Dark Secrets: Blog Tour
EXCERPT, from
HEART'S BLOOD, by Jeffe Kennedy
Nix knew how to do many things. She could dance and speak several languages, able to make charming conversation in all of them with diplomatic skill. She rode with a perfect seat, understood how to feed a village, the political status of all the known kingdoms—the Twelve, Kooncelund and beyond—along with who stood to be an ally or an enemy. Not to mention all those small spells to please and divert the faeries, to ensure continued good luck. Nothing like her mother’s sorcery. She’d never managed that, something of a disappointment in that arena. Which made her all the better to be sent off to be a foreign bride.She’d trained to be a queen—skills not at all useful in a servant.Under Mrs. Crocker’s gentle, but insistent questioning, Nix found herself as wanting as the housekeeper clearly did. She dared not risk revealing her true nature.
Nix knew how to do many things. She could dance and speak several languages, able to make charming conversation in all of them with diplomatic skill. She rode with a perfect seat, understood how to feed a village, the political status of all the known kingdoms—the Twelve, Kooncelund and beyond—along with who stood to be an ally or an enemy. Not to mention all those small spells to please and divert the faeries, to ensure continued good luck. Nothing like her mother’s sorcery. She’d never managed that, something of a disappointment in that arena. Which made her all the better to be sent off to be a foreign bride.She’d trained to be a queen—skills not at all useful in a servant.Under Mrs. Crocker’s gentle, but insistent questioning, Nix found herself as wanting as the housekeeper clearly did. She dared not risk revealing her true nature.
Couldn’t even
contemplate what Natilde would visit upon her. Not again. To protect Falada and
herself, she must be forever nothing more than the serving maid she appeared to
be. One who’d somehow never done a useful chore in her life.
“You cannot cook or
sew,” Mrs. Crocker recapped with some exasperation. “You’ve never done laundry,
scrubbed a floor or served at dinner. What on earth did you do at your previous
home?”
Flailing for an
answer, she cast about the warm kitchen, empty of other servants in this lull
before supper preparation, hoping for inspiration. Then gasped aloud when her
gaze fell on Prince Cavan, darkly imposing, standing in the doorway and staring
hard at her, anger in the line of his jaw. For a panicked moment, she imagined
he’d somehow found her out and, flinging herself back in an instinctive need to
hide, she nearly toppled over the rude bench, saved only by the rung she’d
tucked her feet behind, scraping her shins painfully. Mrs. Crocker followed the
direction of her gaze, but seemed unsurprised to see the prince standing there.
Or, rather, not taken aback by it.
“Your Highness,” she
nodded, but did not rise. “What can I do for you that you could not send for?”
His gaze lingered
over Nix, taking her measure in a way she recognized, a way she herself had
been taught, to weigh the value of a person, their relative worth and
usefulness. But with no glimmer of any other knowledge. He believed her a
servant, which meant Natilde would have no reason to make good her threats.
Easing her breath, she watched him through her lashes. She’d spotted him
before, standing in the tower window, warm light framing his lean body, face
shadowed. This close, he looked no less brooding, body lean and lethal as the
sword he was reputed to wield so well, gray eyes like granite framed by lashes
as black as his coal-dark hair. For his part, he looked away, dismissing her as
beneath further notice and turning his attention to the housekeeper.
“My bride requires a
maid or two to assist her. I’m sure you know the best choices. Send whoever you
choose up along with a hot bath, soap and so forth. Anything she requests, of
course.”
His words, all
graciously chosen, nevertheless seemed barbed with displeasure.
“Of course, Your
Highness.” Mrs. Crocker folded her hands around her tea cup. “And for you?”
He hesitated, an
almost palpable pause that tempted Nix to glance up, though she managed to tame
the impulse. “Have you any of that Branlian whiskey?” he asked quietly.
With a knowing sigh,
Mrs. Crocker, heaved herself up. “Don’t be telling your father I gave it to you
is all. And don’t drink so much that you can’t do your duty by Princess
Natilde, hear?”
“I want it so that
I can do it.” He sounded wry, a hint of a laugh behind it.
Fortunately neither
he nor Mrs. Crocker appeared to notice Nix’s reflexive start at the sound of
her name. Not anymore. Not ever again. Nix studied her hands,
fervently wishing to fade into the floor.
