Errant
Spark
Elemental
Trials Book 1
by
Ronelle Antoinette
Genre:
Fantasy Romance
How
can you afford to risk it all for love when your life is not your
own?
They
say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but In
Egalion’s Imperial court, you can't tell one from the
other...especially when they change at the flip of a coin. Behind the
luxury and splendor lies a realm of treachery where cloak-and-dagger
political maneuvering threatens to destroy the peace of two thousand
years.
Twenty-five-year-old
Battlemage Jex Xander has a mouth that frequently gets him into
trouble, while in contrast, Enari Namelum speaks not at all. When Jex
becomes the target of a faceless curse-slinger, Enari, the girl he
has protected since the day they met, must now protect him. A string
of ritual human sacrifices coupled with Jex’s growing inability to
keep his feelings (and hands) to himself only serve to complicate
matters. Amidst the mounting chaos, passion and romance should be the
last thing on their minds, but life and the Goddess seem to have
other ideas.
In
a world as enticing as it is perilous, love, danger, and magic will
collide, leaving lives irrevocably changed. The events of a single
summer stand to change the course of more than just the kingdom of
Egalion and the ones dismissed as pawns may yet prove to be the most
important players.
“Errant
Spark” is the hush before the storm, the last deep breath before
the plunge. The flint has been struck and it’s possible the whole
world might go up in flames…because love in the Imperial court is
as dangerous a thing as backroom politics and jealousy can be as much
a driving force as silver and gold.
***
Fantasy?
Action? Romance? Yes! This romantic fantasy novel by Ronelle
Antoinette is a broad, epic, sweeping fantasy with more twists and
turns and ups and downs than a wild roller-coaster! The first
installment of the Elemental Trials series is one of those books that
really is so much more than what the blurb can convey. Described as
“surprisingly complex and visionary” by one reviewer, “Errant
Spark” will leave you mesmerized from the first page to the
last.
Hailed
by Amazing Stories Magazine’s Ricky L Brown as “a simple story
about interesting characters with just enough romance and magic to
make it work. […] Errant Spark is as complex as George RR Martin,
with a world that is well-suited for conniving and cavorting. Rest
assured, there is plenty of sex and violence, but not as raw and
stabby as the aforementioned works. It’s more like a big kid’s
version of a fairy tale.
Recommended
for:
•Mature
teens and up
•Fans
of epic fantasy and romance
•Those
looking for characters they want to eat…or take home and
enjoy
•Readers
who can appreciate a gorgeous tapestry of magic, myth, and
mayhem
•Connoisseurs
of fine love stories that complement the plot and that ‘slow
burn’
•Lovers
of surprises, twists-and-turns, and well-placed, necessary
supernatural elements
•Anyone
looking for sex, magic, love, fantasy, and a story that will sweep
you away
•Those
who don’t mind staying up all night so they can turn that final
page
Update:
As of 11/21/16, a series glossary has been included at the end of
this novel (in ebook and print form only).
Amazon
* Audible
* Apple
* Smashwords
* B&N
“May I join you?”
Without waiting for a response, Jex Xander settled gracefully to the ground beside her. He offered her a tin cup and she took it, warily examining the contents.
“You have the look of someone who could use that.” He jerked his chin at the cup before turning his attention to his own bowl of stew and chunk of bread.
Chamomile and meadowsweet wafted up on the steam and she inhaled appreciatively, but didn’t drink.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Fishing a flask out of his pocket, the mage unstoppered it and leaned over her, pouring a small amount of something brownish into the tea. “Not the best quality, I’m afraid, and I know it smells vile, but it’ll take the edge off your sore muscles, I promise.” He grinned at her startled expression before settling more comfortably and beginning to eat heartily.
Enari took a tentative sip and tried not to gag. It was horrid, but the warmth that spread in her belly was soothing, so she continued to drink. They sat in silence for several moments as stars twinkled to life overhead. A few even shot brightly across the sky and Enari watched them, still awed at the sheer immensity of the view above her. At the Temple, parts of the night sky had always been obscured by foliage, even when viewed from the high branches of the trees she climbed.
“Mmm, Plamen works his forge tonight,” Jex observed around a mouthful of bread, “Wonder what he’s making?”
Enari didn’t answer and after a moment, he tried again.
“Did the kvinna speak truth? Are you really still a novice?” He used the remaining crust to mop out his bowl before licking his fingers and wiping them in the grass beside him.
She nodded, still not looking at him.
“May I ask how old you are?”
It was a rude question to ask a woman, he knew, but he’d been watching her all afternoon and hadn’t been able to guess her age. ‘Young’ was all he’d determined for certain. Probably too young.
Using a stick, she drew a number in the dirt and his conscience eased. Eighteen. Not too young, then, or at least not so much that he felt guilty for looking. And he definitely had been looking. Couldn’t blame a man, really.
