Guardian Queen: Epic Fantasy Romance (Hardstorm Saga Book 3)
Page 30
His eyes flared. He scooped me into his arms, his smile so wide and carefree, it stole my breath away. “Am I to have another son?”
“Or daughter. We are having another child. I believe I shall have some small part in it.”
The High Lord of the Kadar was whooping and shouting so hard, I do not think he heard me. He carried me to the palace roof and shouted all kinds of nonsense, loud enough to be heard by the guards, and then up went a great cheer. He would neither put me down, nor would he stop embarrassing me.
“You would think the High Lord had more decorum than to put on such a display.”
“Who would think such foolishness?” He gave a wolfish grin and kissed me for everyone to see. “Certainly not our Guardian Queen. She is far too wise.”
Neither of us could stop smiling.
Around us, the city brimmed with life, completely renewed since the war.
Kratos’s temple had collapsed and filled with rubble, many of the cave tunnels collapsing with it. The rest, the Guardian of the Cave closed himself. No more caverns led through the mountain, no more Mouth of the Mountain. The ancient god was gone from the island. I felt no hint of his presence.
Lison and Fadden were never found. Kratos had them, as he’d said.
After the emperor died, his mainland empire soon fell apart under the squabbling of his hundred sons. The only remaining part, a small landlocked country held by one of his generals, was a threat to no one.
We did hear rumors of a powerful sorcerer roaming the far deserts of Nolek on the mainland, and at first I thought… But no, his name was not Drav.
Most of the army we had brought from the mainland remained on Dahru, the men taking wives from among our many widows. Our streets rang with the sound of laughter. The newcomers brought their traditions and beliefs. They brought new ideas and clever inventions. Karamur was no longer a Kadar city, but a city that belonged to many peoples and was stronger for it.
We had strong trade with not only the other Middle Islands and the Outer Islands, but the nations of the mainland. Ships sailed daily from our ports to Felep.
“Think you, my lord, that we can hold on to this peace?”
“If we were strong enough to win it, we shall be strong enough to hold it,” he said with the full confidence of a warlord. “Truly, my lady, the tales of your great feats, of tumbling ancient temples and fortresses, of vanquishing emperors and even gods, are so great, I daresay no sane man would contemplate going against us.”
I drew a cautious breath. “The spirits help us. What tales?”
“They say the gods journeyed through the mainland, collecting an army against Kratos himself. The god of death—that would be me,” Batumar said, unashamedly pleased. “The goddess of life—that would be you. And the god of rebirth, the moment between death and life—which would be King Graho. They say more babes than ever were born after we passed. Each town where we spent a night is revered. The caravan yard has become a place of pilgrimage.”
I gaped at him. “We are myth?”
He grinned. “Aye, we are.”
I thought about it, then I decided I preferred it that way. I did not mind the credit to be given to the gods. I sought no glory.
“What about insane men?” I asked then, since he had said no sane man would contemplate going against us. Starting a war did not require sanity. Just the opposite.
“If some new darkness comes, we shall stand against it,” Batumar declared.
Aye, I thought. We will stand against evil, and we will win. My people, Batumar, and I—Tera, Tika Shahala, Teacher, Guardian Queen.
From love comes courage.
Spirit be strong. Heart be brave.
THE END
A Quick Note from the Author
Thank you so much for sticking with me to the end! I hope with all my heart that I was able to do Tera’s story justice and you enjoyed the books.
Writing the first book in the Hardstorm trilogy was easy. I was young and idealistic and thought I knew all about life. I thought kindness was what our world most needed, so I wrote a heroine who was kind. I didn’t realize how rare this was, or that it could become controversial, until I started receiving notes from readers telling me how disappointed they were that Tera never got her revenge on Kumra. Kick-ass heroines are very much the trend, and revenge must be had. (I tried a kind heroine in one of my romantic suspense novels SILENT THREAT—about a deaf hero and an ecotherapist heroine—and received the same pushback.)
The second book in the Hardstorm trilogy was a surprise. When I started it, I planned on Tera losing Batumar and finding new love with Prince Graho. I began the first draft that way, but nothing about it felt right. It felt like the writer was forcing a plot on the story. So I deleted over a hundred pages and let the story be what it wanted to be. Batumar fought to come back from death for Tera. I couldn’t stand in his way. The end result is much better than my first plan, and it feels true. This is it. This is their story.
