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  The Final Dragonfire Novel

  Coming Soon!

  Deborah also writes as Claire Delacroix.

  Read on for an excerpt from

  Fallen

  by Claire Delacroix

  Book #1 of the Prometheus Project

  At the end of the 21st century, the future of humanity hangs in the balance, caught between the radioactive waste of a half century of nuclear wars and the repressive authority of the Republic. Angels sacrifice their wings to join a secret fraternity of freedom fighters, risking classification as mutants and consignment to the Republic’s slave dens. Each warrior is a volunteer, but no angel anticipates the full cost of his fall.

  The Eyes of the Republic are Everywhere.

  Lilia Desjardins has never played by the rules and she isn’t about to start when her estranged husband’s death is declared an accident. Lilia knows Gid better than that, and if anyone is owed justice, it’s the most decent man she’s ever known. She leaves all she knows to risk the dark heart of the Republic—only to find that she herself has been targeted by forces unknown and that her deepest secret has not only been uncovered but will be used against her.

  Adam Montgomery will do anything to complete his earthly mission and return to the existence he knows, even if he has to seduce the enigmatic Lilia Desjardins. But when his contact is murdered and he must rely upon Lilia’s silence to save him from the slave dens, Adam knows that his wings might be only his first sacrifice.

  As danger and intrigue surround them, Lilia and Adam realize they must work together—body, mind and soul—in order to save the world.

  * * *

  Excerpt from Fallen Copyright © 2007, 2013 Claire Delacroix, Inc.

  July 2, 2099

  The surgery hurt far more than he’d expected.

  But then, how could he have prepared for an experience so new? He’d known nothing of pain.

  Until the first cut.

  A line of fire ripped across his back and he screamed. It was the first audible sound he’d ever made.

  Feathers were falling, surrounding him with a curtain of drifting white. It took him a moment to realize that they were his own feathers. They had lost their familiar luminescence and looked alien.

  He was becoming alien himself. The idea horrified him, until the surgeon sealed the wound. Heat seared across his back, following the line of the incision. Wetness spilled on his cheeks and he tasted the salt of his tears.

  Another first.

  His bellow made the floor vibrate. The smell of burned flesh was new as well, and sickening.

  He reminded himself that he had volunteered.

  The second cut hurt less, maybe because he knew what to expect. Maybe it was the way of earthly matter, so susceptible to sensation, to learn to ignore stimuli once they had been experienced.

  Munkar didn’t know. He crouched on the floor, shaking, his flesh pulsing and wet. He waited for the surgeon’s fingertip to sear the second wound. He caught his breath at the burn on his skin, then heard the steady pound of his heart. He spread his hands and looked at the flesh he had become.

  He felt heavy and slow, bound by gravity in a way he’d never known before. The physical constraints of his body were inescapable, unforgettable, impossible to ignore.

  He felt weak.

  No, he felt diminished.

  There were other cuts—one in the back of his neck, one in the palm of his left hand—but they seemed almost incidental in comparison to losing his wings.

  Munkar couldn’t even look at the furious blaze of his attendants. Had he been so radiant himself, just moments ago? It seemed impossible, but he knew it was so.

  The taller one bent and kissed his cheeks in turn, a flush of heat on each side of his face that left it burning.

  You will forget.

  The words filled his thoughts, and he knew there was an elusive familiarity about the way he felt rather than heard them.

  But he couldn’t grasp the memory.

  He certainly couldn’t reply in kind.

  Already, much of what he had known was slipping away. He had doubts. He felt fear. He’d never been vulnerable before and he didn’t like it.

  The brilliant light faded and when he opened his eyes, he was alone in an empty building.

  No, not alone. A woman stepped out of the shadows and smiled.

  “Raziel,” he whispered in amazement, forcing his first word over his tongue and past his lips. It was slow and lacked elegance. He didn’t like the sound of his voice.

  “They call me Rachel here,” she said with the confident ease he had always associated with her.

  She offered him a pile of dark cloth and he took it, because she expected as much. His fingers stroked the surfaces—leather, fur, velvet—sensation overwhelming his thoughts.

  “Come on, Adam Montgomery, I’ll show you around.”

  “Adam Montgomery?” He repeated the unfamiliar name, pleased to hear his words becoming more fluid. Was the mortal realm completely without grace?

  “That’s you, at least in this place. It’s all set up. I’ll tell you more as we walk.”

  “Adam Montgomery,” he repeated.

  “It was as close as I could get, what with the list of authorized names and all.”

