Molly M. Hammond is here to tell us about Queen of Starlight, fantasy.
Read on for details...
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Fantasy
Date Published: September 14, 2026
The stars gave her power. The darkness will give her a crown.
A year after defeating the evil wizard army, the elves of Edira prosper, yet
Luma, the Daughter of Starlight, senses something is amiss. Shadows move where
light should reign, and ominous whispers fill her mind, hinting that this
hard-won peace may be more fragile than anyone realizes.
Soon, attacks by a vicious darkness confirm her fears, and Edira is not the
only world under threat. Malicath, home of the wizards, faces the same
darkness, which drains and corrupts magic, including Luma’s own powerful
starlight.
Faced with a shared enemy, Luma and the elves form a tenuous alliance with the
wizards. Together, they search for the Unseen Star, an ancient magical relic
capable of restoring balance to both their worlds. But as the darkness grows
stronger and time runs out, Luma realizes that all magic demands a
price—and this one may be more than she can pay.
Return to the magical world of Edira in this sequel to the multi-award-winning
fantasy, Daughter of Starlight.
About the Author
Molly is passionate about crafting meaningful moments and heartfelt narratives
in fantasy-adventure stories brimming with magic and mystery. An unapologetic
language nerd, she earned a degree in English and Communication, laying a
strong foundation for her writing career. Not stopping there, Molly pursued a
second degree in American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting. As an avid runner,
Molly often gets her best story ideas while running and remains outraged that
those ideas do not then present themselves, fully formed, on the page. When
she’s not running, writing, or interpreting, Molly can often be found
taking an excessive number of photos of her dog, Bungee, and her two cats,
Rose and Clover. Molly lives in the beautiful St. Croix River Valley of
Minnesota with her husband and two sons, who bring her joy every day.
Be evil. (Except, y’know, when someone’s in trouble, or might need a rescue out of an open grave, things like that.)
Adopt new members. (At least, Fenric would love to keep the sexy bard, but would Lirion even want to join them?)
Retrieve Fenric’s mother’s stolen treasures (and beat up the heroes who stole them if possible)
Rescue Lirion’s sister and wait, what do you mean breaking up a sex ring and helping a village from being overrun by finfolk LOWERED our villain rankings overnight?
Future Goals: climb the villain rankings, find a lair, get revenge, and trash talk The Box
Welcome and try not to die (but if you do our necromancer will raise you).
This book contains: questionable baking practices, Tub Time™, and emotional support pecs.
Tags:
LitRPG, gay romance, shapeshifting, high fantasy, possessed clubs, accidental poisonings, chosen family, heroes vs. villains, band of brothers, a shapeshifting rogue, an elf necromancer, a loquacious barbarian, a warlock with a talking stick, a half-merman pirate, a poisonous Puppy, quest of vengeance, Fenric’s not sure how he became the mother hen of the group, Maxie doesn’t need more seduction lessons, Lirion begs to differ, Tub Time is sacred, incompetence can be sexy, apparently, High Seas Hijinks, another example of a bard f*cking his way in AND out of trouble, if villain bad, why hot?, calling all passengers: Hop on board, the shenanigan ship is about to sail! Skelebabies
“The only problem is that no one knows how things are ranked. The ministry has always kept that a tight secret,” Malfas joined in. “No one knows if they view kidnapping a family of five as more or less evil than killing a priest of say, Sabu.”
“Or is kidnapping a family of five farmers worse than kidnapping a family of three nobles? No one knows!” Rain whined.
Malfas nodded. “These are the kinds of things we need to know if we’re going to climb the rankings.”
Fenric scoffed. “Or even get on the list.”
“E.V.I.L. isn’t currently on the list? How big is the list?” Maxie asked as he turned to pour the eggs onto the hot skillet.
“Twenty spots each. Top twenty heroes and top twenty villains,” Rain answered.