“Is she so terrible,
then?” Mrs. Crocker sounded as if she gossiped with the royal family on a daily
basis. “She looked lovely enough. Does her disposition not match her pretty
face? Sorry, Nix, if you have an affection for your mistress and we offend you.”
“I bear no affection
for her, no,” Nix whispered. She sensed the prince’s eyes upon her again. Then
his bootsteps sounded on the scrubbed stone floor, pausing next to her.
His fingers on her
chin, raising her face to meet his penetrating stare. He held the bottle of
whiskey in his other hand and took a long drink as he studied her. “Your
mistress would have had us send you out into the winter.”
It sounded like a
dare. A statement he clearly expected her to answer, though he didn’t pose it
as a question.“I should go then,” she managed, though her voice quavered at the
prospect. Leave Falada? It would be the severest of blows, but not unexpected.
But he did not release her. Instead those strangely hypnotic eyes held her
fast, even as he took another swig of whiskey.
“Your people must be
heartless, to accept such barbarity. I would no more abandon the infant heir I
hope to get on your mistress to a blizzard than have you sent away in this
season. You barely made it here in time. Winter is setting in firmly.”
“Nix and I have been
discussing what she might do.” Mrs. Crocker had a soothing tone. Why should the
prince need soothing and why would the housekeeper be the one to do it?
“No one will be sent
away.”
“Good.” The prince
grunted the word, then took another pull of whiskey, still holding her chin,
but gentling his grip, stroking the bones of her jaw, not unlike she’d settle
Falada. “What have you hit upon?”
“We’ve yet to decide
on the perfect place,” Mrs. Crocker tempered with a diplomacy that surprised
Nix. “She’s not been here long and is still recovering from her journeys.”
“Ah.” The prince
seemed to recall himself and released her. “Of course. I’ll leave you to your
duties and attend to my own.” That wry tone again. He turned away, took a step,
then spun back with such liquid grace she imagined he could have run her
through before she knew it, had he a sword in his hand. “Your mistress—has she
more of that perfume in her belongings?”
Impossible, given her
nerves and despair, but Nix nearly laughed at the consternation on his face.
Superstitious of bathing, the newly minted Princess Natilde had instead doused
herself with the perfume she’d bought from a lady of Duranor they met at an
inn, using Nix’s coin. Nix would have warned her from using too much, even
owing her only enmity, had the woman been inclined to listen at all.
Suppressing the urge to smile at him, she shook her head. “I believe she used
it...all. There is none left.”
“This explains a
great deal,” he muttered, and drank of the whiskey yet again, gaze lingering on
Nix.
“I’ll take that
liquor away from you, young buck,” Mrs. Crocker scolded, “lest your whiskey
dick leave you unable to perform.”
Her face hot with
scandalized shock, Nix goggled at the housekeeper, terrified that the prince
would strike her down for her insolence. Instead he laughed, losing the
brooding mien and sounding carefree, and suddenly much younger. Even more
astonishing, he kissed the woman on the cheek and pinched her ample hip.
“Aw, Brenna. Don’t be
jealous. You’ll always be my first love.”Mrs. Crocker actually giggled, then
made a swipe for the bottle, but he held it away from her, took one more long
pull, then set it in front of Nix. “Here. What was it—Nix? You have the rest.
You need some color and spirit. No more cringing like a ghost haunting our
kitchens. You’re not the one facing a burdensome fate, after all.”
He’d gone back to
mean and wry. Had he been forced into this marriage? Nix had thought him
willing all along. At least as willing as she, with the hope they’d build
something together. For the first time she considered her dire circumstances
with a sense of reprieve. How would it have been to be the woman waiting
upstairs as he sneered about her in the kitchen, fortifying himself for the
dreaded duty of divesting her of her virginity? Perhaps he and Princess Natilde
deserved each other.The prince must have read some of it in her face because he
shrugged and gave her a self-deprecating twist of his mouth.
“Don’t look so
shocked, little ghost. With your mistress I shall be all that is gallant and
noble. She’ll never guess what’s said of her in the kitchens. You’ll keep my
secrets, won’t you?”
Unable to muster an
answer, oddly flustered by his trust in her, she nodded. He ran a hand over her
hair, then kissed her forehead with the same affection he’d shown Mrs. Crocker.
