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BLURB: Elsie Bates won't deny that she's made a few enemies during her fifteen-year acting career, but she never thought her actions would warrant her death at the hands of meta-human terrorists. As if that wasn't bad enough, her federally appointed bodyguard is the famous Camilla Wyatt, the most powerful guardian in the country and Elsie's sworn enemy. Because behind Camilla's sunny personality is a cold and heartless young woman, and no one but Elsie knows the truth.
At least, that's what Elsie initially thinks. As it happens, being forced into a protective lockdown with someone can change perspectives, and Elsie slowly uncovers the secret behind Camilla's complicated character. In turn, Camilla begins to realize that maybe "trust issues" shouldn't be in her superpower repertoire, and self-preservation doesn't necessarily require self-isolation.
But as the women grow closer, so do the forces that attempt to split them apart. And when the worlds of superpowered militaries, propaganda movies, and hidden conspiracies begin to collide, Elsie and Camilla must rely on each other to survive.
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EXCERPT
Suddenly, from her peripherals, Elsie saw a small, piercing light from the direction of one of the short ends of the stadium. Less than a second later, it had grown significantly larger, and it wasn't until she heard someone shouting her name that she realized the light, whatever it was, was coming straight for her.
"Get down!"
Elsie fell to the floor immediately, but only because a harsh gust of wind knocked her onto her back. The wind had been warm, almost like if a tornado burst out of a burning oven, and Elsie could see waves of heat emanating from it as it collided with the beam of light, which was actually... yeah, it was definitely a fireball.
The force of the wind was surprisingly strong enough to knock the fireball off track, sending it veering upwards and into the stadium above Elsie, right where the wall and ceiling met. When the fireball collided with the stadium structure, the sound of an explosion and crunching metal echoed throughout the arena. The panicked screams of the crowd that followed were a drastic shift in tone from their earlier cheers, but Elsie could hardly hear them. Instead, she was more concerned about the second fireball that was flying at her.
Her vision of it was blocked by someone jumping in front of her, and it took five seconds for her mind to catch up with the fact that Camilla Wyatt was about to save her life once more. At least, that's what she hoped, because even Camilla seemed to struggle when the fireball hit her defenses. It was understandable, since Camilla was probably exhausted, until Elsie saw that she was only blocking the attack with one hand; the other was holding up part of the stadium wall that threatened to fall on top of them.
And that wasn't the only structural damage. In the entire section, slabs of metal were crashing towards the stands, but the other guardians had already jumped into action to redirect the pieces safely to the now empty platform. Other guardians were assisting with evacuations, focusing their attention on those with mobility issues and ensuring everyone was clear of the destruction.
"Elsie, go!" Camilla yelled, sparing a chance to look back at her.
Elsie couldn't agree more. But as she was getting to her feet, she looked towards Camilla and saw another half dozen fireballs headed towards them.
Her shocked expression must have been clear enough, because Camilla spun around and brought the metal slab from the ceiling in front of them at the last second. But even with Camilla taking the brunt of the attack, Elsie could still feel the force from it, and its intensity swept her off her feet once more. One look at Camilla showed that she wasn't faring too well either, and the joint attack almost brought her to her knees. Elsie spotted other guardians trying to support her, but those that got too close ended up getting thrown backwards from the sheer force of the clashing powers.
Just when Elsie thought she couldn't take the strain anymore, Camilla let out a fierce roar that was so out of character, Elsie thought she was hallucinating. She may as well have been, because as she managed to lift her head high enough, she saw Camilla draw back one hand for a brief moment, before pushing it forward and upward, flinging all of the fireballs through the stadium's new sunroof and into the clear, dusk sky. It was oddly beautiful, like a bunch of messed up fireworks.
Until a deep crunch followed, and suddenly, Elsie was falling.
Elsie watched the pink and purple sky drift further and further away, and no matter how hard she reached for it, she couldn't grab on. All around her, parts of the stands fell with her, mostly chunks of concrete with rebars jutting out, sprinkled with the plastic cushioned seats. It was an odd sight, seeing these things suspended in midair and surrounded by darkness. Except they weren't suspended and neither was she; no, she was falling, and she hated it.
She hated this feeling, this feeling of being trapped in a free fall and too helpless to change her fate. She already had enough of this feeling to last a lifetime, yet it somehow managed to find her yet again.
"Elsie!"
Whatever remaining light from the sunset outside was eclipsed by another falling object. But it wasn't an object, and it wasn't falling. It was Camilla Wyatt, and she was flying. She was flying towards Elsie with one hand reaching out to her, and her concerned face shouting her name. Elsie tried to move her hand, tried to reach her, but she couldn't move. All she could do was think about falling, even as the darkness spread from the edges of her eyes and engulfed her with its cold embrace of fear and helplessness.
