The Never Tilting World Blog Tour: Author Interview, Review + Giveaway

The Never Tilting World (The Never Tilting World #1)

Author: Rin Chupeco
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen

Description:

Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

Praise for THE NEVER TILTING WORLD:

“The Never Tilting World is what happens when Garth Nix meets Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s a dark, lovely, and even timely look at a world that’s fallen apart, with just the right blend of epic action and twisted magic.” ―Tara Sim, author of Timekeeper

“Visually vivid, magical, and exhilarating.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Dark and richly drawn, The Never Tilting World is a lavish fantasy about sisterhood, sacrifice, and finding strength in a treacherous world. Chupeco’s writing is lushly descriptive, transporting me to the brink of the abyss; while reading it, I could swear the world stood still.” ―Heidi Heilig, author of For a Muse of Fire

“Multiple plot twists and a breathlessly cinematic tone will attract fantasy and romance fans alike.” ―Booklist

“Complex, brutal, romantic, and terrifying. With a phenomenal cast of characters who stick to your bones and vivid worldbuilding that shows up in your dreams, this is a book that demands to be experienced.” ―Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights and editor of His Hideous Heart

“This rich fantasy spotlights power’s corruptive influence, love’s redemptive nature, and the urgent concerns of climate change. The tale’s scope and creativity astound.” ―Publishers Weekly

“A great choice for fantasy shelves.” ―School Library Journal

You can purchase The Never Tilting World at the following Retailers:

        

Where did you get the idea for THE NEVER TILTING WORLD?

I've always wanted to write a story that would address the extreme weather itself as the enemy / big bad, instead of only dealing with the consequences of it. I also live in the Philippines, where I can more easily see the effects of climate change than in other places such as say, USA. The idea of writing something where the world was the villain rather than any one character first came about when I was stuck in this island resort called Boracay during the super typhoon Haiyan, which hit it really hard. I saw the destruction up close, and it was quite frankly a frightening experience. It wasn’t until much later though, that I was able to put that experience into a story.

Who are some of the authors that have inspired your work?

Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Shirley Jackson, David and Leah Eddings, Agatha Christie!

Where do you come up with all the different ideas for your books?

I seriously have no idea! They happen to me when I least expect it, so I can’t really say for certain how or why inspiration would strike me at certain times. All I know is that they happen almost always during inconvenient times, like when I’m at the shower or when I’m about to fall asleep, so I make it a habit of bringing pen and paper wherever I am.

Favorite book or author?

Only one? That’s tough! Maybe the one whose writing style has inspired me most is Terry Pratchett, strangely enough. His sense of humor aligns closely with mine, and I love his snark! But my favorite book of all time is undoubtedly the Count Of Monte Cristo, because it has everything in it. Revenge! Fight scenes! Angst! Lots of it! This book started my love of antiheroes before I even realized what antiheroes were!

Any advice for aspiring authors?

You’re the only person who can write your story. So write, and keep writing, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise - yourself, least of all.

What's up next for you?

I've just finished the first round of edits for the sequel, which was tough for me because I'd had a bunch of family emergencies this year and had to really make the time to sit down and write, because I otherwise wouldn't have gotten anything done! I've got a new series called A HUNDRED NAMES FOR MAGIC out next year, starting with the first book, WICKED AS YOU WISH! Oddly enough, I'm looking at my next two unfinished WIPs, and they're actually adult fantasy books this time around. No titles yet, so I've taken to just calling them my gay heist book and dark fantasy Regency romance book, respectively.

The Never Tilting World is a gorgeous new young adult fantasy filled with magic, romance, and estranged family coming together to save the world. I've read the author's other work, so I knew that this was going to be all that I hoped and then some. Luckily, I was right. This book went above and beyond what I expected and I ended up loving it a lot more than I thought I was going to. Every aspect of the novel was expertly done and it spoke of more serious and relevant topics as well, which made it a nicely layered story to get lost in.