“After all the information is gathered, the minister meets with his twenty chancellors,” Fenric continued to keep Rain from heading down the path of listing all the reason why those twenty villains didn’t deserve to be on the list at all. “They compare the new information with the last released rankings and discuss the results. Following a month of debate, the Ministry of Hero and Villain Affairs releases both lists.”
“But it’s all bullshit!” Rain roared, pounding on the table some more. “Everyone knows that both sides are bribing the hell out of the minister and his fucking flunkies so they get listed higher than they deserve. Brickle the Beast keeps paying his way into the number nineteen slot on the villains, and I wouldn’t let that nose-picking shit-stealer lick my boots. He’s an idiot. He’s sank more ships than I’ve even owned.”
“And the heroes aren’t any better.” Malfas grumbled as he watched Maxie move the eggs around in the pan with a spatula.
Sadly, despite knowing that the food was probably poisoned, Fenric couldn’t deny a delicious aroma was starting to drift from the kitchen. Was that part of the poison at work? Did Maxie’s magic actually try to entice you into eating his food? That was fucking sinister.
“I’ve heard plenty of people state that at least seventeen of the twenty spots on the heroes’ list are bought and paid for with bribes,” Malfas continued.
“More like all twenty,” Rain grumbled.
“But why are the lists so important,” Maxie inquired. He crossed to one of the cabinets and pulled down a chipped wooden plate. “It doesn’t seem like something that people would care enough about to bribe their way onto it. Especially the villains. You’re all so badbums and amazing.”
Fenric winced. May the gods fucking forgive him, but someone needed to teach Maxie how to properly swear. “That’s badass, you mean,” he corrected. “Badass.”
Maxie smiled brilliantly at him. “Yes, badass.”
Rain snickered and Fenric kicked the pirate under the table, causing him to howl.
“The heroes care about the list because they receive a very healthy stipend from the government for appearing on the list. Higher on the list they are, the more they receive,” Malfas explained.
“But isn’t that to help save on military and public service fees. The main government and small local governments don’t need to keep large watches and guards because of the heroes,” Maxie replied. He picked up the spatula and started scooping fluffy scrambled eggs onto the plate.
“That would be true if the heroes weren’t as corrupt as hell and more dangerous than most villains,” Rain countered.
Maxie wilted. “Oh.” He placed the plate on the counter near the stove. Even from where Fenric sat at the table, he could see that those were the damn fluffiest scrambled eggs he’d seen in his life. He was tempted to give them a taste even though he knew they had to be deadly.
“Villains obviously don’t get a government paycheck for being evil. However, being on the list clears away headaches sometimes and opens up opportunities,” Fenric continued, trying to ignore the sudden rumbling of his stomach.
Maxie blinked wide eyes. “I beg your pardon?”
“Little peon, weak villains will steer clear of you if you’re on the list,” Rain said.
“And opportunities arise when you have a big scheme but can’t do it all yourself. This means you have to hire in more help—like an experienced pirate with a ship or a necromancer,” Malfas explained. He pinched a fluffy chunk of egg between two fingers and held it up to the sunlight pouring through one of the windows, inspecting it.
“Or a powerful warlock and a rogue thief good at sneaking,” Maxie continued.
“Exactly! If you’re on the list, you’ve proven yourself as a badass and can command a higher cut of the booty at the end of the job.”
And without a thought in his fucking head, Malfas popped that egg into his mouth and chewed happily, looking so proud of himself for giving Maxie such valuable and important information.
“Malfas!” Fenric shouted while Maxie stared in horror.
“What?” The warlock was still clueless.
Rain fell out of his chair laughing. The damn pirate rolled on the floor, knocking into chairs, cackling like a lunatic, while the poor warlock continued to look on utterly confused. But the realization hit him finally, and all the color drained from his face.
“What did I do?” he gasped.
“Is there a chance it wasn’t poisoned?” Maxie asked in a small voice.
“Nope. It was poisoned.” His voice was growing tighter as his hands lifted to clutch his stomach. He flashed Maxie a weak smile as he started to curl his body slowly toward the floor. “The eggs were, ungh, delicious though. Best I’ve ever eaten.”
