Disavow, page 1
part #5 of Beginning's End Series
Disavow
Beginning's End Series, Volume 5
W.J. May
Published by Dark Shadow Publishing, 2022.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
DISAVOW
First edition. October 15, 2022.
Copyright © 2022 W.J. May.
ISBN: 979-8201172817
Written by W.J. May.
THIS E-BOOK OR PRINT is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book/paperback may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2022 by W.J. May
Disavow, Book 5 of the Beginning’s End Series
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Have You Read the C.o.K Series?
The Chronicles of Kerrigan
Book I - Rae of Hope is FREE!
BOOK TRAILER:
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How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?
Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.
Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?
As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.
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Disavow Blurb:
USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May, continues the highly anticipated bestselling YA/NA series about love, betrayal, magic and fantasy.
Learn to fight—it is the only option...
You never know what you have, until it's gone...
When the friends wake up and Jesse is missing, they tear the realm apart trying to find him. But their enemy travels on light footsteps and he may be closer than they think.
It is a race against the clock, as the world begins to slowly unravel. A twisting shadow is creeping over the kingdoms, consuming everything that stands before it, and not everyone finds themselves on the same side. While a dragon circles ever above them, Kiera finds herself facing a much smaller problem and a much different kind of question.
They had believed Marrow had done nothing to help them, but perhaps they had been mistaken. Perhaps he had been helping them all along. Perhaps he'd even given them the solution.
Something powerful enough to help them. Something small enough to fit inside a pocket.
BE CAREFUL WHO YOU trust. Even the devil was once an angel.
Beginning’s End Series
Beginnings
Curiosity
Scrutiny
Foresight
Disavow
Trickery
Wisdom
Decree
Influence
Prevail
Dignified
Honored
The Queen’s Alpha Series
Eternal
Everlasting
Unceasing
Evermore
Forever
Boundless
Prophecy
Protected
Foretelling
Revelation
Betrayal
Resolved
The Omega Queen Series
Discipline
Bravery
Courage
Conquer
Strength
Validation
Approval
Blessing
Balance
Grievance
Enchanted
Gratified
Contents
Have You Read the C.o.K Series?
Find W.J. May
Disavow Blurb:
Beginning’s End Series
The Queen’s Alpha Series
The Omega Queen Series
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Trickery Blurb
Beginning’s End Series
The Queen’s Alpha Series
The Omega Queen Series
Find W.J. May
More books by W.J. May
Chapter 1
It took a long time to realize something was wrong.
Kiera awoke the next morning in a fog—her movements sluggish and her brain muddled. She lifted her head slowly from the floor of the cave, wondering why she’d settled upon the cold stone and not reached for one of the blankets, then was surprised to see the others were still asleep.
It was a rarity. She could count on a single hand the number of times she’d been the first to wake. On one of those occasions, she’d wandered dreamily into the legs of a troll.
Stay in the cave, then.
She blinked heavily, unsticking her tongue from the roof of her mouth.
Outside, the world had already brightened into focus. The calls of woodland birds chimed sweetly in the air, the creatures who prowled in darkness had already settled down to roost. Even the trees had come alive, creaking and stretching their branches to the embrace of an ever-lifting sun.
They cast long shadows towards the entrance of the cave, the tips of them just touching the three people gathered inside. Three people, when there should have been four.
See, you’re not the first. Jesse’s already hunting for breakfast.
She got dressed as quietly as she could, weaving her hair into a quick braid and scanning around for her boots. They were dry, which was surprising. The summer rains had left everything perpetually warm, yet damp. The clasp on one was loose. She tried in silence to fix it, but immortal ears were keener than most, and the second she started moving, the others began to stir.
They woke roughly. They’d been sleeping just as hard.
Evander’s eyes opened slowly, then all at once. For a solitary moment he was still, just long enough for the faint beams of sunlight to settle upon his face—then he turned away with a soft hiss, lifting a protective hand. The fae startled at the noise, but had just as much trouble coming round.