Well, the kvinna probably would. She seemed the excessively protective sort.
“I have a sister about your age, back in Rowan. Not as quiet as you, though,” he mused, hoping to at least get a smile out of the girl. She was exotically appealing and he could only imagine how much more radiant she would be if she smiled.
Enari stood quickly. She didn’t know how to fend off interested men and retreating to bed seemed like the easiest way out of this awkward situation.
“Novice!” one of the guardsmen called out. To Jex, he sounded more than a little drunk. “If you be done with that pretty boy, come and spend time with a real man. The night promises to be chill, but I’ll warm you well if he won’t!”
Jex rose to his feet upon seeing her uncertainty and embarrassment.
“You!” he called back, “Didn’t your mother teach you how to address a lady?”
“Mind your own business, mage,” the man retorted. He got up unsteadily and swaggered towards Enari. She hurriedly backed away, eyes darting left and right as she sought an avenue of escape.
Before the man could reach her, Jex stepped up and put his palm in the center of the other’s chest. He gave him a stiff shove, eyes dark with menace.
“Don’t be a fool. I wasn’t sent to protect these women from their own escorts but I will. I suggest you find your bedroll, friend,” he said dangerously, “Sleep it off, or you’ll be no good to anyone on the morrow.”
Enari stared at the pair with round eyes. The mage didn’t even know her, yet here he was, protecting her honor like she was some grand lady.
After a moment of glaring at each other, the guardsmen broke eye contact first. Muttering sullenly under his breath, he retreated and Jex released a sigh. He really hadn’t wanted to fight the drunken lout, even though he was confident he’d have won.
“Silent little thing, aren’t you?” Returning his attention to Enari, he reached out and touched her cheek gently.
Weariness in blurry waves of gray, spikes of hard red adrenaline and anger, fading sparks of vibrant blue lust... Goddess, she’d be so pretty if she smiled. Too pretty to stay much longer in a group of men with no one but her Sura to look after her. Stupid, stupid to send such a small party across so much open land.
Quiet thunder of a rapidly pounding heart, the sharp tang of fear-sweat, nervous little brown mouse… That man almost…he could have…and the mage. I don’t even know him, he doesn’t know me, but he stopped the other one. His hand is on my skin and…
Starting in alarm, Enari recoiled and the string of awareness that was and wasn’t hers snapped like gossamer thread. She took a quick step back and the sudden movement unbalanced her. Her sore leg muscles were unable to compensate and with a surprised gasp, she fell onto her bottom in the dirt. Jex looked down at her, clearly as startled as she.
A heavy hand grabbed the back of his tunic and the grizzled old guard captain shook him roughly. His voice was deep and his accent was rough. “She dun’a like to be touched, mageling. Keep your mitts to yourself!”
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know, I,” Jex stuttered and cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he finished lamely, looking back and forth between Enari and the captain, as if unsure who he was actually apologizing to. He offered her a hand up, took a look at the captain’s face, and put both of them in his pockets.
“You alright, little mistress?” the captain asked Enari.
She nodded and climbed stiffly to her feet, brushing dirt from her trousers.
“I’m sorry for startling you, Nani,” Jex apologized again. Enari smiled and waved it away. He frowned at the captain and opened his mouth.
As if guessing the younger man’s thoughts, the captain shook his head. “She dun’a speak, either.” He narrowed his eyes threateningly at Jex, thick brows beetling down even further. “But dun’a you be going and thinking she be stupid for it, mage. She ain’t.”
Jex held up his hands in placation and took a step away. “I would never!”
“See that you dun’a.” With that, the captain strode away into the darkness. Jex made a face and gestured rudely at his retreating back. Enari covered a smile.
Turning back to her, he raised a speculative eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. “He wasn’t having me on, was he?”
Enari’s expression turned distant.
“Alright, alright. Keep your secrets.” His eyes darted to the bowl of stew she’d somehow managed not to drop or spill all over herself. “Are you going to eat that?”
Flash Point
Elemental Trials Book 2
A
2017 Book Excellence Award finalist in fantasy
Scandal
will shake foundations.
A
night of careless passion leaves Battlemage Jex Xander and Adept
Enari Alycon in a precarious position. Long-time lovers they might
be, but the Imperial ambassador and the daughter of Egalion’s High
Mage have rather public roles in the court—whether they wish it or
not—and scandal couldn’t come at a worse time.
Treachery
will tip balances.
When
a hostile kingdom reluctantly agrees to parley, the fate of
two-thousand years of peace is on the line. In the midst of
negotiations, Enari becomes the target of one of the Greater
Maelstrom. She and Jex must race against time to save her life and
that of her unborn child. What happens when an earth-shattering
secret, a demon bent on destruction, and a kingdom teetering on the
brink of war collide is anyone’s guess.
Choices
will have consequences.