I'm going to start off with the aspect that's one of the most important to me personally as a reader - writing style. I normally talk about this in my reviews because it holds a lot of power and can either make or break a book for me. The author chose to write this story in the first person point of view, from several different main characters' views. The first person POV is my favorite because it lets the reader form a deeper and more personal connection with the narrator than any other writing style (in my opinion). That's definitely what the author accomplished here. I loved it even more because we have not just one or two main characters, but four. I really enjoyed getting to know each of them throughout the book and the first person POV was key to this. We get to know them inside and out - their innermost thoughts, hopes and dreams, fears, memories, and everything in between, which allows us to really feel like we know them and we've been beside them as everything happened during the book. This could potentially become confusing with so many main characters and using the first person POV for all of them, but I think the author did an amazing job of bringing each of them to life individually and making them into well rounded, complex, and realistic characters. I immediately connect with each of them as soon as I read from their perspective. There's at least one thing, if not more, about each of them that every reader can relate to, which isn't easy to do even with one MC, let alone multiple. 

The plot didn't seem wholly original to me, but that's not saying anything bad about it at all. It's almost impossible to create a completely unique story anymore, so when I come across a story that has been twisted around and retold in a wonderful way - that makes me super happy. That's exactly what the author did with this book. I felt like the whole "broken world" that can only be fixed by two people coming together in some way has been done, but I loved the way the author wrote her version. There's so many amazing things going on in the story - the magic, the goddesses, the history of the Breaking, and even the complete opposite living situations of the two worlds - that I could've read about them forever. The magic component really grabbed my attention and I loved learning about it and how it works. The other aspects I mentioned were all awesome in their own right, but when you put them together - you get one fantastic story. I couldn't put this one down and although I wanted to read it all in one sitting - and would have if allowed - I read it as quickly as possible just to see what was going to happen next with each of the characters and to lose myself in their world for just a little while longer. Sadly, not many novels are written in a way where I can lose myself in the world the author created and, in my opinion, that's how you know you've got an amazing book. When I get so lost in the world, so deeply connected to the characters, and invested into the story that I don't want to quit - that's how I know I've struck gold. And this book - for me - was definitely in that category. I can't wait for the next book to come out to see where the story will take us and what will happen next. I highly recommend this novel for fans of YA fantasy, paranormal, romance, and readers who enjoy diverse characters, magic, and mythology.

 

Photo Content Rin Chupeco

Rin Chupeco has written obscure manuals for complicated computer programs, talked people out of their money at event shows, and done many other terrible things. She now writes about ghosts and fantastic worlds but is still sometimes mistaken for a revenant. She is the author of The Girl from the Well, its sequel, The Suffering, and the Bone Witch trilogy.

        

WEEK ONE

OCTOBER 21st MONDAY JeanBookNerd INTERVIEW

OCTOBER 22nd TUESDAY Bibliobibuli YA INTERVIEW

OCTOBER 22nd TUESDAY Insane About Books REVIEW

OCTOBER 23rd WEDNESDAY Tea Party Princess GUEST POST 

OCTOBER 23rd WEDNESDAY Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews REVIEW & FILL IN THE BLANKS 

OCTOBER 24th THURSDAY Starlight Reads REVIEW 

OCTOBER 24th THURSDAY Random Bookish Banter REVIEW 

OCTOBER 25th FRIDAY bookishaestha REVIEW 

WEEK TWO

OCTOBER 28th MONDAY A Dream Within A Dream REVIEW & INTERVIEW

OCTOBER 29th TUESDAY Nay's Pink Bookshelf REVIEW 

OCTOBER 30th WEDNESDAY A Bookish Dream REVIEW

OCTOBER 30th WEDNESDAY A Backwards Story REVIEW 

OCTOBER 31st THURSDAY A Court of Coffee and Books REVIEW

OCTOBER 31st THURSDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW

NOVEMBER 1st FRIDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW 

NOVEMBER 1st FRIDAY Life Within The Pages REVIEW

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*

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The Shadow Glass Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

The Shadow Glass (The Bone Witch #3)
Author: Rin Chupeco 
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Synopsis:

The dramatic finale to The Bone Witch series! Tea's dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life—and the kingdoms—are on the brink of destruction.

In the Eight Kingdoms, none have greater strength or influence than the asha, who hold elemental magic. But only a bone witch has the power to raise the dead. Tea has used this dark magic to breathe life into those she has loved and lost...and those who would join her army against the deceitful royals. But Tea's quest to conjure a shadowglass, to achieve immortality for the one person she loves most in the world, threatens to consume her.

Tea's heartsglass only grows darker with each new betrayal. Her work with the monstrous azi, her thirst for retribution, her desire to unmask the Faceless—they all feed the darkrot that is gradually consuming her heartsglass. She is haunted by blackouts and strange visions, and when she wakes with blood on her hands, Tea must answer to a power greater than the elder asha or even her conscience. Tea's life—and the fate of the kingdoms—hangs in the balance.

