Embrace, Entice, Emblaze (144 page)

wasn’t alone.

I dumped my bag and headed for the kitchen area. “I know

you’re here,” I said, my voice low.

I made my way to the coffee machine. If she thought I was

going to make her one, she was very badly mistaken. On my way,

I noticed the open balcony door. We were really going to have to start keeping that locked. Twelve stories meant little for security these days.

My hands fisted when I saw her come from the hall. She’d been

in Dad’s room. She’d cut her hair— by herself from the look of

it— but it was an improvement. The whole hair- to- the- knees thing might look cute on a five- year- old but…Well, it didn’t work.

“Thought you’d gone,” I said, as flat as I could manage.

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Emblaze

She looked no older than Griffin— twenty- five, maybe twenty- six, the age Dad thought she was when she’d died. Or rather, struck her deal. What was really irritating was that, dressed as she was in jeans and a black turtleneck, she looked completely normal, like she could be my sister or something. My better- looking sister. Also annoying.

“Flee instinct.” She hitched a shoulder. “It’s hard to throw off.” She stayed on the other side of the breakfast bar and moved

slowly, keeping her hands in my view, which I tried to pretend

wasn’t a hundred percent trained on her. She moved to the coffee table, slowly reaching down and picking up the carved wooden box she’d left me.

“He gave it to you, then?”

“What? Did you think he wouldn’t?” I asked, aggravated on so

many levels, especially now that I’d discovered where my escape instincts came from. “How’d you find us, anyway?”

“Directory services.”

Christ, to think exiles can just look me up!

She opened the box and pulled out the envelope, which held her

letter. I knew that she’d be looking at its well- worn edges. Marks made by contemplative fingers. I wanted to tell her they weren’t from me, but that wasn’t altogether true. I’d handled the wretched thing more than my fair share of time since Dad had passed it on.

She held up her other wristband. “Do you mind if I take this back?”

“I don’t care what you do. Take it all.” I poured milk in my

coffee, spilling it with my shaking hands.

Damn.

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Jessica shirvington

I watched her from the corner of my eye as she put on the band.

“The rest is yours, but I think I’m going to need this.”

I leaned back on the kitchen bench, feigning the best I- couldn’t-give- a- damn look. Truth was— I needed the bench to support me.

“Like I said, I don’t care what you do with that stuff.”

She nodded but put the box back down on the table.

“Is that coffee?”

“Yeah. If you want one, there’s a takeout place down the road.” She smiled. “Fair enough.”

Then the staring competition began. I cemented my feet to the

floor and stared into her wild blue eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder just how many secrets they held. A lot, for sure.

“You have his eyes,” she said, returning my stare.

“And you have the eyes of a stranger,” I said, glad when that

made her finally look away from me. “You need to go.”

“I thought you might have some questions.”

I walked past her, giving her a wide berth, and headed for the

door. “You know, I can’t think of one thing I want to say to you,” I lied.

She nodded and took a step toward me. I backed up instinctively before I was smart enough to stop myself. That one step gave too much away. She paused, putting her hands in front of her again.

“I wouldn’t hurt you,” she said calmly.

“History says otherwise. And what makes you think you could

take me?” I challenged, using the same line Gray had used on me.

She smiled again. “Okay, Violet. I’ll leave.”

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Emblaze

I took the last few steps to the door and reached it at the exact same time it burst open and my father charged into the room, breathless.

“Violet! Violet! Oh, thank God!”

“Dad,” I said in complete shock. “What are you doing here?”

“The doorman called the second he saw you come in.”

Trust Dad to have everyone spying for him. Before I had a moment to think, he pulled me into his arms, gripping me deathly tight.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

“Dad— wait! Dad, I need to tell you something.”

Shit.

His arms went limp. It was too late.

I stepped back to see Evelyn. Dad’s mouth dropped open and his

keys fell to the floor with a metallic clank, deafening in the silence.

“Tell me I’m not seeing things,” he said, his voice quivering and tears welling in his eyes.