  “As close to what?”

  She smiled, a bit of that old radiance in her eyes. “You’re forgetting already. That’s okay: it’s easier.”

  He dressed with Rachel’s assistance. Her presence made it simpler to adjust to so many changes in short order. As he finished, she tapped her toe and checked her left hand, her impatience obvious.

  “We’re running out of time,” she said and he understood her urgency. “I’m glad you volunteered, especially now. You were always the best at reading the secrets of men, and I’m not sure who’s telling me the truth anymore.” Montgomery’s confusion must have been obvious, because she laughed. “Don’t worry: you’ll learn fast. It’s just the shock that slows you down at first.”

  She took his hand and they left the building, each step increasing his familiarity with his body and how it worked. He found pleasure in the flex of his muscles, in the soft fur brushing his chin, in the weight of Rachel’s hand in his own.

  Dawn tinged the eastern horizon. The sky was deep indigo overhead, and Montgomery marveled at its color.

  A shooting star suddenly etched a blazing line across the sky, heading for the rosy eastern horizon.

  “That one must be for you,” Rachel said.

  Montgomery didn’t reply. He watched the star, feeling his memory slip away. He knew it had to be so, but regretted the loss all the same.

  By the time the star was lost in the light of the rising sun, he remembered only his mission.

  He was to aid Rachel in saving the earth.

  It was the only thing he needed to know.

  * * *

  Fallen

  Available in a new print and digital edition,

  with new bonus content.

  About the Author

  Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance called The Romance of the Rose published under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published over fifty novels in a wide variety of sub-genres, including historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, women’s fiction, paranormal young adult and fantasy with romantic elements. She has published under the names Claire Delacroix, Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. The Beauty, part of her successful Bride Quest series of historical romances, was her first title to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. Her books routinely appear on other bestseller lists and have won numerous awards. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Romance Writers of America’s Mentor of the Year Award.

 
Currently, she writes the Dragonfire series of paranormal romances featuring dragon shape shifter heroes under the name Deborah Cooke. She also is writing the True Love Brides series of medieval romances as Claire Delacroix, which continues the story of the family introduced in her popular title The Beauty Bride. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.

  Connect Online!

  Deborah’s Website and Blog

  Deborah’s Newsletter

  Deborah on Facebook

  Claire on Facebook

  Books by Deborah Cooke

  Paranormal Romances

  - The Dragonfire Series -

  Kiss of Fire

  Kiss of Fury

  Kiss of Fate

  Winter Kiss

  Whisper Kiss

  Harmonia’s Kiss

  Darkfire Kiss

  Flashfire

  Ember’s Kiss

  Kiss of Danger

  Kiss of Darkness

  Kiss of Destiny

  The Dragon Legion Collection

  (including “Kiss of Danger”, “Kiss of Darkness” and “Kiss of Destiny”)

  Serpent’s Kiss

  Firestorm Forever (2014)

  Paranormal Young Adult

  - The Dragon Diaries -

  Flying Blind

  Winging It

  Blazing the Trail

  Contemporary Romance

  - The Coxwells -

  Third Time Lucky

  Double Trouble

  One More Time

  All or Nothing

  * * *

  Books by Claire Delacroix

  Time Travel Romances

  Once Upon a Kiss

  The Last Highlander

  Love Potion #9

  The Moonstone

  Medieval Romances

  – Harlequin Historicals –

  The Romance of the Rose

  Honeyed Lies

  Unicorn Bride

  The Sorceress

  Roarke’s Folly

  Pearl Beyond Price

  The Magician’s Quest

  Unicorn Vengeance

  My Lady’s Champion

  Enchanted

  My Lady’s Desire

  - The Bride Quest I -

  The Princess

  The Damsel

  The Heiress

  - The Bride Quest II -

  The Countess

  The Beauty

  The Temptress

  - The Rogues of Ravensmuir -

  The Rogue

  The Scoundrel

  The Warrior

  - The Jewels of Kinfairlie -

  The Beauty Bride

  The Rose Red Bride

  The Snow White Bride

  The Ballad of Rosamunde

  - The True Love Brides -

  The Renegade’s Heart

  The Highlander’s Curse

  Urban Fantasy Romance

  - The Prometheus Project -

  Fallen

  Guardian

  Rebel

  Abyss

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dear Reader

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  The Pyr: The Next Generation

  Excerpt from FIRESTORM FOREVER

  Excerpt from FALLEN

  About the Author

  Connect Online!

  More Books by the Author