Fenric scoffed. “Probably the last too.”
“I think I’ll go find Hapi,” Maxie offered, already starting to run for the stairs.
“And tell him to bring some skelebabies. I’m not dragging his corpse into the yard,” Fenric yelled after him.
Author Bio:
AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.
She currently resides in Michigan with aforementioned dogs and cats. Being in snow country gives her the excuse to stay inside and watch bl dramas, which suit her perfectly.
You can find AJ in all the places here: https://mailchi.mp/83b827b73069/aj-sherwood
Jocelynn Drake loves a good story, whether she is reading it or writing one of her own. Over the years, her stories have allowed her to explore space, talk to dragons, dodge bullets with assassins, hang with vampires, and fall in love again and again.
This former Kentucky girl has moved up, down, and across the U.S. with her husband. Recently, they’ve settled near the Rockies.
When she is not hammering away at her keyboard or curled up with a book, she can be found walking her dog Ace, or playing video games. She loves Bruce Wayne, Ezio Auditore, travel, tattoos, explosions, and fast cars.
You can find Jocelynn in all the places here: https://linktr.ee/jocelynndrake
—
Thanks so much for reading today's post. Hope
you enjoyed it!
S.M. Gray is here to reveal the cover for the fantasy, romance Blood in the Azure.
Read on for details...
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Blood in the Azure
S.M. Gray
Publication date: March 1st 2027
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Keep the crown. It had been Len’s only goal for six years, before which it had been to take the damn thing. As Serica’s first ruling queen in centuries, she’s managed to stay on her throne through force of will and a growing trail of blood. For a time, her crown felt safe. Then Bardan Alimen, her lifelong betrothed, called to fulfill their marriage. With no coin to buy her freedom and an enemy force too strong to attack, Len feels her crown slipping from her grasp.
Then, an idea: she can escape wedding one king by marrying another.
Kaseus Collabel is a man so reviled his name is a curse. As king of hedonistic Hotesa, their marriage should be unthinkable. Their gods? Vicious enemies. Cultures? Incompatible. Their peoples? Hateful. The idea would have repulsed her had it not been for a consuming whisper of something more—and the wealth he can use to free her.
Handsome and effortlessly charismatic, Kaseus and his kingdom are everything Len needed and nothing she’s allowed to have. As Len is thrust to the center of an international scandal and her own people begin to turn on her, she will have to decide between her heart and her crown before she loses both.
S.M. Gray is a small-town Canadian author. By day she works as a psychotherapist, and she moonlights as a voracious key-clacker in her free hour before bed. She holds master’s degrees in Sociology and Psychology which inform her writing. Gray lives in small-town New Brunswick with her husband, two young children, and sugar-sweet cat.
Jennifer Allis Provost is here to tell us about Dragon Descending, Fire and Claw #2, fantasy - romance.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Dragon Descending
Jennifer Allis Provost
(Fire and Claw, #2)
Publication date: September 1st 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Dragons value family above all else—but when a dragon shifter can’t shift, how will he protect the ones he loves?
Lochlyn Blackmoor, the last dragon shifter in Alessia, has lost his ability to shift. Heartened by a prediction that he will shift again, Lochlyn retreats to Dragon Ridge with his beloved wife, Rosalie. They’re content to enjoy a quiet life, until they receive unsettling news from the capital city.
The king’s seer has been marked for death, all because she helped him free Rosalie’s sister from the king’s clutches.
Despite his current weakness, Lochlyn embarks on a mission to rescue the seer with his brother-in-law and spymaster in tow. Almost immediately, one of their few allies—Arthus Flameborn, Grand Master of the Order of the Phoenix, who also happens to be Rosalie’s grandfather—abandons them. As they run out of time and options, Lochlyn turns to a former foe for assistance: Basilisk, the same rogue shifter he freed from the Order’s dungeon, and nearly killed him.