Twice he considered moving before finally hitching onto his elbows and staring around the cave in a bleary-eyed confusion—as if he didn’t remember where they were, or why they’d come.
His gaze drifted aimlessly a moment before settling on the vampire. It was the first night the two hadn’t slept together. To be honest, they didn’t remember falling asleep at all.
“Where’s Jesse?” he asked with a bit of a slur. “Did he take the second watch?”
“He’s getting breakfast, I think.” Kiera rummaged through her satchel and tossed him a flask of water. “Here—drink something.”
He took a sip, then let out a groan. “I feel like I’ve been up the whole night drinking.” A delicate wince tightened his eyes, and he ran a palsied hand over his face. “Has the sun already risen? It’s bright enough for mid-day.”
Another rarity. When was the last time they hadn’t risen with the dawn?
“He wasn’t going to take the second watch,” Evander said quietly, turning with a puzzling expression to gaze over the trees. “He was going to stay in the camp. After what happened before.”
The memory tugged at Kiera like a dull hook, buried somewhere inside her stomach.
They had been searching for something, searching for trouble. But trouble had found them, just like always. The images got harder after that, coming back in little flashes. The whip of black hair, the echo of a scream. The feral transformation of someone she believed to be a friend.
But it started before that. It started back at the tavern.
Eden threw him a quick glance, then returned to the water. “He doesn’t like to be coddled—this is a lesson I learned early on.” He took another swig before tossing the flask back to Kiera. “He must always be tricked into safety. If we’re ever serious about keeping him somewhere, we should consider fitting him for a leash.”
She chuckled painfully, rubbing at her chest. “He’d love that.”
They proceeded to gather their things and prepare for the day, checking their canteens and weapons in silence, while the vampire continued staring into the forest, his brow creased with the trace of a frown. When the two finished packing and ventured into the sunlight, he drifted a step behind, as if pulled on some invisible string. But his eyes stayed locked upon the trees.
“The birds are singing,” he murmured, almost to himself. “They were quiet before.”
The others stopped to listen, standing in a loose line.
He was right about the birds, the forest had come alive with them. The chill had vanished as well—its mist and shadows retreating beneath the warmth of the summer sun. Considering the bleak silence of the last few days, it felt like coming up for air, like the world had tilted back on its axis.
There was just one thing missing.
Where is he?
“I suppose we must wait,” Eden said with a hint of irritation. “Though I cannot imagine why he left at such an hour. He must have slept just as late as we did ourselves.”
Kiera folded her arms across her stomach. “He was upset last night about Emery,” she murmured, remembering the look on the shifter’s face when he rolled over and pretended to sleep. “I should have tried to speak with him.”
The fae squeezed her shoulder, swinging his pack to the ground. “He wanted some time for himself,” he countered gently. “These last few days have been difficult.” He tried to coax a smile. “And he was not even strung upside-down from the trees...”
The tension lifted with a burst of laughter.
“I had almost forgotten,” she replied, warming in spite of herself. “Though I cannot imagine why you would be angry. It’s one of the best memories I have since leaving Farion, you dangling in a net like some doomed rabbit. We should have the likeness painted and framed—”
“I think we should look for him,” Evander said softly.
The others turned to him at the same time.
“Why would you say that?” Eden asked in surprise, though his focus sharpened and his eyes swept reflexively around the forest. “Did you hear something?”
The vampire shook his head slowly. “Just a feeling...”
Kiera stared without moving, a nervous flutter in her chest. He’d said an echo of those same words before, in the wake of a giant storm that came on the wings of a dragon. Vampires weren’t generally known for their feelings. The ones they carried bore a slightly greater weight.
Eden opened his mouth to answer, then changed course at the look on her face.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” he murmured reassuringly. “We are jumping at nothing, the perils of getting too much sleep. Look there.” He pointed to a pile of fabric by the entrance of the cave. “His clothes are folded and stacked, just as always. He probably shifted and went for a run—”
“Eden,” the vampire interrupted, “I have never slept so deeply that I would not have woken if Jesse stepped over me. When I think of it...I cannot remember falling asleep at all.”
