by W. J. May
“He’s out this evening.” Sarah stared at Grace. “A meeting out of town.”
The butterflies settled a little, or maybe one managed to escape. I clenched my teeth together. Urrgghh...I hated being nervous.
“Is it okay if we watch a movie in here? If you’ve got work to do...” Grace spoke oblivious to my inner battle.
“Go ahead. I’m going to clean the kitchen then run some errands.” As she stood, a beautiful silver pendant caught my eye. I leaned slightly closer to see the detail but never got the chance. Sarah tucked it inside her blouse.
We settled in to watch the movie. I didn’t remember half of it; my mind kept wandering back to the boy upstairs.
When it finished we both stretched and headed to the hall. “I’d better get you home. Heaven forbid I get you in trouble.”
I laughed. “You won’t. Jim and Sally aren’t much bothered when I come or go.” I sighed when I realized I didn’t have my key. “Shoot! I left my purse upstairs.” I pictured it where I’d dropped it in her closest on one of the shelves. “Just let me run up and grab it.”
“I’m gonna grab a bottle of water. Want one too?” Grace turned back towards the living room and the kitchen beyond.
“Sure.” I darted up the stairs two at a time, counting my steps. I sneaked a quick peek down the empty, door-closed hall.
My purse lay right where I’d left it. Head down I checked for my keys as I ran out of Grace’s room. I glanced up in time to bump straight into someone’s chest. Michael’s. His hands reached for my elbows. I froze. He smelled so good – husky, masculine and something that made me want to close my eyes and inhale so deeply the scent saturated my lungs.
It took all my willpower to step back. Why he didn’t move away first skittered across my mind.
“Sorry,” I whispered. “Didn’t see you.”
“It’s fine.” His voice came out husky.
“Did you find it?” Grace called out from the bottom of the stairs.
Michael flinched and dropped his hands. He stepped aside to let me by. “Sorry.”
For bumping into me? Or for earlier? I had no idea.
“Good night, Rouge,” he spoke quietly. The way he said my name, I would have done anything he wanted. No one had ever put that much meaning into one little word.
END OF EXCERPT
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Hidden Secrets Saga:
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Marked by Destiny
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Book Trailer:
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Book Blurb:
Like most teenagers, Rouge is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to be. With little knowledge about her past, she has questions but has never tried to find the answers. Everything changes when she befriends a strangely intoxicating family. Siblings Grace and Michael, appear to have secrets which seem connected to Rouge. Her hunch is confirmed when a horrible incident occurs at an outdoor party. Rouge may be the only one who can find the answer.
An ancient journal, a Sioghra necklace and a special mark force life-altering decisions for a girl who grew up unprepared to fight for her life or others.
All secrets have a cost and Rouge's determination to find the truth can only lead to trouble...or something even more sinister.
Rae of Hope is FREE!
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BOOK BLURB:
How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?
Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.
Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?
As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.
RADIUM HALOS - THE SENSELESS SERIES
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Book Blurb:
Everyone needs to be a hero at one point in their life.
The small town of Elliot Lake will never be the same again.
Caught in a sudden thunderstorm, Zoe, a high school senior from Elliot Lake, and five of her friends take shelter in an abandoned uranium mine. Over the next few days, Zoe's hearing sharpens drastically, beyond what any normal human being can detect. She tells her friends, only to learn that four others have an increased sense as well. Only Kieran, the new boy from Scotland, isn't affected.
Fashioning themselves into superheroes, the group tries to stop the strange occurrences happening in their little town. Muggings, breakins, disappearances, and murder begin to hit too close to home. It leads the team to think someone knows about their secret - someone who wants them all dead.
An incredulous group of heroes. A traitor in the midst. Some dreams are written in blood.
Shadow of Doubt
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZK09Fe7kgA
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Book Blurb:
What happens when you fall for the one you are forbidden to love?
Erebus is a bit of a lost soul. He's a guy so he should be out to have fun but unlike the rest of his kind, he is solemn and withdrawn. That is, until he meets Aurora, a law student at Cornell University. His entire world is shaken. Feelings he's never had and urges he's never understood take over. These strange longings drive him to question everything about himself
When a jealous ex stalks back into his life, he must decide if he is willing to risk everything to be with Aurora. His desire for her could destroy her, or worse, erase his own existence forever.
