Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 120 hours!
I’m Rosalyn Eves, your hostess for this leg of the hunt. I write young adult historical and historical fantasy novels (because everything’s better with a dash of magic). I have three kids, one husband, and one slightly-possessed cat. I like reading, drawing, watching mysteries, rom coms, and stuffy period pieces, and avoiding housework. You can read more about my books here.
There are currently 7 teams participating in the hunt: I’m on the GOLD team. Somewhere in the blog hop, I’ve hidden some exclusive content (an excerpt of the final book in my trilogy, WINTER WAR AWAKENING). But first, please read on to the rules of the hunt, author Kat Ross’s exclusive content, and a rafflecopter giveaway.
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This hunt, I have the privilege of hosting
Kat Ross
About Kat:
Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She’s the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day, the Fourth Element fantasy series (The Midnight Sea, Blood of the Prophet, Queen of Chaos), the Dominion Mysteries and the new Fourth Talisman series. She loves myths, monsters, and doomsday scenarios.
You can learn more about Kat at her website, on Twitter @katrossauthor, on Facebook as well as Pinterest. You can buy her featured book, NOCTURN, here.
Deleted Scene from Nocturne, Book #1 of the Fourth Talisman Series
Moonlight gleamed on the edge of the blade as Nazafareen swung it in a slashing arc. Darius leapt away, nimble as a cat. Sweat rolled down her face as she spun through the backswing. The bonewood swords of the daevas were much lighter than iron, but her left arm trembled after an hour of sparring.
“Enough,” Darius said, stepping back and lowering his own sword. He gave her a crooked grin. “You’ve worn me out.”
Nazafareen made a rude noise. “Liar.”
He slouched against a pine tree, blue eyes weighing and measuring. In keeping with his ascetic tendencies, he wore a plain cotton tunic and trousers. She’d heard his ribs crack, but he gave no sign of discomfort. Darius was careless of pain, almost contemptuous.
He handed her a water skin and she took a long drink, then poured the rest over her head.
Daevas were twice as fast as humans so training with him gave her a distinct edge—any mortal opponent she faced would seem slow and clumsy. It was also exhausting, especially since she had to fight one-handed. But she insisted on it. Nazafareen hated feeling defenseless.
They walked back to the dwellings of House Dessarian, formed by the intertwined branches of living trees. Nazafareen felt the clan’s eyes on them—not hostile, but not as friendly as they’d been. When the novelty of having a mortal among them had worn off, the daevas had largely ignored her. But now she’d drawn their interest again, and not in a good way.
Nazafareen went to her own house to change clothes. When buttery yellow Selene began to set and cool silver Hecate to rise, she sought Darius out. He was in one of the workshops, sanding down a cedar chest. It was a lovely piece of work, simple but elegant.
“Would you go swimming with me?” she asked. “It’s a warm evening.”
His lips curved in a small smile. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
They walked through the woods in easy silence. With little else to do, Nazafareen spent most of her time exploring the forest. After accidentally breaking a powerful ward, she had no memory of her earlier life, but Darius had told her that she came from nomadic people in the Khusk range of Persia’s eastern empire, now fallen to Alexander of Macydon.
Her clan had crossed the mountains twice a year and even though Nazafareen remembered none of this, she had an innate sense of direction and felt comfortable trekking through the wilderness. It was relief to get away from the daevas too. They might look like her, but the way they moved was a hundred times more graceful, almost feral. None of them were unkind, but she knew they didn’t fully accept her.
Nazafareen led Darius to a deep, still pool with the silver disc of Hecate reflected in its surface. She removed her tunic and slipped into the water. Then she spun around to watch Darius. He pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the ground. Moonlight gleamed on pale skin. He was built like his father Victor, though a shade leaner.
He dove into the water and surfaced behind her. Nazafareen shivered as warm arms enclosed her. For a painful moment, she wished she could remember more about him. He said they’d known each other for many years. That they had been what was called a bonded pair, soldiers in service to the Empire. Once, they had worn matching gold cuffs that gave Nazafareen control of his power. But the fire that held the cuffs together had vanished when they entered Nocturne, their bond broken.
He always sounded sad when he spoke of it, even though Darius had been a slave to the cuffs. Nazafareen had asked if she ever treated him badly and he said that she hadn’t.
What they were to each other now, she wasn’t sure.
“You’re very quiet,” he said.
“Just thinking.”
“That sounds dire.”
“Are you happy, Darius?”
He didn’t answer right away. He was thinking about it. That was something she liked about him.
“Yes. I miss the sun, but not as much as you do, I suspect. Mortals aren’t made for eternal night.”
“I’m getting used to it.”
“That’s not the same thing. Are you asking me because you’re unhappy?”
“No. I have nothing to compare it to, do I?”
She pushed him away and floated on her back. The enormous trees looked down, their deep green leaves blending with the black sky.
She did love him. But there was a choice to be made.
Nazafareen swam over and ran a hand through his wet hair. His eyes gathered the starlight. He caught her wrist and pulled her closer. She could feel the strength in those arms. Darius did not have a gentle nature, but he could be so when he chose.
Darius had brought her to Nocturne to save her life. Now she tried not to feel like a prisoner.
He studied her, pulled back. “There’s a distance in you tonight.”
There were many things she wanted to say, but none of them seemed right. Words were too troublesome. So she kissed him.
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And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me, Kat Ross, and more! Just look at all the books you can win from the gold team. Aren’t they pretty?
(Because WINTER WAR AWAKENING comes out 3.19.19!!)
Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize.
CONTINUE THE HUNT
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! Read on at Leah and Kate Rooper’s website for your next entry in the hunt.
But before you go, I’m running a giveaway of my own. One lucky winner, will take home a signed copy of Blood Rose Rebellion and Lost Crow Conspiracy (if international, I’ll send the books via Book Depository and mail signed book plates separately), a temporary gold tattoo, and series bookmarks.
That is the prettiest number 19 I have ever seen.
Thanks! I spent some time looking. 🙂
Thank you for this most excellent chance!!!