Blurb:
No
matter what I do, no matter what steps I take to avoid it, I'm always
playing right into somebody's hand.
Playing
the role I was destined for.
Two years have
passed since her willing return to the DSD, and Wynter Reeves is no longer the
timid girl who only wanted to blend in. Strong, confidant, and in control of
her once debilitating powers, the world trembles at her feet while news of what
she’s capable of spreads like fire among the State’s enemies. As the death toll
rises and Dr. Richter further warps her into a weapon of war, Wynter is forced
to embrace the daunting reality of what
she’s become. With the remnants of her humanity hanging on by a
shoestring, she must choose between the one sacrifice that could lead to her
salvation or the dark path of destruction from which there can be no return.
Torn between two sides of a war she never asked
for, will Wynter find her freedom, or will she be doomed to remain a monster
forever?
Excerpt:
“Please . . .” he mutters.
A single tear slides along his
dirtied cheek. As it does, the faint flicker of my humanity responds.
The vision hits me like a flash of
lightning, placing me in a new scene of destruction. Everything is ruined.
There are no people. No lights. There’s only me.
Me and him.
I scrutinize the man, trying to make
sense of why he’s familiar. I must
know him. Otherwise, why would I be seeing this?
The stranger meets my gaze, and an
emotion I can’t comprehend in my inhuman state burns in his eyes. Something
tells me I might not want to understand it.
A few stray tears rush down his
cheeks, and a single utterance expels from his lips a moment later.
“I’m sorry, Wynter.”
My heart clenches at the sound of
his voice, but the scene around me reverts to the death-filled battleground
before I have the chance to react. Blinking away the vision, I lock eyes with
the soldier still cowering on the ground. His expression lights up with hope,
but I can’t give him what he’s asking for. I can’t give him anything except the
one service I was created to provide.
“Please . . . .” In spite of my
desire to spare him, I only hear the voice from my vision when he speaks.
It beats through my head like a raging drum, haunting me.
Taunting
me.
A flush of anger shoots through my
body, and my head shakes in wild jerks as my hands
dart to my hair. My fingernails dig into my scalp
as if I’ll be able to make sense of my crumbling sanity by doing so. As if I’ll
be able to manage my thoughts and end this madness, once and for all.
Irregular, shallow breaths pour from
my lungs as I peer into the eyes of the soldier at my feet. Except, it’s not
him I’m seeing. It’s the man.
I see his face.
I hear his voice.
My fingers grip my skull even
harder, and the familiar pressure climbs up my throat like vomit. The anger
follows behind it until I can no longer hold what I’m feeling at bay.
I stare at him, but there’s nothing
I can do to stop my emotions from taking over. As I focus on his face,
seeing only the man from my dream, I allow them to destroy what little humanity
I have left.
“Get out of my head,” I breathe.
The soldier’s eyes widen in the exact
moment I snap his neck.
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