Summary from Goodreads:
Lana forms a secret order of women knights to fulfill her father’s final request: find the queen who was thought to be dead and return her to the throne.
Lana Crewe is a strong, fiercely driven seventeen year old living in a village ruled by fear. With their king and queen both dead, strife and division have taken hold. Ruthlessly attacked by an Order called Talons, Lana’s father is fatally stabbed. Before he dies, he imparts upon Lana a directive to save the statue of Saint Peter, and tells her that the queen yet lives. Now it is up to Lana to unravel the mystery of Saint Peter and bring an end to all of the war by finding the queen.
Lana Crewe is a strong, fiercely driven seventeen year old living in a village ruled by fear. With their king and queen both dead, strife and division have taken hold. Ruthlessly attacked by an Order called Talons, Lana’s father is fatally stabbed. Before he dies, he imparts upon Lana a directive to save the statue of Saint Peter, and tells her that the queen yet lives. Now it is up to Lana to unravel the mystery of Saint Peter and bring an end to all of the war by finding the queen.
A medieval tale of hope and mystery, The Last Order is an action-packed story with one of the strongest female leads since Disney’s “Brave.” Not your average YA novel; The Last Order takes upper teenage angst and spins it on its head. You’ll be gripping this book as hard as it will be gripping you.
Chapter
One:
LANA
RUBBED HER ARMS, still shivering under layers of clothing.
You
should have worn your cloak, her father’s voice warned, mixing
within her thoughts. After years of his lectures and training, he had
become a part of her—one that she assumed would eventually go away,
or at least quiet down a bit.
Under
the short skirt layered over her leather pants, Lana retrieved her
dagger from its custom pocket. Leaves rustled behind her and she spun
around, ready for her opponent.
"One
day, I will catch you off guard," Bowen said, twisting his lips.
"You’re
late," she teased.
"What’s
the wager, Lana?" he asked, holding up his sparring sword, ready
to fight.
"You’ll
mend my sword without payment."
"And
if I win, you’ll run double errands," he answered. She swung
her sword and lunged at him. "Deal."
Their
swords sliced back and forth, making for an almost equal bout. Bowen
stood taller than her by a few inches and weighed double. She glided
around him with ease. He turned, whipping his blade around expertly.
Sweat already beaded on his face. Lana’s heart pumped and her blood
warmed. She jabbed her blade. Bowen swerved unsteadily, almost
escaping her weapon, but her final swing landed perfectly along his
ribcage. Bowen stumbled sideways and fell to the ground, his playful
expression turning bitter.
Lana
bowed her head. A smile began to creep along her face as she raised
her eyes back up to meet his.
"Next
time, I will finish you more quickly," she tried to joke,
attempting to ease her conscience.
Bowen
held his side and cringed. "You’ll do anything to win,"
he said.
Lana
offered her hand, but he refused. "I’m done," Bowen said
as he stood up and walked away from her.
"Done?
What?" Lana balked. "Bowen, wait." Lana dashed around
in front of him and pushed her hand out against his chest. He
stopped, seeming unsettled by her touch. His eyes turned sour and
far from amused. "We’ve always been a team," she pressed
him.
"I
don’t have time to play knight with you anymore," he argued,
but didn’t try to push past her.
"Oh,
too good are you?" she teased again. Seeing no change, she got
serious. "I suppose it’s your mother?"
"Who
else is going to mend your sword and everyone else’s? Father’s
ill. You know that."
She
stared into his eyes, begging. "You’re the only one left who
can still keep up. Who will train with me?"
"There’s
more to life than fighting, Lana. You need a skill," he said.
"I
have a skill." Defending herself was an invaluable skill that
few women possessed.
"One
that matters, like… I don’t know." Bowen seemed to blush a
bit.
She
cut him off. "Cooking? Sewing? A skill more fit for a woman, so
that your mother would approve of me?" His eyes agreed with her
words and the realization sliced at Lana’s heart. She thought Bowen
would stand by her, but he had stopped dreaming. She stepped out of
his way.
What
do you say now, Father? she thought. You won, but not over your
anger. She kicked the ground and gritted her teeth. Walking away, she
struggled to listen over her footsteps, wishing that Bowen would
chase after her and beg her to forgive him for his lapse in judgment.
Instead, stillness affirmed her fear. He had deserted her.
Angela M Caldwell is an author, photographer, and digital filmmaker. She studied video production and photography at Radford Univeristy then relocated to Los Angeles for an adventure. After seven years of city life, she moved back to Virgina.
Angela loves a good story and she has a broad range of likes when it comes to reading. Give her characters that she can root for and take her on an adventure. Angela’s journey back to the written word is a story of its own with dyslexia keeping her from writing for years.
But, she is a storyteller at heart. Through the years, she enjoyed expressing her stories through a variety of forms: photography, painting, music, film-making, and writing.
She lives with her husband and 4 kids, who are her biggest fans. They have one dog, and two cats. Perhaps one day they will have a farm. And her dream of having a horse will be realized.
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