The third book was murder. It was a hell of doubts and second thoughts. I started and stopped a dozen times. This book made me face that I’m not as good a writer as I thought I was. You see, this trilogy is my exploration of what is right, how a person should be in this world, what is the meaning of life… You know, all those easy questions.
Writing the first book back in 2003, I thought I knew it all. Writing the second book in 2014, I realized I didn’t know anything, but would figure it out by the time I had to finish the third book. No pressure.
Me: I don’t know what the meaning of life is, but I’m sure it’ll come to me in the next twelve months.
Well, it didn’t.
Yet I know this for sure: kindness matters, and the world needs it desperately. The more kindness we can put in the world, the better. And this is something we need to consciously do when responding to others. We must choose kindness over all the other options. But it’s not enough.
I think it’s equally important to stand up and fight for what’s right. We can’t just send thoughts and prayers. The massive amount of greed and evil in the world is real, and they have armies. So what do we do to push back their shadow that sits on the world? How do we create a new society where justice and truth and kindness can survive and thrive?
I wanted this trilogy to have the answer. It doesn’t. Tera does the best she can, and she strives to learn to do better. But her story at least raises some of the right questions, and I think they are questions worth pondering.
I’d love to hear what you think. (Even if it’s ‘Oh, for love’s sake, stop philosophizing and just write books.’) Here is my personal email: danamarton@yahoo.com
I don’t know if my Hardstorm Saga ended to your satisfaction, but please know that I gave the best that I had, from the bottom of my heart.
With the most heartfelt gratitude a writer could ever feel for her readers,
Dana
If you enjoyed GUARDIAN QUEEN, would you please leave an online review? Reviews make a huge difference for authors. They count toward special placement at the online stores. Some advertising venues will not accept a book for advertising unless it has a set number of reviews, etc. If you could leave even just a sentence, I would appreciate your kindness beyond words. Thank you! --Dana
If you would like to try some other books written by me, I also write romantic suspense. Here are the links if you want to give them a try.
BROSLIN CREEK
MISSION RECOVERY
PERSONNEL RECOVERY
AGENTS UNDER FIRE
And if you are in the mood for a dragon: https://danamarton.com/book/dragon-lord
You can find me on FaceBook here: https://www.facebook.com/DanaMarton
I’ve been plotting a new fantasy series, while also thinking about giving some of the secondary characters in Hardstorm Saga their own books. (Lord Karnagh, Prince Graho, even perhaps Drav the sorcerer.) If you’d like me to let you know when I’m ready with the next project, please sign up for my newsletter here: News
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Table of Contents
Guardian Queen
Chapter One
(Journey’s End)
Chapter Two
(Prince Graho)
Chapter Three
(Land at Last)
Chapter Four
(Rabeen Gained and Lost)
Chapter Five
(The Chronicle Keeper)
Chapter Six
(The Blue Dwarf)
Chapter Seven
(The Dwarf in the Well)
Chapter Eight
(Mutiny)
Chapter Nine
(Heart be Brave)
Chapter Ten
(From Rabeen to Sheharree)
Chapter Eleven
(Rain of Fire)
Chapter Twelve
(Battle for the Harbor)
Chapter Thirteen
(Sheharree)
Chapter Fourteen
(Seeking Alliance)
Chapter Fifteen
(Koro)
Chapter Sixteen
(Kaharta Reh)
Chapter Seventeen
(All Ships Lost)
Chapter Eighteen
(Back at Tahar’s Hall)
Chapter Nineteen
(Old Enemies)
Chapter Twenty
(New Enemies)
Chapter Twenty-One
(Kidnapped)
Chapter Twenty-Two
(A New Plan)
Chapter Twenty-Three
(The Cave)
Chapter Twenty-Four
(Batumar)
Chapter Twenty-Five
(Tera)
Chapter Twenty-Six
(Batumar)
Chapter Twenty-Seven
(Tera)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
(Tera)
Chapter Twenty-Nine
(Tera)
Chapter Thirty
(Tera)
Chapter Thirty-One
(Tera)
Chapter Thirty-Two
(Batumar)
Chapter Thirty-Three
(Tera)
Chapter Thirty-Four
(Tera)
Chapter Thirty-Five
(Tera)
Epilogue