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Cover Reveal ~ A Spectacle of Souls by Jessica Julien

4/7/2020

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Title: A Spectacle of Souls
Author: Jessica Julien
Genre: NA Contemp. Fantasy/Supernatural
Cover Designer: Strong Image Editing
Publication Date: July 7th, 2020
Hosted by: Lady Amber's PR
Blurb:
Caitlyn always thought she was just your average small-town waitress, but she’s anything but average. Suffering from frequent headaches and vivid daydreams, her oddities mask a secret hidden deep within her mind—one that could defeat even the cleverest of psychics.
When a mysterious circus arrives in town, Caitlyn is immediately drawn to it. While visiting the hypnotic show, she meets a seer who warns her of a gruesome future and urges her to stay away. But soon, Caitlyn finds herself ensnared in the show and the Ringmaster himself.
Recognizing Caitlyn’s powers for what they are, and believing they are the ones he has been searching for, the Ringmaster is determined to claim them as his own. Trapped within the circus and the Ringmaster’s devious grip, Caitlyn realizes that to escape the seer’s foretold fate, her only choice is to fight. Banding together with Bevier, an imprisoned psychic, Meg, an eccentric seamstress, and Daniel, a handsome magician, Caitlyn falls into the Psychic Realm to thwart the Ringmaster and stop the show before they succumb to his control and are trapped forever in his spectacle of souls.
Buy Link:
Amazon (Pre-Order): https://amzn.to/2JHzGYL
Born in the picturesque state of Washington, Jessica Julien is the marketing director of a boutique publishing company, a stay at home mom, wife, and wanderluster. When not drafting marketing plans or doing laundry, she spends her time writing young adult and new adult novels focused on the paranormal and supernatural inspired by her love of all things dark and twisty. With her vivacious imagination, witty personality, and ability to bring sarcasm to a new level Jessica creates unique worlds and characters that readers can't help but hate to love and love to hate.
In her free time, Jessica can be found enjoying a cup of dark roasted coffee while snuggling under a blanket with a good book. When the weather is right she hops in the car with her husband, son, and dogs to road trip across the country where she delights in eating red vines, drinking iced lattes, and singing loudly in the passenger seat.
Author Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3e29l5u
Web: https://jessicajulien.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jjulienauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16795953.Jessica_Julien
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jjulienauthor/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-julien
Buy Link:
Amazon (Pre-Order): https://amzn.to/2JHzGYL
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Cover Reveal ~ Deal by Melanie Gilbert

3/26/2020

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Melanie Gilbert saved the best for last! Snag your
​copy March 31st.~ Lynn

***Preorder links were not available at time of posting.
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What would you trade to save those you love?
​
Sloan Mercer is a teenage Princess who works two jobs, runs a broken clan, and has no hope of things changing. When witches attack, Sloan is approached by a mysterious man. With a deal, he can help her.

Del Danville is haunted by witches in his nightmares as well as his waking hours. Meeting Sloan is both the best and worst day of his life. As guilt and fear eat at him, Del learns the power of forgiveness from an unlikely source.

​The witches have new allies and the time for revenge has come. Will the Danvilles and their new allies be strong enough to stop their most powerful enemy yet?

Lynn's 5 Star Review

Holy smokes! Melanie saved the best for last. Deal was nonstop action. That plot twist was one heck of a ride. You won't see it coming but it sure will leave you on the edge of your seat. I sat with bated breath through most of this book. Bravo Melanie!
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Cover Reveal ~ Vendetta by Stacey Rourke

3/20/2020

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I L-O-V-E this series. Rourke brought vampires roaring into this century. No sparkles here. And definitely not for the faint of heart! ~ Lynn 

Preorder Now

BUY HERE
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Title: Vendetta

Series: Veiled Book 3

Author: Stacey Rourke

Preorder Link: https://tinyurl.com/svun635

Launch Date: May 14th, 2020

​Splashed across every media outlet are claims I’m a violent murderer. A menace to society that must be stopped at all cost.

I… would love to see them try.

An enemy of the Nosferatu hides in plain sight. His lone goal– to watch the world burn. As the newly appointed vampire queen, I’m done allowing my people to suffer for his twisted agenda.