But when I looked back at Evelyn, I was rendered speechless.

Tears welled in her eyes too. She looked calm except for her

hands. Still extended in front of her, they were trembling as she whispered, “Hello, James.”

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angel
hierarchy

Th e Sole

Violet Eden (G)

1st choir

Seraphim

Cherubim

Th rones

Griffi n (G)

Rudyard (G)

Phoenix (ED)

Uri (AL)

Nahilius (EL)

Jude (EL)

Nox (AD)

Beth (G)

Becca (G)

Josephine (G)

Evelyn (G)

Lilith (ED)

2nd choir

Powers

Dominations

Virtues

Lincoln (G)

Spence (G)

Salvatore (G)

Nyla (G)

Onyx (once ED)

Morgan (G)

Gressil (ED)

Gray (G)

Nathan (G)

Archer (G)

Grigori (G) Angel Light (AL) Angel Dark (AD)

Exile Once Light (EL) Exile Once Dark (ED)

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Jessica shirvington

3rd choir

Principalities

Archangels

Angels

Irin – The Keeper (EL)

Zoe (G)

Magda (G)

Kaitlin (G)

Olivier (EL)

Samuel (G)

Max (G)

Whitey (ED)

Hiro (G)

Conductor 1 & 2 (G)

Mia (G)

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acknowledgments

Th ere have been so many people who have played a part in

bringing this series together. None more so than my agent and

friend Selwa Anthony, whose guidance, know-how, and support

have been invaluable.

Th ank you to my publishers, Fiona Hazard and the fabulous

Vanessa Radnidge, for taking the time to make each book in

the series everything it can be. To my editor, Kate Ballard, who continues to treat each manuscript with meticulous expertise, and to the rest of the team, including Chris Raine, Christine Fairbrother, and Th eresa Bray.

Having my books published in the United States has been a dream come true and I could not hope for a more amazing publishing

house to be associated with than Sourcebooks. Th ank you to senior editor Leah Hultenschmidt, who has championed and guided this

series since fi rst reading
Embrace
. To publicist Derry Wilkens, who ticks every box in the ideal publicist department and is a total pillar of support. Many thanks must also go to my editorial assistant

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Jessica shirvington

Kim Manley, production editor Jillian Bergsma, and to the incredible design team, including Katie Casper, Dawn Adams, and Sarah Cardillo. I’m so grateful to you all!

A huge shout-out to my family and friends for their support

and love.

To Matt, who is always the first to read and whose opinion I

value so much, and to our girls—I am so lucky to have the world’s most supportive family.

Finally, thank you to my readers—those of you I have met;

befriended on Goodreads; and talked to via Facebook, Twitter, and my website; and those of you I have yet to meet. You guys make

writing books the best job in the world.

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about the author

As an entrepreneur, mom and fi nalist for Cosmo’s Fun, Fearless Female Award,
Jessica Shirvington
is the fi rst to understand that it’s not easy to be strong. She was lucky enough to meet her soul mate, former Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington, when she was seventeen.

Th ey have two beautiful daughters who some days feel like angels and some days feel like demons. But mostly angels. You can fi nd out more about her and her books at embracetheseries.com.

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Endless

Jessica Shirvington

Available in October 2013!

Place your order now!

Love will kill us all

Violet Eden thought she was getting things under control. Then all hell breaks loose—literally. In the war between angels and exiles, she’s about to face the biggest baddie of all time. Except she’s not nearly ready.

The dark exile Phoenix is still messing with her head—not to mention her heart.

And her undeniable attraction to Lincoln has gotten downright dangerous. When Hell unleashes its worst, Violet must embrace every facet of her angel self to save the people she cares about and the world as she knows it. But death is not the worst thing she will face…

Praise for the Embrace series:

“A ‘must-read.’” —
Cosmopolitan

“Delicious.” —
USA Today

“Smart, edgy, and addictive…a must-read.”

—
Kirkus
, Starred Review