Syphon’s
Song
Mayflower
Mages
Book
One
Anise
Rae
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Publisher:
Lyrical Press/Kensington
Date
of Publication: March 3, 2014
ISBN:
978-1-61650-211-9
ASIN:
B00IPQWVYE
Number
of pages: 359
Word
Count: 98,000
Cover
Artist: Renee Rocco
Book
Description:
Legends
say a syphon can drain a mage dry. He’ll brave the danger. Will
she?
Someone’s
playing pranks. The body of the late Casteel patriarch has been
stolen and gifted to the family’s enemy, the powerful Rallises. As
far as Bronte Casteel is concerned, they can keep it. She hasn’t
spoken to her family in thirteen years, not since they exiled her
from society for her lack of mage power. But she’s a syphon mage,
able to drain another mage’s power. Syphons’ destinies are always
the same: death by fiery stake. She hides her secret by living among
the Nons--powerless humans and the lowest class in the Republic. When
her family orders her to go plead for the body’s return, she comes
face to face with the one man who knows her secret.
Colonel
Vincent Rallis isn’t letting his syphon get away this time. Not
when she’s under suspicion of body-napping and aiding anti-mage
terrorists. He’ll prove her innocence whether she wants him to or
not, and then convince her they belong together...forever.
Vincent’s
help comes with a steep price: Bronte must reveal her power. The
inevitable ensuing witch-hunt and trial would be bad enough, but even
a tough girl might buckle if her prosecutors are her own parents.
CONTENT
WARNING: Hot, steamy nights with the colonel’s magic touch
A
Lyrical Press Paranormal Romance
Excerpt:
Bronte
faced the senator. “I’m here to ask for your help.”
“Help
with what, Bronte?” The gruff, hoarse words came from behind her,
accompanied by a flood of vibes.
She
wouldn’t have recognized his voice except for that energy pouring
into her. She wrenched around in her seat to see the lion prowl out
of the shadows.
His
gaze targeted her like she was prey that might escape. “Tell us how
we can help you. And then you can explain why you ran away from me.”
Her
mind recorded him like a pencil scratching away at paper to save his
image—his dark hair clipped short, eyebrows that formed stark lines
with a skeptical bent near their ends. A crease pulled between his
brows that hadn’t been there before. His rugged face had weathered
storms his brother had avoided. Those storms had chiseled away any
softness.
She
closed her eyes, stopping the mental sketching—a necessity to save
her sanity. She turned her whole body back toward the senator and
only opened her eyes when she knew Vincent wasn’t in her line of
sight.
“Vin!”
Happy surprise colored every note of the senator’s voice. “How
long have you been standing back there? Your energy is so subdued I
didn’t even sense you until now.”
“I
didn’t either.” Edmund’s voice was equally surprised. “Miss
Casteel, your beauty has distracted us.”
Bronte
fought to keep her calm mask intact. Her heart boomed like the
senator’s voice and threatened to shake that mask right off her
face. She couldn’t let that happen. Diplomatic words and composure
were her only weapons in this battle, a quick escape her only viable
strategy. She stood, one move closer to getting to the door. At her
cue, all the men stood as well.
The
closer Vincent came, the more his energy reached out to her. It
touched her, filled her in places she’d forgotten were empty.
Dangerous memories spilled back. If she knew how, she’d dump his
vibrations out of her hidden vessel, turn it over, and sit on it like
a metal bucket until it sank into the dirt with the force of her
weight. She’d seal her hollow spaces shut and keep him out forever.
To do otherwise would only invite death to creep close.
Vincent
strode toward her.
She
held her ground and looked him in the eye. “I do not need your
help. I am simply the messenger. Here on behalf of the Casteels.”
She cleared her throat to try again and turned to the senator.
“Senator Rallis, my family requests your assistance.”
The
senator’s wise gaze locked on Vincent, his expression thoughtful
and full of silent words Bronte lacked the power to hear. Curiosity
lit the dark depths of his gaze as they landed back on her.
Vincent
leaned toward her. “And they sent you as their messenger?” His
voice was soft, a caress against her skin. “The most vulnerable and
weakest of them all, to fight their battles.”
“I
am not weak.” She risked a quick glance at him. “I have plenty of
strength to fight whatever battles I need to.” She bit her tongue
to stop her aggressive tone. Arguing would not help her cause.
“Vincent,
you are making our guest uncomfortable.” The senator’s tone went
quiet. Deadly. The boom was much safer, she realized.
“No,
I’m not. At least not with my vibes, Granddad.” Vincent’s reply
was matter-of-fact. He held all the power between them, and he was
going to use it. Running for the door would not help her now.
“My
mage vibes do not make her uncomfortable.”
Her
hold on her tongue wasn’t tight enough to stop her gasp. She’d
messed up. Goddess, but she’d messed up. She closed her eyes for a
moment at the realization. Instead of drinking Vincent in, she should
have faked a reaction to his power, imitated the jittery anxiousness
Nons felt around a mage who wasn’t suppressing his energy. Maybe
that would have saved her.
“Vincent.
She’s a Non. Of course you’re making her uncomfortable.” The
senator’s reprimand was deceptively soft.
Bronte
stared at Vincent as desperation swirled inside her. “Please.
Don’t.”
“She’s
not a Non.” Vincent’s words shattered her hope of escape.
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About
the Author:
Anise
Rae grew up among the cornfields and soybeans of Ohio, dreaming of
being a ballerina, an astronaut, and a romance writer. Thanks to her
soul deep love of chocolate and a lack of natural grace, her
ballerina dreams floated away as high as the moon, equidistant with
the astronaut aspiration. She stuck with writing.
Now
transplanted to the south, Anise lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with
her kids and a dog gifted with the power of finding dirty socks.
Syphon’s
Song, a 2012 Maggie Award of Excellence finalist, is the first book
in the Mayflower Mages series.
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Question: where do the personalities of your characters come from? People you Know?
ReplyDeleteI like the cover! best of luck with the new book!
ReplyDeleteI like the content warning lol thanks for the giveaway
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