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
Novel Notes 