Today, I take great pleasure in being part of Valerie Twombly's Blog Tour for her new release "Eternal Flame." I was a Beta Reader/ Critique Partner for Valerie, in the beginning stages of Eternal Flame, (at that time, given a different name) and am happy to help her promote the first book in the Guardian series.
Below is an excerpt from the book for you to taste Valarie's writing and at the end of the post you will find a Rafflecopter Giveaway to enter. You could win a copy of Eternal Flame and a copy of Amazon Heat, just released in November. Best of luck!
Carolyn
Eternal Flame
By Valerie Twombly
ISBN: 978-1-600735-700-1
Book Length: Full novel (84,000 words)
Publisher: Resplendence
Other
DESCRIPTION
A woman he cannot have, a man who is only a
dream…
When guardian Marcus Dagotto, discovers the
Gods have gifted him with a mate, he is pissed. He has no room for love and
even less for a human who has no idea he exists.
Cassandra Jensen, has a shattered heart and
has given up on men. Only one man can set her body on fire, but he is a fantasy
that haunts her sleep.
Two worlds, one desire.
When the two collide, fate will rip them
apart and test their resolve. Will darkness and evil prevail? Or, will love
conquer all?
Excerpt
Prologue
October 1712
Tears
stung Marcus’s cheeks when he raised his sword. “I am so sorry, love. I have
failed you. It should be I who dies this day.”
Eliza’s
cocoa eyes looked at him but didn’t see him. Dead inside, her soul was lost.
She would never again be the woman he loved.
He
sucked in a breath and flexed his arms, the sword swung, slicing across her
neck. The blade tore through sinew and bone and sent her head rolling across
the stone floor. Reality nearly sent him to his knees, but there wasn’t time to
mourn the death of his mate. The fighting outside echoed in his ears, the
demons were strong and put up one hell of a fight.
Marcus
advanced down the corridor of the abandoned castle. The scene played out the
same in every direction. Blood bathed the floors, and his brethren’s heartsick
screams echoed off the walls as they killed their mates.
A demon
jumped out from behind a door. Its claws tearing the flesh on his arm. He
wielded his sword and sent another head flying across the room. Out of the
corner of his eye, he caught a Draki dispatching another demon. The shifter, a
friend who also searched for his mate. Not even the dragons were immune to
Drayos and his fucking misery.
The
dragon turned his head. “Be careful, my friend. My brethren will soon be
setting this place on fire.” Caleb’s cerulean body shimmered as he shifted back
to human form.
“Have
you found your mate yet?” Marcus asked as he searched the adjoining room.
Empty.
“Not
yet, you?”
He
stepped beside his friend. “I killed her.”
Caleb
laid a hand on his shoulder. “I am sorry, my friend. Drayos will die this day
for what he has done.”
Marcus
nodded and moved forward in his search for the demon Drayos. He opened up the
psychic path leading to his prince. Aidyn.
Marcus, did you find my sister?
He
closed his eyes, so many hearts broken today. She
is dead, I am sorry, my lord.
I will kill Drayos with my bare hands.
Aidyn
had already lost his brother and father in this battle. His pain ripped through
Marcus. No doubt the other guardians felt it. It was a blessing and a curse to
be connected to each other.
He tried
to pinpoint the prince’s position, but something blocked him. Aidyn,
where are you? Do not engage Drayos. The
prince would die as well if he tried to kill the Demon Overlord. Aidyn was far
too young; his two hundred years were no match against a thousand-year-old
demon.
He took our women, used them to carry his
spawn. He has killed everyone I love.
Tired
muscles carried Marcus up a flight of stairs. He stormed from room to room,
kicking in locked doors only to find them empty. I know
my lord, and he will pay, but it is not wise for you to confront him. He knew Aidyn wouldn’t listen. Perhaps
the gods would help.
“Zarek!”
Marcus summoned the god, nothing. No surprise. After all, the gods could have
stepped in and saved the women, but they had all been left to fate. Fuck fate,
he was sick to death of it.
The
sound of clashing swords filtered in from the hallway. He flashed into the
room, not caring what he stumbled across. His vision filled with Aidyn and
Drayos, they were face to face.
Drayos
had morphed into a full demon and stood at least three feet taller than Aidyn.
Blood seeped from the wounds that covered the demons blackened skin.
Marcus
tried to run toward them but found himself behind an invisible barrier. “What
the fuck?”
He
balled his hands and banged on the wall. “Aidyn!” The prince ignored him. He
was stuck, helpless as he watched the events unfold in front of him. Thoughts
of telling Daria, his queen, she had lost her entire family in this battle sat
like arsenic in his stomach. He pressed his palms against his prison. Aidyn,
my friend, I can’t bear another loss today.
The air behind him shifted,
a cool breeze lifted his hair. He moved his gaze over his shoulder and found
Zarek towering over him in a Scottish kilt rather than his beloved
Egyptian
shendyt. His raven hair held a beaded braid on one side. So this
is why he ignores us? He is busy playing dress-up with the goddess Quadira.
“Get me
out of here!” he demanded.
“You
will not interfere, my son.”
Marcus
growled; his fangs elongated; he wanted blood. Yes, he would take the blood of
his god if it ended the pain and suffering of his brethren. “You would let the
prince die?” He tried to lunge toward Zarek but found his feet pinned to the
floor. You are our creator, we your warriors. Why would you do
this to us?
Zarek
gave him a leveled gaze. “What makes you think the prince will die this day?”
He
looked back toward the fight. Aidyn had lost his sword; a small dagger was
clutched in his hand. Both the demon and the vampire bore bloody wounds.