Then, with a wink, slipped the whiskey from her hands and took one more drink
before handing it back. “We who are about to fuck, salute you.”
“Oh, go on with you
now!” Mrs. Crocker plopped aggrieved fists on her hips, but laughter sparkled
in her eyes.The prince held up his hands as if surrendering and headed to the
doorway. Just before exiting, he turned back and pinned Nix with a discomfiting
stare.
“She likes horses,”
he said. “Something in the stables, perhaps.”
DARK SECRETS, A Paranormal Noir Anthology
Participating Authors: Rachel Caine, Cynthia Eden, Megan
Hart, Suzanne Johnson, Jeffe Kennedy, and Mina Khan
ISBN: 978-1-942840-05-3
BLURB:
Six award-winning authors bring you this spellbinding
collection of stories about dark desires, mysterious worlds, and danger that
lurks in the shadows of the night. Where nothing is black and white; where
things might not be as they seem; where magic and mayhem rule.
MARION, MISSING by Rachel Caine
Valentine is a detective with two major problems: he's been
offered a kidnapping case that will probably get him killed, and his partner
won't let him turn it down. He owes her that much … since his partner's a
ghost, and he's the one who killed her. A dark, haunting noir mystery of love,
hate and loss.
FEMME FATALE by Cynthia Eden
PI Mick Swayne has seen it all—his clients have included liars, thieves,
and even killers. He thinks he can handle anything and anyone. Then she walks into his office. Savannah Moreau is beautiful, seductive, and…a
vampire? The gorgeous vamp hires Mick to
help her track down a killer who is hunting in Chicago, but as Mick slips
deeper into Savannah’s
paranormal world, he wonders if he can really trust his new client…
DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Megan Hart
When the devil starts the music, you'd better get ready to
dance.
Kathleen Murphy has sold her soul to the devil. Fame,
fortune, success...everything she's ever dreamed of is hers, and all she has to
do is the devil's bidding. When love comes knocking, the last thing in the
world she wants to do is involve Jake in her twisted world, but the devil's
started up the jukebox and Kathleen has no choice but to learn the steps
THE CONSORT by Suzanne Johnson
Faulkner Hearne, the captain of the ruthless Fae Hunters,
finds his duty at odds with his heart when he’s ordered to capture the consort of Faerie’s cruel Prince of Summer when she flees
across the veil into modern New Orleans. Can Faulk turn Liandra over to a
certain death at the hands of the prince, or will he risk a war with Faerie in
order to save her?
An all-new novella set in the Sentinels of New Orleans
multiverse.
HEART’S
BLOOD by Jeffe Kennedy, a Twelve Kingdoms novella
A dark fairytale retelling of a princess robbed of rank,
husband and even her name.
Nix is nothing. The Princess Natilde—her former waiting woman—attacked her on the journey to wed Prince
Cavan, stripping her of everything and taking her place. With no serving
skills, Nix becomes a goose girl. Perhaps if Nix keeps her promise never to reveal
who she really is, Natilde won’t
carry out her vile threats. Prince Cavan entered his arranged marriage
determined to have a congenial, if not loving relationship with his future
queen—for the sake of both
their kingdoms. But, his wife repels him more each day and he finds himself
absurdly drawn to the lovely Nix.
With broken vows, anguish and dark secrets between them,
Cavan and Nix struggle to find the magic to restore what’s gone terribly wrong... if it ever can
be.
THE DJINN IN THE MIRROR by Mina Khan, a Djinn World
novella
A paranormal
Cinderella story with a young witch as the heroine and a wicked, sexy djinn
instead of a fairy godmother.
Dahlia, the
step-daughter of a power hungry wizard, promises to free a djinn trapped in a
mirror if he rescues her from impending death. But Ashmael the djinn has his
own agenda: to trick & seduce his way to freedom. The only problem is he
ends up falling for Dahlia. Can he win his freedom and save the girl?
Add DARK SECRETS to your TBR!
We are now on Goodreads:
AUTHOR BIOS AND LINKS:
RACHEL CAINE
Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1
internationally bestselling author of more than 45 novels that span the
categories of horror, suspense, urban fantasy, science fiction, media tie-in,
historical, and young adult. She’s
also the author of more than 100 short stories.
