Duo (Stone Mage Saga Book 2)
Page 16
I took a deep breath and grabbed the sides of the moving ladder. It took a few attempts to get my foot on the rung, but once I'd gotten hold, it was a bit easier.
My already exhausted muscles ached with fatigue and climbing up the tall, rocking ladder was not helping the burning in my thighs.
Lexie's hand reached down for me from over the balcony.
“I'm okay,” I promised and swung my leg over the top. Turns out, I wasn't so okay. I collapsed onto the deck with an embarrassing thud.
“Ciao, ladies,” a familiar male voice greeted.
My knee-jerk reaction was terror. I ran through my very short mental Rolodex of Paxians that I knew and none of them matched that voice. Ice in the pit of my stomach, I turned to see the strange man who'd come into my coffee shop the day before Lexie was kidnapped.
His towering, leanly muscular form came sauntering out of a doorway. He glided down the open deck toward us with a smile on his cheerful, chiseled face. He stopped in front of me, leaning forward from the waist and offered me his long-fingered hand.
He beamed a blinding white smile that contrasted sharply against his olive toned skin and his espresso colored mop of wavy hair. “Topolina, how lovely to see you once again. I cannot express how happy I am that you did not die again while fighting Duo.”
Leaning forward as he was, the medallion necklace he wore dangled from his neck— that necklace which had so captivated my attention last time we met. The heavy medallion had three interwoven spirals engraved in the center and three stones of equal size surrounded it from equal distances: a garnet-looking stone was mounted at the top, a dark smoky quartz was on the bottom right, and a carnelian-like stone was on the bottom left.
He chuckled and grabbed my hand to gently pull me to my feet. “I am the last man that you need to fear, topolina.”
“Who the holy hell are you?” Lexie asked, stepping in front of me.
He took her hand and kissed the back, all the while boring a hole into Lexie's blue eyes with his doe brown ones. “I am Giacomo Campanella, sfaciatella. You must be Alexandra Baxter, Constance's familiar.”
Lexie was taken aback and for once, had no snappy remark. She was almost starstruck.
The knowing grin that crept across Giacomo's lips said he was used to that reaction and liked it.
“Now, ladies, if we are finished with the introductions, we truly must be going.” He clapped his hands together and spun around a hundred eighty degrees on his heel when Liam popped his head over the side of the railing, coming face to face with Giacomo.
There was a split second when both of them seemed shocked to see the other. This was not the captain that Liam was talking about.
“You,” he roared, rage contorting his features.
Before Liam could move, Giacomo snapped his head into Liam's, producing an audible crack from Liam's nose.
A few droplets of his blood hung in the air for a fraction of a second after his head vanished beneath the balcony. A thud and a splash sounded from below.
“Liam!” I screamed and ran to the railing, hitting my hips as I looked for him desperately in all the blue.
Giacomo's big hand rested on my shoulder. “No need to fear for him, topolina. He won't be down for long. And we had best get out of here before he comes back.” With that, he tossed the rope overboard and half-skipped away, ducking a punch from me to the side.
“What the hell, asshole?” Lexie shouted, kicking for his jewels. “That's our friend!”
Giacomo lifted one of his legs and twirled around in place, dodging Lexie's kick. “Now that isn't fair, sfaciatella, aiming for a man's palle.”
I drew my sword.
“Come, ladies, let us be civil so we can be on our way.”
“Civil flew out the door when you tried to kill my friend.” I growled and charged.
Giacomo easily grabbed my wrist with one hand, pinning it— and my blade— over my head. He let out a disappointed sigh. “Well if you insist on being difficult, then I am afraid I must restrain you.” He leaned his face closer to mine.
Lexie let out a battle cry. Giacomo held up his free hand and Lexie's footsteps stopped cold. She made angry, frustrated sounds.
“Dormi,” Giacomo whispered in my ear. His warm lips kissing my cheek were the last thing I felt before my world went dark again.
Dear Reader,
I can't thank you enough for spending your valuable time and money on my book. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it. It took a lot of hard work and courage to get it written, edited, and published.
It would mean the world to me if you'd leave me an honest review at Amazon and/or Goodreads. Indie authors rely on reviews from readers just like you to make our living.
Constance's journey continues in Tresia, which will be available in December, 2016. Join my mailing list with the link below for deleted scenes, author commentary, and progress reports.
eepurl.com/cgdV0P
About the Author,
Raven Whitney is a broke millennial living in her parent's horse barn on a farm in the middle of nowhere. She graduated with honors from college with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry, but left behind a career in academia to pursue all the stories that had been so insistently whispering in her ears since she was a teenager. She dreams of one day opening her own microbiology lab and owning a little home of her own in a place that has stoplights.
When she isn't attached to her laptop or working on the farm, she's often found nestled in the couch with at least two animals and a book. She's a sucker for anything with a fuzzy face, silly BuzzFeed articles, and chocolatey sweets. She is also a lifelong hoarder of books and mangas and will one day die when a mountain of her collection collapses on her.
She's still learning this whole social media thing, but here's where you can find her:
Website: www.ravenwhitney.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RavenWhitneyAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWhitneyAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwhitneyauthor/
Also By Raven Whitney
Stone Mage Saga
Unus
Duo
Tresia
Quattore (coming February 2017)
Many more to be written!
Please enjoy the following preview of the next book in Constance's adventures, Tresia, available for purchase in December, 2016.
I stopped seconds later, fork in hand. Something didn't feel right. “Lexie.”
“Hmm?”
“Mute the TV.” I looked around out the window, but didn't see anything.
“What?”
Impatient, I snapped my fingers at her. I didn't want to talk. We needed quiet.
She gave me a confused look, but did as I asked.
A few seconds passed in silence.
“What?” she asked, looking around like I was going crazy.
I stepped onto the front porch and peered up and down the beach. There wasn't a soul in sight. It wasn't very late and there were always at least one or two nighttime parties or teenagers trying to drink under the cover of darkness.
But it was empty. A knot formed in my stomach. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but there were people trying to kill me. I had reason to be.
Lexie followed me out. “What?”
“Something isn't right.” My hand reached for the hilt of my sword, but didn't draw it yet. “Get Jack.”
She hurried to the backyard to retrieve him from his shower. I stayed where I was to keep an eye out.
Lexie's scream from the yard brought me tearing through the house to reach them.
00%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share