Basilisk proves himself a worthy ally, and his vast knowledge Alessia’s royal family comes in handy more than once. As more of Basilisk’s past is revealed, Lochlyn learns Alessia’s darkest, most dangerous secret, information so deadly It could unravel everything he’s ever known. To make matters worse, the ruthless Grand Master wants to form a relationship with his granddaughter, Rosalie, and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process—not even Rosalie.
Yet it was all he’d done for months—waiting for blowback from Serpens about their daring rescue of Caterina and Curran. For news of the rampaging basilisk he and Curran had freed from the palace dungeons. Or for the Grand Master to appear in the courtyard demanding to see his family.
Waiting to be able to shift again.
Nothing happened.
Lochlyn set his hands on the balcony’s railing, and watched the early morning activity in the castle’s courtyard. While he appreciated the calm days and nights they’d enjoyed at Dragon Ridge, retribution was inevitable. He’d insulted the king, committed several acts of treason, and set the palace on fire. King Olivar wasn’t a forgiving man; he was more likely to take Lochlyn’s head and mount it on his wall.
Still. Nothing.
Perhaps Olivar was taking his time so Lochlyn would slowly descend into madness.
Laughter floated toward him, a bright sound that Lochlyn would know anywhere. He turned toward the gardens, and saw Rosalie walking with her sister, Caterina. They both carried baskets of flowers, but behind Rosalie’s basket was her rounded belly, and inside her belly was their child.
Their child’s birth was something else Lochlyn was waiting for, and for that he was most impatient of all.
He and Rosalie already had three adopted children, and he loved them and his nephew, Jonathan, dearly. Somehow, he found yet another measure of love in his heart for this child he’d yet to meet, a babe who would be a dragon, like him.
As the strongest of the Otherworldly creatures, Lochlyn’s own dragon blood meant the child would definitely take after him, but they wouldn’t know if the child would be able to shift until he was around a year old. While Lochlyn could attain both dragon and warrior forms, his eldest brother could only shift to warrior, and his middle brothers couldn’t shift at all.
Whether the child could shift or not didn’t matter to Lochlyn. Either way, he couldn’t wait to meet their baby. Before Rosalie fell pregnant, Lochlyn had been the last living dragon in Alessia. Now both his kind and his name would live on, thanks to his beautiful wife.
“Lochlyn,” Rosalie called from the courtyard, waving to get his attention as if he hadn’t already been entranced by her every move. “There were some daisies in bloom, and the birds spared us some blackberries.”
“And elderberries,” Caterina added, holding up her basket. “Madchen can make more of her famous wine.”
Lochlyn laughed softly; there were enough casks of Madchen’s elderberry wine in the castle’s cellar to get half of Alessia drunk. “Are you two coming in for lunch?”
Rosalie opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she said was drowned out by the thunder of a dozen hooves. Lochlyn looked toward the gate and saw three gigantic stags enter the courtyard. The central and largest stag approached Rosalie and bowed.
“Hello, Cervus,” Rosalie said as the stag’s antlers scraped the ground near her feet. “And you really don’t need to be so dramatic. Will you join us for lunch?”
Cervus raised his head, and after he glanced at the balcony, he and his two companions went toward the stables. Lochlyn watched them depart, then he returned his gaze to his wife. His leisurely afternoon with Rosalie would have to wait. As Lochlyn’s spymaster, Cervus had been in Serpens for the past three weeks, gathering information. For him to personally return to Dragon Ridge instead of sending one of his messengers, he must have learned something especially dire.
Author Bio:
Jennifer Allis Provost writes books about faeries, orcs and elves. Zombies, too. She grew up in the wilds of Western Massachusetts and had read every book in the local library by age twelve. (It was a small library.) An early love of mythology and folklore led to her romantic fantasy series, Fire and Claw, and her degree in environmental science helped shape her urban fantasy, Poison Garden. When she’s not writing about murderous plants or sexy dragon shifters she’s working on her MFA in Creative Nonfiction.
