YOUR VERY OWN SNEAK PEEK OF THE UPCOMING RELEASE: A SECRET IN THE ASHES
It was well past nightfall by the time Flint stood on the sidewalk in front of Kit’s house, and at first, he was worried Gideon had duped him and gave him the wrong address. Everything was quiet. Even the trees remained unmoving in the light breeze. A tidy garden lined the sidewalk up to her front door and the dying flowers nodded beneath the moon’s light. Quaint. Not the sort of place a hunter would live in.
But he knew it was the Ashe house. The mailbox had Kit’s name on it. Such convenient objects, these metal receptacles that gave names of the mortals who dug through them each day. One small use of his magic, sending out a beam of energy to the door, a stream of light so thin it might be a silk ribbon garlanded over the night air. He sent it to the door, pushed a little force into it so that it would combust over the surface, landing with a soft knock.
He waited silently, leaning against the poplar tree, waiting until she came to the door. Then he straightened up. Alert. Ready. Eyes narrowed to see better through the darkness.
She stood in the open doorway for a long moment, looking out into the darkness where he was sure she could see him, and yet she made no signal that her gaze had found his shoulders as they pulled inward. He stared back, just as brashly as her eyes roamed the place where he stood. Challenging her to see him.
Then, as her gaze lingered on his, as though she could see his eyes in the shadows of the branches where he stood, as though she was seeing right through him to a place even he’d forgotten existed, something happened.
Her gaze raised a low grumble up through his throat. In centuries, he had never given away his position until the moment he wanted to do so, but that gaze, that posture…His jaw tightened at the thought that he might have just revealed his presence.
But she did nothing. There was no reaction to his unbidden groan. He knew then, that she hadn’t heard him, hadn’t seen him, and yet…she held herself stiffly, angling herself the way a warrior would a she looked out into the night, making herself as small a target as she could.
She’d seen violence before, he thought. And she hadn’t pulled away from it.
A smile tugged his lips, but he couldn’t say if it was from relief, pleasure, or something else. He just knew he was drawn forward, advancing on her as he walked with the shadows, pulling them around him with each step until he stood right on her stoop, off to the side, a play of the light from inside cutting a neat triangle on the painted wood that left hard edges of shadows spilling over the porch.
She had lush hair tied back into a messy bun. Stray hairs framed her face, reaching for a few freckles that dotted her cheeks. Her green eyes narrowed as she swiveled her head left and right. Stopped right on him.
There was an electric, tension-filled moment when he thought she’d seen through his magic and found his face. He fought the urge to suck in a harsh breath as he caught better sight of her features. The way the porch-light caught in her eyes was like a burst of magic. With the halo of light rimming her hair, she could have been from the fae lands. The small tilt to her nose gave her an almost elven appearance.
His hands itched as her studied her. The thought of sending her to the pleasure taverns, or the catacombs suddenly tasted like bitter ale in his mouth.
“Who’s there?” she whispered and his stomach clenched at the sound of her voice. It sounded like soft fingers against his cheeks, frenzied fingers tangling in his hair, a hand on his chest that stilled his heart beat and kept it from pounding through his ribs.
A knot tied deep into the pit of his stomach.
Watch her when she sleeps. Follow her if she runs. Die if she does.
Those words clanged through his mind like a bell tolling through a fog-shrouded night. They’d been his orders, a duty he’d taken on because of his blood vow. But they never sounded so right as they did right then.
This was not going to be easy, he thought. It might even be painful. Because he wanted her, he realized. Not for his father. Not as leverage for the Shadow Court against her sister. For himself. And he knew in that moment as she stared right into his eyes without seeing him, that he wouldn’t let anyone else taste of the juice of her fear. That delicious moment was for him alone. No matter what it cost him. Even if it was for one single instant.
And that desire, so potent now that his throat ached, meant each second he spent watching her was one that threatened to tear down everything he was.
But because this assignment was his to bear on pain of torture and death for generations to come, he slid inside just as she closed the door on the night, sealing them both within her haven.
And he prayed to whatever gods would listen that he could resist the urge to take her.
——Stay Tuned—-
If you haven’t checked out the Iron King’s Assassin yet, you can still read it in KindleUnlimited.
Start with Realm of Ash
Realm of Ash
Fight like you're already dead.
I have one rule as a monster hunter: Never hesitate. Even if it kills me.
Hunting a black-magic witch solo just to prove to my ex I’m not over-the-hill? Stupid. Letting her goad into attacking when I wasn’t ready? Even worse. But by the time the light left her eyes, I knew I wasn’t just tangled with a dark witch—I’d stepped right into the claws of the Shadow Court.
Now I’m trapped by the fae’s second-in-command, caged by his lethal smiles, rippling muscles, and cold eyes that could scorch my skin if he wasn’t too busy dragging me into his twisted world.
No weapons, no magic, no backup—just little ole human me and a fae lord’s arrogant smirk as he claims I’m just the assassin they need to kill a powerful fae king. And if I don’t do what he says? I’ll watch my sister die.
I don’t know why he thinks a mortal like me stands a chance, but like my ex, this fae lord’s about to learn that Ava Ashe doesn’t follow orders. Not even ones whispered in a low, commanding voice that make me want to disobey…just to see what he’d do about it.
As I see it, he’s the monster, and I take monsters down.
Even if that monster makes my heart race in ways it shouldn’t…
Readers who love romantic fantasy books will find this completed series an action-packed, binge-read filled with supernatural enemies to lovers vibes.
