The Final Battle

By T M Messler

The Habsburgs and the Ravengaulds have been at war for

centuries allying with other royal families set on eliminating

the other. On the night a million stars fell from the sky was the chosen one born? Gifted with special powers from the Gods, it was prophesized Hazel would end the Royal War dividing the Royal families for centuries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tina M Messler
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781734173826

Book preview

The Final Battle

Book One

The Royal Wars Series

A Novel by:

T.M. Messler

Copyright © 2019 Tina Messler.

Use of any part of this book without permission from the author or her representatives or agents is prohibited by law. All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transferred, modified, or used in part in any way and in any form without the express written consent of the author, Tina Messler and her agents or representatives. This book is a work of fiction.

ISBN: 978-1-7341738-0-2

Chapter One

Karrie Habsburg, living under the false name of Renee Welton, pulled into her slightly slanted and cracked concrete driveway at 1089 Southerly Lane in Parker, Colorado. She stopped her old reliable 2009 Subaru Outback hatchback, opened the garage door and waited until she could ease her car in. She was a little old fashioned, and her car didn’t beep when she almost hit something. Instead, she had a tennis ball hanging from a string—the kind that would hit your windshield as soon as you parked at the right depth. She waited until the tennis ball hit the windshield before putting her car into park. Karrie didn’t know why she had even bothered to park her car so perfectly but keeping in her routine would help calm her for what was about to happen. She looked one more time in her rearview mirror and saw her reflection; her sullen and tired eyes starting to turn gold with every second that passed, her petite lips trembling with worry. Her usually fair skin with peach undertones was flushed as her cheeks turned more crimson.

Then she saw it. The black Suburban that had been following her since she left her job at the local community college where she taught European History. She knew he’d found her. Her heart skipped a beat, and adrenaline was running through her veins. She felt herself beginning to sweat; the nervous sweat you get when you are getting pulled over, or in her case, when you know your life was in danger. She wouldn’t have much time. Now was when she wished she didn’t live in such a remote area. She could use a neighbor within earshot; someone who’d hear her scream and call for help. But she knew it was useless. Her closest neighbors were at least a half-mile away down the worn, paved road where she lived. She had picked the ranch-style home for that exact reason; that it was so remote. Karrie liked being near the foothills overlooking the countryside instead of the big city Denver that she was close to. She reached for the garage door opener on her sun visor and pushed the button to close the door. Karrie opened the driver side door of her Subaru and slowly leaned over to the passenger side, grabbed her worn, brown briefcase and dashed from the car. Her garage was attached to the home with the entrance leading into the kitchen.

Karrie’s kitchen was one of her favorite rooms. Karrie had lived here for 10 years without incident. She’d purchased the home when it was only two years old and hadn’t had any reason to renovate it. The kitchen was one of her favorite rooms. It was French country-style with massive, warm-colored cabinets and granite counter tops. The only changes Karrie had made was to incorporate brass into cabinet hardware, faucet, and lighting. She loved the feel of a French kitchen. It was inviting, reminiscent of simpler times, and invoked a friendly, familiar feeling. It reminded her of when she was a child, and her mother baked cookies with her. Her mother’s kitchen had been similar to this one and was one of the other reasons she had chosen this home. Anything to remind her of her old life and everything and everyone she had lost or had to leave behind.

It was so hard to say goodbye to loved ones even if it was for their own protection. She didn’t want anyone else to die because of her bloodline. She touched her long, slender ring finger, feeling the wedding ring she still wore. Thomas had given her the simple gold band with a small princess cut stone in the center. It was very dainty and elegant—a lot like her, he had said. It had been almost eleven years since he died, and she had to give her daughter up. She thought she had hidden so well this time that he wouldn’t find her. She was tired of running. Karrie had been running from him most of her life, but she’d almost felt a wave of relief wash over her when she knew it would end today. She would not be powerful enough to beat him on her own, and she still didn’t know what the amulet would do, so it was no use. 

The kitchen was an open concept and led straight into the living room with hardwood floors and a massive, multicolored area rug. It was furnished with a small taupe love seat and her favorite rocking chair where she would read and thought about how that was something she would never get to do again. There was a gas burning fireplace even though she preferred wood. Karrie dropped her briefcase on a barstool at the kitchen counter and began to scratch at her fake, short brown hair, before finally removing the wig hiding her long wavy auburn hair. A lot of good the wig did, she thought and tossed it aside. Karrie was of average height at 5’7" and thought that by wearing a wig and keeping her head down, she could go through life unnoticed in her small town. She wondered where she’d messed up and how he had found her. Then she wondered if he had found Hazel before remembering that Hazel was perfectly safe. They had spoken yesterday afternoon. Besides, there was no way that even if he knew about the academy.  Even if he did, he did not have the strength or resources to penetrate it. It was built like a fortress. Nope, there was no way Logan could know about the academy. It was a special place for people like her and Hazel.

Karrie had met Thomas Auguste at the academy—they had fallen in love instantly. Though he knew who she was, he still wanted to be with her regardless of the trouble that put him in. Karrie knew that falling in love and having a daughter was not in her life plan. But then you couldn’t plan for life; it just happened. Karrie had wanted to hear her beautiful daughter’s voice one last time but knew it wouldn’t be safe with him so close. She reached over to her briefcase and pulled out her chrome book and began to send Hazel the last email she would ever receive from her.