The simulation brings me back with a jolt. I land on the floor on all fours, choking on the saltwater burning my throat. Like before, once my brain catches up with reality, all the pain goes away. I hang my head and breathe easy.
If that isn’t a miserable attempt, I don’t know what is. Ry passed this level on her first try. This military stuff came naturally to her. When we were kids, the placement test put Ry and me in the Military Sector, but I never belonged or excelled the way she did.
The sleek white walls shine bright around me. Seconds later, Captain Weston’s boots come into view. When I glance up, he cocks an eyebrow at me with both hands braced on his hips. He blows out a breath, and I swear a tinge of pity flashes across his face.
“I didn’t pass your test.” I sit back on my ankles, shaking uncontrollably.
“Everyone dies in the simulation. You did better than I expected.” He scratches the stubble on his chiseled jaw. “But I do have my work cut out for me.”
“Am I in?” I meet his gaze.
“Have you talked to anyone since the accident?”
The accident? My jaw clenches.
“No.” I assume he means cadets from my unit. To Captain Weston, Valorek and his friends didn’t count.
“Good.” He clears his throat. “Because I have a proposal for you.”
When I open my mouth to speak, he brings his index finger to his lips and shakes his head once. Of course, he doesn’t want to hear about how Ry’s death wasn’t an accident. We have been doing the same song and dance for weeks. This time, I do as he asks and keep quiet, but only because it looks like I am about to get what I want—an opportunity to join the Queen’s immortal army, where I’ll have the ability to look into Ry’s murderer myself.
“You need something from me.” I meet his gaze.
“We need you to take your sister’s place as a lieutenant in the Queen’s army. You still need a lot of training before you can join Ry’s unit, but we have a bit of time.”
“Wait. What?” I gape at him as my heart thrashes in my ears. “That is not what I wanted at all.”
“I gave it some thought.” He swallows. “It’s all I can offer. It’s the only solution, really.”
“Do you have any idea how insane this sounds?” I scoff. “Ry told me everything about the QEC simulator seven years ago. This was the easy part and I still died. How am I supposed to be her when I know nothing about her world? She had her own life outside of me.”
“That’s why I’m here. I’ll be your guide.” His eyes soften.
“So what, Captain Weston? Do I now get to call you Cap or Eli?”
“You can call me whatever you want.” He offers a crooked, sexy smile. “In fact, I think that if you call me Eli in private, the transition will be easier for you.”
“Eli?” I meant to be sarcastic, but he is completely serious with his answer.
Author Bio:
Diana Hicks writes dark, emotional romance where obsession runs deep, secrets cut sharp, and love always comes at a price.
Her books blend steamy billionaire drama with forbidden marriages, high-stakes betrayal, and antiheroes who will burn the world to protect what’s theirs. Best known for The Empire Trilogy, Diana’s stories deliver heart-pounding romance with morally gray men, strong heroines, and just enough heat to leave you breathless.
When she’s not writing about power and passion colliding, she’s probably sipping coffee like it's a love language, sweating off a plot twist at yoga, or posting angsty book teasers on TikTok.
Rose Titus is here to tell us about Key 13: And Other Stories, dark fantasy, fantasy, horror.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Key 13: And other Stories
Rose Titus
Publication date: October 6th 2017
Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror
Rose Titus, author of The Vampire Next Door Trilogy, now brings together a collection of her best short stories. Here in this book you will find tales of vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, space aliens, and even a few angels. These stories answer questions such as where do we go after we die? What is the future of this planet? And what is the future of humanity? There are also stories of young runaways, old hippies, worried mothers, troubled families, love gone horribly wrong, selfish billionaires, people who find themselves suddenly homeless, old men with their recollections of days gone by, and girls gone wild! There may even be a murder or two.
Rose Titus resides somewhere in cold, dreary New England with two manipulative cats and a very out of date computer with which she creates horror and fantasy fiction. She also has a restored classic Buick to ride around in while in search of adventure.
