{"id":225,"date":"2022-07-11T16:42:28","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T16:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/?page_id=225"},"modified":"2023-05-12T18:48:51","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:48:51","slug":"whisked-away","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/?page_id=225","title":{"rendered":"The Spark (Book 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Excerpt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>Sam\u2026&nbsp;<\/em>a&nbsp;golden&nbsp;thread&nbsp;weaves.&nbsp;<em>They took him from us. They stole him from us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sam&nbsp;and&nbsp;I&nbsp;weep\u2014a&nbsp;golden&nbsp;thread&nbsp;binds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>Jo.&nbsp;We&nbsp;need&nbsp;our&nbsp;sisters&nbsp;now.&nbsp;We&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;build&nbsp;walls.&nbsp; We need to pull them down. No more secrets. No more apologies. We mourn&nbsp;tonight. We fight tomorrow. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>And we trust&nbsp;nobody&nbsp;who doesn\u2019t hold a piece. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em>I won\u2019t lose you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"559\" height=\"90\" src=\"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/images-4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/images-4.jpeg 559w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/images-4-300x48.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>A deadly game of chess is afoot and now that its most lethal player has stepped on the board, her fiercest ally at her side, this game is about to get ugly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With nothing other than vengeance fueling her deadly maneuvers, Josephine is out for blood&#8211;the only thing holding her shattered pieces together&#8230; Her loyal bookworm-turned-sharpened sword. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This mystical connection between their worlds once again stands, a magical weapon with limitless power&#8211;a shimmering golden thread.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what caused these glimmering fibers to snap in 1692?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same time the Marked began to appear.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same time the Enlighteneds&#8217; gifts began to wane.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And how has this thread been restored?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Will Sam and Jo discover the truth before this lethal game ends? Or will one perish while the other watches each escalating move, hearing her sister\u2019s gut-wrenching thoughts and feeling every ounce of her pain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The clock is ticking. Pieces are in play. Much is hanging in the balance: the fate of two worlds, the pure Virtues of the Marked, and the lives of the selfless Enlightened.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It all rests on the shoulders of Samantha Sutter of Simsbury, Connecticut, and Princess Josephine Stanford of Tandria; only they will soon discover other pieces stand on the board waiting play along&#8211;pieces willing to fight at their side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"559\" height=\"90\" src=\"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/images-6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/images-6.jpeg 559w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/images-6-300x48.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">The Spark<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">CHAPTER ONE <\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Blood Spills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-290\" width=\"173\" height=\"173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/vintage_6-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 173px) 100vw, 173px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Blood&nbsp;spills\u2014the&nbsp;cut&nbsp;deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A&nbsp;broken&nbsp;teacup&nbsp;falls&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;tapestry,&nbsp;the&nbsp;dainty&nbsp;handle separating upon impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&nbsp;stare&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;light-brown&nbsp;fluid&nbsp;seeping&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;rug beneath my feet, its leaves resting atop the stain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What would my future reveal if reading these tea leaves&nbsp;were&nbsp;possible?&nbsp;What&nbsp;shade&nbsp;of&nbsp;black&nbsp;would&nbsp;be&nbsp;seen&nbsp;first?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My&nbsp;vision&nbsp;drifts&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;slash&nbsp;I&nbsp;created&nbsp;across&nbsp;my&nbsp;palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&nbsp;told&nbsp;her to&nbsp;take&nbsp;the&nbsp;pill,&nbsp;yet she&nbsp;refused, so&nbsp;I&nbsp;bleed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now&nbsp;I&nbsp;drift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastian\u2019s&nbsp;voice&nbsp;booms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A&nbsp;set&nbsp;of&nbsp;strong&nbsp;hands breaks&nbsp;my&nbsp;fall\u2014yet&nbsp;they&nbsp;are&nbsp;not his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nor&nbsp;will&nbsp;they&nbsp;ever&nbsp;be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Darkness descends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Take&nbsp;the&nbsp;pill!<\/em>&nbsp;My&nbsp;silent&nbsp;demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Excerpt A deadly game of chess is afoot and now that its most lethal player has stepped on the board, her fiercest ally at her side, this game is about to get ugly. With nothing other than vengeance fueling her deadly maneuvers, Josephine is out for blood&#8211;the only thing holding her shattered pieces together&#8230; Her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-225","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":349,"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/225\/revisions\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrkniss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}