Dorian Gray thinks he knows pain.

He believes he owns the market on public manipulation.

He hunkers under the belief that his power and status make him untouchable.

I can’t wait to prove him wrong.

A darkness has rooted itself in me, one older than the first vampiric bloodline. An unimaginable strength courses through my veins, and I will use it to make Dorian bow before me. They call me the Dragon Queen, and I own the title. Because I, alone, know that the malevolent essence within me is one no man could ever tame.
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Cover Reveal ~The Stormwatch Diaries: Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea

3/6/2020

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Monster Ivy Publishing is the pub to watch in 2020 for new releases! ~ Lynn 
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Thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and it's followed her around ever since. But when Stormy causes one too many public disasters, Rose is taken to Heartstone, an asylum for unstable magic. Its location? The heart of a haunted forest whose trees have mysteriously turned to stone. (Full description and preorder link in comments.)

This is a story with LAYERS. While it's written for kids ten on up, adults will be amazed by Sfirlea's wit, charm, and larger-than-life voice in one heck of a clever, whimsical world.

Preorder Here - - -> ​AMAZON 

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Cover Reveal with Casey Bond!

2/7/2020

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Title: The Omen of Stones
Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: YA Fantasy
Editor: Stacy Sanford/ The Girl with the Red Pen
Cover Designer: Melissa Stevens/ The Illustrated Author Design Services
Publication Date: March 13th, 2020
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Blurb: Spirit and Stone. Song and Sky. Fate and Future all align.
On my seventeenth birthday, I finally heard Fate’s voice. He whispered to me again and again, insisting I find the Omen of Stones. Having never heard of such lore, I thought I could ignore his pleas. The Summer Solstice proved otherwise. Being surrounded by fellow witches worked my magic up into a powerful swell that crashed and churned within me. As the energy crackled through my veins, I shunned my royal duties to follow the call of my heart.
Venturing beyond the safety of the Kingdom’s borders, I felt Fate nudging me toward a destiny I was eager to claim. Confidence in my craft blinded me from the ominous clouds of danger that roiled on the horizon.
Captured by purists dead-set on purging the Kingdom of magic and witches, my salvation came in the form of a mysterious girl who wielded stones like daggers. Something about her called to me, whispering we were stronger together, strong enough to stand against the dark forces threatening to crush my kingdom. Trusting Fate could jeopardize my heritage and my throne, but defying him could cost Omen’s life.
Book Links: 
When Wishes Bleed: https://books2read.com/u/m2r12d
Casey Bond lives in West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. She likes goats and yoga, but hasn't tried goat yoga because the family goat is so big he might break her back. Seriously, he's the size of a pony. Her favorite books are the ones that contain magical worlds and flawed characters she would want to hang out with. Most days of the week, she writes young adult fantasy books, letting her imaginary friends spill onto the blank page.
Casey is the award-winning author of When Wishes Bleed, the Frenzy series, and fairy tale retellings such as Riches to Rags, Savage Beauty, Unlocked and Brutal Curse. Learn more about her work at www.authorcaseybond.com.
Author Links: 
Website: www.authorcaseybond.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/authorcaseybondTwitter: https://twitter.com/authorcaseybondGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7212486.Casey_L_BondPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/caseyb007Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PmE0pg
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/casey-l-bond
Bond-Tourage: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1032678336804562/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gcAu9v
Book Links: 
When Wishes Bleed: https://books2read.com/u/m2r12d
I looked around at our house, then to the boy standing in it, into his honey-gold eyes. “I don’t regret saving you, and I don’t regret bringing you here, or making salve for you, or letting you stay. I don’t regret walking with you to see the flood. But if I had let those men drown you, or if I would’ve left you bound in the rope when I had the means to sever it, or outside without a roof over your head when I had one to offer… If I’d refused to ease the pain in your wrists, River, I would have regretted it. I would have regretted every second of any and all of those choices.”
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Cover Reveal & Preorder ~ What Rachel Did by Kelly Martin

1/13/2020

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Check out the cover for Kelly Martin’s latest novel, WHAT RACHEL DID! Isn't it a feisty little thing? It's a middle grade horror for fans of Neil Gaiman's Coraline and The Goosebumps series.
​ 
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Ava Kirkland knows three things for certain: One, Bradley will always be her BFF. Two, science is the best subject ever. Three, ghosts don't exist. Two out of three ain't bad.
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​Ava Kirkland knows three things for certain: One, Bradley will always be her BFF. Two, science is the best subject ever. Three, ghosts don't exist. Two out of three ain't bad.

