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Synopsis

Kiv never expected to see a battle, let alone fight in one. She came to the island kingdom of Escot to use her magic to help people, not to kill them, but a petty, pointless civil war has made her job as Court Wizard difficult and then impossible. When the hostilities come to a head, Kiv finds herself on the battlefield, supporting one army against another.

On the other side, there is Tallas, a wizard more dangerous than three thousand swords and a woman more intriguing that than any Kiv has ever met. The battle will end in blood and death, as battles do, but for Tallas and Kiv, the end is only the beginning.

Excerpt

Kiv woke with a start, wondering if she was dead. She cast about with her senses, both physical and magical, and decided she was alive after all. She was lying in a bed of golden wood on soft white cotton sheets under a green wool blanket. Overhead, she saw the silky blue canopy of a large tent, with the curtains on all four sides tied back to let in the morning sun, set in an open field without another structure in sight. The rain had finally stopped, though the sky was still gray.

She climbed out of bed, noticing that she was in nothing but her underthings, and looked for something to wear. Her clothes – long wool skirt, wide leather belt, white cotton blouse, and heavy wool cloak – were folded neatly on a table beside the bed, all the grime and gore of battle washed away, with her purple silk Court Wizard hood and her gnarled manzanita wand sitting next to the pile. She dressed and went looking for the kind soul who had taken care of her. Tallas – of course it was Tallas – was just outside the tent, her back to Kiv, cooking a skillet of something over a low fire that smelled amazing.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Tallas said, without turning around. “I trust you’re feeling alright. I checked you over myself last night, and I could find no injury or ailment beside exhaustion.”

Kiv walked over and sat on a rock next to the fire. “I’m fine,” she said. “I suppose I should thank you…”

“It was nothing,” Tallas said. “You’re a Wizard of the Guild, and we take care of our own.”

“I know,” Kiv replied, “but I’ve never had anything like yesterday happen to me before.”

“Haven’t you?” Tallas asked, looking up from the fire, and Kiv suddenly felt that those jet black eyes were boring a hole right through her. “I suppose you haven’t…”

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Torquere Press

Meet the Author

RE Andeen is a writer, software developer, Klingonist, and general nerd. After a lifetime of immersion in science and technology, he discovered writing, quite by accident, in 2014. He lives in downtown Seattle.

Facebook: Eric Andeen (https://www.facebook.com/eric.andeen)
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Twitter: @REAndeen
Other: Personal webpage/blog (http://reandeen.com/)
Amazon: Author page (http://amazon.com/author/reandeen)