The Gifted Trilogy (EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY).

The bishop threw his master’s life’s work—the book, carefully wrapped in a burlap sack—into the fire at the priest’s feet. The burlap swiftly burned and curled, revealing the lambskin cover of the priceless book. It too began to burn.

The priest glanced over at the boy, a quiet question in his eyes.

The boy patted his shirt in response, reassuring his master, feeling the sacred pages next to his skin.

Go, child. Go! The boy shook his head in confusion; he could hear the priest, even though the old man’s parched lips moved not. 

The boy glanced over at the bishop, his face and grand robe dancing eerily in the heat waves between them. The bishop’s eyes narrowed, and he beckoned to the boy.

Run! Run, child!

Looking at his master one last time, the boy turned and fled into the night.

–an excerpt from BEGOTTEN, book one of The Gifted, by Lisa T. Bergren

He had returned to this same shore each day, searching for a glimpse of the woman, but the shutters on the high tower remained shut. No doubt it was cold in the small fortress. His eyes watched as a man dressed in a monk’s robes traded with another along the tower wall. He was not fooled. They were men dressed to appear as monks—to make the entire isle appear as a monastery. For the ships that passed in and out of the laguna, it provided adequate cover. But the men who fished these waters knew the truth and were either drawn to it, or repelled. Foul things were rumored to be happening inside the island’s walls.

This was the devil’s lair.

So why was the lady there? Had she been won over? Or was she held captive? Or had he been mistaken? Was it not her after all?

He finished hauling in his nets and cast one more glance toward the high walls that surrounded the island and the three guards in plain sight. He sighed heavily, wishing again that his God would allow him to rest, leave his gifting to others. He was getting to the age when he ought to be leaving the fishing to a son, cuddling grandchildren by the fire. But instead he was alone, as he had always been alone. The Lord had never allowed him a wife, as if preparing for this purpose alone. A purpose he had never wanted.

The fisherman went to the mast and hauled his sail upward. He shook his head to free it of the drenching rain and then blinked up into the sky that continued to send down showers. “I did not ask for this,” he said.

The old refrain was his answer. But it is your calling to trust and obey.

–an excerpt from BETRAYED, book two of The Gifted, by Lisa T. Bergren

Gianni moved forward and turned in a slow circle to look each of them in the eye. He understood the collective panic among them. “The Lord has seen this day. He has seen it. He knows what is to come, and none of it is a surprise to him. Should he allow it, we shall trust it, always praising his name. We do the greatest damage to our enemy by keeping to this path, always praising our God, no matter what we face—trial, trauma, or even death.”

“Dulcius post tribulations,” Piero said.

“‘Sweeter after difficulty,’” Daria translated.

“Sweeter after difficulty,” Gianni repeated. “The greater the trial, the more our Lord can triumph. No matter what is ahead of us, we shall not abandon our faith.”

–an excerpt from BLESSED, book three of The Gifted, by Lisa T. Bergren