M/M Romance
Date Published: February 2017
Prince Joron of Blade Rain was kissed by a man he had no idea was King Aric of Claymoor Doom. Of course King Aric had no idea the one he kissed was even a man since Joron was dressed as a woman. Disguised to escape the newly crowned king of Blade Rain who just happens to be Joron's brother, Joron is swept off his feet by Aric when he is rescued by him from an assault. Aric is also swept off his feet by the beauty of the "woman" and that one amazing kiss. Aric, who is led to believe the beautiful woman he kissed is actually the princess, immediately goes to the king of Blade Rain and offers for the princess’s hand in marriage and his offer is accepted. Unfortunately, King Aric is now betrothed to Liarta, Joron’s sister. But an emergency has King Aric racing home without finding out the mistake he has made and now Joron must ride to Claymoor Doom to renegotiate the offer since Liarta is in love with someone else and does not want to marry King Aric.
Imagine Aric’s surprise when he discovers the Prince is the one he thought was the Princess! So Aric does the only thing he can think of. He will release Liarta from her obligation of marriage, but only if Joron takes her place... in the marriage bed.
Prince Joron of Blade Rain was kissed by a man he had no idea was King Aric of Claymoor Doom. Of course King Aric had no idea the one he kissed was even a man since Joron was dressed as a woman. Disguised to escape the newly crowned king of Blade Rain who just happens to be Joron's brother, Joron is swept off his feet by Aric when he is rescued by him from an assault. Aric is also swept off his feet by the beauty of the "woman" and that one amazing kiss. Aric, who is led to believe the beautiful woman he kissed is actually the princess, immediately goes to the king of Blade Rain and offers for the princess’s hand in marriage and his offer is accepted. Unfortunately, King Aric is now betrothed to Liarta, Joron’s sister. But an emergency has King Aric racing home without finding out the mistake he has made and now Joron must ride to Claymoor Doom to renegotiate the offer since Liarta is in love with someone else and does not want to marry King Aric.
Imagine Aric’s surprise when he discovers the Prince is the one he thought was the Princess! So Aric does the only thing he can think of. He will release Liarta from her obligation of marriage, but only if Joron takes her place... in the marriage bed.
Things are going well for King Aric. He had Joron safely hidden away. Diagus, although a continuing threat to Joron, had left his castle empty handed, and the Cetin Gang was headed for his dungeons. He should be thrilled but – something was not right. He could feel it.
Sure enough, when he returns to Claymoor castle, he finds Joron has been kidnapped and he must ride immediately to rescue him. And knowing the culprit, it was not going to be an easy task. However, Aric has a trump card; a letter from a dead king. Seemingly nonsensical at first, it now points a finger directly at a murderer and Aric is convinced Joron is next. Somehow he has to find him and get Joron back into his protective arms before it’s too late.
Unfortunately, there are other huge pitfalls just waiting in the shadows. It turns out Joron is the true king of Blade Rain and Aric's long dead wife miraculously returns to claim Aric as her own. Between all the lies, murders, and life altering revelations, is there hope for these two at all?
King Diagus of Blade Rain is in a bind. He is duty bound to produce a royal heir and the only way he knows that can happen is if he beds a woman. Definitely not his idea of Happily Ever After. In fact, far from it. Except instead of walking down the aisle with the princess he has arranged to marry, Diagus is off in the wilds of Claymoor Doom. But there’s a good reason. Rumor had it there was someone near Gray Valley with Diagus’s stark blue eyes. A possible relative and therefore an heir? Was there a chance he might not have to marry a woman, after all? Regrettably, Diagus finds no one matching the rumor’s description. What he does find is a heinous, black magic plot for murder and Diagus is the next on the list.
Tama’s pregnant sister claimed to be carrying the child of a king. Not just any king. The mighty king of Blade Rain. She was determined to get out of the very poor house of Hilman and into the lap of luxury. But fate had its own agenda. Sadly, Tama must raise his nephew all by himself after his sister unexpectedly dies in childbirth. It’s not a problem, though. He loves Aydin as he loved his sister – with all his heart.
However, Tama’s lazy and abusive father, Beourn, is angry and extremely disappointed. Being the grandfather of a crown prince, he was looking forward to moving to the castle and living a life of extravagance. With his daughter’s death, that was no longer possible. So, he does the unthinkable. He kidnaps Aydin with the intent of selling him to the rich and powerful king. Tama is stunned he would do such a thing and chases after Beourn to rescue Aydin.
READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE SERVANT CROWN
Tama tried to turn the horse. He needed to get this witch to let go of him. Knowing something was very wrong, Aydin’s whimpers had turned to screaming and crying, and he clung fiercely to Tama’s neck. The princess was maneuvering her horse closer for some reason, maybe it was to try and stop Tama from running, but her horse did not like getting that close to the witch. It reared, dumping the princess to the ground. In response, one of the soldiers leaped off his horse to help the princess, another tried in vain to stop the now-frantic, panicking horse the princess had been riding, and two others tried to move out of the way. In the chaos, no one noticed a new group of horsemen join them.
Suddenly, there was a large man on a horse between Tama and the witch.
“Your Majesty?” Tama whispered.
Diagus turned to Tama, leaned over, planting a kiss on his lips, then came away with a wink. “Looks like you need to be rescued this time.” He turned to face the witch. “Keep your filthy hands off my son and my man. There will be no deal had here today, old woman.”
The old woman tipped her head back and laughed. “So you think, Diagus, son of Mormir. So you think.”
The woods moved then. Six, seven, ten, maybe even twenty or more trees pulled up their roots and lumbered toward the group. Bumpy, gnarly, sick-looking masses of trees came at them, startling Tama and his horse who proceeded to do the same thing the princess’s horse did. The animal threw both Tama and Aydin to the ground, the fake rabbit twirling in the air above them as they went down. Tama pulled Aydin close to shelter him from being injured. However, the fall jarred Tama to the point his head was spinning. He heard Diagus call out to him, but in the bedlam the clearing had turned into, he could no longer see him.
Suddenly he was hit from behind and a blinding pain rocketed through his head. Try as he might, he couldn’t hold on to Aydin, who was ripped from his hands. Tama heard Aydin scream as he scrambled to his feet, fighting off the deadly sharp branches of the monster trees. It had been the witch, that wretched midwife. Somehow, she had gotten to Tama through the mayhem and grabbed Aydin. She was running now, deeper into the marsh.
Tama kicked out but knew there was absolutely no hope of getting free. Were these horrors from a nightmare going to kill them? Or did they have teeth like those grotesque fish and Tama was going to make a hearty meal?
Suddenly, Tama was face-first in the dirt, a pressure coming down hard on his shoulders. But right there near his left eye was the rabbit. Its fur was glistening in the light, standing on end as if it were full of the sparks from Tama’s hair.
“Wubbing my bunny on you!” Aydin squealed as he rubbed the bunny in Tama’s hair, making the strands stand straight up off his head. Tama could feel the snapping as if the rabbit were alive and tiny paws were pulling on his hair, which made Aydin laugh so hard he peed his pants.
As if in a dream, Tama reached out and picked the rabbit up, the snapping sparks tickling his hand, and he felt that tingle flow immediately through his body, frightening him even more than the walking trees had. But it had an odd effect. The trees stopped moving right where they were and once again took root.
Tama pulled on the sleeve of his shirt, which had somehow gotten in the way of one of those roots, but it was held fast to the ground. Tama reached over with the hand that still held the rabbit to either loosen the root or tear his sleeve. Inadvertently, he touched the root with the rabbit, and when it made contact, the gnarly thing immediately withered and died, releasing Tama’s sleeve.
Amazed and confused, he scrambled to his feet and ran to touch the tree that the king was wrestling. The second he did, it withered in the same way. It seemed to scream, then died, even as it attempted to take root once more. It failed and fell over, void of motion and life. He ran and touched a few more with the same results, the others, sensing that they were about to be touched, hurried off into the darkening forest.
The princess’s soldiers didn’t stick around either. They pulled their terrified horses around and thundered out of the clearing, which was no longer much of one, now filled with dead trees, some standing, most fallen. It was obvious they intended on getting as far away from Dark Marsh as possible, leaving the princess sitting on the muddy ground, crying out for them to stop.
About the author
I live in Minnesota where I holds tight to the idea that here, where it’s cold a good part of the year, I won’t age as fast. Yep, I avoid the truth as much as I avoid mirrors. But one of the reasons I love writing is reality doesn’t always offer up a “happily ever after” and being able to take control of that is a powerful lure. Being a happy ending junkie, writing just makes them easier to find. Oh, I doesn’t mind “real life” and I do try to at least keep it in mind when I write my stories, but I truly love creating a wonderful couple, knowing they will fall in love and have their HEA. Every - single - time. And, of course, that is exactly the reason I love reading this genre, too. Give me a glass of red wine, some dark chocolate, and my computer, whether I am reading or writing, and I will entertain myself for hours. The fact I actually get paid to do it, is Snickers bars on the frosting on the cake.
Contact Information
Contact Information
Website: https://hurricosmo.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hurri.cosmo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HurriCosmo
Blog: http://hurricosmo.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6466687.Hurri_Cosmo
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