It's Monday....so....I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at the Prologue of Brightest Hour. So, without further ado:

 

PROLOGUE

"Since you have confessed to the murder," the frail judge's voice was barely loud enough to be heard throughout the square. Silence fell in anticipation of what he would say, "Then you are sentenced to death in this young man's stead. Guard, place the noose around her neck."

            Astonished cries flooded Catherine's ears, but nothing could be louder than the pounding of her own heart. She would gladly trade her life for that of the man she loved. But what about the life growing inside of her? She had gambled, thinking the baby's life would be what saved them all, but she had failed. 

            One thing was for certain: she would not be afraid. Catherine held her head up, allowing the cold wind to whip her hair around her face. Silently, she asked forgiveness for her sins as she felt the roughness of the rope tighten around her neck. Another guard appeared and worked at tying her hands together in front of her.

            The heartache was over now, she supposed. For so long she had been weary in spirit and now it came to an end, albeit not the ending she had dreamed of when she was only fifteen and young and silly. She silently waited for the guard to begin counting the moments until her death.  Slowly, she moved her tied hands to her belly, and there they rested; Catherine wondered if this would be the closest she would ever come to holding her child.  She thought of the father of the life growing inside of her.  She thought of saving her love’s life and sacrificing herself for his sake.  She thought of him as she had countless times before. 

            She thought of him, and she smiled.

I hope you enjoyed it! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about it. To see what happens to Catherine, check out Brightest Hour, available this Saturday on Amazon's Kindle Shop. Before I bid adieu, I want to leave you with the song I am currently OBSESSED with from one of my new favorite films (and not to mention favorite books) The Great Gatsby: Lana Del Ray's "Young and Beautiful."