Nora Mercer Novels & Stories

“You’re awake.” Nora clutched the towel tighter around her chest, her pulse loud in her ears. “What do you want?” “We’re leaving.” She blinked. “Leaving?” He stepped closer, the air between them tightening. “Pack whatever you need. We’re heading back to Maford City.” The name hit her like a slap. Maford. The city she’d buried. The one that had eaten her alive and spat her out in pieces. “No,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “I’m not going back there.”

“Talk.” “I… I’m Nora,” she said, trying to steady her breath. “I’m a nurse at West End Clinic, in the city.” Her gaze flicked to my hands, like she wasn’t sure if she should keep going. “Sometimes I see things before they happen. I don’t control it. It just—hits.” She swallowed. “I saw a girl. Silver eyes with a thread of violet. Dark hair. Hurt. Badly. I heard someone call her Amelia.”

Keen eyes, dangerous in a way that only hinted at the wolf beneath. Those eyes flicked sideways. Not to meet mine. But beyond me. To Kaia. I caught it then. The slightest change in expression. Pride. Quiet. Simple. Easy to miss, if you weren’t looking for it. But there. Solid as the ground beneath his boots, as he watched his daughter stand where she had fought so hard to be. I looked past them both, and that was when I saw the rest. Emberbound. Nora was off to the side of the crowd, near the center. You couldn’t miss her even among a group. There was a strength to her now that didn’t need to announce itself.

But Jane’s relief died when she saw me walking twenty paces behind him in a simple, off-white dress. Sara Yoris froze. Her eyes locked onto my face, and her complexion turned a sickly shade of grey. "That girl... her name is Mercer?" "Yes, Mother," Jane said, trying to sound casual. "She’s a medic at the center. She’s with Noah Pierce, so I invited her along." "Are you sure she’s with Noah?" Sara’s voice was a frantic whisper. She looked at William, who was staring at me as if he’d seen a ghost from twenty years ago.

He looked terrified. "Stay in the car until I am halfway across the clearing," Nora told Marcus. Nora pushed her door open. She stepped out into the freezing wind. The red laser dot immediately snapped from the windshield back to her chest. It rested right over her heart. She ignored it. She closed the car door and began to walk. The snow crunched loudly under her heavy boots. The wind whipped her hair across her face. She kept her eyes locked on Kaelen. The mercenaries stopped walking. They stood twenty yards away.

He wasn’t in the mood for games. The woman tilted her head, an amused smirk forming on her lips. "I thought I made that clear over the phone," she said. Her voice was low but steady, carrying a weight of confidence. "You want Audrey, don’t you?" Frank said nothing, his silence an invitation for her to continue. She took a slow step toward him, her boots clicking softly against the concrete floor. "Well, your situation and mine aren’t so different," she said, her tone measured. "My name’s Nora. I used to work as your uncle’s assistant—until Audrey had me kicked out."

Luca walked in, flanked by a woman I hadn’t seen before. Tall. Built. Sharp eyes. She looked like she could break someone’s neck in one move and still walk off like nothing happened. Her hair was tied back, not a strand out of place. And the moment our eyes met—there was tension. Thick. Cold. Unspoken. Zarek noticed. “This is Nora,” he said, walking over to stand beside her. “She’s one of our top warriors. From today, she’ll be guarding you.” I tilted my head. “Guarding me?”

This time, the three of them were in the same pickle. Nora got out of the dungeon of the Dark Howlers pack only after taking a blood oath that she won’t disclose to Alpha Edward anything that could harm George, James, Drake, or Talia. James explained to Nora that she needed to keep quiet about Marcy, Talia, and anything else that happened at the Dark Howlers pack because if Alpha Edward suspects anything fishy, they will all be on the chopping block. The safest thing was for everyone to say how Marcy tricked them and no one saw it coming. Nora agreed to roll with it. She was desperate to stay in Alpha Edward’s good books. Besides, Alpha Edward knew that Nora was in the dungeon, so her story

"Nora Brooks. I'm an author. I wrote this world. All of it. The Temple. The Academy. The Flood. I was in an accident, and I woke up here." The chick was silent for a long moment. "That," it said finally, "is the most absurd thing I have ever heard." "I know right." "It is also, I believe, true." The small blue eye studied me. "The woman who sent you said someone would come in Nora's place." I froze. "The woman who sent me?" "She was in the dark water, when I was dying. She said I would know you by your kindness." The wing against my palm tightened. "She told me that you must never be allowed to learn why you were brought here."

A Shepherd flung himself from the saddle and ran, only to be swallowed by a dozen white eyed figures at the corner of the bakery. It was over in under a minute. Nora stood in the street with the emitter in her fist, shaking. The note died in her throat. In the sudden silence, she could hear her own heartbeat, and under it, very faintly, a soft, cold chime. [Host. A debt has been incurred.] She looked down. Blood was running from her nose, bright and warm, over her lips and chin, spattering the front of her suit. Host lifespan: 53 days, 11 hours.