The Sacrifice
Authors: Mia McKimmy
The
Sacrifice:
Sons
of Sivadia
Book
1
Mia
McKimmy
NOTE: This book is a work of fiction. The names,
characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or
have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations
is entirely coincidental.
Copyright
© 2016 Mia McKimmey
All
rights reserved.
DEDICATION
For my wonderful husband, Rodney,
who supports and believes in everything I do.
Without you, my life would not be complete.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am greatly indebted to my editor, Annie
Seaton, for her excellent editorial guidance, patience, and kindness when I
needed a reassuring word. I am fortunate to have a great proofreader, Susanne
Bellamy, whose super power is finding those sneaky errors that love to hide in
plain sight. A huge thanks goes to Noelle Pierce of Selestiele Designs for the
beautiful cover and Protectors logo. You truly captured the essence of this
book and its characters.
I’m most grateful to my friends, family,
and fellow writers, who critiqued and encouraged me while writing this novel,
Sherrie Lea Morgan, Debbie Herbert, Angela Bissell, Melanie McGinnis, Matt
Johnson, and my daughters, Melia and Heather. Your support means more than you’ll
ever know.
But my eternal gratitude goes out to you,
the readers. Thank you for taking this adventure with Cy and Riana. I’m so
happy you were there to witness their newfound love.
Prince
Cygan held hope for the day the war dividing his race would end,
He held
hope for the day Protectors would end the slaughtering of innocent lives.
He held
hope for the day he could keep his promise to his dying father.
He even
held hope for the day he could accept his appointed position on the throne.
But
none of these would come to pass, not until the day Cy destroyed his twin.
“I
’
ve
researched ways to get out of this training, and short of dying, there isn
’
t
one.” Riana sat across the kitchen table from Elle, her best friend and
roommate, enjoying the last peaceful moments she would have for four long
weeks. She drained her coffee. “It
’
s getting late. We
better finish packing. I imagine excuses for being late don
’
t
exist either.”
Elle
rose and headed to her room. “It
’
s not like we have a lot to pack.”
“
True.
” Riana went to her own bedroom, pulled a small suitcase from the
closet and tossed it on the bed. She grabbed her most comfortable jeans,
T-shirt and sneakers, and then chose something a little dressier in case they
were able to go into town for dinner. A couple of outfits and a few personal
items were all they could take to the training compound.
Riana
pressed a hand to her aching head. She
’
d been plagued with
headaches since the day they received the notice ordering them to go. Her head
didn
’
t care that every Sivadian female who
’
d
turned twenty-five during the past year would be there taking classes in
history and self-defense too. She picked up a piece of Selenite from the
crystal grid beside her bed, pressed it to her head and closed her eyes.
Vibrations from the white crystal sent its warm, healing energy to her
throbbing head.
She
grabbed her face cleanser and toothbrush from the bathroom. The notice said
everything would be provided, but those two items, she wasn
’
t
going anywhere without.
God,
I really don
’
t want to do this.
She released a low sigh, and then zipped her bag
and headed into the living room.
Elle bounced down the hallway with
five minutes to spare. Her long, blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail
that swayed from side to side as she walked, presenting a façade of child-like
innocence. Elle could go from looking like a dumb, blonde bombshell to a tough
as nails detective, which happened to be her chosen profession.
Unlike Riana, Elle loved drama. Of
course, her job supplied it in spades. Most Sivadians preferred occupations in
the human workforce. Even though humans were a different species, Sivadians
looked human and blended into their culture.
When
Riana had decided to become a doctor to help humanity, she chalked it up to
feeling guilty that her race didn
’
t die from diseases like humans did. While
Sivadians weren
’
t immortal and could die from anything that caused
rapid blood loss, they could live a century for every decade of human life.
The
only thing she disliked about working with humans was sometimes she had to mess
with their freewill. The length of this training was one of those times. In
order to explain her four week absence from the hospital, she implanted in the
minds of her boss and a few of the more gossipy interns that she would be on a
trip with ‘Doctors without Borders.
’
Donating her skills
to help undeveloped countries was close to her heart, and she hated lying about
it.
Riana
squinted and studied Elle
’
s carefree face. “Why are you so calm, when I
’
m
freaking out?”
“I
’
m not
calm. I
’
m still mad as hell they
’
re
forcing me to do this. I
’
ve known how to fight my entire life. Growing up
with brothers like mine, I learned to hold my own before I could walk.”
Riana snorted. “Like I could forget. I
got pulled into more fights between you three than I care to remember.”
“You
can call yourself a pacifist all you want,”
Elle said.
“I know you
enjoyed kicking their butts as much as I did.”
“Well, they deserved it. Your brothers
would rather pester us than eat when hungry.”
Riana
had
loved being at Elle
’
s house; it was a home always full of love and
laughter. Her own was the polar opposite, with no father, and a mother who
constantly worked. Without Elle
’
s family, her childhood would have been
unbearable.
