Nights of Ink & Blade
Nikita Cassidy
(The Rift Chronicles, #2)
Publication date: May 9, 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Everything Nova knew about her identity is a lie.
Truth is a scarce commodity on the island. Nova Lennox learned that the hard way.
What was supposed to be a brief stay turned into a dangerous game of survival. More secrets emerged. And the people who hold the information Nova needs–her boyfriend’s parents–are refusing to help.
But there’s someone.
Fae Prince Ramiel–cocky and not exactly her friend. However, he could give Nova what she seeks. She has no choice but to grab onto this opportunity. Instead of leaving the island with her boyfriend to start a new life after the nightmare they endured, Nova embarks on a journey into a realm of magical creatures and unknown danger to find out the truth about her parents. She owes it to her late mother.
But she also fears what she might discover in this treacherous place.
Goodreads / Amazon
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EXCERPT:
The night was restless once Killian left.
As I lay in bed, sleep eluded me for what seemed like hours on end, and when I was finally able to pass out after taking one of Jasmin’s pills, the nightmare that had been haunting me ever since the encounter with the horde reappeared.
There, in my dream, I could hear the wolves howling, their cries mournful, and the sound was so chilling that I felt shivers all over my body. Something primal within me stirred. An instinct, perhaps. An instinct I didn’t fully comprehend. But the call of the wolves reached out to the deepest part of my being and every nerve ending in me burned in response to it.
Hot!
My skin felt impossibly hot.
I slapped at my wrists, then looked down.
Flames—multicolored and beautiful—licked their way up to my shoulders.
Desperately, I shook my hands, trying to make the fire go out but to no avail. Instead, it seemed to grow so fast that it consumed me whole.
I was burning alive.
I woke up with a gasp, heaving for air and choking on the smoke that didn’t exist.
The first rays of dawn had already broken past the dark of night and were now peeking shyly into my room through the opening between the silly owl curtains. The light danced across the walls happily, announcing yet another sunny day.
As I lay tangled in the sheets, I listened to the house waking up.
First, I heard Uncle Mark getting ready for work.
A little later, Sage got up and left for the bakery.
As much as she hated working in place of her mother, she’d started to pick up some shifts too. Mostly because Jasmin had been out of sorts since Tabby’s death.
Truth be told, Tabby’s death had affected nearly every person on the island. Some suffered quietly like my aunt and some suffered loudly like Tate Cordero.
I wasn’t sure which I was. Perhaps someone in between, who preferred to keep it all inside for as long as possible and then sobbed stupidly into her boyfriend’s shirt until all the tears had run out and her vocal cords were hoarse.
I’d spent way too much time in bed, I realized as I grabbed my cell from the nightstand to check the time. It was the only thing the device was good for inside the house since calls and messages didn’t seem to go through unless I ran to the shed.
The thought of the shed only amplified my desire to speak to Jasmin.
I’d been dragging my feet, guessing what her answers could be.
You’re terrified of the truth, Nova, the voice in my head whispered. Terrified to find out the things you perhaps shouldn’t know.
With determined resolve, I descended the stairs and sought out my aunt. She was stress-cooking and I was greeted by a mountain of pancakes and a pan of hash browns.
My heart was hammering in my chest when I approached the table and sat down.
“Good morning,” she said, not looking at me. “Well…it’s almost afternoon now.” She sighed softly and went on with her task.
“Jasmin, do you think we can talk?” I slipped my hand into the front pocket of my hoodie and felt the photograph as if to make sure it was still there.
Author Bio:
In her past life, Nikita was a cute dragon, who lived in another dimension called Aelaterra in a hut right in the middle of the magical forest. There, she spent her days reading countless books.
Now she's a human girl who's ready to tell you stories about her homeland.
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