Defy (Defy, Book 1) (Defy Trilogy, Band 1) - Hardcover

Sara B. Larson is the author of the acclaimed young adult fantasy Defy trilogy: Defy, Ignite, and Endure; and Dark Breaks the Dawn, the first book of a duology. She can't remember a time when she didn't write books -- although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband and their children. When she's not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting of her sugar addiction. You can visit her online at SaraBLarson.com.

From DEFY"Have you ever heard the theory that it is better for one man to die, than an entire nation to suffer? Do you believe that to be true? Is it ever okay to take a life in hopes of saving others?" Prince Damian took a step closer to me, so that I had to tip my head back farther to keep looking up into his eyes. I'd never felt so aware of just how tall he was before. "I think so." I didn't know what to do with him standing so close -- close enough that I could feel the heat from his body. My heart beat erratically and my fingers tingled for some reason. I forced my face to remain impassive. I drew on all of my training, all of the practice I'd had over the years pretending to be a boy, to maintain my composure. With a much steadier, lower voice, I said, "Who's life are you thinking of taking?" "Don't do that with me," he replied, staring down at me with a look of almost hunger on his face. "We're too much alike to pretend with each other. At least when we're alone, let's be who we truly are." The intensity of his gaze nearly made me tremble. No one knew me as I truly was, except for Marcel, and he was gone. But here was Damian, the strikingly handsome, sometimes capricious, sometimes gentle Prince of Antion, asking me to allow him past the guise I'd been holding up to the world since my parents died. How could I do that when all I had done for so long was train to guard him -- and make sure he never realized that deep down inside, buried where no one could see, his best fighter was actually just a frightened girl?