Rachel began her publishing career in 1991 under the name
Roxanne Longstreet with her first novel, Stormriders, a media tie-in
novel for the role-playing game Shadow World. In 2003, she began writing
as Rachel Caine with the launch of the bestselling Weather Warden series in
urban fantasy, followed by spinoff series Outcast Season, the Red Letter Days
duology, and the Revivalist series.
In 2006, she began her career in young adult novels with the
15-book Morganville Vampires series. In 2014 she published her first
stand-alone YA novel, Prince of Shadows, and in 2015, the start of the
new Great Library series, Ink and Bone. She has two further novels in
the series coming in 2016 and 2017, as well as a new three-book series
beginning in Fall 2016. The Morganville Vampires will see a resurrection in
March 2016 with Midnight Bites, a collection of short fiction.
Rachel graduated with a business degree from Texas Tech
University, and had a number of careers in the business world, including accounting,
tax preparation, payroll administration, insurance investigation, web design,
technical writing, and corporate communications. She is a full time writer.
http://www.rachelcaine.com |Twitter: @rachelcaine | Facebook: rachelcainefanpage
Contact: rachelcainewriter@gmail.com
CYNTHIA EDEN
Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes dark tales of
paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She is a New York Times, USA Today,
Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller. Cynthia is also a three-time finalist for the
prestigious RITA® award . Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia
has written over fifty novels and novellas.
Twitter: twitter.com/cynthiaeden
MEGAN HART
Megan Hart is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling
author of romance, erotic fiction, mainstream fiction, science fiction and
horror, as well as young adult fiction under the name Em Garner.
Hart began writing short horror and science fiction stories
in elementary school, then added writing romance in the late nineties. Her
first novel, An Exaltation of Larks, was published in 2002, followed by more
than thirty novels and dozens of short stories in multiple genres.
Hart writes full time in the deep, dark woods of
Pennsylvania and on the sandy shores of Delaware. She can’t stand the feeling of corduroy or the
smell of Stargazer lilies, but she loves zombies, rainbows, the internet and
the ocean. Find her at MeganHart.com.
Drop her a line at readinbed@gmail.com.
SUZANNE JOHNSON
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels of New
Orleans urban fantasy series for Tor Books, including the 2014 Gayle Wilson
Award-winning Elysian Fields. Writing as Susannah Sandlin, she is author of the
award-winning Penton Legacy paranormal romance series for Montlake Romance,
including 2013 Holt Medallion Winner for paranormal romance Absolution, as well
as The Collectors romantic suspense series, including Lovely, Dark, and Deep,
2015 Holt Medallion winner and 2015 Booksellers Best Award winner for romantic
suspense. She starts a new romantic suspense series about Louisiana game
wardens, beginning with WILD MAN’S
BLUFF in early 2016. Susannah was a finalist for the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Awards in both 2014 and
2015.
A displaced New Orleanian, she currently lives in Auburn, Alabama,
and claims an affinity for SEC football, fried gator on a stick, redneck
reality TV, and Prince Christof’s
best friend, undead New Orleans pirate Jean Lafitte.
JEFFE KENNEDY
Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include
non-fiction, poetry, short fiction, and novels. She has been a Ucross
Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and
was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award. Her essays have appeared
in many publications, including Redbook.
Her most recent works include a number of fiction series:
the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM
novellas of the Facets of Passion, and an erotic contemporary serial novel,
Master of the Opera, which released beginning January 2, 2014. A fourth series,
the fantasy trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms, hit the shelves starting in May 2014
and book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and
has been nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of
the Rose, has been nominated for best fantasy romance of the year. A fifth series,
the highly anticipated erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, released starting
with Going Under in July.
She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats,
plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.
MINA KHAN
Award-winning author Mina Khan grew up in Bangladesh on
stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her
fiction. She daydreams of hunky heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes
them down as paranormal and fantasy stories. Between stories, she teaches
culinary classes and writes for about food for her local newspaper. Other than
that, she's raising a family of two children, three cats, three dogs and a
husband.
Her first published work, The Djinn's Dilemma, won the
novella category of the 2012 Romance Through The Ages (published) contest. A
Tale of Two Djinns won the 2013 Readers’ Crown for best paranormal romance. Wildfire, her female dragon
shifter, won the 2014 Prism for Best First Novel. A Christmas Wish won the
Novella division of the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.
Blog: Stories by Mina Khan
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