Kiera went very still, trying to remember herself.
They’d had nothing to drink and she hadn’t been injured, but everything was still muddled, like trying to piece together a fast-retreating dream. She remembered talking with Evander, but couldn’t recall anything they’d said. She remembered when he’d decided to get up and run a final sweep of the perimeter, but he’d lain down instead, sprawling awkwardly upon the cave floor.
He was facing away from the entrance. He’s never done that before.
A chill swept over her shoulders, and she turned haltingly to the woods.
“We need to find him.”
The moment she said the words, it was as though the floodgates had opened—releasing all the panic and worry that should have been there before. The sun no longer warmed her face, it was hot and overbearing. She unclasped her cloak with trembling fingers, letting it fall to the ground.
“Are you listening?” she demanded, before they could reply. “We need to find him. Jesse is missing. He saw the ghost of his brother...and now he is missing.”
The more times she said the word, the harder it was to breathe.
“I don’t know what we were thinking.” She fumbled in her belt, drawing out a hunting knife and stepping towards the trees. “We’ve wasted so much time—”
“Hang on.” Eden caught her swiftly, easing the blade from her hands. “It helps nothing to panic. Chances are he’s running the woods, just as he’s done a hundred times before. But we will search for him,” he added quickly at the look on her face. “Though if he’s already shifted—”
“You are a vampire and a fae!” she interrupted. “Track him!”
The men exchanged a quick look, tensing at the same time.
“Alright,” Eden said quietly, reaching for his bow, “I will look for him. The two of you stay here and keep clear of the woods. I’m sure we won’t be long.”
Evander drew in a silent breath, remembering the brutal attack upon the fae just a day before. One moment, he had been standing among them. And the next...? Torn away by a creature even more savage and feral than himself. So bright his light could shine. And so easily snuffed out.
“I will look for him,” he countered, already backing towards the trees—as if his lover might try to stop him. “You stay here with Kiera, in case he comes back.”
Eden’s eyes drifted uneasily to the woods. “No, that isn’t—”
“I do not wish to make you angry,” Evander interrupted quietly, “but this is not something I’m willing to discuss. Someone needs to look for him. I cannot allow that someone to be you.”
The fae’s eyes flashed in anger, but Kiera curled her fingers around his sleeve.
“Please, just...let him go.” Her cheeks reddened with shame, but with echoes of that shrill keening still ringing in her ears, she forced herself to meet his eyes. “He’s a vampire. He’ll be fine.”
Evander stared intently, just over her shoulder. “She’s right. I will be fine.”
Eden’s eyes flew between them, growing more agitated with each pass. His fingers tightened on the bow and every instinct rose up in rebellion, but after a few seconds, he gave a reluctant nod. “Alright, then go quickly.” He threw a stern look towards the forest, as though commanding it to obey. “But stay within these southern peaks. If you find nothing, we will go back together.”
Whether or not Evander intended to listen, he certainly wasn’t going to disagree. He simply inclined his head, then vanished abruptly from the clearing—flying like a shadow into the trees.
They stared after him in silence, not trusting themselves to speak.
After a long while, she cast him a secret look—remote and unyielding, staring without breath into the forest. She ached with apology, and held fast all the same.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured under her breath, fingers twisting together. “I know you didn’t wish for him to...” She let out a frustrated sigh. “You saw what he did yesterday. He ripped that girl apart, Eden. Tore her limb from limb. He is a vampire. Can you imagine anything hurting him?”
He looked down on her coldly, then turned back to the woods. “Sometimes I give you too much credit. You are brand new to this world.”
He spoke the words softly, but each one carried a sting. It was a side of him she’d never seen, a far cry from his usual warmth. The bleak immortal divide rising between them again.
She flinched back and lowered her gaze—armed with a thousand apologies, knowing they would all sound exactly the same. He wouldn’t have listened anyway.