 

DENIAL

I hated everything, and I said as much.

Kance, being of a better temperament than I, was more optimistic. "Father does this every year, Kalen," he pointed out quietly as we stood before the crowd, waiting for the ceremony to begin. "It's a time-honored tradition, a public way to show our support for the people."

I grunted. There were thousands of people gathered here to witness the rites. This might be one of the most important moments of an Odalian's life, but it wasn't what I was here for. I was here to scan the crowd for any heartsglass that manifested a desire to do violence to Kance or the rest of the royal family, for which I was given permission to deter by any means my proclivities deemed necessary. I was committed to serving as Kance's bodyguard and, at fourteen, had the training to prove it. I owed King Telemaine that much, though he had every right to treat me like a traitor, like my father was.

Thinking about my father only darkened my mood. He deserved to rot in prison for the rest of his life, but he had been good to me, even if he hadn't been a good person. Some days I had to fight not to excuse one for the other.

I wasn't lucky enough to deserve nice things.

Kance's eyes twinkled, like they always did when he teased. "You're such a worrywart. Nothing's going to happen. Your scowl is enough to chase away even the False Prince himself. I think Chancellor Merdon breaks out in a cold sweat every time you so much as scowl in his direction."

"An unexpected breeze would be capable of scaring Chancellor Merdon."

"Are you nervous?"

I grunted again. It was true that this was my first official appearance as Kance's bodyguard, and

I was adamant that I would do everything in my power to serve him well. Whatever Kance claimed, the Heartsrune ceremony was a recruitment opportunity masked as a coming of age ritual. Anyone whose heartsglass bled silver instead of red or purple was required to serve at the King's discretion –as asha for the girls, and as Deathseekers for the boys.

"I know you won't agree, but I rather like that the crowd has grown considerably from last year," Kance went on cheerfully. "Perhaps if there are more asha found today they can stay in Odalia rather than leave for Kion. Lady Mykaela even found a potential Dark asha to train."

"I don't know why you think that's a good thing." My mother was killed by a Faceless-controlled daeva. So was Kance's. Dark asha share similar skills to the Faceless—the same necromancy, the same questionable ability to raise and control daeva, and the same predisposition to go mad because of those powers. I disliked them on principle. The Dark asha tasked to fight the daeva back then had lost her courage and fled, dooming our mothers and the rest of that city. Kance had always been more forgiving than most.

"You saw her, if only for a brief moment. What do you think?"

"I didn't notice enough of her for me to have an impression," I lied.

"Well, she does seem quite shy, at first. Her brother served in the army and was killed by a savul. She gave Father quite the earful about that."

I turned to glare at him. "I wished you'd told me you were meeting them. I would have been there earlier." Councilor Raja and I had arrived just as Kance and King Telemaine were taking their leave from Lady Mykaela and her new charge. I was still put out that Kance hadn't told me about it.

"You were busy giving out instructions to the honor guard, and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Kance."

"You don't have to guard me day and night, Kalen. I sincerely doubt anyone would attack us in the presence of two Dark asha and a familiar."

I didn't bother telling him that it was the Dark asha I was worried about. "I don't want you keeping things from me. Like it or not, you're my responsibility."

"You sound a little like Khalad," he said, and his smile dropped.

"I promised him I'd watch out for you." I knew King Telemaine and Khalad were having problems; I didn't know the specifics, but it wasn't my place to ask. It didn't seem like Kance knew much about it, either.

"I apologize. I'll be sure to tell you next time."

"And don't apologize, you're the prince." Something he'd said earlier finally clicked in my brain. "Wait. Two Dark asha and a familiar?"

"Apparently Lady Mykaela found the young novice because the girl went and raised someone from the dead," the prince chuckled. "Remember the brother killed by the savul? That's her familiar. The Dark asha novitiate is named Tea, and the brother is Fox. Lady Mykaela thought it would too traumatic to force her to return her sibling. Lord Fox appears to have accepted his condition, so all Lady Mykaela intends is to keep a closer eye on them both. Dark asha are rare enough these days. Lady Tea would be more amendable to training if she can keep Lord Fox close."

"I wish Lady Mykaela good luck, but I doubt that." I was suspicious. Most competent Dark asha novitiates couldn't resurrect the dead on their first try. The girl was powerful enough for Lady Mykaela to break the rules to placate her.