Twenty years ago, Mosley Manor was left abandoned. The haunted house of White's Chapel, Tennessee, has become the local dare—the place kids sneak to see if they are brave enough to go inside. Ava isn't scared of Mosley Manor in the slightest. She believes in facts.

According to her, anyone who is scared of Mosley Manor should be ashamed. Unless that person is her best friend, Bradley. He gets a free pass because he's, well, he's been terrified of the house as long as Ava has known him. In fact, he was originally the person who told her about the house and all the ghosts inside.

Unfortunately for Ava, her parents decide to buy their first house (YAY!), and it ends up being Mosley Manor (no...). Ava isn't afraid of the place, just not happy about leaving her old rental house next to her BFF. It's also not wonderful that it's the only thing anyone at school wants to talk about.

Ava's brother starts acting even weirder than normal, Mama and Daddy never used to fight like this, and by golly, those upstairs doors have minds of their own.

Ava may not believe in ghosts, but they certainly believe in her.

For fans of The Graveyard Book and Coraline by Neil Gaiman and The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.

PREORDER NOW!
​https://amzn.to/2sk3dTg

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Cover Reveal ~ Midnight by Melanie Gilbert

7/26/2019

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This is the first project I have had the pleasure of beta reading for author Melanie Gilbert.
Guys, trust me. Preorder this book.  It is such a unique retelling and has a fantastic villain.  You will love hating Stella! ~ lynn 
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Title: Midnight ~ A Cinderella Retelling
Series: A Fae Brother's Ever Afters Novel, Bk 1
Author: Melanie Gilbert
Cover by: K.M. Robinson
Publisher: Crescent Sea Publishing

If you were thrown into a war between a Fae clan and a witch coven, would you be able to uncover the truth before the stroke of Midnight?

Nova Kramer blames herself for the death of her mother and sister—so does her father. When he moves them to Danville City to escape the reminders of what they lost, Nova is thrown right back into a world full of anxiety when their new neighbor, Stella, and her twin brothers make it their mission to bring Nova to her knees—after all, they know her secret—and blackmail is just the start.

Kent Danville and his brothers have a secret, too—their clan is working to take down a coven of witches and find the other five clans of Fae, but when Nova walks into his life, the Fae can’t seem to stop thinking about her. He can’t risk falling for the new girl—he has a soulmate out there somewhere, and a mission to complete…if the coven doesn’t kill him first.
A war is brewing between the coven and the clan—each side a little less human than the other—and Nova may get caught in the crossfire if she can’t discover the truth before the clock strikes Midnight.
​
Can your heart handle this magical shifter retelling of Cinderella and Prince Charming? Read now to find out!
Preorder Here

Melanie Gilbert 

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​Melanie Gilbert is a lover of all things fantasy and paranormal. She’s a dreamer who loves crafting new worlds and characters and sharing them with the world. She believes life is an adventure and every day brings a bit of magic with it. Melanie and her husband have two little guys, Goofy and Monkey, and live in the beautiful state of Michigan.

Stalk Melanie on Facebook & Instagram

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Cover Reveal ~ A Midnight Clear from Black Spot Publishing

6/10/2019

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Midnight Clear cover

Publisher: Black Spot Books ~ Release Date: November 5, 2019

Preorder on AMAZON ~ BLACK SPOT BOOKS

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Six stories of not-so-merry Yuletide whimsy from the authors of Black Spot Books.

