her fierce knight

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Book 5 in the Realm of Honor Series

Today’s post comes from my new release, Her Fierce Knight. This is the final book in the Realm of Honor fantasy romance series.

“How about whiskey?”

Ainthas stood and turned away from the table, walking across the dining hall to a high table on the other side. He grabbed two small cups and filled them with a pale amber liquid then walked back to her.

“I’ve never had whiskey.”

“Nor I. Shall we try it together?” He handed her the cup.

She held it between her palms and looked down into the liquid, smelling the sharp tang and smiling. “It smells delicious. And strong. Like I might get drunk on one sip.” She glanced up at him, her brows raised in question. “Or is that what you’re trying to do, your majesty?”

“Get you drunk? Why I never.”

She laughed. Together the two of them downed the drink in the same instance. It burned all the way down to her toes, giving her a lovely warming feeling and making her head thick. As though she’d suddenly grown fur between her earlobes. She laughed again. A hearty laugh that come from the belly up her throat. She held out her cup.

“Another.”

“Are you sure, your majesty?”

She wiggled the cup at him. “Another!”

He went back to the table, grabbed the decanter and returned to fill her cup and his. They clinked cups and then downed the drink together.

“How wonderful this is. I haven’t been this happy in ages.” She giggled.

“Did you know it’s the color of your eyes?” He held up the decanter, the amber liquid winking in the candlelight making it sparkle. “I’ve always thought so.”

“Have you?”

“I have.”

He set aside his cup and advanced around the table, walking in slow, silent steps like a big cat. As though he were on the prowl. Indeed, his mesmerizing green eyes sparked with desire and need. Everything she’d been feeling since the moment she saw him. She turned her back to the table and watched him approach. Her heart beat so hard, she was sure he heard it.

Ainthas pried the cup from her fingers and placed it on the table next to her. He pinned her between the table and his wall of muscle. She’d only noticed that for the first time. Gods, he was handsome. With that fall of silvery hair and those pale green eyes. She couldn’t stop from reaching up to brush away the locks from his forehead, letting her fingers glide through the strands and over his scalp.

I’m so excited. The final book in the Realm of Honor series, Her Fierce Knight, will be released August 28, 2014! So mark your calendars for release week because I’ll have all kinds of fun stuff happening here on the blog and over on Facebook.

To celebrate, here are the opening lines from the book. Enjoy!

Princess Laerwen emer’Aranhil Bloodfire stood on the dormant volcano and looked down into the ruin that was once her kingdom. Her gut clenched into a tight knot. The charred black earth still smoked from the recent fires. It still smelled of death. Homes had been burned to the ground. Some had stood centuries including that of the royal palace.

She had climbed this mountain numerous times as a child. She knew every handhold. Every foothold. Every nook and cranny. When things had gone to hell, the safest place for her—she knew—was here on the mountain. She’d paused halfway up to turn and watch the horror play out in front of her. Helpless, all she could do was wait for the sun to come up.

Now it had. The burning dawn revealed the loss of life and devastation.

Looking at the destruction below, one would expect such a result from a volcanic eruption. But the Hin’Dar Rhule had not exploded in thousands of years. This destruction was not from the lava that had once flowed. This was from the bloody Fomorians, a race they thought long imprisoned in the Sorrow Lands.

Laerwen wore the voluminous skirt and blouse, both bejeweled with shimmering stones against the red and green silken material, that she’d worn to the previous night’s ball. The matching sari was tossed over her shoulder, though she’d lost her veil somewhere in the fray. Glancing down at her attire, she seemed rather out of place in the aftermath of the attack. She jerked off the jewels on her head and flung them to the ground.

Hiram, her father’s advisor, trudged up the hill with a slow careful pace. He wasn’t as agile as he used to be and she was surprised he’d found her. His long cobalt tunic was smeared with a black streak of blood. The knees of his trousers had a mixture of blood and mud, as though he had knelt by someone’s side who might have been dying. His black hair stood in tufts about his dirt-smudged face. It was clear he had been running his long fingers through the thick locks over and over. Worry lines wrinkled his brow and around his mouth. Seeing it etched on his face so prominently did nothing for her nerves.

He paused next to her, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. They stood together to survey their ruined realm. He emitted a little gasp of horror and she knew it was the first he’d seen it from this vantage point. It looked far worse from this distance than on the ground in the midst of it. Tension emanated off him in waves. Tension and distress and sorrow.

“So many lost.” He whispered the words, but she still heard.

“Aye.” It was the only response she could force past the lump in her throat. She swallowed it hard, regaining her composure. “How did you find me?”

“Every Fire Elf knows this is your favorite place when you want solitude.”

And here she thought it to be her secret place.

Today I’m excited to reveal the cover for HER FIERCE KNIGHT, the fifth and final book in the Realm of Honor series. Isn’t it beautiful? I love it! I especially love the volcano in the background, which is a part of the story.

Here’s the official blurb too:

As the king’s health declines, Prince Ainthas takes the throne but his rule faces war with the Fomorians, enemies who have carved a path of devastation throughout the realm. When the Fire Elven princess, a striking beauty, arrives in his kingdom with a plea for help, he knows he cannot refuse her. Nor can he resist her and vows to fight for her hand from any challengers no matter the cost.

Princess Laerwen’s people are mercilessly massacred and facing annihilation, so she turns to the ones she blames—the Wood Elves. Upon meeting Ainthas, she learns who the true enemy is and enlists his help to regain her realm and destroy the Fomorians once and for all. But undeniable passion ignites between them and she is powerless to resist. And one kiss will never sate her desire for the prince. Even though she battles her growing feelings, he has made it quite clear he would do anything to have her.

When a twist of fate intervenes, Laerwen risks her heart for a seduction neither will forget and a love that will always endure.

No release date yet but it’s COMING SOON!

Really happy to report I finally finished the fifth and final book in the Realm of Honor series. I’m in the process of proofing it and then I’ll be turning it into my editor within the next two weeks.

In that final push to finish the book, I made myself write 5000 words that day. I knocked out about 1500 during my lunch hour and then parked my ass in my office chair and finished the damn book. I’m all about finishing he damn book. 🙂

So I’m excited to get it done and turned in so I can move on to the next book. Hm. What should I write next?

I thought I’d give you readers a treat. Here are the first 500 words from the book. Enjoy!

[Read more…] about Her Fierce Knight – Complete!