Title: The Shadow Soul
Series: (A Dance of Dragons, #1)
Series: (A Dance of Dragons, #1)
Author: Kaitlyn Davis
Release Date: 02/20/14
BLURB supplied by YA BOUND
GAME OF THRONES meets GRACELING in a new fantasy series by bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis.
Jinji has been haunted by the death of her twin brother for ten years. Now, on the dawn of her joining, the nightmare that claimed him has returned for her.
Prince Whylrhen is determined to prevent the past from repeating itself. His kingdom is expecting a new heir, and he will stop at nothing to keep the child safe.
Though they've never met, the two share a deep secret—magic. Jinji can weave the elements to create master illusions and Whylrhen can pull burning flames into his flesh. But neither of them knows what they are truly capable of until a chance encounter brings them together. For their story has played out before, in a long forgotten time—an age of myth that is about to be reborn…
**On-Sale February 20th, 2014!**
Jinji has been haunted by the death of her twin brother for ten years. Now, on the dawn of her joining, the nightmare that claimed him has returned for her.
Prince Whylrhen is determined to prevent the past from repeating itself. His kingdom is expecting a new heir, and he will stop at nothing to keep the child safe.
Though they've never met, the two share a deep secret—magic. Jinji can weave the elements to create master illusions and Whylrhen can pull burning flames into his flesh. But neither of them knows what they are truly capable of until a chance encounter brings them together. For their story has played out before, in a long forgotten time—an age of myth that is about to be reborn…
**On-Sale February 20th, 2014!**
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I've always been a writer. I grew up duct taping my novels together, started writing complete manuscripts in high school and studied creative writing at Johns Hopkins University. Upon graduating, I decided it was finally time to actually give my dream career a chance. So, of course, I started writing a young adult paranormal romance series -- and no, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. I've been a true paranormal supporter for my entire life! I blame my obsession almost completely on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my all-time favorite television show. And, before you ask: Yes, I own every season... even the post WB ones! I especially challenge anyone to watch the first three seasons and not fall in love with Angel, securing a lifelong love of vampires! Other culprits of my paranormal obsession are some of my favorite authors: JK Rowling, Raymond Feist, Meg Cabot, Richelle Mead, Lynne Ewing and Tamora Pierce.
Author Links:
EXCERPT
When she neared the cage, Rhen grasped
her arms, lifting her free of the rope and pulling her safely into the wooden
basket. She panted for a moment, regained her depleted strength, and took in
the view.
Blue.
For miles and miles in every direction,
a stark and sparkling blue.
She tried to stand, but the rocking of
the ship was magnified with their height, and it seemed to tip almost sideways
with every other breath. Her legs wobbled, and then she dropped back to the
floor.
"Stay seated," Rhen said,
pushing down just slightly on her shoulder when she tried to lift herself up
for the second time. He sat too, sighing as he dangled his feet over the edge
and leaned back into the railing. His large frame took up over half of the
small space.
Their arms touched from shoulder to
elbow, causing a heat to rise under her skin. Jinji grabbed her legs, pulling
them into her chest and shifting her weight, careful not to touch his body
anymore. It was too intimate, she realized, after spending so many hours locked
in the same room as him. There had to be a distance between them, otherwise she
might slip up, might forget that she was supposed to be a boy, that she was
supposed to be lying. He might notice that though her face was that of a male,
her body was not. The baggy clothes hid it well, but in these close quarters,
she had to be careful.
No matter how many times he taunted her,
Rhen had come to be a friend, and she would not mess that up, not yet.
"This is one of my favorite spots
on the ship," he said, eyes still closed in relaxation, "though many
wouldn’t say the same. It's considered a punishment to be put up here, because
of all the movement, but I've always found it very peaceful, very
liberating."
Feeling her stomach unsettle slowly,
Jinji might have agreed with the others, but there was something oddly
comforting in her mood and oddly settled too.
"This was where I came to escape
the castle and my father and mostly my responsibilities. Even if I was only on
the dock, still stuck in Rayfort, I seemed miles away on top of this
ship."
He opened his eyes slowly. The wind
rustled his red hair, forcing it to spill over his forehead. Jinji wondered if
her own short hair was doing the same, without her braid to keep it still and
steady. Just the other night she had borrowed Rhen's knife to cut it short
again, not ready to stop her mourning period—not even close.
"Do you have a place like
that?"
Jinji closed her eyes tight, fighting
back the water gathering there.
The clearing.
The meadow.
It used to be her spot, but all she saw
now was Leoa, tying her braid, pulling over her joining dress. Both of them
giggling, completely ignorant to the cries of their people, to the children and
the women, to the warriors, to her parents. Even to Maniuk, singled out by the
shadow for his strength and his skill—used and discarded.
All she heard now was the blood-curdling
scream that cracked her spirit in half, the pounding of her footsteps, the soft
thud of a body as it fell to the ground.
"No," was all she said. No,
she didn’t have a safe place like that, not anymore.
"It will get better," Rhen
said. Jinji wouldn’t look at him, but instead focused on the far away horizon.
"I know it doesn’t seem like it, but it will."
He took a deep breath, cracked his
knuckles. Jinji almost heard the words waiting on his lips, could feel them
press against his tongue wanting to come out. The air was static, electric from
his pounding heart, his pulsing nerves.
And then it all stopped.
Silence.
"I had a younger brother
once," Rhen confessed, his words heavy with an emotion that was mirrored
by Jinji's wounded soul. "He was barely a year old when he was murdered by
the man my father trusted most in the world. And I could have stopped it, if I
had only understood what—" His voice shook, wavered on an edge. "I
found papers that held evidence the murder was going to take place, but I was
too young to understand what they meant, too naïve to know what I had found.
And for that, my brother paid the price." He turned, met her stare with
eyes a deep dark green, like the forest at twilight. "I know what it means
to lose someone, but I also know that though the pain will never fully fade,
eventually you will be able to endure it."
Jinji didn’t know what to say, so she
said nothing at all. Silence was the better option. Silence let the words sink
in, let their truth ring, let her realize that Rhen had allowed her a peek at a
place within himself that he didn’t show to everyone—that he did not even show
to most people.
Jinji opened her mouth, aching to tell
her own story, but her throat closed up, stealing the sound from her voice.
She trusted him, after all he had done
for her, Jinji trusted Rhen. But trusting someone was one thing, and opening
herself up to him, making herself vulnerable to be hurt again, that was
something else entirely. Rhen might have been willing, but it was only because
he didn’t know that in the end, he would just be wounded—by her lie if he ever
found out the truth or by her leaving without a word of goodbye.
And Jinji couldn’t handle any more
pain.
"Thank
you," she said quietly, instantly regretting it. Rhen blinked once, but
once was all it took for his gaze to unglaze and his features to retreat, to
harden. One blink was all it took for him to shut himself off again.
***GIVEAWAY***
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