Living a double life is never easy…especially when it’s shrouded with secrets and lies.
Shrouded Guard
Shrouded Curses Book 1
by Amanda N. Newman
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Living a double life is never easy…especially when it’s shrouded with secrets and lies.
Hunter
Wildmoor lives under two identities. By day, he’s viewed only as a
troubled bad boy at Hydhexa School of Magic. At night, he’s the
legendary Shrouded Guard, courtesy of being raised in and training
with the Guardian’s Guild since he was old enough to pick up a
staff. But guild life isn’t easy. The training regimen is brutal,
the missions demanding, and being the Guild Master’s right-hand man
only brings on more pressure.
As if it isn’t enough to balance schoolwork and guild duties, by order of his uncle, Hunter is forced to keep his affiliation with the Guardian’s Guild a secret, an easy enough task for Hydhexa’s main outcast. At least, it was until a new student comes to Hydhexa and insists that she wants to be Hunter’s friend, no matter how much he tries to push her away.
It can’t last, though. After being assigned to a group project with two of the most accepting people he’s ever met, Hunter can’t help but find himself growing close to his newfound friends. His guild responsibilities become more demanding and his already abusive uncle only becomes more violent. To make it worse, he’s set his sights on Hunter’s new friends as potential guild recruits.
But Hunter has to do something, even if it means risking his own safety and uncovering some of the guild’s darkest secrets along the way.
Content Note: This book contains scenes depicting physical abuse, self-harm, cursing, trauma, anxiety, gaslighting, verbal abuse, and bullying.
**Releases April 2024 – PreOrder Now!**
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“Oh, would you look who it is. Everyone’s favorite Shrouded Brat,” a shrill voice commented, dragging me back to reality and sending a wave of pain through my head.
Even if I had gotten a full night’s sleep, hadn’t just come from school, and downed a double dose of Luna’s painkiller tablets, that voice would’ve still been migraine inducing. Biting back a growl of annoyance, I forced myself to look in the direction it came from. A woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties was sitting at the secretary’s desk outside of the Guardian’s office. Her pin-straight mulberry hair was pulled back in a tight bun and her face was twisted into a bored grimace, cold brown eyes staring down at her fingernails as she ran a file over them.
Same color eyes as Luna’s but with none of the warmth.
Her feet rested on top of the desk, crossed at the ankles. I could imagine Uncle walking out of his office, seeing this, and throwing a fit about it, though he’d take it out on me since I was standing right here and supposedly letting it happen. He wouldn’t care that I’d just walked up.
“Kinicia, do you really think the Guardian would be pleased if he came out here and saw you with your feet on your desk?” I questioned, trying to keep my voice calm.
Kinicia Moran was one of those kinds of people who would only take orders in a roundabout way, at least from me. If my uncle had come out and said something to her, she would’ve probably thrown herself into a bow that would’ve left her faceplanted on the floor.
She didn’t even look up at me. “Bite me, golden boy.”
Burning fury rose in my chest, pushing out some of the anxiety. If there was one person that Kinicia hated in the guild, it was me, even though it didn’t make sense. Even a blind person would’ve been able to pick up on the fact that she was a complete kiss-ass, so I would’ve thought that being the Guardian’s nephew would’ve made her more inclined to listen to me, since she was one of the few who knew the truth about that. Apparently, me being both his nephew and right-hand man rubbed her the wrong way, like I’d stolen some kind of promotion out from under her nose.
For all I knew, maybe I had. Maybe she’d been gunning for the Shrouded Guard title and then my uncle assigned it to me when I was fourteen, but that wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t like I asked him to make me Shrouded Guard.
Before I realized what I was doing, my open palm slammed down on the top of her desk, stinging pain seeping into my hand despite my glove. If nothing else, anger made it easier to pretend to be confident. Kinicia’s attention snapped to me, her hand stilling.
“Kinicia Moran, feet off the desk,” I snarled. “Now.”
Kinicia’s face twisted into a scowl, eyes glaring daggers at me. I stared her down through the mask, my instincts screaming at me that I was playing with fire. Unlike me, I was pretty sure Kinicia had some kind of inborn magical ability, though I’d never seen it in action.
My staff was still in my room at home. If she decided to attack me, the best I could do was dodge and physically take her down, something that wouldn’t have been too hard considering she was a foot shorter than me and already off balance.
A few tense moments passed before Kinicia finally complied, lowering her feet to the floor, still glowering at me. Her right hand was clenched around her nailfile so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.
“One day, Shrouded Guard, you might find yourself messing with the wrong person and no one will be there to save you,” she ground out.
I leaned closer to her, close enough that I could smell her cheap perfume despite my mask. “Is that a threat?”
She didn’t waver. “Merely an observation. Cocky bastards don’t tend to last too long and find themselves thrown away sooner or later.”
“Oh, I’m so scared.” My words came out hushed and laced with sarcasm.
Amanda N. Newman is the author of Young Adult and New Adult fantasy novels (sometimes with aspects of other genres blended in). Her books feature strong found family elements and perfectly imperfect characters. Take a journey through other worlds and find yourself surrounded by diverse casts of characters that you can't help but grow to love.
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