He
turned back to Zarek. “The prince is too young to fight one as strong as
Drayos.” Marcus dropped to his knees, he would beg the god if he had to.
“Send me
in his place…please.” He was three hundred years older than Aidyn and could
defeat the demon. “We have lost so much today.” Death haunted him like a
fucking plague. He was a healer, but today, he healed no one. The anguished
cries of his brethren still echoed in his ears. They had slain their mates then
turned on each other to end their misery. Marcus would like to end his
suffering as well, but he would continue on; his skills were needed.
Zarek
laid a hand on his shoulder. “I am sorry, my son, for all the pain you will
encounter this day. However, today must shape the future.” With those words, he
vanished.
The
future? Aidyn was their future, the line that tied them all together. They all
hoped the prince would persuade the gods to find a cure for the curse Drayos
had placed upon them.
The
curse would devour them, creating an imbalance that would darken their souls.
When Zarek created his vampires, he used light and dark, good and evil. The
light fueled the guardian of humanity, the darkness the warrior. A perfect
balance, but once Drayos’s curse took full effect, the light would fade, the
darkness turning them into pure evil, destined to destroy everything in their
path. Not even the humans they guarded would be safe.
He
jumped to his feet but found the shield still erected around him. Aidyn’s body
lie still on the floor, and Drayos stood over him, sword poised for the fatal
blow.
He beat
on the invisible wall. “Aidyn!” He sucked in a breath, his heart trapped in a
vice that squeezed the life out of him. He could do nothing but watch his
prince die. A tear slid down his cheek for the death of his mate, his brethren
and now his prince, his best friend. I am no guardian. I am a failure. I have failed them
all.
Drayos
swung his sword. Everything moved in slow motion as Marcus waited for the blade
to connect with Aidyn’s neck.
Lightning
sizzled from the sky and sent debris flying in different directions. The room
crumbled around them as the earth shook. Drayos’s head rolled across the floor.
Marcus sensed the shield that encased him drop, and he rushed forward to where
Aidyn stood.
“What
the hell just happened? Are you alright?” Marcus asked.
“I am
not exactly sure. I think I caused the lightning.”
“You?”
He looked over the prince, his pants torn and his shirt missing. Dust from the
debris covered his bleeding wounds. There was something different about the
prince. He seemed stronger. Marcus noticed the dark marking on Aidyn’s chest
and reached out to wipe away the gray dirt so he could get a better look.
“Sweet deity!” He jumped back.
“What?”
Aidyn looked at his chest. His jaw dropped. “I never felt it.”
Like
many of the other guardians, Aidyn had been given his mark. An indication of
his position and abilities. Marcus bore the Ankh, a pair of angel wings spread
out over the top. The ancient symbol meant life or living. A healer, able to
repair the sick or injured with his energy.
The
naked skin over Aidyn’s left breast bore the mark chosen by the gods. The eye
of Ra, the symbol of protection and power, sat atop a pyramid encased by a
blazing sun. This could only mean…
Marcus.
His
thoughts interrupted by the almost unrecognizable voice. Father?
Come to me, son.
Aidyn
touched his shoulder. “I am fine, let us go help your father.”
Together
they flashed to the position his father communicated. When Marcus arrived, his
father was on his knees holding the bloody, headless body of his wife, Marcus’s
mother. His sword lay beside him covered in blood. He knew what had happened.
His mother’s belly heavy with child. Drayos’s demon spawn had been growing
inside her, and like the other women, her soul had been darkened. There was no
cure, Marcus had tried to heal Eliza, but it had proved fruitless. Like him,
his father had taken the head of the woman he loved.
“Father.”
He knelt next to the frail man and placed his arm around his shoulder, pulling
him tight to his side. “I am so very sorry.” Tears welled in his eyes, he
refused them escape. He would remain strong for the man beside him.
His
father looked at him, his eyes rimmed red. “You will do the honorable thing.”
Marcus
closed his eyes, again. He would have to mourn later. “Yes,” he whispered. How
much more destruction could he take before he crumbled? Somewhere, he would
find the strength needed to end his father’s misery and begin his own.
“Take
care of your sister.” It was the last command his father would ever give him.
“I will.
I love you.” He kissed the man on the cheek then stood, his sword flashed
through the smoke-filled sky and sliced through his father’s neck.
Marcus
dropped to his knees, the heartache so severe he nearly passed out. His lungs
contracted as he screamed to the heavens. Another failure, so many broken
hearts he was unable to heal. Why couldn’t he heal the broken hearts?
Strong
arms circled him from behind and held him tight. “I have you, my friend,” Aidyn
whispered.
About the Author
As a child,
Valerie would often get into trouble for peeking at her mother’s favorite TV
show, Dark Shadows. She can still hear her mother saying “It will give you
nightmares.” She was right of course, but that did not stop Valerie from
watching. As an adult, her love of the fanged creatures never waned. She would
watch any vampire movie she could find.
Being a true
romantic, Valerie was thrilled when she discovered the genre of paranormal romance.
Her first read was one of Lara Adrian’s, Midnight Breed Series and from there
she was hooked.
Today, Valerie
has decided to take her darker, sensual side and put it to paper. When she is
not busy creating a world full of steamy, hot men and strong, seductive women,
she juggles her time between a full-time job, hubby and her two German shepherd
dogs, in Northern IL.
Website: http://www.valerietwombly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FangedFantasy
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Valerie-Twombly/e/B00BOXA8ZE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1381061037&sr=8-1
Giveaway info
Four
books total. 1 e-copy of Eternal Flame and 1 e-copy of Amazon Heat to two
winners. 