A woman so cold she hardens to ice on a winter’s eve. Risen from his grave before his time, a winter god alters the balance between seasons. A wolf’s holiday season is interrupted by a strange curse. From a murder at the Stanley Hotel to demons of Christmas past, present, and future, and a mad elf and Santa’s Candy Court, the authors of Black Spot Books share their love for winter holidays in this collection of dark winter tales, destined to chill your bones and warm your heart for the Yuletide season.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  • Sam Hooker writes darkly humorous fantasy novels about thing like tyrannical despots and the masked scoundrels who tickle them without mercy. He knows all the best swear words, though he refuses to repeat them. Peril in the Old Country, The Winter Riddle, Soul Remains
  • Alcy Leyva is a Bronx-born writer, teacher, and pizza enthusiast. He graduated from Hunter College with a B.A. in English (Creative Writing) and an MFA in Fiction from The New School. And Then There Were Crows, And Then There Were Dragons
  • Laura Morrison lives in the Metro Detroit area. She has a B.S. in applied ecology and environmental science from Michigan Technological University. Before she was a writer and stay-at-home mom, she battled invasive species and researched turtles. Come Back to the Swamp
  • Cassondra Windwalker is a poet and novelist writing full time from the coast of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Her hobbies include hiking, photography, and having other people's demons over for tea. Bury the Lead, Preacher Sam
  • Dalena Storm has lived in India, Japan, Germany, and on both United States coasts. She currently resides in a converted general store in the woods of Western Massachusetts with a rare Burmese temple cat, a professor of magic, and an infant with an astonishing ability to resist sleep. The Hungry Ghost
  • Seven Jane is a bestselling author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. She is a member Women's Fiction Writing Association. She is a contributor to The Nerd Daily and is represented by Gandolfo, Helin & Fountain.​ The Isle of Gold

ABOUT BLACK SPOT BOOKS:

Black Spot Books is a small-press specializing in speculative fiction. Learn more at www.blackspotbooks.com.

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Revelation (A Gryphon Series Book 7) By Stacey Rourke

5/10/2018

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 Title: Revelation 
Series: The Gryphon Series ~ Resurrection ~ Book 7
Written by: Stacey Rourke
Published by: Stacey Rourke
 Release Date: May 10, 2018

Unimaginable evil is closing in, leaving the Garrett family with only one option … run. 