Hazel:

I love you very much. You are the best daughter anyone could have asked for. Your father would have been so proud to see what a beautiful young woman you have become. We both wish we could have watched you grow up, but you know it was not safe for you. Just think of your training, the skills you have learned and that there is a whole army of people who support you give me great comfort. I want you to know that neither one of us died in vain. We would do it all over again to protect you. Always remember, you are stronger than him, and you will end this war when you are ready.

Love Always

Mom

Tears were streaming down Karrie’s now pale face. The reality of what was about to happen had finally sunk in as she hit the send button on the tablet.  She got up from her bar stool, went over to the large porcelain farmhouse sink, and filled it with water. Once the water was high enough, she dropped the tablet into the sink and turned off the water. Karrie walked down the hall that lead to the extra bedroom and bathroom.  She used the room as an office. It had a small glass desk to keep things looking less cluttered and a couple of bookshelves on the wall. She had her degree from an online university hanging in her office as well. She had so wanted to study at Oxford or Cambridge, universities close to her homeland, but was afraid of the exposure. She needed things to be lower key and not to stand out. What better way to not stand out than not to be seen. She also preferred teaching online classes or hybrid classes. The less she left her home, the safer she felt. But somewhere she must have messed up but was unsure what she had done that had led Logan to her. 

There was a small, black two-drawer filing cabinet next to the desk. She pulled a necklace from around her neck and used the key on the end of it to open the file cabinet. Inside was a picture of Thomas and Hazel. She took the photo out of the frame and held it close to her chest. How she wished to go back to that day in the park. She wished she would have known he was coming; they would have been prepared. Thomas wouldn’t have died. Logan didn’t even want Thomas; no Logan had always only wanted to kill her and Hazel. Thomas was in the way that day, but he ended up saving their lives. But now there was no one there to save Karrie’s life, and Logan had found her once again. He had become too powerful for her to stop on her own. Karrie always knew that would be the case and that she was signing her death warrant the day Thomas died, when Karrie gave up Hazel to the academy. All Karrie could do was try to throw Logan off Hazel’s trail, giving the academy more time to prepare Hazel for the final battle.

Holding the picture of Thomas had given her new hope—she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Karrie knew she could not beat Logan, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him either. Logan had killed her brother, the love of her life and made her give up everything she cared about. She stared one more time at the picture of Thomas. The photo had been taken in the late 90s and he wore a green plaid flannel shirt with rolled-up sleeves, untucked with blue jeans and grunge looking black boots. His wavy ashy hair fell at his earlobes. He was standing next to a tree at the park in Salzburg, Austria, and had his intense cheerful eyes focused on their beautiful daughter in front of him. Hazel was wearing a yellow sundress and had just picked a pink flower to give to her number one daddy. Karrie couldn’t help herself but take a picture of the cute act.  She was glad she had this memory from that day. It helped cope with the pain from the tragedy.

BOOM! Karrie looked up as she heard Logan break down the front door. He had come for her. She quickly assessed the room and wondered why she had come into the office. She should have gone to her bedroom and tried to get the amulet. She didn’t know what it would do, but it was supposed to help right? Well at least if she didn’t have it, neither could he. Hopefully, he wouldn’t find it. She looked around the top of the desk and found a silver letter opener. Karrie got up quickly, leaving the photo on the desk and slipped into the closet. She thought with the element of surprise she might get one good shank in with her ability. She saw him enter the room; Royal Logan Ravengauld. He was a tall man but hunched over which gave a creepy wicked witch of the west vibe. It appeared that at any moment, he would rub his fists together in front of his chest while he spoke of his evil plans with a sinister laugh. The image alone was enough to give her nightmares. If he stood up straight, his demeanor was even more frightening. He hovered his 6’4", 235 lbs. frame over you. Logan was in his mid 50’s and losing his dark grey hair. Only a few whiskers on his sideburns remained of what was once flowing locks. Years of stress could do that to a man.

Karrie could see the blood-thirst in his eyes. It was as if you could see death through them. He moved like a scoundrel, lurking in the night and gave Karrie chills.  Karrie knew she only had a few seconds before he would discover her. It was now or never to make her move. She swung the closet door open and used her ability to manipulate wind to raise the letter opener to try and strike Logan in the back, but he was too quick for her. He grabbed Karrie’s arm and stopped her concentration, allowing the letter opener to fall to the ground. They struggled together for a moment until Logan gained the upper hand and was able to hold Karrie against the closet door with his force.

Now, now my dear, is this really necessary? Logan asked in a condescending voice pulling her closer to him. Karrie was disgusted by his closeness. He had a 5 o’clock shadow, and his musky breath smelled of the tuna salad sandwich he’d eaten for lunch. If that wasn’t bad enough, there were still remnants of the meal caught between his teeth.

Let go of me, Karrie demanded as she tried to pull herself from his grip. All she could think about was her daughter Hazel at that moment and prayed that she would never meet a fate like hers.

Karrie didn’t want Hazel to die like her father and uncle. That was why she’d sent her away to a special school when she was very young. There, Hazel would be safe from this man and his evil family. She hoped that the prophecy was true and that in Hazel’s lifetime she would see an end to this war that had plagued