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Story 5 – Queen’s Honor by Mande Matthews
QUEEN’S HONOR
Tales of Lady Guinevere
* * *
Book I: Betrothal
By
Mande Matthews
PUBLISHED BY:
Guardian Tree Press
Queens Honor: Book I - Betrothal
Copyright 2012 by Mande Matthews
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Dedication
I remember the first moment I saw you;
Like a magnetic pull from across the room,
My eyes lifted to meet yours,
And I was both lost and found
In you forever...
Inspired by my very own Sir Lancelot,
I am always and eternally yours.
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QUEEN'S HONOR
Tales of Lady Guinevere
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Book I: Betrothal
A Note
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As I sit cloistered behind these stone walls, I have many regrets—regrets of Arthur, of not seeing him clearly, of words left unspoken, of time lost—but most of all, I regret I did not recognize I possessed the power to change it all.
- Guinevere, Queen of Camelot
The 6th day of November in the year of our Lord 536
Written from the abbey at Amesbury
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Chapter 1
- The 15th day of May in the year of our Lord 533
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I missed the warning signs: the smoke on the horizon, the absence of chittering birds as I snuck down the ramparts with my falcon on my wrist and Elibel on my heels and the meadow's hum underfoot as I raced for the freedom of the forest. None of these sensations signaled me to stop and return to the safety of Camelaird.
Once I reached the woods, I ran with my arms outstretched, catching the air against my skin as my feet pounded over the tangled forest floor beneath me. The scent of pine replaced the smell of smoke, and my heart thumped harder to keep pace. Aethelwine flapped his good wing, gripping his sharp claws against the leather glove strapped to my forearm. I curled my fingers tighter around his talons, steadying him so he wouldn't fall. His silver-blue feathers ruffled in the breeze as he stretched his neck out to meet the wind. He cried out—a long, sharp call—as excited as I was for our escape.
"Guin!" called Elibel from behind me. Her footfalls sounded softer than mine, and slower. "Guinevere! I cannot keep up!"
"You wanted to come!" I yelled back at my cousin.
The material of my gown bunched between my legs as I sprinted, threatening to trip me, but I had grown used to carrying the extra weight of a maiden's attire over the past few seasons and kept flying along at a quickened stride.
"You said you were taking Aethelwine for a stroll, not a race!"
Elibel's breath labored behind me and a pang of guilt over her frailty swelled in my chest. My limbs slowed, though they remained reluctant to come to a complete stop.
"Besides, your father would not be pleased in knowing you ventured this far from Camelaird without a proper escort."
I swiveled to face my cousin, with Aethelwine still riding atop my hand. The falcon twisted his head toward me, and blinked, questioning our pause.
My cousin stopped and bent at her waist, heaving for air. The shiny braid of her hair fell in front of her, reaching down past her knees in her stooped condition. Waves of black escaped around her forehead and neck like trailing ivy. Her emerald dress splayed over the ground, while a secondary skirt peeked from beneath it, matching the silver threads of her overdress. She glanced up at me, huffing, yet hiding her annoyance behind round eyes that overpowered the rest of her features; her mouth and nose looked tiny in comparison. I fancied her a fey in that moment, with the kind of beauty an otherworldly being possessed. And yet, it was my attractiveness—unjustly concocted—that the bards proclaimed to every Briton. In truth, next to my cousin, I appeared awkward and pale. My skin nearly glowed with its whiteness and my bark brown hair seemed dull compared to the satiny darkness of Elibel's.
"It's unfair to keep Aethelwine cooped up in that dreary fortress, forced to sit on a perch all day long."
"He's lame, Guin. He'll never fly. Why worry yourself so?" Elibel squeezed out between breaths.
"Just because one is broken in youth, does not mean they should give up on life," I said with annoyance as I turned from Elibel.
A stream babbled in the distance and I picked my way over fallen branches, toward the water. The noonday sun filtered through the treetops, streaming yellow beams through the pines as if lighting a path to the creek.
"Are you sure this is regarding Aethelwine?" Elibel called at my back. "And not the suitor who was in your father's court this morning?"
I shrugged, intent on reaching the brook, but her comment sent uncomfortable shivers up my spine.