Yet one thing they can never escape is the truth, and that is racing for them with vicious intent. Secrets are swirling and lashing all around, threatening to tear the family apart when they need each other the most. Beloved family matriarch, Grams, is doing all she can to protect her grandkids from looming demons and hellhounds. But, the pull of destiny is drawing them near and blocking any hope of escape. ​
BUY HERE

~~~REVIEW~~~

Rourke has done it yet again.  Her wit, charm, and overall bad assery shine through in Revelation.  I bet she had a blast writing Gram’s story.

Of all the Garretts, Grams is my absolute favorite.  She’s sassy, stylish, and utterly bad ass! I need her to adopt me. Even with all the madness her family has endured, Grams would make it all worth it.  She is the glue that holds them all together.
​
 If you are a fan of the series this is a must read. Trust me.

The Gryphon Series

Psst...check out those new covers on Books 1-4.

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Rise of the Sea Witch  ~  Stacey Rourke

5/22/2017

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I got a ARC of this one and guys...OMG!  I cannot wait for you read this!!  Check out this prologue.  BEST.PROLOGUE.EVER.
Title: Rise of the Sea Witch
Author: Stacey Rourke
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Fairy Tale and Folklore
Cover Designer: Najla Qamber Designs
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Blurb:  Details of the sea witch’s banishment have been exaggerated. The body count that preempted it was not. Once an illustrious princess, her hands and tentacles were stained with the blood of thousands. No one could comprehend how the hooks of madness dragged her down from her life of privilege.  
Born Princess Vanessa of Atlantica, the ambitious young royal was one of two children born to the great King Poseidon. She and her brother, Triton, were groomed from birth to rule. Yet only one would ascend that coveted throne. While carefree Triton flits through his training with a cavalier demeanor and beguiling charm, Vanessa’s hunger for her father’s acceptance drives her to push herself to the limits of magic, and combat to become a leader worthy of her people.   
When war against the humans ravages their once regal kingdom, political sides are chosen. Factions from the seven seas challenge the existing leadership, pitting Vanessa against her brother in a vicious battle for the crown. Traitors are exposed, dark family secrets revealed, and a once strong sibling bond is strained to its breaking point.
Only when the ink black waters from the ultimate betrayal rescind, will the truth be known of how the villainous sea witch rose with one name on her vengeful lips--Triton.
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013 
Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Adapted for Film. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head. 
Visit her at www.staceyrourke.com
diaryofasemi-crazyauthor.blogspot.com
Facebook at www.facebook.com/staceyrourkeauthor
or on Twitter or instagram at Rourkewrites.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1OJcVNO
Prologue
I admit that in the past I was a princess. They weren’t kidding when they called me … well, a spoiled twit.” Tentacles rolling and churning beneath me, I turn to the newest member of my little garden with effortless grace. Arms thrown out wide, I grant the shriveled polyp a beguiling smile. Those around him tremble in fear, pulling as far away from him as their roots deep within the ocean floor will allow. “Through rather unfortunate circumstances it became mandatory I mend my ways. And, yes, some of the techniques I employed earned me the title of villain.”
“Never, my Queen,” Floteson murmurs. Coiling around my upper arm, he drapes himself across my shoulder.
Jetteson’s oily scales lovingly brush my cheek. “Every one of them was deserving of your wrath.”
Shoulders curling in, I pucker my lips which are freshly glossed by a crimson sea-flower and tenderly scratch each of them under their chins. “How horrible can I be to be so adored by such sweet babies?”
“She shows us nothing but love,” my darling zebra sharks chorus.
Their unwavering dedication soothes me, allowing me to expel a calming breath that bubbles in a wreath around my face.
“I am not the horrible beast many think me to be. Yet I feel it is your own misconceptions that brought you here, and led to … well, you know.” Floating passed my ornate vanity mirror, which seems out of place in the dreary cave I call home, I suck in my cheeks. Turning my head one way and then the other, I inspect my reflection. A smug smile curls the corners of my lips. The woman staring back at me is positively voluptuous with power, mayhem swirling within her clay-gray eyes. “Undoubtedly, you’ve heard rumors of my banishment.”
Hitching one eyebrow at my newly planted polyp, I watch him squirm under the weight of my attention.
“Do you even know my true given name, I wonder? Before hateful whisperings from the farthest reaches of the Seven Seas dubbed me The Sea Witch, I went by another name: Princess Vanessa of Atlantica. I harbored dreams of bringing peace and happiness to the kingdom … as their noble queen.”
Jabbing my hands on to my ample hips, I turn in a swirl of black and purple. “I’m not sure if that pitiful pout is caused by your deep longing to hear more, or if you’re mourning the loss of your shriveled limbs. But,” with a theatrical roll of my wrist, I snap my fingers—my cauldron sparks to life, an ethereal green glow simmering from within, “I choose to think the former because it’s about me … and all of my favorite things are.
