In honor of Halloween, have an unsettling scene from the novel itself! Make sure to order the novel either on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or a signed copy here!

Private Jade Cavvar entered the Taotar base’s community bathroom, the facility dark and abandoned. Long shadows stretched across the floor, her flesh vulnerable without her armor. A shiver ran down her spine. Her bare feet pressed against the moist ground and she peered down the aisle of showers.

“Hello?” Her voice echoed against the empty walls, empty floors. She turned and closed the main door, latching it shut so no one else would enter. Then, she let her towel fall to the ground.

She looked over her naked skin, her hands running along its curves as she tried to become comfortable with it once again. How easily her armor had been torn away. How easily she had been torn apart and mutilated. Her fingers found her hair and curled tightly around the strands, eyes shut. Never again. Never again.

She pushed her way into the first stall in the large, echoing room. She closed the door and latched it before turning the water on. It was already scalding when it burst through the pipes, the Taotar suns undoubtedly heating them. It took a few minutes to cool, and as Jade waited, steam spun around her ankles. When she could bear the heat, she stepped under the water and streams spread like fingers across her freckled body. It curled over her front and bubbled up against the upraised scar tissue that covered her back. She lifted her face and let it cover her ears and destroy her senses.

Try to forget. That’s what the doctor had told her. But how could she forget? The lightning had followed the path her veins made beneath the skin and A’doxia’s blade followed shortly after. And that wretched song. Jade could hear it when anyone lifted their voice to sing. It didn’t matter what it was about—victory, love, death—it was all the same to her. A’doxia’s voice was all Jade could hear.

A hand touched her shoulder and lips neared her ear. Someone pressed their body to the curve of her spine.

“What beautiful skin, Private,” A’doxia whispered.

Jade threw herself forward, away from the hands, and spun around. Her foot slipped on the water. Her head cracked against the wall and Jade fell to the floor. She grimaced and blinked through the pain, peering at the empty space before her.

She’s not here.

Jade curled into a ball, the water hitting the floor just past her feet. She wrapped her arms around her head and pressed her forehead to her knees. Tears burned at the sides of her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Private?” A’doxia whispered, crouching in the water by Jade’s feet. Jade looked up, her face white. A’doxia placed a hand on Jade’s knee with a smile. “Here, love, let me wipe those tears from your eyes.”

“You’re not real,” Jade said, her voice low. Then, again, with more conviction: “You’re not real!”

A’doxia laughed. Jade shut her eyes and pressed her face into her knees.

“You’re not real,” she repeated to herself. A’doxia’s hands ran down Jade’s spine before they wrapped around her in an embrace. A’doxia’s chin was on Jade’s head.

“I’ll sing you a song to calm you down,” she murmured.