You all know I’m a huge fan of dystopian and science fiction. Add in a kick-butt female and I’m sold! Ciara Knight‘sย Escapementย promises to be just that and more. Plus….it’s FREE!!! Check it out ๐

Series: The Neumarian Chronicles, #1
Published by Defy the Dark on 2013-02-05
Length: 370 pages
Reviewing eBook





Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queenโs reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my motherโs empire. When my own erratic powers surface Iโm captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death.
Excerpt
The door swung open and four guards entered before Dred stormed in. โMalvak orders ya all to the platform now.โ
My stomach flopped. โNo. It hasnโt been an hour.โ
โMalvakโs orders changed.โ
โYou said theyโd be spared,โ Ryder argued.
โThey be ordered to watch.โ
Dredโs words stung like a laser through my heart. โNo, please. You canโt. Itโs too soon.โ
Ryder still clutched one arm and wouldnโt let me go. โSemara, listen to me.โ
โNo, I wonโt. This isnโt going to happen. Iโll tell Malvak who I am and order your release.โ
โNot wise.โ Dred shoved the key into Ryderโs cell door.
I had to do something, anything to stop this.
โWe need you, Semara. Youโre the only one left in this war-torn world who can protect Raeth. Please, I promised my folks before they were murdered Iโd take care of her. Once Iโm goneโโ
โDonโt say that.โ Tears stung my eyes and I wanted to pull him against me and disappear.
Ryder reached through the bars and held the back of my head so our foreheads touched. โOnce Iโm gone, you are her only family.โ
โEnough, itโs time,โ Dred ordered.
The guards rushed into the cell, bound Ryderโs wrists, and dragged him from the cell. One guard grabbed Raeth by the arm and did the same to me. Dred stood at the outside of my cell, door open, waiting for me to exit.
โI did all I could,โ Dred said with a heavy, deep tone. He bound my wrists and stepped back. โSorry, Malvak orderedโโ
โYou could do more. Trust me, youโll regret this later. Youโll go to sleep each night with Ryderโs face haunting your dreams. Iโm still tortured by making a wrong choice when I was only twelve.โ
I shoved past him and went out to the center of town. Acid rose in my throat at the sight of the noose hanging from a wood beam. It had to be wood. If it had been metal, I couldโve melted it and bought some more time.
Maybe I could try Ryderโs plan and incapacitate Dred before he stopped me, then get his gun and take a few down. If we could find cover and some metal weโd have a chance.
I watched Dred out of the corner of my eye as we approached the platform.
โDonโt try it, pretty face. Iโve trained for years to be a faster draw with me powers. Ya donโt stand a chance. All youโll accomplish is ya own death.โ
I lifted my chin, determined to fight. โI canโt stand by and watch him die.โ
โYa donโt have a choice. None of us do,โ Dred insisted.
โYou do. Let me use my powers and the three of us escape. Otherwise, youโll have innocent blood on your hands.โ I pleaded.
Wind whipped through the village. Creaks echoed from the skywalks. Water swished through the steel waterways above. Cannons and barbed wire lined an exterior wall. It was a fortress.
Mother had been right to fear them. Even if I freed Ryder, how could we get out? I suspected the walls were electrified. Maybe I could short out the wires, but Iโd need Raethโs help to demolish the wall.
Even if we managed to break through the wall, then what? Weโd have to get a ship and figure out where we were.
There had to be a way to save him. I had to be missing something.
A horn sounded and people came out of homes and buildings, flooding the street to watch Ryderโs execution. Didnโt they see they were no better than the council?
I wrung my hands and pulled at my rope bindings that rubbed my skin raw.
The smell of animals and desert sand carried on the wind.
A tall man appeared on one of the skywalks with a fluffy cape of animal fur lining his huge frame. I couldnโt make out his features, but he definitely had a tattoo running across his forehead. A reflection of sunlight off his face indicated some piercings.
โThis here Neumarian is charged with bringing the councilโs wrath to our land. Do we wish to sacrifice our way of life and be enslaved to the council?โ
โNo,โ the crowd yelled back as if in a trance.
โTerminate the prisoner and send his body as a gift to the queen.โ
โNo!โ I cried out and ran for the platform. โYouโre wrong. We only wish to go in peace. The queen doesnโt know weโre here. We brought a gift!โ
I ran up the steps, but a guard snagged my hair, knocking me down so hard the wood cracked against my shoulder. A pain shot down my arm. Ryder shouldered the man and raced to my side. โSemara, please, donโt do this.โ
โI canโt watch you die,โ I managed through sobs.
The guards tore us apart and placed Ryder on top of a box.
I fought with all my strength and drew heat from my core to my hands, but the mind splitting pain made me collapse. I lay on the floor of the platform forced to watch the noose being secured around his neck.
โProceed with the execution.โ
The guard kicked the box out from under Ryder and the rope snapped tight around his throat.
Leave a Reply