by L. R. W. Lee
Can Alissandra and Kovis unite their hearts to preserve humankind from an almighty darkness?
Lullaby is the first book in the completed four-book, enthralling Sand Maiden paranormal romance series. If you love books that connect with your soul, destined lovers, potent sorcery, and unique retellings of ancient myths, then you’ll adore binge reading L. R. W. Lee’s vulnerable, intimate, and gritty tale.
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Be sure to also check out L. R. W. Lee’s award-winning, seven book,
coming-of-age, epic fantasy series.
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Video games can’t train you to fight dragons!
100+ five-star reviews. Experience it for yourself!
Gamer Andy Smithson is whisked away to the magical land of Oomaldee, where fire-breathing dragons, giants, and deadly curses lurk around every corner.
Trading his controller for a sword of legend, Andy embarks upon an epic quest to break a centuries-old curse oppressing the land. It isn't chance that plunges him into the adventure though, for he soon discovers his ancestors are behind the curse.
Blast of the Dragon's Fury is a coming-of-age, epic fantasy adventure featuring fast-paced action, sword fights, laugh-out-loud humor, with a few life lessons thrown in. It's perfect for fans of Eragon, Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, Magemother, and Aster Wood!
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Acknowledgements
This is always my most favorite section to write of any book because writing a book is a team sport. LOL. I mean that. If not for the input of the following folks, this book would not be what it is.
First, I want to thank Rebecca Hamilton who I have done a mentorship with and have learned a ton that I hope you found made this reading experience completely enjoyable.
Next, I want to thank Debbie Turk for her quick and insightful feedback. She says she’s been told she’s too forthright, that she doesn’t mince words, and she thinks it’s a bad thing. Well, when it comes to getting a book the best it can be, I can’t ask for anyone better at pinpointing potential issues. Love you Lady <3.
Then there’s my amazing moderator group: Kiersten Burke, Courtney Griffith, Claire Manuel, Samantha Zeman, Cabiria Aquarius, Alexandra Wilkerson, and Brittany Gingrich. You all are amazing women in your own right, and when you come together, you help make our Street Team a fun and welcoming place for booknerds to hang out. I appreciate your quirkiness, realness, vulnerability, and dedication. You all make it fun to be an author and a fellow bookworm.
Sneak Peek of Empire of Secrets
Chapter One
I’m going to retch. There’s no escaping it.
I swallow, lips still pressed to Harpoc’s—it’s the swoon-worthy way we left Turkey in a cloud of his dark swirls a minute ago. But my stomach is utterly and completely done with what feels like the longest tripskip he’s ever taken me on.
Panic swells in me. There’s nothing I can do to avoid hurling at him because my body’s frozen in place as darkness and disorientation continue pummeling me despite Harpoc’s steady hands holding my waist.
I swallow again, but it’s not working.
It’ll be so gross.
I can’t even warn him.
Here I thought I was getting my nausea under control from this abominable means of transport, but clearly not.
Any love-struck, fluttering butterflies in my stomach crash-land in the swell of nausea.
I swallow again, begging my stomach to calm.
You can do it, Pell, my inner voice cheers me on.
Nope, my stomach’s not having it.
Please… the tone in my head turns pleading. I’ll get you some Tums as soon as we land, I promise.
I pray my gut doesn’t know what a liar I am because who knows what the Empire of Secrets offers for raging stomachs.
No dice. That feeling of impending doom, that unmistakable juices-building-in-the-back-of-my-throat-just-before-I-hurl is growing, growing.
Any second. I can’t hold it back any longer.
I feel ground beneath my feet for no more than an instant before I fall forward on a patch of dirt amongst ferns and short foliage and my stomach purges itself with a vengeance. Coffee, this morning’s breakfast, and who knows what else, from before we dealt with King Midas, vacate the premises in a hurry.
No birds chirp. No bees buzz. Not one sound echoes under the dim of the dense tree canopy that Harpoc somehow found a small clearing to land in. I don’t blame them. Retching sounds are disgusting. I’d shut up, too.
I’m panting, still on all fours several minutes later.
Harpoc’s beside me, holding back my long, auburn hair along with my full hood with one hand. His other hand moves up and down my back as I suck in air, trying to reason with my stomach. But the smell of sick makes that impossible.
Harpoc banishes it.
I spit the wretched taste from my mouth and sit back on my haunches, tears in my eyes from the ordeal. “Thank you.”
I eye him up and down, but thankfully it seems his gray duster and black pants are unaffected. Even his wavy, onyx hair remains perfectly styled.
No doubt I’m a complete mess.
A complete mess… Horror replaces that sick feeling, and I drop my gaze to the slate-colored leather long coat Harpoc did his abracadabra to create just moments before. It’s the finest thing I’ve ever worn, and I can’t bear to see it soiled, especially like this.
My hands follow my gaze, running over the soft leather that’s trimmed with fine black decorative stitching along the lapels, then over the three silver buttons that line either side of the front below that.
I exhale heavily. Miraculously it seems to have avoided the whole ordeal, too, unless… I look up at Harpoc.
“We couldn’t have you looking anything but your best.” He winks.
I let a corner of my mouth hitch. “Seems I owe you.”
“I have a few ways you might make it up to me.” Heat simmers in his eyes and the butterflies that crash-landed, launch once more in my very empty stomach.