“At
least our birthdays are close enough we
’
re going together,”
Riana said. “Besides, I thought you
’
d be happy about
having someone to spar with every day.”
“I
do love a good fight, almost as much as I hate being told what to do. God
forbid that we refuse the queen
’
s direct order.” A sly smile lifted Elle
’s lips.
“Didn
’
t you once say you
’
d like to meet her?”
Riana
grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “Yeah, but someone dragging me before
her majesty in handcuffs was
not
what I had in mind.” She waited on the
porch and took in the serene surroundings of their home. Acres of forest
circled the house, keeping them well isolated on top of a small mountain. She
had an urge to go back inside, and then realized Elle hadn
’
t
followed her out. Riana stuck her head inside and yelled. “Am I going to have
to light a fire under your butt, or what?”
Elle
came through the door laughing. “All right, Riana! You
’
re
really psyching yourself up to go kick some ass. Come on. Let
’
s
go.”
Riana
rolled her eyes at her friend
’
s teasing sarcasm. Elle knew she didn
’
t
have a tough bone in her body. For some reason she couldn
’
t
identify, she had an uneasy feeling about the whole training thing. Oh well,
might as well buck up and get it over with.
She
removed the compound
’
s coordinates from her pocket, seared them to her
memory, and handed the paper to Elle. Riana released a slow breath as they
hooked arms and concentrated on their destination. The air around them
shimmered, and their bodies dissolved into a concentrated vapor. Once their
vision cleared, they transported from their house to the training compound that
would be home for the next four weeks.
Moments
later, they materialized in a courtyard outside the compound
’
s
entrance. Mouths agape, they stood motionless, taking in their surroundings.
“Man, this is
so
not what I expected,” Riana said. “When you
hear the word compound, you picture drab military barracks. This place looks
like a mountain resort.”
“Don
’
t
get too excited,”
Elle grumbled.
“We
’
ve not made it inside those huge gates yet. For
all we know, there
’
s a prison inside those walls.”
Riana
shrugged off Elle
’
s pessimistic remark. During transport she
convinced herself everything would be fine. If only the butterflies in her
stomach had gotten the message.
Anxious
to see more of the courtyard, Riana ventured through the gardens. Massive
flowerbeds, separated by cobblestone walkways formed the Protector
’
s
crest. The aroma of fall chrysanthemums in vivid shades of purple, red, and
gold permeated the area. Benches sat inside several arched, wrought iron
tunnels covered in greenery. The tranquility of the gardens and surrounding
mountains eased a little of the tension from Riana
’
s
muscles.
They paused in front of a large,
marbled statue of a male wearing a golden crown.
“I
wonder if that
’
s a statue of Prince Cygan,”
Elle said.
Riana
studied the tall structure. Long robes flowed from his shoulders leaving only
the front garments visible, so she couldn
’
t place the era. “
I don’
t think this is the prince. My mom said that because his twin
brother leads the feeders, only a few people know the prince
’
s
true identity. It won
’
t become public knowledge until he becomes king.”
“My parents never spoke about the
royals. Did your mom say why he never took the throne?”
“
I don’
t think anyone knows.” Riana continued to stare at the impressive
statue. “This must be his father. During the escape from Sivadia, the king died
at the hands of the Haagons.”
Riana and Elle moved to the edge of
the courtyard and stopped in front of a set of steel gates where two guards
were positioned. They wore black pants and shirts made from a shiny material
that clung to every well-defined muscle.
“Those two look like they stepped off
the page of a body builder magazine,” Riana whispered.
A
hint of mischief danced in Elle
’
s blue eyes.
“I hope there are more like them inside those gates. Maybe this won
’
t
be so bad after all.”
Riana smiled and shook her head. “Are
you planning to pursue a Sivadian male?”
Elle dropped her gaze to the ground,
and Riana instantly regretted her comment. After Elle was attacked by a feeder
at fifteen, she swore off anyone stronger than her. Since Sivadian men were the
stronger sex of their race, it left only humans to date.
“At
least you have a sex life,” Riana said. “I
’
m finally getting a
break from the long hours at the hospital, and now I
’
m
forced to stay at a compound where the only members of the opposite sex are
Protectors. If I went near one of them, my mother
’
s
lecture would play a constant loop in my head. ‘Protectors are not life-mate
material, Riana, and they never will be. All they care about is killing
feeders. Whatever you do, stay away from them,
’”
she said in
a high mocking tone.
“That mantra has been drilled into my head for as
long as I can remember.”
“Why
does she hate Protectors so much?”
Elle asked.
“Who knows? I asked once and she
avoided the question, and then proceeded to point out more of their faults.”
Riana dug through her bag for her
Sivadian identification card, and then stepped up to the gate. One guard took
her ID, scanned it, and then handed it back. The other guard motioned for her
to stand inside a circle painted on the pavement. He held a strange gun at his
side. Before she could move, he raised the gun, pointed it at her and pulled
the trigger.