Daughter of Hope, the first novel in my fantasy series The Siaris Quartet, has been released as an e-book by Musa Publishing!
The fate of an entire world will be decided by the
actions of one young girl.
The Guardians
of Siaris have been warring for thousands of years, torn apart by betrayal and
lost loves. Xereth waits patiently for his chance at revenge. The only thing
standing in his way is one of his own offspring.
As Xereth's
daughter, Revetia’s destiny is to help him destroy Siaris and those who wronged
him, but Revetia's will is strong. With hope and help, she might be able to
break free from Xereth's tight and treacherous grasp, but at what cost?
Sier has
always tried to stay out of affairs that threaten his family's safety. When
Revetia asks him for help, she forces him into a position that could cost his
family, the elden, and humans their lives. Is he prepared to put those he loves
and protects in jeopardy?
With the fate
of Siaris resting on Revetia’s shoulders, will her actions trigger a war between
gods, slaves, and Guardians?
Excerpt
The baby blinked, trying to
clear her eyes. The dim space around her lay in a chilled hush. A strip of light filtered across the torn
covers surrounding her, over a curve of pale skin flecked with red. A long
growl sounded from outside the room’s shadowed walls.
Wind, the baby named it.
She’d heard it – and other
things – from inside her mother’s belly. Now it sounded much louder, and
unfriendly. She wanted to reach for the expanse of flesh beside her, but
couldn’t yet control her limbs. Her mother didn’t move. The silence of the
room, the gale’s rush at the chamber, grew frightening. She shivered, a naked
bundle of feverish heat and ice. She began to cry. The wind fought her voice,
but she needed someone to come. Anyone.
Time dragged. The light
around her stuttered and grew dull. Her hearing picked up a new sound, cautious
steps husking along the hall outside the turret-room, until they came to a
halt. A seamed face peered through a rectangle of darkness. Fingers clutched at
the edge of a wooden frame, then jerked back as if they’d been stung. The
fingers fluttered down over a worn tunic, shaking. The sound of rough breathing
met the baby as a woman stepped into the room and edged closer to her.
The woman’s face shrivelled
into deeper lines, her gaze roving across the bed. The picture in her mind
reflected into the baby’s vision in all its blood-soaked destruction. An elden woman lying on the shredded velvet
cover, the ragged vestiges of beauty still visible through the contortion of
her features. Smoke coiling in wisps from her hips and thighs, hanging thick on
the air. The baby saw herself curled in a pool of light. Already, despite being
so tiny, the sheen of power that had killed her mother during birth glowed out
across the bed.
The baby
noted her own skin was different to her mother’s. Blue. She felt the word fit itself to her…that this was her natural
shade. But even so, couldn’t the bent figure creeping closer see her shock, the
crisis gripping her body with shudders?
The
intruder’s breath hissed. Her stare now settled on the glittering wings that
rustled against the baby’s back, the downy feathers catching in the rumpled
bedcover. The baby studied her, and saw that she was elden too, but diminished,
improperly aged. The silence grew longer, the gale’s voice harsh. The baby huddled
desperately, and fought to focus her mind on this person who still hadn’t come
to her side.
She formed a
question in her head, and forced it to cross the gap. Who are you?
“My name is
Amya.” The woman’s voice sounded strangled, as if her throat had jammed shut.
Are you my – the baby searched for the
word – nurse?
Amya didn’t
reply. Her damp gaze had shifted back to the body on the bed.
Daughter of Hope is available from Musa
here.
For the really keen, you can find out more about the story-world and characters of
The Siaris Quartet novels at my
blog.
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