“How about we fly the rest of the way?” Harpoc says.
“I could kiss you.” I run a hand along his chiseled jaw, and as I do that foul taste vanishes from my mouth as he leans down.
“I plan to finish what we started.” Seduction fills his tone as he pivots closer, still on his knees, and then his arms are around me and he’s pulling me onto his lap and kissing me fiercely. My toes curl inside my new black boots as I eagerly surrender, running my hands through the curls at the back of his neck.
Harpoc does indeed finish what we start… and then some.
I’m panting for a wholly different reason, and my lips feel swollen by the time we pull back, but I don’t care. Harpoc just grins, clearly satisfied with himself.
Arrogant male.
Crickets chirp and owls hoot—no doubt telling us to get a room—as I look around for the first time, noticing the light has nearly abandoned us. I pull the lapels of my coat up looking for warmth now that the sun has gone down.
“Where are we?”
Harpoc hugs me and I melt into his warmth. “We’re on Nemus Isle, one of the most remote of the archipelago of one hundred and forty-four floating islands that make up the Empire of Secrets. They run the gambit of sizes, po
pulations, and climates, so if you get tired of one, you can find yourself another, more agreeable, without much trouble.”
“Floating islands?” I furrow my brow. “How does that work? I hadn’t pictured the Empire of Secrets as coastal.”
Harpoc chuckles, then tweaks my nose. “It’s not. These islands float in the air.”
My eyes go wide. “You’re telling me”—I scan the treetops—“this land mass is floating on nothing but air currents? How’s that even possible?”
“No idea, but it’s the way it’s always been.”
“Have you ever accidently run over a planet or two that’s in the way? Ever lose your bearings because an island turns around? Ever can’t find your way home because home’s moved without you knowing?”
He snorts. “No, not to my knowledge, and no.”
I shake my head. Nothing about Harpoc or his secret magic makes logical sense, so why do I expect this to? When will I learn?
Floating islands. Okay, sure. Fine. And pigs fly here, too, no doubt.
“Which climate do you most prefer?” I ask. He hadn’t so much as shivered in Greece, nor broken a sweat in Egypt.
“Whichever one we find the most pleasure on.” He draws out the words making it clear he has more than getting back to nature in mind. A lot more.
My cheeks burn. I’m glad it’s nearly dark so he can’t see the traitors they are because they might as well scream to the entire empire my thoughts about getting to know all of him.
Oh, Pell, my inner voice groans. She’s warming up to the idea of doing more with Harpoc, but she’s never one to dive in half-cocked.
“How’s your stomach?”
I bob my head. “I think you gave it something more constructive to think about with that kiss.”
Harpoc laughs. “My kisses are a panacea for upset stomachs? I’ll have to remember that.”
Harpoc shifts me off his lap, then stands and helps me up.
Chivalry is strong with this one. I give him another point. He’s up to three now, between opening doors for me and protecting Eser, the boy indentured to Zeki—returning he and his siblings back home safely. I probably should give him more than one point for that; it was above and way beyond opening a door.
“We best get going unless we want to sleep out here.” Excitement dances in his beautiful gold and silver eyes.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s excited to show off his home.
Pell, he’s a god, not a small child.
I know, but still.
A shiver wracks my frame; it’s turned decidedly chilly without the sun. “Sounds good.”
He scoops me up in his arms, and a second later he beats his wings that have materialized again.
We jerk up and down, up and down, up and down, as Harpoc’s wings beat to get air under us. And then we’re rising through and above the canopy of trees, the three—yes, count them, three—three-quarter moons illuminating the plethora of fluffy clouds that drift across the night sky. The stars are just starting to wink into sight.
I’m reminded how awe filled Harpoc’s voice as he told me about getting away from everything and everyone during a new moon, going out where city lights don’t dim the night sky, and seeing all the stars. In this moment, I promise myself that no matter what happens once we reach his home, we’ll experience the stars that way, together.
“You’re rather quiet.” Harpoc nuzzles the top of my head.
“I’m just enjoying being here with you.”
He gives me a squeeze, and we continue on in silence, passing over enormous as well as small islands. In the moonlight, it’s hard to make out their features, but I can tell some are mountainous without much vegetation, others are jungle-like, others flat like pancakes. Some have a host of candle-lit dots—villages, Harpoc says—others, large metropolitan cities the lights from which, make it seem like day.
The sound of rushing water rises to meet us, and I furrow my brow.
“I’ll have to take you to see the infinity waterfalls. They plunge over the edge of the island and somehow the water ends up back at the top of the mountains to do it all over again.”
My mouth drops open.
“Don’t swallow a bug,” Harpoc says, chuckling.
“Eaten a few bugs, yourself, I take it?” I smile.
“We’re nearly there.” He bobs his head at a spray of light flooding the night sky over the horizon. “The city of Mense, the capital.”
Harpoc’s arms tense along with his jaw as shouts, screams, metal striking metal, and other discordant sounds reach us from the city.
He beats his wings faster, accelerating our pace until I feel the need to grab hold of his neck. But his eyes never deviate, scanning, searching, no doubt for the source.
Book Two in the God of Secrets series, Empire of Secrets, is coming in just eight weeks! Yes, it’s coming October 19th! So pre-order your copy at smarturl.it/Buy_EoS now!
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