Atonement Sky

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Advance Excerpt from ATONEMENT SKY by Nalini Singh

Eleri snapped the tight band on her wrist when she felt the memories begin to take hold, unravel one by one. So many nights she and Reagan had sat across from each other as he taught her how to scan a memory into her own mind, then how to project that “impression” to others. So many days she’d sat beside him in the courtroom as he waited to go up into the witness box.

The sting of the elastic band was just enough to snap her out of the loop. It wasn’t the pain—she’d experienced far more pain in her life. It was the fact that she’d been doing the same thing for years, ever since she took her first involuntary step on the path to becoming a Sensitive. A little dissonance loop she’d built for herself outside the laws and rules of Silence.

Most of the time, the memories that threatened to drown her were those of the monsters, but every so often, it was her own memory of Reagan as he’d been at the very end.

Blood, so much blood, his throat gurgling and hand clutching at her as he gasped for breath.

Allowing Reagan to be sucked into the black hole of the past with the snap of the band, Eleri considered her next steps. With the room secure, she could leave her clothing and other items here—other than the mobile comm, which was always on her wrist, she had nothing worth stealing. But she could as easily unload her overnight bag after she’d taken a first pass at the diner.

Decision made, she left the room, engaged her security system, then crossed over to her vehicle. Once inside, she thought about peeling off her gloves but decided against it. Much as she craved time without that physical shield on her hands, the diner wasn’t far per the search she’d just run. She’d only have to put them back on again, and no doubt people would be watching her as soon as she pulled up.

Small towns loved to watch outsiders.

The cypress trees that lined the drive to the inn threw dappled shadows across her vehicle as she drove out, and without thought, she lowered her window to listen to the silence.

Adam.

He’d caused this crack in the wall between her and the world today, a fracture that might yet take her under.

She snapped the rubber band again . . . and rolled up the window.

Turning left out of the drive, she found herself looking down the deserted road shadowed by trees to a vehicle parked up ahead. A man in jeans and a short-sleeve white shirt leaned against it. His skin glowed in the sunlight, his silky hair dark and just long enough to flow around his face, and his body far more muscled than it had been ten years ago.

He’d been younger then, his body lankier and not quite finished.

Her pulse accelerated though she’d long ago stopped being nervous with anyone. Js were too often in the minds of the dregs of civilization for their Silence to stay in any way perfect, so the nervousness itself hadn’t disqualified her from her job. Reagan had just taught her to think past it.

Then it had dulled and dulled again, each reconditioning stealing a little more of her soul—if she’d ever had one to begin with. Until at last, she felt nothing at all when she sat across from the most vicious criminals the world had ever seen and waded into the fetid swamp of their minds and memories.

But today, her tongue dried up, her pulse kicked, and she found herself driving slower and slower as she neared the man who had once, long ago, made her wonder if she could have another life, live an existence devoid of murder and violence and a relentless march of screams.

Adam had parked before he got to the inn, his intention to shift and fly over to see what he could glean about the stranger who’d pulled him toward her though they were separated by air and sky. Then he’d heard the quiet purr of a vehicle and guessed it to be hers—no other guests at the inn right now.

So he’d got out and waited, just a local who’d paused to take in some air.

The rugged all-terrain SUV turned out of the inn’s drive with the clear intent to pick up speed, but Adam didn’t flinch. He could get out of the way without losing a feather if it came to that. But the driver began to slow some distance out and brought the tough vehicle to a stop three feet from him. The windows were tinted but the windscreen clear.

Her gaze was unreadable as she looked at him . . . and his rage a hurricane.

Her.

His talons thrust at the tips of his fingers, the raptor inside him ready to rip her to shreds. She’d lost the softness, a sharp thinness to her face that made her look far older than he knew her to be, but it was definitely her. The pretty J with eyes like the desert after the rains who’d made him smile in sheer joy only an hour before she stood unmoving and silent next to the man who had stolen justice from Adam and his family for an unforgivable and premeditated crime.

He could still remember each and every second of the experience that had forever altered him, destroying in minutes a life he’d only just discovered. Justice Psy were called that because they were telepaths who could reach into the minds of Psy and humans, pull out memories to do with a specific incident or crime, then broadcast those memories out to humans and Psy.

Changelings were excluded because of their powerful natural shields. Too hard to get anything in or out without smashing their minds to pieces. But that hadn’t been a disadvantage in that courtroom where an arrogant Psy landholder was meant to be held to account for the murder of Adam’s parents.

His paternal grandmother was human, as was Jenesse, his mother’s closest friend and a woman who’d been an aunt in all but blood to Saoirse and Adam. The two women had allowed the broadcast to reach their minds, watching the supposed “memory” from start to finish even as the court’s designated J-Psy interpreter spoke the memory aloud for the rest of them.

J-Psy were trusted because they were meant to be unable to change the memories they retrieved. They had to be trusted—once they went in and took a memory, it could never again be retrieved by another J.

That day Adam learned that the whole “Js can’t lie” thing was a pile of f*#ing bull. The J who’d stood beside the woman in the vehicle had altered the perpetrator’s memories.

And a double murderer had walked free.

He didn’t even realize he’d moved until he found himself staring straight through the windscreen at the woman on the other side, the hard metal of the car brushing his thighs as the wild creature in him rose to the surface in a blaze of rage . . . and things unspoken too long contained.

“I absolutely loved this story. The way the relationship progressed between Eleri and Adam brought me to tears at multiple points.”

~ Caroline on Goodreads

“There is unexpected sweetness about Atonement Sky…Threads of love and hope are woven into the texture and fabric of the pages. I dunno, there’s just something special about this one, guys.”

~ Tanja W. on Netgalley

“I can’t recommend Atonement Sky strongly enough. Full of emotions and friendships, this is a book that will grab you and not let go.”

~ Anne M. on Netgalley

“I couldn’t stop turning the pages… Adore this series and as always I cannot wait for more!”

~ Sabrina on Goodreads

“Nalini Singh continues to craft stories that feel both expansive and intimate, and this one hit every emotional beat I was hoping for…Atonement Sky reminded me why I keep coming back to this world.”

~ Bookcase and Coffee