For travel she has stayed the night in an allegedly haunted castle, has taken a boat ride on Loch Ness, and has visited the Bermuda Triangle -- without getting lost.
Her work has previously appeared in Lost Worlds, Lynx Eye, Bog Gob, Mausoleum, Weird Terrain, Descend, The Dead River Review, and other literary magazines. She also writes regularly for Blood Moon Rising Magazine.
When she's not working or writing or messing with her old car, she waits by the mailbox for her Fortean Times to arrive.
Steven J. Morris is here to tell us about The Fractured Arcana, two series - one shattered universe, fantasy.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Two series, one shattered universe:
an ancient war that
forged magic,
and the modern invasion that it made possible.
Mother of Trees
Thaumatropic Roots Book 1
Part of the Fractured Arcana Universe
by Steven J. Morris
Genre: Epic Fantasy
A dying goddess. A
fractured prophecy. A magicless elf who shouldn't exist.
Elliah has spent her entire life being told what she
is—bereft, wrong, a mistake the world would prefer to correct. Drifting from
town to town with a mother who won't explain why they keep running, she has no
magic, no place, and no future. Then a single misstep draws the attention of
those who've been looking for her, and everything her mother was hiding comes
apart.
She isn't ready for what she learns. But ready was never an
option.
Mother of Trees is the thrilling first book in
the Thaumatropic Roots epic fantasy series. Enter a world of dangerous magic,
ancient powers, and one impossible girl who refuses to stay down.
My mother told me many times that all adolescents feel like
they don't belong, but… I really didn't. So I spent my free time away from
other elves, on my own but for the animals… they didn't understand how broken I
was. And I was quite pleased with my current find, so I snarled when a noise
behind me scared away the drakeling that had settled in my hands. Black with a
pattern of red scales along its spine, its body the thickness of my finger, it
took flight with a flurry of thin leathery wings and disappeared behind a
massive brown trunk.
"The real ones are much more intimidating," said
an unfamiliar voice.
Time slowed as I tensed to run, shocked that I'd let my
guard down so much that anyone had gotten that close. How many lurked behind
me? On the outskirts of town, in the thick of the woods near the river, I had
expected solitude.
"Stay, Bereft. I am not afraid," said the voice.
His words provoked me.
"No one's afraid of me," I
blurted. Bitterness stained my words as surely as the pollen of the bloodcups
had stained my ragged clothes.
I turned away from the vanished drakeling to focus on the
intruder who'd scared it away. A man. No, I corrected myself, someone
my age. Someone not quite old enough for adults to consider one of their
own, but too old to call a child.
But not Bereft. No other elf shared that with me.
The newcomer was slightly taller than me with a thin frame,
his light hair hanging long, wild, and tangled. He was new to the village—I
would have noticed an elf with skin so light. I'd heard whispers of him at
school. Kethryllia had called him Salt-kissed, and I'd wondered what that
meant, but his light skin answered that question. He'd undoubtedly caught
whispers about me, heard of my… condition. Bereft. Yet at that moment, I
thought only of the hours of coaxing I'd spent to draw the little drakeling
into my grasp, and that the stupid elf had scared it away. I wanted to punch
him.
"Maybe they should be," he said, taking a step
back, though it would have taken me two leaps to get to him, and he'd have me
pinned in one, if he had any skill with magic at all. But I'd prepared a leap
already, only not in his direction. As I sprung away, he continued, raising his
voice, "And you're right, they're not afraid of you."
I landed with a tree between us. His magic wouldn't be able
to snag me there. Unless he was very good at it.
"They're afraid of what you represent."
Continue the Thaumatropic
Roots Series
Magic is as
natural as breathing in Elliah's world — except to her. Born without a single
spark in a war that runs on it, she has nothing but her will and her refusal to
accept the limits everyone else has already decided for her. This is what
happens when the world writes you out of the story, and you refuse to leave.
Magic isn’t real. Red Hernandez is very sure of that.
