Nalani, a nineteen-year-old fleeing a toxic household, joins an elite task force in search of a fresh start. Her best friend Nova always by her side. As she completes her final week of training, she meets her new team and must confront the shadows of her past. Though skilled at hiding her emotions, the pressure of her new role threatens to expose her vulnerabilities. The colonel, responsible for overseeing Nalanis integration into the task force, becomes both a formidable obstacle and a source of relentless torment. His strict enforcement of rules and the ban on relationships only intensify the tension between them. To mask his growing, forbidden desire, he turns her stay into a constant struggle. Despite his efforts to remain detached, his feelings for Nalani grow s Caught in a whirlwind of lies, desire, and danger, Nalani faces a battle between her past and present. This gripping story explores the destructive power of forbidden love and the high stakes of emotional vulnerability.

IN A WORLD WHERE WEATHER EXTREMES ARE AS PERSISTENT AS SUNRISE AND SUNSET, YOU FIGHT OR YOU HIDE. Most people in Veerden are born with the ability to tame one of the four elements - fire, air, water, or earth. Without the tamers, humanity would have lost the battle with nature long ago. In her youth, Kyra grew up with peers who were able to deflect wind or make a fire with willpower. She spent years telling herself that she was like them, but insipits like her are naturally barred from the tamer arts and powerless against nature's forces. What use is her sword against strong winds, heavy rain, and lightning strikes? When a storm comes, twenty-year-old Kyra has to hide inside with the children. But how much longer can she do that when all she wants to do is fight?

Who was Polycrates and why is his golden ring so famous? What were the words of Leonidas to Xerxes before the Battle of Thermopylae? What did Diogenes reply to Alexander the Great? All these questions and stories are remnants of a reality that we were not able to live. They are tales that seem far away but that, in the end, show what human nature hides. Many centuries have passed since Homer wrote his famous Iliad and Odyssey, or since Rome invaded Syracuse. But the heart of a man remains the same. And that is why anyone can find a part of themselves in these stories.

There are things that simply shouldn't be there at the same time. An example of this would be blood, night and sacrifice. When 4 children realize that they are part of a sacrifice, they fight for their freedom. Little did they know what importance they carry and again what kind of foe they will fight. Be it against humans, vampires or other beings, they will have to try, because their defeat means the defeat of the whole world. Fortunately, they meet a person who helps them, but this person is also haunted by shadows from the past. However, the most important task of the children would be to find out who they are!

Since the beginning of time, theres been love. Everywhere you look, whether it be between humans or animals or organisms. Its one of the few things on earth that can never be removed. Throughout our life weve been listening to it, reading about it, seeing and feeling it. There have been wars and theories and heartache. All because its one of the few things that make us whole. It helps us to evolve and survive.

Petrichor. The pleasant, earthy smell of rain. For me that is pure happiness. The smell that eases all my pain. I haven't gone through any less than what is written in this book. I've stood there in the pouring rain. These two things, they really took My happiness away from me. My broken heart and hurting brain. This book's about the fight I fought to actually become free. And even though i always thought that I could never really be, I won my fight, and now I'm free. I found my happiness again. And I let go of all the pain. The happiness that i recieve From life now that I don't survive but really live and feel alive Is Petrichor, I believe.