Happy Release Day!
I’m so excited that today is the day Twisted Loyalties is available in the wild! Both in ebook format at all the usual retailers, and in print that you can hold in your hand!
One of the hardest parts of publishing for me, (and I suspect for many writers) is the delay between me being done with a book, and readers getting to see it. Even in self-publishing, it takes time to get the art together, to get the final rounds of edits, to look at proofs, and generally to make sure everything is as good as it can be. I finish a book and I have to wait and anyone who knows me knows how much I hate waiting.
But now, the wait is over, and I can share book 2 with you. I really hope you enjoy it. I love this world, and these characters, and the story they have to tell.
In Twisted Loyalties, you’ll get to see more of Korin’s world, and the forces that move it. So today, as a preview, I want to share an excerpt and introduce you to a new character: Sheluna zhi Darkivel.
Sheluna is the Archwizard of the Wing, an order of wizards that has historically had conflict with Korin’s order of the Staff. She’s arrived in Triome, and has taken an interest in Korin, but whether she is friend or foe remains to be seen.
The garden was lush and thick, with walkways leading between broad-leaved greenery and bright, oversized flowers. Voices filtered through the garden—talking, laughing. And other sounds. Animal sounds. A screech. A cry. A growl. As the sea breeze stirred branches and stems, Korin caught sight of the people on the roof as they lounged in or walked through the garden. Mostly elegant wizards in black. Wing wizards, with a menagerie of familiars. No question about it—Korin did not belong here.
The order of the Wing had been the first of the wizard orders. Its founder had created the whole system. That creator—the very first Archwizard—had been a Darkivel. Since then, while the other orders had expanded and evolved over time, the order of the Wing had always been led by a Darkivel. The leadership passed down like clockwork, always grandparent to grandchild, with one gifted child born every other generation.
In combination with the strange red eyes that marked every gifted Darkivel child, along with the credible rumors of the family’s dealings with demons and outsiders—not to mention the brutal deaths the family’s enemies tended to suffer—suffice to say, the Darkivels had a reputation. They were heroes now, but that was more a testament to the hatred the world had turned on Ulek and the knights than any noble quality the Darkivel’s had demonstrated.
And now Sheluna zhi Darkivel wanted to see Korin.
Samir waved Korin forward. No guards at the door, no servants to announce Korin’s presence. Why should there be? No one would dare to intrude on Archwizard Sheluna’s sanctuary without an invitation. Even with an invitation, Korin had to steel himself to continue.
In Ulek, Korin had met plenty of Wing wizards. To the last, they’d been haughty, self-involved, and over-impressed with their own abilities. Darkivel Archwizards had a long history of flaunting their power, their untouchable position, to play fast and loose with the laws their own ancestor had created. The rest of the Wing order took their cues from there. As a wizard of another order, Korin should have been no business of Sheluna’s. She had no authority over him. No right to summon him. No reason to take any interest in him at all.
As Korin passed into the shade, a cool wave of air passed over him and made him shiver. For the first time since he’d arrived in Triome, Korin wasn’t dressed warm enough. It was magic, of course, cooling the rooftop to an environment comfortable for southern wizards in their dark, heavy clothes. It reminded Korin of the lands he’d left behind. The lands he didn’t miss.
Korin crossed the roof, and the voices around him dropped to whispers.
On the far side, the trees and bushes opened up on a mosaicked circle with a fountain in the center and a ring of couches and benches. A dozen wizards sat in comfortable arrangement. Cats and dogs and lizards and birds darted about in a chaos that defied counting.
At the center of everything, Archwizard Sheluna. She reclined on a pile of cushions arranged on one of the couches, her silver-blonde hair loose across her shoulders and her red eyes glowing. She wore a flowing dress of black velvet, embroidered in blue and gold with the sigils of the Wing and the Darkivel crest. Too heavy for Triome's weather. Flaunting the fact she didn’t have to care.
As Korin stepped into the open area, Sheluna looked over at him, a sweet smile spreading across her lovely face. “Oh, finally. Our guest has arrived.”
Soft pressure against the small of Korin’s back. He turned to look, and froze.
A tiger, its head level with Korin’s chest, stared back.
So here it is. I hope you love it!