A Single Act of Mercy: How One Choice Changed Everything

Every epic story begins with a decision. In my upcoming urban fantasy novel, Until the Shadows Peak, it’s a single moment of mercy that alters the fate of every realm connected to Earth and even beyond. Kade is a half-demon assassin, taken to hell as a toddler to be forged in brutality. All Kade knew from the moment on was pain. He was trained to kill without mercy, and without question. His existence was kill or be killed.

His final test in training was a simple mission: kill a child prophesied to bring light into a world that would soon be crawling with darkness. But when he looked into Clara's innocent eyes, something human stirred within him. He was reminded of his mother, reminded of the humanity he lost when he was brought to Hell as a toddler, torn from his mother's dead arms, and he can’t do it.

That moment defines the rest of the story. By sparing Clara and ensuring her safety, Kade betrays the Obsidian Order and sets himself on a path of exile, danger, and unexpected redemption. Years later, Clara is just beginning her life in Chicago, a life only made possible by Kade's simple act of mercy. She seems to have been protected from her dark fate and destined to bring forth the Child of Light, that is, until demons come hunting, and she must survive the night or risk the world losing its key to defeating an ancient evil. Clara's unborn daughter.

In this book, I wanted to explore the emotional weight of one unexpected, defiant choice. A choice that went against everything he was to allow him to become something more. Kade’s decision doesn’t just shift his path; it tangles his fate with Clara’s and the child she will one day have, ultimately setting the stage for a battle between light and dark in books to come.

Kade's choice to spare Clara is proof that one decision, even in the darkest of moments and the darkest of hearts, can ripple through lifetimes and change the world.