Source Fire: A Young Adult Fantasy (Arcturus Academy Book 5) Read online

“Yeah. Maybe.” Nero’s question came into my memory. Who are you without your fire? I guessed Gage was figuring that out.

  I was reaching for the key when Tomio said, “Check this.”

  A girl was walking down the sidewalk toward us. She carried a small basket with a tea towel draped over it. She wore a red coat cinched in at her tiny waist, and tall black boots with a high heel. Her hood was up, hiding much of her face in shadow. She approached the Wendigs’ walkway and turned toward their house. She hadn’t noticed Tomio and me sitting in the vehicle, watching like a pair of nosy neighbors. The wind kicked up and her hood fell back revealing a long brunette ponytail, curled and waving in the wind. She had a slender neck, and even from the back I could tell this girl was beautiful.

  She took the steps up and rang the doorbell. A moment later she was greeted by Gage, who took in her appearance with the kind of grin he used to save for me. He took her into his arms and gave her a good thorough kissing, right there on the threshold of his parent’s house.

  My heart felt suddenly lighter.

  “He’s met somebody,” Tomio said, turning to me, smiling.

  “Seems so.” I started the van.

  “Come here.” Tomio reached over and wrapped his fingers around the back of my skull. He pulled me to him and kissed me over the console, deeply and sweetly. My chest expanded with happiness, so much I wondered if I might pop.

  When we parted, he smiled with his eyes, our noses so close they were almost touching.

  A green glow appeared beneath our faces. We looked down at my hand where it rested on the parking break.

  Three of my knuckles were alight, each with a small flame the color of emeralds.

  I made a soft gasp and shared a look of delight with Tomio. He kissed me again and held my forehead to his for a long moment. I closed my eyes and sent a silent thought of gratitude into the universe that I had him.

  He let me go and settled into his seat. “Come on, show me the beach and the harbor. I want to see where you played as a kid.”

  So that’s what we did.

  THE END

  Afterword

  Gosh, I can hardly believe its the end of another series. For an author, this is an exciting (and nerve-wracking) time. For one thing, a final book in the series is the culmination of a ton of hard work and planning, and the one where readers have the highest expectations. For another, as a book is prepared for launch an author’s brain (or mine, anyway) is already leaping ahead to the next series. At a certain point, you just have to shove the baby bird out of the nest and have faith that they’ll fly.

  I hope you enjoyed Saxony’s story. I have to admit, it went to a more extreme place than I thought it would when I first began it. But stories have a way of telling themselves, and I try not to fight that, but let the muse have its head.

  If you’ve read much of my work you’ll know that I love to have my characters travel internationally, because this is something I love to do myself. This story includes two locations I have experienced in person: Turkey, and the Arctic (specifically Great Bear Lake and Kugluktuk). I loved both for different reasons, but I wasn’t exaggerating about the mosquitoes on the tundra. If you ever go, be prepared for amazingly fresh air, a lot of empty tundra, and a ton of hungry mozzies. As for Turkey, I’ve now seen quite a bit of it, and it truly is an amazing place. I visited central Turkey (and Cappadocia) shortly before starting to write Source Fire and I knew I had to include it. It’s a place more rich with history than any other I’ve seen (and that’s saying something, because I’ve also lived in Italy). I think you could spend a lifetime in Turkey and never see all it had to offer.

  Since I’ve had a reader ask, I should clarify that the cave drawing in Turkey that Basil mentions of the Source Fire is fictional. Tunguska was a real event, and is still unexplained. Most think it was a meteor, yet there was no impact site, so that doesn’t quite explain it. The subterranean beneath Naples really is full of tunnels and artifacts and antiques, and there really are abandoned mines around Dover. Setting inspiration is everywhere!

  If you’re wondering why our darling Tomio isn’t on the Source Fire cover, its because I ordered the artwork before I actually knew he and Saxony would end up together. I would like to add him to the art at some point, but this is an expensive venture. Maybe I can afford to down the road.

  What’s next? As I write these notes my mind is alive with fairy magic and I’m cooking up an exciting and lush series that will return the reader to the fae dimension we dipped into with the Earth Magic Rises series.

  This series will be full of earth magic, flora and fauna fae, animals and insects, and a new cast of characters I think you'll fall in love with (I'm already in love with half of them).

  Will there be any Elemental Origins characters in this series, you ask? While I'm still doing the plotting for the series and its too early to say exactly, I can tell you that you'll see at least two characters from Earth Magic Rises. Probably more, but that's all I can share for now.

  Thank you to my group of VIP readers, my ARC team, my editor Nicola Aquino, and my proofreader Victoria Knorr for all their assistance in helping me wrap up the Arcturus Academy series with a pretty, shiny bow.

  I’m consistently amazed at the support I get from readers, and so grateful. Without you, I wouldn’t have this dreamy career. While its a lot of work and sometimes lonely, I wouldn’t switch to anything else for all the croissants in Paris. Thank you. And if you loved this story, I would appreciate it if you took a moment to post a review for it, on Amazon or wherever you like to post reviews. They help authors and other readers immensely.

  Until next time!

  Abby

  Antalya, June 2021.

  Also by A.L. Knorr

  Elemental Origins Series, Season 1

  Born of Water, Book 1

  Born of Fire, Book 2

  Born of Earth, Book 3

  Born of Æther, Book 4

  Born of Air, Book 5

  The Elementals, Book 6

  Elemental Origins Series, Season 2

  Salt & Stone (The Siren’s Curse 1)

  Salt & the Sovereign (The Siren’s Curse 2)

  Salt & the Sisters (The Siren’s Curse 3)

  Elemental Origins Series, Season 3

  Bones of the Witch (Earth Magic Rises 1)

  Ashes of the Wise (Earth Magic Rises 2)

  Heart of the Fae (Earth Magic Rises 3)

  Elemental Origins Series, Season 4

  Firecracker, (Arcturus Academy 1)

  Fire Trap, (Arcturus Academy 2)

  Fire Games (Arcturus Academy 3)

  Legends of Fire (Arcturus Academy 4)

  Source Fire (Arcturus Academy 5)

  Elemental Origins Spin Off Series:

  Rings of the Inconquo

  Born of Metal, (Rings of the Inconquo 1)

  Metal Guardian, (Rings of the Inconquo 2)

  Metal Angel, (Rings of the Inconquo 3)

  Elemental Origins Spin Off: The Returning Series (Mira’s Story, Completed Series)

  Returning, Book 1

  Falling, Book 2

  Surfacing, Book 3

  Elemental Novellas

  Pyro, A Fire Novella

  Heat, A Fire Novella

  The Kacy Chronicles (Completed Series)

  Descendant, Book 1

  Ascendant, Book 2

  Combatant, Book 3

  Transcendent, Book 4

  Visit www.alknorrbooks.com to sign up for AL Knorr’s newsletter. Get notifications for new releases and free stories.

  Come a little closer, my dear…

  Want to be kept updated on new releases, be the first to know about sneak peeks and ‘read by yours truly’ audio snippets? I’m no Judi Dench but I do try not to make too many swallowing sounds. I host the occasional sale and sometimes join themed multi-author promotions that are good fun. Join my newsletter at www.alknorrbooks.com or request access to my private VIP Reader Lounge on Facebook (don’t forget to answer the
three questions to get in). I also have Instagram for those who are curious about the life of a traveling fantasy novelist. I tend to visit a lot of ancient places, there’s inspiration to be found there, doncha know. See you in them virtual hills!

  Love, Abby

 

 

  A.L. Knorr, Source Fire: A Young Adult Fantasy (Arcturus Academy Book 5)

 

 

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