More from Song and Sword, the first novel I published, since I’m working on a sequel and need the motivation.  This follows immediately after last week’s snippet.

The unicorn swung his head, resting his horn against his rider’s temple, but Dakkas could not sort out the sensations he was receiving.  Something was wrong, out of place. But there did not seem to be any immediate threat to either of them.  Probably just picking up on the fact that there are others out and about, Dakkas thought, and swung lightly into the saddle, turning him to follow the hunting party.  He would shadow them for a while, see where they went and what they hunted. And maybe hear what they said.   

Rebel moved with the silence that only a unicorn could achieve, and soon Dakkas was within earshot of the hunting party.  He suppressed a chuckle:  young men were young men, no matter what race they were – the conversation had turned to women, and they were discussing the merits of each of the tribe’s maidens.  Listening to them he learned which were the best cooks, which the best at tanning hides, braiding, beading, sewing… and he felt an unexpected surge of jealousy when they all agreed that Kashrya was by far the prettiest.

“But she’s so… different,” one said.

“Agreed,” another replied. “She’s always been an outsider and always will be.”

“It’s not her fault,” another said. “She was fathered and raised by the shaman – that has to have made her a bit strange.”

“And her mother was never quite right, either,” another chimed in.  “Said she was an Elf but came out of the Drow territories.”

Blurb:
Pashevel: a simple Elven Bard — and the Crown Prince

Marlia: a Paladin of Arithen, the Elven God of Justice – seeking vengeance for the destruction of her village

Dakkas: heir to the Drow throne — if his father and elder half-brother don’t kill him first

Kashrya: raised among a tribe of nomadic Humans, she is unaware of her true heritage — or of the prophecy that made her mother an outcast

Their goal: build a bridge between the Elves and their outcast brethren, the Drow, reuniting them and undoing the damage caused in a time so far gone that history has become legend and legend has become myth.

But first, they have a problem to solve:  how do you stop a war that hasn’t started?

Available for Kindle at Amazon

and at Smashwords for everything else

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.

More from Song and Sword, the first novel I published, since I’m working on a sequel and need the motivation.  This follows immediately after last week’s snippet.

Other voices – male – caught his attention and he turned.  A group of young men were setting out on a hunt, their spears resting on their shoulders, and he smiled, silently leaping from his perch in an old oak and giving a whispered whistle. 

A moment later his mount appeared, his dark red coat appearing brown in the forest shadows, his horn gleaming black in the filtered light.  For a moment he leaned against the unicorn, the only true friend he’d ever had, the only thing that could never be taken from him. “What do you think, Rebel? Should we join the hunt?”

Rebel tossed his head, striking at the ground with one hoof. He seemed uneasy, and Dakkas frowned. “What is it, Reb?”  For a moment fear gripped him.  Perhaps Jehadi or their father had come after him – his death would be easier to explain if it happened outside of Raes’drao-V’len, the Drow Kingdom.  No. If it was a threat to him Rebel would be taking him away by now, not standing here, waiting. 

Blurb:
Pashevel: a simple Elven Bard — and the Crown Prince

Marlia: a Paladin of Arithen, the Elven God of Justice – seeking vengeance for the destruction of her village

Dakkas: heir to the Drow throne — if his father and elder half-brother don’t kill him first

Kashrya: raised among a tribe of nomadic Humans, she is unaware of her true heritage — or of the prophecy that made her mother an outcast

Their goal: build a bridge between the Elves and their outcast brethren, the Drow, reuniting them and undoing the damage caused in a time so far gone that history has become legend and legend has become myth.

But first, they have a problem to solve:  how do you stop a war that hasn’t started?

Available for Kindle at Amazon

and at Smashwords for everything else

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.