Apprenticed to Pleasure
Page 24
Ander strained, trying to keep from being crushed by the ravaging forces. He felt Thane’s desperate struggle to control the flow of power and flung himself into the effort. Sweat streamed down his face, and he shook from the pain of the ravaging energies.
The struggle for their lives ended as quickly as it had begun. A burst of light streamed through the kei, and they felt the distant leech shatter in an explosion of crystal fragments. Those linked to the machine, the sorcerer and the rest of the search party, screamed in shared agony as the released power tore through them. Thane cried out. Ander felt searing pain and instinctively severed his bond with the mage before it could overwhelm him.
He scrambled to Thane’s side, Nicolai and Sorel close behind. Thane had fallen backward and lay sprawled on the bare rock of the chamber’s floor. Smoke rose from beneath the medallion, and the smell of charred leather filled the air.
The knife Thane had used to adjust the medallion was still beside the cushion. Ander grabbed it and cut through the leather thong, then knocked the hot medallion away from Thane’s chest. A circle of charred leather on his shirt showed where the device had rested.
The mage took a ragged breath, wincing as burned skin moved against his shirt, then opened his eyes and sat up. Ander was too weak with relief to move.
“Let’s get out of here,” Thane said as he got to his feet. “We’ve won another chance to feel the sun and breathe clean air.”
They went to the door, still numb from their ordeal, and Nicolai lifted the crossbar out of its brackets. The door swung inward and admitted the roar of the waterfall along with a rush of cold air. The charred remains of four soldiers blocked the short passage to the trail. Ander and Sorel cleared a path, and they emerged from the smoke-filled murk of the fastness.
As Ander emerged from behind the curtain of water, he saw more bodies churning in the froth below. When they reached the top of the cliff, he collapsed on the ground beside Thane. The mage put an arm around his shoulders and leaned against him.
“We can’t rest long,” Thane said. “We have to cover all traces of the patrol and sorcerer being here. We’ve won this round, but the zamindar hasn’t been defeated. And now he knows that his sorcerers aren’t the sole masters of the kei.”
Ander only smiled. The joy filling him seemed at odds with the disaster they had just survived, but he couldn’t suppress it. He pressed against Thane, basking in the bond that pulsed warmly between them. “I’m ready.”
Coming Soon
Conjuring the Flesh
Pledged to Magic: Book 2—Sequel to Apprenticed to Pleasure
Ander’s days as a musician in a hall of companions are over. Initiation into a secret band of mages strained Ander’s body and dazzled his senses, but mastering the ecstasy required to perform magic was only part of the challenge. Fighting a tyrant’s scheme to seize the vast power concealed in the magical realm had nearly cost his life—and joining forces with Thane, the leader of the mages who use pleasure to gain power, has definitely cost him his heart.
Ander’s talent as a musician and his budding prowess with sex magic are no match for an empire’s legions, and even Thane’s brilliant plans can’t defeat the zamindar and his fearsome weapons. Ander and Thane will have to not only take their powers of ecstasy to new heights, but also confront Thane’s painful past, a past that may contain the key to overthrowing the tyranny that threatens not just them, but all they hold dear.
Sex Rites
Pledged to Magic: Book 3—Sequel to Conjuring the Flesh
Victory carries a price. Thane and Ander snatched the promise of immortality from a tyrant’s grasp, but now the zamindar will stop at nothing to regain what he lost. Even the sex magic practiced by Thane, his lover, and his mage initiates is no match for an empire’s legions.
Exiled and pursued, the freedom fighters’ quest for ancient secrets leads them to exotic lands and to Dannel, a young warrior whose fighting prowess is matched only by his frustration. Journeying far into the deepest, most forgotten heart of their lands, Thane, Ander, and their new companions will discover lost truths and a single stunning hope for the future... the hope that may save them all.
About the Author
BRANDON FOX’s first love was music, but he also started reading fantasy and science fiction at an early age. Inspired by recent novels with strong gay characters, he decided to start writing himself. He’s a romantic by nature, and nobody was surprised when M/M romance provided the heart of his character-centered stories. His writing has been ranked in the top 1,000 best-selling print books at Amazon and included on the Top 10 list in the erotica category.
Brandon met his partner in college, and they live in the Pacific Northwest where they enjoy hiking, camping, cooking, and keeping fit. They were married for a while, until a court waved its wand and made more than 3,000 marriages vanish. Their plan is to marry again when it becomes legal in their state or they win the lottery and can afford to move. Brandon is a believer in romance and thinks it will all work out in the end.
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Fantasy Romance from DREAMSPINNER PRESS
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