The
decisions of a few will determine the fate of many, and who or what
will remain standing in the end is still uncertain. Hearts and lives
are on the cusp of irrevocable change…and not necessarily for the
better.
And
secrets? Those will change everything.
“Little mageling, I would have discourse with thee before your end.”
Enari opened her eyes but saw nothing. All was cold, dark and empty. Her chest burned and her throat ached.
A caress brushed her cheek and she flinched away in revulsion. The touch was alien and malignant, leaving a stab of needle-sharp pain in its wake.
“Who are you?” she cried out, turning in a circle, seeking the source of the voice.
There was a thoughtful pause before it spoke to her again, the words slithering into her mind.
“I am.”
“What does that mean? What are you?”
“I am,” it repeated, “I am your fear, your despair, your destruction. The Devourer of Souls, the Quencher of Hope, the Thief of Reason. I am either the door to your Ascension or the well of your downfall. I am The Dweller.”
A whiff of carrion and decay accompanied the pronouncement and she could sense an unidentifiable something moving around her.
It lashed out, snake quick and Enari staggered under the sharp brutality of the blow.
When she raised her hand to her swollen lips it came away wet and the salty tang of blood coated her tongue.
“What do you want with me?” she demanded, defiant in spite of her terror and pain.
The Dweller cackled, “What I have wanted from the beginning, what so many of your kind have given me.”
“And what is that?”
“Your life. And your power,” it sighed. “They send fewer and fewer of you as the ages pass, and I am often hungry. But you, mortal daughter, you are strong and your essence would sustain me well. Surrender yourself and I shall make your end a quick one…though perhaps not painless.”
“My power and my life are my own!”
Enari sensed the next blow coming and managed to dance aside. Something whistled past her face.
“Defiant, arrogant, foolish!” came the hissing reply. “You would choose anguish over submission? So be it. You will taste all the sweeter for the struggle.”
The voice sounded angry now and that frightened her more than the initial lazy contempt.
She felt a sudden tingling itch on her left palm and rubbed it against her thigh, trying to ignore the discomfort. Any distraction now could kill her.
Too late, she became aware of the entity behind her.
Pure and agonizing cold wrapped around her throat, searing, burning, crushing. Enari struggled but it was useless.
There was a snapping of links and the weight of the dragon pendant was gone. She snatched at it but missed and it fell away. Within seconds, she began to lose consciousness again, and this time, she knew it would be for good.
Her hands flew up and clawed for the thing, feeling the cut on her palm tear open on a jagged edge.
A sizzling howl rent the air and The Dweller shrieked and recoiled. Dirty flames, dull blue and sullen red, flickered in the dark but illuminated nothing.
Fire? But her gift wasn’t—
And then she understood.
Jex had shared his blood, and with it, some of his power. A lot of his power, actually, and this thing, whatever it was, couldn’t abide the touch of his magic. A fierce hope rose in her at the thought that she might yet survive this.
“What are you?” the ugly voice demanded and Enari thought she heard a touch of curiosity and…alarm?
“You’ve already named me, remember?” she taunted, “Mortal I may be, but I am an adept of the Tower with fire at my command.”
“You are no child of man,” it grumbled.
She sensed it moving again, trying to flank her. But it was wary now.
“No? What then?”
“Something new, something nasty.”
“So release me!”
It hissed again and it took her a breath to realize the thing was laughing at her. She dug a nail into the wound, bringing forth more blood and the sound ceased,
“I can hurt you and we both know it. I could destroy you.”
“That is beyond even your power. You will taste so sweet, little whatever-you-are.”
“Dweller.”
The new voice was quiet, steady, familiar, and its presence blazed in the void, a power that filled the space with almost painful intensity. A crackle like lightning filled the space around her.
“This affair is none of yours, Gatekeeper. Be gone! She is mine by rights,” it sulked, “It was agreed in the long ago, when this world was new.”
“Dweller.”
“Those sent here belong to me unless they can fight to be freed. This one is—”
The other interrupted, “You are the door to her Ascension. That too was agreed in the long ago.”
Silence, but only for a moment.
“Take it and be gone. I tire of your intrusions and meddling. There will always be others.”
A cool hand touched her cheek and the stinging pain ceased. That blazing presence enfolded her and there was comfort in the ethereal embrace.
“Close your eyes,” the voice whispered, “close your eyes and go back. They wait for you, my daughter.”
Ronelle
Antoinette lives in western Colorado with her husband, two cats, and
one dog-who-believes-he's-a-person. While she is a mother of none,
she’s an auntie to what should qualify as a small army. She is an
admitted caffeine addict, chocoholic, and hopeless romantic who has
carried on a passionate affair with the genre of fantasy since she
was old enough to read 'chapter books'.
Ronelle
dabbled in creative writing for many years before making it a career.
(She even considered it as a major in college, though she ended up
getting a Bachelor's degree in Counseling Psychology.) She published
her first novel, Errant Spark, in July of 2016.
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