Summer Blog Hop: Spark of Light (Avery Book One) by Elizabeth Tuttle

Title: Spark of Light (Avery Book one)

Author: Elizabeth Tuttle
Publisher: Self

Pages: 444

Genre: Mature YA Fantasy

Buy Links: Amazon

Nearly a century ago the world was decimated by a magical war. In their defeat, elves were captured by humans, cut off from their magic, and broken down into lifeless, drone-like slaves.

Avery is different. Somehow, her magic has always simmered beneath the surface. Never completely broken, she must pretend in order to survive. When Zander, her master’s nephew, brings her magic out in full force, she finds out what it’s like to truly be alive.

Ripped from Zander’s side and sent to The Farm, Avery doesn’t know if she’ll be able to hide her light and make it out alive. But there, she’ll meet someone who knows her true purpose.

The war isn’t over, and if Avery can survive, she could be the one to set her people free. All it takes is a little hope and a Spark of Light.

***MatureYA - This book contains mild adult language, sexual content, and possible triggers.***

“What happened to her? I heard about what happened to your parents, and I figured that's why she was acting so strange, but I’ve never seen anything like that before.” Seeing it all again in my head as I talk brings back the tears and thickens my voice. I have to tell him. There’s no good reason a slave would be asking these questions. There’s no good reason for him to tell me. Maybe he will if he knows how important she is to me. “I don’t know if she ever told you—”
“That you guys are friends?”
“She did tell you?”
“No. Well, she never told me your name or that you were a slave. But sometimes she’d talk about her friend in Kirkland, mostly when she was little. The look on your face when you saw us ... it took me all of a second to figure out it was you.” He knew from one look? What else can he see? “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
“I just want to know what’s wrong with her. It scares me. It’s like she’s a different person.”
He gently lifts my hand from his knee and sets it on my own. “It’s not that I don’t want it there, it’s just really distracting.”
“Sorry.”
“Never be sorry, not with me.” He gives a wisp of a laugh and scrubs his jaw with his hand. “That was too much. It’s all too much. I don’t know how to act around you, and the words that come out of my mouth—I finally get to talk to you and this is the crap that I do.”
I smile and pick up my sandwich. “It’s okay.” Zander always seems so sure. But watching him fumble doesn’t make me think any less of him. It makes me feel better about my own nerves. “I’ve never talked to a human boy before, so no matter what you say I’ll have no idea how weird you really are.”
“Oh yeah? Still, I should probably just stop talking.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
He shakes his head as if to clear it. “Oh yeah, you want to know what happened.”
“You don’t have to.”
“No. It might be nice to talk to somebody. It’s all been locked up inside. Maybe telling you will let some of this slip out and float away.”
Some of what? I almost ask, but it's obvious. He’s hurting, maybe as deeply as Del, except he’s handling it differently. And from the depth of despair in his eyes, maybe not much better than she is.
“Sometimes my dad could be difficult,” Zander began. “He was a good guy, but he and I just didn't get along much. If we weren’t frustrating each other then we were ignoring each other. But that day we got into a pretty big fight. It was just stupid stuff, but we both let our tempers get the best of us and then my mom stepped in so I got on my horse and left. I stayed away through dinner and half the night. I expected everyone to be in bed when I got home, but some of the lights were on. I was annoyed, I didn't feel like dealing with anyone, so I took my time putting Bow up. The barn is across from the side of the house so I didn't see that the front door was wide open. I walked into the kitchen and I couldn’t understand what I was seeing at first. It was a mess: dishes broken on the floor, chairs knocked over, all this red liquid running across the floor from behind the island. I took another step and saw my mom’s shoe. My head was screaming ‘Stop!’ but I couldn't, my feet just kept going, one step, then another. It could have only been seconds, but it felt like it took hours to cross the kitchen.
I stifle a gasp and my breath comes faster.
“She was lying face up.” His jaw twitches and he flicks his gaze up to me and back down. “There was blood everywhere. I didn’t know there could be that much. And it wasn’t just hers, my dad was a couple feet away. And then I saw Del just sitting there in the middle of it all. It took me a minute to figure out she was alive, she was so still. I called her name but she didn’t move or respond. I didn’t know what to do, my mind hadn’t processed everything yet, but I knew I couldn’t panic. I had to take care of Del.
“So that’s what I’ve been doing. But what she saw shut her down and messed her up in a way I don’t know how to fix. I don’t know how to get her back.”
“It was an elf?”
He nods.

Elizabeth’s first writing award was in the 2nd grade with a story about a cat and a dog that overcame their differences and became friends. Satisfied with that success, she put her writing career on hold until the winter of 2012. Now, she spends most days in her pajamas making things up and writing them down. Her other interests include board games, being in nature, and binge watching shows on Netflix.

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethTuttleAuthorWEBSITE  http://www.elizabethtuttle.com/
TWITTER @ETuttleAuthor