Clear water pooled over rocks, creating a miniature waterfall. The stream collected in a pond a few paces down from where I walked. I hopped from stone to stone, balancing with my arms out as Aethelwine bobbed his head with each jump I made. The rush of the stream calmed my racing heart as I settled on a spot low enough to reach the pool without wetting my skirts—not because I feared a little dampness, but because I could do without the reproach from my father when I returned and he wondered what unladylike adventures I had indulged in. Not to mention, if a soiled dress betrayed my escape, he would double my guard.
Elibel caught up and settled next to me, arranging her own dress as if sitting for a painter. I lowered my hand; Aethelwine hopped down, and began pecking for bugs in the moss that glossed over the stones.
"Rumor says it was King Melwas who arrived to seek your hand this morn."
I shrugged again, staring into the murky depths of the pool.
"They say he's a handsome man—strong of build and tall of frame, with a comely face and his reign stretches across all of the Summer Lands."
A shaft of light shimmered on the surface of the pond. For a moment, the rocks beneath lit and I spotted a whirl of movement—three golden fish swished in and out of view.
"Did you see that?" I pointed to where they had vanished.
Elibel followed my line of sight, shaking her head. "Marriage would not be so terrible, Guin."
"In the pool," I said again, "three gold colored fish."
"Goldfish?" Elibel's eyes softened and she smiled. "There are only trout in these creeks, Guin. And, minnows."
Another wriggle. A flash darted through the murk. "There! See!"
Elibel searched the pond then shook her head again. "No, Guin. I don't see. But perhaps..."
"What?"
"I cannot say."
"Say what, Elibel?"
Elibel lowered her voice. "Your father has forbidden anyone to speak of it."
"You mean, of my mother?"
She nodded. Thick lashes swept downward, shading her enormous eyes from my view.
"You are my most beloved friend, Elibel. You can confide anything in me."
Rumors abound of the late Queen of Camelaird, her heritage, her hatred of my father, and mostly, of the circumstances of her disappearance from Camelaird eleven seasons passed. Of course these whispers were kept from my ears, spoken in low tones in dark corridors, or when my back was turned. I heard them anyway, though no one would speak directly to me on the subject.
Elibel's eyes darted with nervousness as if fearing we would be overheard. She whispered, "You have your mother's blood."
"Well, clearly!" I blurted and laughed.
Startled at my misplaced humor, and most likely reasoning that this was no light matter, Elibel's voice strengthened and her eyes steadied. "I mean the blood of the old ones runs through you, Guin. Maybe your ability to see fish that I cannot see means you..." She hesitated then added, "Such talk is blasphemous."
"You think seeing the fish means something?"
She shrugged.
"An omen, perhaps?"
Her shoulders hunched again, indicating her unwillingness to acknowledge the subject any further.
"Was my mother a druid?" The question had lingered on my tongue for years, though
I never dared to speak it; now the words raced ahead of me before I could rein them back into my mouth. I am not sure that I even wanted to know the answer. If it were true, my father's protestations to the Church of Jesu and his strict adherence that I follow a righteous path made more sense; he feared immorality lurked within me. "I hear whispers, Elibel, that she descended directly from the House of Don. Was she a sorceress?"
"You don't remember her at all?"
Tightness formed in my chest as my memories hit blackness. "But you do, don't you, cousin?"
Elibel nodded.
"And you will not speak of her?"
She sought my face with her giant eyes, and I knew I could not press her any further. I would not be the cause of pain or punishment for her, or for anyone else for that matter.
Reaching down, I smoothed my hand across Aethelwine's feathers. He fluffed at my show of affection and softly pecked my hand with his beak in return.
"If it were up to me, I would never wed," I announced, changing the subject for my cousin's benefit.
"I fear it is not your choice, cousin." Elibel's tone weakened. "Why do you think marriage is such a dire fate?"
"If I were not a prize to be traded and sold for the price of kingship, or if marriage were based on the love of two souls then perhaps it wouldn't be. But I do not possess such liberties."
"You do not believe that love can grow from such an arrangement?"
Aethelwine released my fingers and switched his head side to side with a quick jerk and blinked, the centers of his eyes pinning. He let out a short cry.