first, bestselling, standalone novella in
the Seasons of Change series for
99c /
77p.
Excerpt
White. Gazing out of the small, circular
window, it
was the only colour he could see
surrounding him. The bursts of light—which had
broken through the heavy, grey clouds—were
reflected back as the ground grew
closer with each passing second. Not too
long ago he had been blissfully
unaware of the location his sister was
dragging him to for a holiday. A bubble
of excitement had surrounded him throughout
the early morning as he got up, and
stayed with him through travelling to the
airport and catching the flight. However,
it had burst as soon as the icy tips of the
mountains appeared and the plane
began its descent. Until that moment, he
had hoped his guesses had been wrong.
His sister had carefully planned
the trip, making sure to hide all clues as
to where they were heading, and as
she glanced across at him, it seemed as if
she had been successful. Luke’s
knuckles were white on the arm rests. He
had claimed both of them, gripping
them so hard they looked like they would
snap under the force, or at least be
moulded to the shape of his hands when he
removed them.
Ellie watched as he took in a
shaky breath, but she heard no
exhale.
“Luke?”
The silence that filled the space
around them was icier than the Alps they
had just flown over. Her brother’s
gaze remained fixed on the window, watching
as the ground, and his fate, drew
ever closer. Deep, ragged breaths steamed
up the window, which was almost
touching his nose. Desperately, he tried to
control the tremors shaking his
body, and his pounding heart, from the fear
that washed over him in waves.
“Luke, please, say something.”
Worry had crept into Ellie’s tone. She had thought
her idea would do him good,
that forcing him to face everything would
turn him back into his old self.
Ellie missed the brother she had grown up
with and wanted him back. However,
seeing his eyes wide with fear, his jaw
clenched in anger, and his arms tense
with both, suddenly she wasn’t so sure
about her plan.
“You promised, Ellie. You swore
you wouldn’t pressure me, and I trusted you
with that. You know how I feel
about this.” His voice was sharp and curt
as he spoke through clenched teeth,
trying to keep a hold on his
emotions.
The urge to flee surged within
him. He wanted to go home, to get off the
plane and board the next flight
straight back to England, but he couldn’t.
Not only was the plane still minutes
from landing—trapping him in the confines
of economy class, which felt even
smaller as realisation forced him to
understand Ellie’s plans—but he also
refused to waste more money on the
pointless trip Ellie had conned him into
taking. If he was going to use the money he
had earned from before everything
changed, it would be on his own terms.
“You’ll enjoy it when you’re
there,” Ellie stated, brushing off his
comments like they meant nothing to
her.
“That’s easy for you to say. You
don’t have to live with, or through, what I
have.” Luke was trying hard to
control his voice. Had they been in
private, he would have already been
shouting. The cramped environment meant
that Ellie was getting off lightly, but
he swore that when they reached their
chalet, he would not hold back. She had
no right to interfere with his
life.
“Never tell me I didn’t live
through it, Luke. I was there when it
happened, in the hospital, and when you
got home. I was there through it all. It
may not have been me, but it wasn’t
like it had no effect on my life,” Ellie
hissed. It was the only way she could
convey her anger without disturbing other
passengers.
“Why though, Ellie? Why is this
such a big deal to you?” Luke’s eyes were
full of sorrow as he turned to face
his sister for the first time, begging to
understand her reasoning for putting
him through something she knew would hurt
him.
About
the Author
Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family
and two
cats. She spends most of her time writing
or reading, loves anything paranormal
and has an overactive imagination that
keeps her up until the early hours of
the
morning.
With three poems published before the age
of
sixteen, Mia moved on to short stories but
finding she had too much to tell
with too little space, Mia progressed to
novels. She started her first series (The Wanderer Trilogy)
at the age of
fourteen and since then hasn’t stopped
writing. Elemental Killers is her
second series and with an ever growing
list of ideas, Mia is trying to keep up
with the speed at which her imagination
generates
them.
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