Flight Blitz Tour & Giveaway!!

Flight By L Theodoora
Genre: Adult, Romance, Science Fiction

Piper Madden used to be an Ace Harpy Hunter, but after the death of her brother, she’ll do anything to leave that life behind. She flees to the fringe underground zone called the Rift to live out her exile on her own terms.

But the authoritarian Elder Corporation isn’t about to let one of their best assets slip through the cracks. Piper is drawn back into the fray on a contract basis to combat a rising Harpy insurgence. As she struggles through her grief, she’s caught between her old life in Central and her new, confusing existence in the Rift.

With the president of Elder Corp asking Piper to spy on his sister, navigating the surprisingly passive strategies of the Rift, and a strange friendship with the mysterious Asher, Piper’s days are filled with more questions than answers.

Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous resistance plot, and as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.

Excerpt:

The streets of the Rift are usually bustling, but only the occasional straggler wanders them this
early in the morning. The Holo-sky mirrors a sunrise, the deep violet of night blending with soft
pinks and oranges. The underground cities used to be dark all the time, the steel pipes and beams
that protect us from the surface radiation casting the survivors of the war in darkness.
After a few years in our bunker civilization, the people began to protest to the Corp. Too
many taxpayers were falling into the hole of depression, so they made us a sun. There are no real
plants or wild animals down here, just dirty cobblestone streets and buildings plastered with ads
and graffiti.
The Rift is even worse. Anyone this far east of Central has a secret, whether that’s a
criminal record or running with a gang or being part of the fabled Valhalla resistance. I live in the
Rift because it’s the only place I can stay out of the Corp’s reach without trying to live above
ground. I’m not exactly hoping to spend my days wearing a Rad-Mask and taking tablets every
morning, nor do I want to go to sleep wondering if every night will be my last.
Rupert Elder, the president of the Corp, wouldn’t just let one of his Ace Hunters out of
his control. I know they’re looking for me, hell, they’re probably already watching me, just
waiting for their chance. My goal is to keep that eventuality as far away as possible. For
whatever reason, Rupert’s keeping his distance, and I’m going to take advantage for as long as I
can.
I hop on a streetcar, gripping the metal bar as the train lurches forward. Ads are plastered
above the seats: Elder Corp keeps you safe from the Harpy invasion. Only underground can you
escape the threat of radiation; Elder Corp makes this possible. It goes on. Every facet of my life
is filled with reminders that I’ll never be free. The train unloads at each stop, adding more, and I
share every block with a new cluster of residents. Most are loudly painted with colorful hair,
uneven cuts, tattoos on hands and faces, and metal piercings. The rest are low-key—swathed in
dark, neutral fabrics, faces hidden and eyes on the sticky floor.
My stop is still a few blocks away, but the train isn’t moving fast enough. I can feel the
weight of dread pressing in on me, the echoes of my past threatening to swallow me whole. I dip
my face into my bag and quickly swallow a Ten. I’m not usually a Tenner, but today seems as
good a day as any to just let it all go. Ten minutes and the outside world fades away. Ten minutes
and my life is no longer filled with stress and repressed emotion. There’s nothing but the present,
nothing but now, and I can’t deny how much of a relief it is.
The streetcar finally reaches my stop, and I stand by the back doors until they swing
open. Spotting my chance, I rush across the street, avoiding the odd hover car speeding along.
My head grows foggy as I trudge toward my building, my mind filling with the voices of ghosts I
wish would stay dead. My past as a Hunter, that rare blood type that had me recruited as a child
to serve as a soldier, and David, always David.
People on the street stare at me as I float by, and I can’t help but wonder if they know
who I am and what I’ve done. What is it that they whisper under their breath or scroll through
their minds? Ex-Corp waster? Murderer?
It wasn’t your fault, my inner self growls, but even I can’t convince myself of this. It was
my fault. My fault that David’s dead. My fault that my family’s been torn apart. I can still see his
body withering away, his eyes pleading, whispering unheard words. STOP IT! I scream inwardly.
I take a deep breath and try to force the image away, but when I close my eyes, it’s like he’s
standing before me. I can smell his rich cologne, can feel his hand as he brushes my hair from
my face in the way only brothers can.
I open my eyes, and we’re in our place at the vacant Fresh-Air Zone outside Central,
lying flat on our backs and staring at the stars. The cool breeze wafts the tang of fresh grass and
clean air into my nose. This was where David always took me when things were rough or we’d
just done a big job and still had blood staining our hands.
It was a place to let go of everything in the real world, but I never would have guessed
that this place, our place, would be where he’d eventually die.