling his fingers in my brown hair. I’d always disliked the color of my hair. It was the epitome of plain even after I’d tried to add red highlights. I’d never thought of myself as pretty. My looks were okay. My build average. Nothing about me stood out.

Riley didn’t see me that way. He’d told me I was beautiful. Said he’d noticed me long before I’d noticed him, though I doubted that. No girl, Supernatural or human, overlooked Riley. The concern in his eyes warmed me the way his kisses had when he’d trailed them along the side of my neck. I breathed faster wishing I could return to that moment.

“Are you okay, Juliet?”

I licked my dry lips and stuck my hands into the back pockets of his blue jeans, craving his nearness. “Not really. I know I should be warrior tough like you and the other Supernaturals and be able to quell emotion, but—”

“Stop it,” he said firmly, probably guessing what I was getting at. He traced my lips with his thumb. “We’ll find your sister.”

I pulled my hands free to touch the swelling under one of his eyes, wishing I had the gift of healing like some of the other Supernaturals. “When I think of Maisy, it’s like I can’t breathe…” I didn’t have to finish speaking before he nodded his head. He knew as well as I did what kind of danger the mixed-bloods were in.

“First, we keep our focus on getting out of here.” His blue eyes filled with trepidation as he looked around. He slowly turned his attention to the rock ceiling over us. Though we had a small amount of light filtering in from the castle above, in a matter of hours, the Void would fill completely with darkness, effectively blinding us.

“We can’t stay here in the open. It’s not safe. When darkness falls, the creatures come out of their hiding places and they—”

“Feed on the flesh and bones of Supernaturals and humans too slow to outrun them,” I interrupted him, repeating the tale I’d learned as a child. I shuddered at the thought of what lurked beyond my limited field of vision.

He put his hands around my waist, leading my body to fit tightly against his. “I would die to keep you safe.” His fingers tightened and I snuggled closer, stealing a moment to put my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head as I clung to him and squeezed my eyes closed.
Please don’t ever let him hate me. Please.