Redemption (29 page)

She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
“What do you believe, Daddy?”

“I believe that there is a whole
lot we don’t know.”

“Will we know someday?”

“Oh, I think so, Baby. I really
think so.”

Then he shut the door gently and
went to his wife, who was sitting at the table in their cozy kitchen, staring
out the window at the night. She was always quiet on this day, never shared any
of her personal experiences of that long ago time, even though he knew she had
spent time in the villages, too. He went to her and set a hand on her shoulder.

And Soraya kissed his fingers and
looked up at him with a slightly crooked smile and big brown eyes that were the
same color as their little girl’s.

The Note

I sat on a beach of fine white
sand, underneath a black sky that glittered with millions of silver stars,
watching a dark ocean roll in and fall just short of my feet. The piece of
paper that my sister had given me on that day so long ago, now yellowed and stained
with time, was clutched between my fingers. The ink had faded some, but I knew
the words well enough that even after the script disappeared completely, I
would be able to see the letters scrawled there, down to each curve in her
handwriting.

Any other way, and it would
not have been right.

I folded the note and tucked it
carefully into my pocket. I had long since given up on coming up with all the
other ways that it could have been right, all the ways that could have ended
with her by my side for forever. It did no good to think of such things. The
possibilities in them never stopped hurting.

I had left behind the world that
she had saved so that I wouldn’t have to. I’d found that I just couldn’t stay
there. Those people had no need for me, and I had given them enough. I didn’t
care what they did with their freedom, how they chose to run their government
after I left. I didn’t want any part of any type of politics ever again, no
other people’s rules to live by or orders to follow. The wind never told me what
to do, so I was just fine with living beside it.

And Tommy, too, because he had
been nearly as broken as I’d been when we left. His father was dead, and that
left him with as much family as I had–none. I found out that it was easy loving
him, something sweet and simple and true in a world where such things were lost
to me, and that was good.

Our lives are not terrible, I
suppose. Sometimes when I’m with him, life can be almost beautiful. But not
quite so. Never quite so, because the part of me that had been able to see
beauty died with my sister on that night long ago.

There are times like these,
though, as I sit next to him under a dark sky and watch the stars, that I feel
like she is out there somewhere, still burning as bright as the brightest star,
and waiting for me to come and find her.

And with her note in my pocket
and her love in my heart, I am able to live.

Afterword

Well, we have come to the end of the dance. I can’t tell
you the joy it brings me that you were willing to sway to the song with me,
even if I may have bumped your elbows and stepped on your toes at times. When I
started this story, it had been only for me, a girl building a world that I would
want to live in, but as I moved along, and you so graciously joined me, it
became more than that, and I knew that this world had to become a better place than
when it began now that you were there. I hope I’ve done that. You stayed when
the number would change, and the tune would switch to something I’d never heard
before, and my feet would take me off somewhere that I was sure you would be
unwilling to follow.

And now you’re here. You came. Thank you for that.

Alexa and Kayden? I think I loved them. If you loved them
too, and are sad to have seen them fall, know that I share in your feelings.
And I tried to save her. I really did.

But I’ve learned something about this world you have
allowed me to live in, and it is that the possibilities stretch on into
oblivion like the folds and dark corners of the universe, and there is music
playing there. I’ve heard it. And
things
are dancing there. I would like
to join them.

So I extend my hand to you, and maybe you will join me on
another twirl around the dance floor. Surah wants to come, too.

Acknowledgments 
 

Thank you to my mom for listening
tirelessly to my writing.

Thank you to my dad for always encouraging
me.

Thank you to my sister, Moo, for reading
from the beginning. And, my sister, Gianna, for finally hopping on the train.

Thank you to Nicole Passante. You know
what for.

Thank you to my amazing beta readers on
this project: Dave Ferraro, Nicole Passante, Karla Calzada, Terri Thomas, Jennifer
Smith, Alana Rock, and
Tanecia
Cannon for always handling my last minute files with grace and for staying up
into the wee hours to read for me, you guys are amazing.

Thank you to Regina Wamba at Mae I Design
for all the amazing covers your talent and professionalism continue to amaze
me.

And most importantly thank you to my fans
& bloggers everywhere. I am humbled by your love of this series. Your
support means the world. You rock my socks.

Soraya and Akira, really, it
’
s all for you, loves.

Other
Books by H. D. Gordon

Blood
Warrior- The Alexa Montgomery Saga, Book one

Half
Black Soul- The Alexa Montgomery Saga, Book two

The
Rise- The Alexa Montgomery Sage, Book Three

JOE

About the Author

H. D. Gordon is the bestselling author of The Alexa
Montgomery Saga. Blood Warrior, the first book of the Alexa series was her
debut novel and has held spots in the top 100 fantasy bestsellers for the past
year. In June of 2012, Joe, a thrilling fantasy novel about a young
clairvoyant, was released. H. D. is a lifelong reader and writer, a true lover
of words. When she is not reading or writing she is raising her two daughters,
playing a little guitar, and spending time with her family. She is twenty three
years old and lives in the northeastern United States.

Connect with H.D. Gordon:

Website:
http://hdgordon.com/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/hd_gordon

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HDGordonauthor

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5189455.H_D_Gordon