I thought today would be a good time to post an excerpt. Promise, I won't prattle on this time. If you like the excerpt, though, please considering purchasing a copy from Amazon. It will be available in paperback in November and other ebook retailers in January!
And now part of the beginning of Tessa's and Bastian's story...
Tessa inhaled his scent, sweat and spice. He must have used clove oil in his wash water. She felt his longing rise with the close proximity of their bodies, and her own hunger heightened, a warmth tickling her insides.
“What brings a witch hunter to a small town in Shandipur Province?” She lifted her hand and traced her finger along his shirt. His muscles tensed under her touch.
He watched the path of her finger. “Just traveling; no particular job. Funny thing, that’s usually how I find them.”
A twinge, an inharmonic chord, passed through Tessa. Something in his statement felt like a lie. “You must have incredible luck.” She lifted his chin to gaze in his green eyes. “You thought you might find a witch in Sierka?”
He opened his mouth and inhaled sharply.
Bastian attempted to encircle her waist and pull her closer, but Tessa stepped back. She shouldn’t have done that, shouldn’t have gotten so close. So she turned to the starry sky, hoping she could regain her will. The wave rolling off Bastian jumped, still a surge of desire, but confused hiccups marred the consistency.
“Did you think you’d find a witch here? You didn’t answer me.”
Bastian’s emotions drew in. “They can be anywhere.”
Tessa recalled a story her mother had told her as a child – a good distraction. “Well, I think you’re right. There’s one here.”
He moved next to her, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. “What?” All his desire vanished, replaced by eagerness and alarm. And something else underneath, darker and more feral.
“There, the constellation.” Tessa pointed. “The story of the witch in the sky. She follows you, even in a town like Sierka.”
Bastian removed his hand from his sword, the beast inside him quieting. “Yes, I know, but that one’s already dead. The sun is her head, rolling through the sky by day, soaked in blood.”
“So gruesome. My mother told me she’d find her head one day and have her revenge.” Tessa laughed. “Fairy tales.” A tale Tessa wished would come true. If it weren’t for that first witch hunter, she wouldn’t be anguishing over the one standing next to her.
He loosened his hold on seriousness, laughing with her. “She’d never do it. The witch hunter who got her, she’s on the other side of the sky.”
A witch who believes one of her own kind could never kill...
In a world where people believe the crimson sun is a dead witch’s head and the witch hunter who killed her stalks the night sky, a witch who ventures outside of Haven risks losing her life. Tessa is one such witch. Like many of her kind, she hopes to help the people of Leera, not harm them, and she’s on her first mission to heal an ailing man named Jeremiah. But when she crosses paths with a witch hunter, instead of avoiding him like she knows she should, she succumbs to her desires and ends up in his bed.
The local Enforcers believe a witch is behind Jeremiah’s sickness, so they call Bastian to town. He’s a young witch hunter who normally has a knack for sniffing out witches. But when he runs into the striking Tessa, she scrambles his senses. He’s inexplicably drawn to her and abandons his usually cautious nature.
As Tessa and Bastian uncover clues about Jeremiah’s illness, Tessa has to face the possibility that another witch may have had a hand in the incident. And if Bastian learns she’s a witch, he may point his finger at her. Then her head will surely roll.
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