Read the first chapter from Book Five
Six months earlier…
Nova shrieked as a whip cracked inches from her cheek but she didn’t dare stop what she was doing. In fact she made her hands move even faster, sorting through the piles of shattered rock in front of her.
The guard with the whip grunted and moved on. He hadn’t said anything, but his point had been clear. Nova hadn’t been working fast enough for his liking. Or he was bored. Or he needed a bit of amusement. Or… well, there were many reasons for the whips to come out and only a few she or the other prisoners could do anything to prevent.
Nova’s hands were shaking, making it difficult to keep working so quickly. The whip had missed her face, but only by the narrowest of margins. She knew full well the guards weren’t that acc