She wants a quiet life after Special Forces—just a steady
security job at a half-finished Manhattan skyscraper.
But then a sister tower implodes in a way physics can’t
explain.
Witnesses report creatures in the smoke.
And something hunts her in the tunnels beneath.
Red wants answers. What she gets instead is an elf with a
sword, a troll with a wry sense of humor, and a dwarf who believes every battle
requires an audience. They insist an ancient enemy has crossed into our
world—and Red becomes an accidental gatekeeper simply because she’s standing on
the fault line when it cracks open.
As a hidden war erupts in the shadows of New York City, Red
must decide: run from the past that nearly destroyed her… or fight for a world
she’s only just beginning to believe in.
A veteran with
nothing left to lose. A threat born of magic and shadow. A team she never saw coming.
The Guardian of the Palace launches the
action-packed Guardian League series—perfect for fans of urban
fantasy, modern-world magic, found family, and heroines who refuse to back
down.
Corpses patterned the ground as far as my eye could see, a
patchwork quilt of death.
I stood atop a skeletal tower, overlooking the broken ruins
of an ancient civilization, so very far from home. I envisioned the beauty that
the soaring arches once held, the bridges between the constructs reaching out
with broken arms, buildings leaning against one another like ancient lovers in
a final embrace. Crumbled remains powdered the bases of former statues, and,
everywhere, all of it was littered with the dead.
Like a phoenix, I stood, bathed in fire. An Angel of Death.
Not the Angel of Death—he was an ass.
A part of me wanted to go down and see for myself. Maybe
just to make sure… to make sure I had done my job… and killed everyone that
used to inhabit that world. The magic I was wielding should have destroyed them
all—something inside of me could feel that it had—but I wanted
to see it.
Yet I knew that was unrealistic. I didn't have the time.
There were other worlds that needed my infection, and Earth was on my
shortlist.
Chapter 1
Red - Day 20, Sunday, the day after the attack
"Ms. Hernandez?" a muffled voice called from a
distance, accompanied by a gentle rapping on a door. My consciousness
registered the interruption as a nuisance and pulled me back under.
What seemed like seconds later, the rapping came again, more
insistent. "Ms. Hernandez."
Ms. Hernandez was my mom… why were they bothering me?
Then a scraping sound, and an alarmed voice. "Ms.
Hernandez! Are you okay?"
Some scrambling, some grunts, more scraping… shit, I was
going to have to wake up. Why couldn't they just let me sleep?
I tried to answer, but my throat was dry and nothing came
out. Coughing, I attempted to sit up, not wholly returned from my trip to
dreamland. "I'm here. I'm okay." Was I though? I wasn't sure.
I was in my flat. Not the desert. My door was partway open,
and a slightly overweight man had paused in the act of pushing his way in. I
recognized him, but his name escaped me. Swinging my legs off my cot, I did a
quick modesty check. I was fully dressed, though rather tragically, in some
semblance of civilian fatigues—muddied, disheveled, and a little bloody.
The reason came screaming back to me. There had been
creatures, unearthly monsters, in The Palace. They'd done things I
could not explain by any of the rules I knew. And they'd beaten the hell out of
me and then patched me back up in a matter of seconds. I'd blown the head clean
off of one of them and fled the scene.
Not my smartest move.
Continue The
Guardian League Series!
Earth, through its technological advances, supports nearly
eight billion souls; from a cosmic perspective, that makes it ripe for the
picking. 'Red' Hernandez, trying to put a questionable military life behind
her, finds herself caught in the middle of stopping an apocalyptic invasion of
Earth. But to do that, she has to figure out who the good guys are, and how she
can combat forces in which she does not believe.
Steven J. Morris writes fantasy where magic runs deep and
the consequences run deeper. By day he's an engineer and father of three in
Austin, Texas. He's the author of eight novels across two completed series —
the epic Thaumatropic Roots and the urban Guardian League — both set in the
shared Fractured Arcana universe. Find him at sjmorriswrites.com.
