Author: Stacey Rourke
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: March 29, 2018
Description:
Mirror, mirror on the wall.
What’s behind that fated call?
He’s the seer of present, future, and past,
Yet remains a nameless face entombed in glass.
Raised as a servant in the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, Alastor worked his way up to a regal member of the Royal Guard. Only as a decorated soldier did he stand a chance of winning the hand of the woman he’s loved since childhood … Poseidon’s only daughter, Princess Vanessa. But, when the war against humans rages, dark magics are evoked to give the mermen a fighting chance. Temporarily granted legs, they charge from the sea into a doomed battle.
Doing the bidding of his masters as a trusted pawn,
The claims of his loyalty couldn’t be more wrong.
Waking on land, with bodies all around, Alastor’s lone goal becomes returning to the ocean and the only life he’s ever known. A plan that is quickly diverted when Hades, Lord of the Underworld, appears with a twisted agenda all his own. Cast to a land far from the lapping comforts of home, Alastor’s sole companion is a troubled misfit named Sterling that soon comes to depend on him. Trained to be a hero, how far is Alastor willing to go to return to the woman he loves? And can he live with the sacrifices he’s forced to make?
Each day he schemes to break free from their thrall,
and honor a self-made vow … to kill them all.
“Throw him in the stocks!” a commanding voice boomed.
“No, please! I meant no harm! Sometimes, I just … end up places!” Sterling shrieked, his feet dragging over the ground.
“End up places?” Holding him by the arms, the soldiers forced him forward. “You were in the nursery of the infant princess. That is dastardly, deliberate, and you shall pay dearly for it.”
Slapped awake by their shouts, I pushed from the straw-covered ground and stumbled to the stall door through a thick cloud of grogginess.
“I was in the nursery of the princess?” Sterling scowled, visibly perplexed by such an accusation. A crowd had begun to form in the square, the sounds of their scuffle waking the sleeping court. A beat later Sterling’s eyes brightened. “Ah, yes! I was in the nursery of the princess!”
“He admits it!”
“To the stocks with him!”
“The king will have his head!” The armor-clad soldiers shouted over each other.
I took a step toward helping him, only to be hit by a powerful wave of vertigo. Hand gripping the door frame, I struggled to steady myself. My eyes. Something was wrong with my eyes. Blinking hard, I squinted to focus.
“Alastor! There’s my friend Alastor!” Limp feet thumping up the stairs, Sterling was heaved onto the raised platform of the stocks. “Tell them! Tell them about my affliction!”
Pushing off the door, I staggered out through the haze causing my temples to pound. “He … slends up paces,” was the best my thick tongue could slur.
“Compelling counterpoint, by the drunk,” one of the soldiers sneered, shoving Sterling forward with more force than necessary.
Blinking hard, I opened my eyes to a world of starbursts and strobing colors. Jaw swinging slack, I marveled at the flashes of pink and purple pulsating around Sterling in a hypnotic current. The soldiers manhandling him were haloed by a pulse of red flaring around them. Every person my stare swung to reflected another variation of a color.
While I was momentarily frozen by this newfound rainbow, Sterling’s head was snapped forward by an elbow to the skull. “Gents, please! If you could just give me a moment, this can all be explained as the innocent act it was!”
“You can tell us all about it, while you’re locked up and baking in the midday sun!” the husky guard with a red, wiry beard growled. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to shove Sterling into the binding contraption, only to have him wriggle from his grasp.
“I would really prefer we talk beforehand.” Squeezing his eyes shut, Sterling vanished with an audible pop. While the guards holding him fumbled to regain their footing, he reappeared perched crosslegged atop of the stocks. “Am I back? Is all of me here?”
“Commander, he has magic!” A young soldier with a rash of freckles yelped, reaching for his sword.
“I do?” Sterling pulled back, arms pinwheeling to keep his balance. “How wonderful! What kind?”
“Get down at once!” red-beard rumbled. Hand curling around one of the support posts, he scanned the contraption for his own way up.
“Gladly, just as soon as you stop trying to stick my head in things,” Sterling bargained with an enthusiastic nod.
Using one of the arm restraints as a foothold, Red-beard heaved himself up with a series of strained grunts. “No such agreement will be made. You will come down and face your sentencing like a man!”
The instant his hand closed around Sterling’s ankle, the enigmatic imp disappeared yet again. This time he solidified on top of the castle wall. Patting himself down, he did a cursory scan to ensure all his parts made the journey with him. “Bugger, my pants are on backwards. Hope the bits underneath are still facing the proper way.”
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series NovelYoung Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013
Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015
Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.
Thanks for hosting today, Steph! :)
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