“It would be predictable for me to say it all began with the death of my mother. Predictable and false.”
Water rushes beneath me with one mighty flap of all my tentacles. The power of the act propels me over to my alchemy shelves, where my fingers flick over the exposed vials. Some days I seek to terrorize my captives, calling out each ingredient or dangling it over their heads before tossing it into my brew.
Tongue of porpoise.
Eye of cuttlefish.
Shell of sea turtle.
I won’t lie and say watching their complexions green and bug eyes bulge isn’t a guilty pleasure of mine. For the moment, however, a wave of generosity—brought on by the mention of my mother—prompts me to toss them in without my usual theatrics. Each is received into the cauldron’s wide-mouth drum with a puff of smoke and spray of sparks.
“As much as I loved my mother, losing her didn’t drive me to madness as some would have you believe.” Hearing the melancholy in my tone, I bristle. “Far from it, in fact. I would have subjected myself to an abysmal existence of the mundane in honor of her memory. No, it was after the black flags of mourning had been strung through the kingdom, after the spectacle of her funeral procession had passed, that my descent began.”
Throwing one final ingredient into the cauldron, a veil of greasy smoke wafts from its rim. Images begin to form within the haze: the king’s regal quarters, and a formidable frame seated in a high-backed chair behind a massive stone desk.
Crouching down, I position myself eye level with the miniscule scene unfolding. My tentacles coil into tight knots beneath me. “This was the night … the night when I was touched by magic for the very first time … and loathed it to my very core.”
Within the ghostly image, the curtain to the king’s quarters is pushed open. A heavy set nursemaid with stripes of gray in the messy twist of her bun swims in. On one hip she balances a cherub-faced baby that’s only two months shy of his second birthday. Blond ringlets halo his head. Both his eyes and cheeks are ruddy from crying. The frazzled servant’s other hand clings to that of a raven-haired princess who rubs at her tired, violet eyes with a chubby, toddler fist.
“If you aren’t following along yet, that princess is me,” I explain to my captive audience. “The maid softly shushing my younger self is Loriana. Oh, how dear she was to me. She was a servant in the castle, tasked with tending to my brother and I. That little sunset orange tail poking out from behind her belongs to her son, Alastor. He was Triton’s best friend and would become much more than that to me ...”
“Sire,” respectfully bowing her head, Loriana readjusted her hold on Prince Triton, “I hate to interrupt.”
My father, King Poseidon, pushed his chair back from the desk in a swirl of water and sand, and rose in greeting. To the rest of the kingdom, he was known as simply the supreme ruler of Atlantica. To me, and my juvenile ignorance, he was the God of the Sea who towered over us all. I envisioned all of his enemies, and anyone that ever wished me harm, falling to their knees and trembling before his commanding presence. His hair and thick beard were the red of Precious Coral. Muscle rippled over every inch of his exposed torso. His narrow waist tapered into an emerald green tail that perfectly matched the shining jewels of his eyes. Countless times I had examined the lines of his face in search of some similarity between the two of us. None could be found. Triton had his smile, and later—when adolescence hit—he would inherit his strong chin. Me? Every inch of me was a lackluster shadow of my mother’s regal beauty. Where her eyes and tail sparkled like freshly polished amethyst, mine seemed dull by comparison. Or, perhaps the lighting from the pedestal I’d built for her in my mind shone for her with a more flattering shimmer.
“The hour is late. I welcome the interruption.” Poseidon set his fish bone quill onto the desk top, and positioned its stone cradle on top of it. “How can I be of service, Loriana?”
 â€œIt’s the children, Your Highness.” Her face a mask of maternal sorrow, Loriana gave my hand a quick pulse of comfort. “This is the first night they have ever tried to go to sleep without a lullaby from their dear mother. I’m afraid I can’t seem to calm their troubled little hearts.”
Poseidon’s broad chest expanded with a deep inhalation, and tipping his head he exhaled a flurry of rushing water and bubbles. “This is a troubling time for us all,” he agreed. Crossing the room with one stroke of his tail, he extended his hands to receive Triton. My brother waved his arms in eager delight, wriggling into the security of Father’s strong embrace. Inching forward, I blinked up at the mighty king. He floated past without so much as ruffling my hair. “I’m afraid I don’t have your mother’s gift of song, but perhaps we could sit a spell and find peace in our togetherness.”
Honoring her position outside of the room, Loriana gave me a gentle push forward to follow my father. Casting a tentative glance over my shoulder, I did just that. Poseidon swirled Triton around, eliciting a giggle that crinkled the corners of his ocean blue eyes, before the king collapsed on the sea sponge sofa with his darling son on his lap. I perched on the very edge of the far cushion, uninvited and unnoticed.
