Hi Guys, Today i am having a cover reveal for a fourth book in Ancents of Light series by Heather Fleener. And well i am so in love with this cover, it reminds me the second book cover Forsaken, which i totally adored. so okay, are you ready to see it? here you go!!!
Mistaken
Ancients of Light #4
Spring 2014
Enemies by circumstance of Creation
Sworn to their purpose, the Vampire and
the Witch
were created to battle over the fate of
mankind.
He was the First
Until one Vampire sought a Higher
Purpose.
She was the Beginning
And one Witch’s faith brought Darkness
into the Light.
Their love would turn the course of the
Ancient War…
Before the Prophecy, an Ancient Queen
and the Vampire she loved
would forge the path for those that
would follow.
Excerpt
Tristan liked that the witch was not composed
enough to hide her shiver and the responsive widening of her eyes, but he did
not like the apprehension he viewed there. He could not ascertain whether her tremble
was due to terror or because somewhere, deep inside, her need rivaled his own. Having
witnessed her bravery in their earlier confrontation, he tended to believe it
was the latter, even if she was too inexperienced to recognize that truth. Intensely
satisfied that he had her under his control - even if it was only for this
short period – her closeness eased his raging, predatory instincts.
Leaning down to issue his gentle-toned inquiry,
his breath stirred the tendrils of sun-bleached gold near her ear, “Do I scare
you, Alia?”
Alia knew it was reasonable to be terrified;
one of the darkest warriors within the enemy ranks had abducted her. Drawing
back to look at him, she had no doubt that he was the stronger between the two
of them. Those tips of teeth peeking from behind his upper lip should have her
screaming in fright and begging for her life, but the longer she peered into that
brilliant blue gaze, the more she calmed and her senses acclimated to their
surroundings.
The sound of cascading water came to her, and
almost simultaneous to that she felt an internal pull. Disbelieving, her gaze flit
to the mouth of the cave. During her hurried inspection on arrival – her
oversight most likely attributable panic - she had failed to identify its most
extraordinary feature. Standing deep within the recesses, hundreds of feet from
that opening, Alia had been mistaken in thinking that the overcast weather was
responsible for the wall of gray visible beyond the entrance. Now, coupling her
recognition of the sound with a second look, she realized that it was not a
foggy haze but that a waterfall curtained the opening.
Those of her Caste were strongest when
surrounded by nature’s bounty, which was why her kin settled within forests. It
was also the reason they most often chose to bare their skin in a manner that
was just short of improper. The feel of the rays of the sun and even the very
wind against their flesh pulled at their magic. Understanding was in her eyes when
they narrowed and shot back to him. It was obvious that he had been waiting for
her to understand the significance of this location.
Her command over water and lightning was a new
facet of Nature magic never before displayed by her kind, but her captor had
witnessed her abilities firsthand. The more wild those elements, the more responsive
her magic, and yet he had brought her here. His smug expression conveyed that his
choice for her temporary prison had been deliberate and Alia was most certain
that Tristan realized that her strength would be magnified being near such a
powerful manifestation of one of the elements that she controlled.
Clever Vampire… Skatosita … She did not want to like him, but this one was making
it rather impossible to relegate him to the pile of degenerate monsters that populated
his breed. She had already determined that the Witch leaders were wrong in
their assessment of his race. Rather than a rabid beast, Alia had witnessed the
intelligence in this Vampire leader. During their first encounter, she had also
glimpsed a side that suggested much more was lurking in him. Now he
intentionally brought her to a place where she would feel strong, not
powerless. A myriad of questions formed, and seeing her bemused expression, Tristan
smirked and lifted a brow in invitation to speak her mind.
Her lone question was accusatory, “How did you
know?”
Tristan refused to believe she was as upset
with him as her tone implied, but he was not going to pretend to be something that
he was not for the sake of charming her. Alia was a divine creation while he
had been spat from the pits of Hell. He was resolute - between them there would
be no skirting what either of them was, or the bloodied history between their
breeds. For that reason, he gave her the truth, “I told you that we know much about
the Witch. Your breed spills secrets from its lips as rain falls from the sky… and
even was your Caste not of the same ilk, your kin reveal their secrets as
willingly as all the others with the proper incentive.”