Before that moment our father had been more of a … hmm, how to put this delicately? A figurehead in our lives. We knew of him and regarded him fondly, but unfortunately his kingly duties allowed our primary interactions to be those staged for political potency. Our mother, the lovely Queen Titonis, spent her days caring for my brother and I with only Loriana to aid her. Now, Poseidon had no choice but to pick up the yolk. For Triton this transition seemed to be going swimmingly. I, however, was getting as much attention as the Orca-bone end table.
Hands under the little prince’s pits, Poseidon turned Triton to face him. “I was so proud of how you behaved during the processional today,” he gushed. “You honored not only me, but your mother’s memory when you clasped your tiny fist over your heart and held your head high as her carriage passed.”
“Follow Nessa.” Triton looked to me with love, his tailfin a muted clap when connecting with Father’s lap.
“Your sister has two whole years of further training and experience than you, my boy.” Poseidon’s shoulders raised, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “You exhibited the poise of a true leader.”
My lips clamped shut to stifle a sob, his words stinging like a slap. I had just as much right to the throne as Triton, but this was the first moment I became painfully aware of who he longed to see succeed him. It would not be the last … or the most painful.
“She held her curtsy so long, merfolk threw flowers!” Alastor, a year and a half older and far more eloquent than Triton, darted into the room to brazenly interject. Mahogany waves curled over his earlobes, adding dimension to his round little face that resembled a bubble. The boldness of his gesture quickly shriveled under Father’s menacing glare.
“The son of a servant entering the king’s quarters?” Father boomed, one eyebrow raising in question. “One might question your upbringing, lad.”
“A thousand apologies, Your Majesty!” Loriana blushed from her neck clear up to her earlobes and snapped her fingers at her wandering boy. “Alastor, come here at once!”
Shoulders sagging like a stone cast to the depths, Alastor returned to his rightful place in the hall. The heat of his topaz stare bore into me as he paddled along, searching for even the slightest acknowledgement of his noble deed.
I had none to offer.
My own gaze had drawn away from my brother, laughing while Father tickled his cheeks with his beard, to scan the items neatly arranged on father’s desk. Inanimate objects which earned his attentions daily just by being. On the right side, closest to his scrawling hand, sat the quill. Its fat little ink pot was perfectly positioned perpendicular beside it. In the center of the desk, weighted by stones carved with the royal crest, rested a stack of scrolls awaiting the king’s notice. On the left-hand corner, Poseidon’s late night snacking needs were met by a plate of rolled and seasoned seaweed puffs.
The ink pot lured my attention back as if calling to me.
I had never had to work for attention in any capacity. My mother had always given it freely, and in limitless supply. Since she had been taken from me, I had unquenched needs: hugs, stories, and all of that … drivel. So, yes, I thought about acting out. I toyed with the idea of knocking over that little clay pot and letting the ink flow to ruin the staged perfection of father’s space. More than that, I wanted to. I wanted to hear him shout out my name in his menacing vibrato, because at least then he would have to acknowledge me. While my hands stayed folded neatly in my lap, as the good little mergirl I was, something within me I had never felt before reached out. Palpable energy, only I seemed privy to, crackled through the water to cradle the pot in its hold. I could feel it, poised and ready, awaiting my command. Biting my lower lip to fend off a threatening grin, my essence gave barely a nudge and the ink pot tumbled. A thick black cloud exploded over my father’s desk, staining the scrolls and ruining the once delectable wraps.
“Vanessa!” thundered my father, rocketing off the sofa. “Look what you’ve done!”
I turned toward him with feigned remorse … and screamed. The howl of terror tore from my chest until my gills ached and my throat was raw.
There was a buzz of activity: Poseidon calling to the nursemaid, Loriana swimming in as fast as her fins could carry her, Triton wailing in fear, Alastor trying to shush his friend from the doorway to which he’d been banished. I neither saw nor heard any of this.
Floating in the center of the room, bobbing with the current, was my mother.
Not the serene vision of loveliness I had known her to be that was full of life and love. Heck, I even would’ve happily settled for the slumbering beauty she appeared to be during her funeral. In vast contrast, the entity hovering before me had chunks of flesh gnawed away by assorted sea beasts. Cracked, ashen lips curled into a snarl. Black ooze bubbled through her teeth, dripping from her chin and clouding the water. My scream reached a fevered pitch, spots dancing before my eyes. The ghoul, who in life sang me to sleep, reached for me with one hand that had been gnawed to bone.
You see, by using magic I opened a door and allowed the darkness in. The cost being more than I could bear, I vowed to myself—as my consciousness waned—never, ever to dabble with such things again.
Oh, the lies we tell ourselves …
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