It sunk into her slowly what he meant by incentive, and she whispered
confirmation of her understanding, aghast that he would broach the subject with
her and have the audacity to gloss over it, “Torture.”
The word lingered between them and held no
hint of question; the little witch had already convicted him. Tristan could
have comfortably avoided the blatant confirmation, but he gave her a curt nod
to make certain she had no room to doubt her conclusion. He did not want her young
and fanciful imagination to make him into something more valiant than he was.
She did not move, but her eyes stabbed him,
followed by words that were pious and clipped, “I would imagine, as a General
in the Darks, that you are particularly adept at such practices.”
Alia was acting as though the Vampire were
exclusive in their use of such abusive techniques. Her youthful innocence was endearing,
but her illusions about the moral fabric of her leadership required correction.
Rolling his eyes over her naiveté, his arms folded across his chest. The
response he offered was calmly given, not defensive, “I am no more adept than
your own leaders, Alia.”
There were rumors, of course, about the
methods used by the Queens to interrogate the Vampire, but she had seen no such
practice herself. She remained self-righteous, “I would not know, but I cannot
think that our ways would be as twisted as those that the Darks employ and…”
Tristan snapped, leaning in, his sharp words
interrupting her defense of her breed, “That is because you are young, Alia.
You are foolish to believe that those you follow are so far above what I am and
what I am required to do in order to fight this war.”
Starring at him for long moments, Alia
realized that while she could allow his impatient interruption to push her into
arguing, she was reluctant to fight with him. While she would not take his claim
as fact merely because the handsome Dark proclaimed it, she would also neither
ignore it. Many of her beliefs – beliefs that had been postulated as truths by
her Queens – had been challenged recently, but she needed time and distance
from him in order to form her own conclusions. The best choice was to move to
another topic.
He had yet to withdrawal after those last
words and his close presence was stealing her focus while her magic seemed to
be coursing manically through her veins. The combination was leaving her
feeling flushed and off balance. When she returned to his very first question,
Alia was conscious that her breathy words most likely revealed too much of her
attraction, “Should I be afraid?”
Tristan experienced a surge of triumph when she
turned the topic rather than answer his harsh words in kind. The grin he gave
her was a reflection of his pleasure and an entreaty to trust him, “There are
parts of you that already know that answer…”
Leaning in closer still, it required only a
small movement on his part to close the small gap that remained between them.
The beauty did not retreat. Her nearness had his eyes shifting black while they
lowered to observe the delectable pulse dancing beneath the sun-kissed skin of her
neck. Still the witch did not move away…instead, her gaze was waiting for his when
it lifted, and sparkles of magic blossomed there in response to his entreaty, “Listen
to those parts, Alia… something inside you already knows that you belong to me.”
When she did not immediately deny it, Tristan could
not help but wonder what it would be like to drink sunshine.
About the
Author
Heather
Fleener lives in Indiana with her husband, D.A. and their twins, Thomas and
Alexandra. Professionally she has spent her career working in the area of
Intellectual Property law.
Reading
has been a passion of hers since she was young and she has adored romance
novels her entire life. The romantic styles of Judith McNaught and Julie
Garwood are her inspiration, though she has read and loved the stories of
countless other authors. Her fascination with the paranormal began to form at
the young age of six, watching late-night ghost and vampire movies with her
Grandpa. Unfortunately, as a result, she also remains afraid of the dark to
this day.
Combining
her love of epic romances and the supernatural was a natural progression for
her overactive imagination. When the idea for the Ancients of Light series
began, it was an abstract story line rambling around in her head to help kill a
few miles on the treadmill. As the stories and plotlines continued to grow, it
finally became necessary to put the words to paper and build the characters
that had been living in the Realm and having conversations in her head for
months.
The
series is a testament to many miles on the treadmill and lots of characters
that insist on having their stories told.
Website: http://www.ancientsoflight.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncientsOfLight
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherFleener
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/hfleener/boards/