I didn't like it. The last thing I wanted was a Dark asha growing accustomed to the laws not applying to her.

Kance only laughed, and clapped me on the back. "Perhaps they can stay long enough for me to introduce you after the ceremony. I'm sure you'll like her, too."

 

 Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.

She is represented by Rebecca Podos of the Helen Rees Agency. She is also fond of speaking in the third person, and may as well finish this short bio in this manner. While she does not always get to check her Goodreads page, she does answer questions posed to her here as promptly as she is able to.

1st Prize: Win a signed copy of Shadowglass, stickers of Tea, Kalen, and Fox, an art print of Tea & signed bookplates (INT)

2nd Prize: Win stickers of Tea, Kalen, and Fox, an art print of Tea & signed bookplates (INT)

Start Date: March 1, 2019

End Date: March 15,  2019

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The Heart Forger Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)

Author: Rin Chupeco

Release Date: March 20, 2018

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

ISBN: 9781492635857

Description:

In this dark, engrossing sequel to The Bone Witch, Tea has mastered resurrection—now it’s time for revenge.

Tea, a bone witch who can resurrect the dead, is done with her self-imposed exile. She now possesses all seven bezoars she needs to revive the powerful daeva. With the help of these terrible monsters, she can finally enact her revenge against the royals who wronged her and took the life of her one true love. 

Alliances and allegiances are shifting, and danger lurks in and out of the kingdom. But Tea’s heart is set on vengeance, even if it turns her against her now-estranged brother, who supports her enemies. War is brewing, and when dark magic is at play, no one is safe.

Praise for The Heart Forger:

“A dark, engaging fantasy series.”–School Library Journal

“In this spectacular follow-up to the rich The Bone Witch, Tea’s quest draws the reader further in, setting them on a more dangerous yet intriguing adventure.”— Foreword Reviews, STARRED review

“Rin’s beautifully crafted world from The Bone Witch (2017) expands in this sequel, which joins dark asha Tea on her crusade of revenge...Dark and entrancing with a third volume to come.” –Booklist, STARRED review

Links:

Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

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!ndigo

Indiebound

He does not look so formidable, I lied to myself, staring at the warped, decaying body before me. I can defeat his will. I will break him. It is a wonder what Mykkie had ever seen in him.

It was not the first time I had deceived myself in this manner. Neither was this the first time I had raised King Vanor from the grave. But if I repeated that mantra enough times, I thought I could finally believe my words.

The dead king refused to look at me, his eyes distant. The royal crypts were built to strike both fear and awe in those who visited, but I had grown accustomed to the stone faces looking down at me with quiet scrutiny from their high precipices. But King Vanor’s continued silence unnerved me every time—more than I cared to admit.

“A wise philosopher once said,” Fox drawled from the shadows, “that doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is the mark of a fool.”

“Why do I bring you along?”

“Well, a wise philosopher once said—”

“Shut up.” My brother had no need to tell me my quest was hopeless. Numerous Dark asha, all more experienced than me, had made the attempt. But I had to do something.

“You’re in a worse mood than usual. Did Kalen chew you out at practice again?”

“If you don’t like it here, why not find some women in the city to flirt with instead?”

“Not in Oda—” He caught himself. “None of your business. Can we get this over with?”

I turned back to the corpse. “Where are you keeping Mykaela’s heartsglass?”

No answer. The colossi statues guarding the catacombs were likelier to respond than this infernal sod of a king.

“Answer me! What have you done to her heartsglass? Where did you keep it? Why do you hate her so much?” My headache worsened. Somewhere in the back of my head, I was aware of a shadow thrashing about, sensing my anger. I saw a vision of water, green and murky, before it faded out of view.

I took a deep breath and let it out carefully. The ache lightened and the shadow retreated as I recovered my calm.

“This is a waste of time.” Fox folded his arms across his chest. My brother looked to be in peak physical health, though he was no more alive than the royal noble standing before us.

Their similarities ended there; there was barely enough skin and sinew clinging to Vanor to pass for human. That was my doing. The first few times I resurrected him, I had been respectful, taking great pains to restore his body to how it appeared when he was alive.

Now I allowed him only enough muscle and flesh to move his jaw.

“He’s not going to talk, Tea. You know that, I know that, and he definitely knows that.”

“I will make him talk.” Many years ago, my sister-asha had fallen in love with this wretched excuse of a ruler. In exchange for her unwavering devotion, he had taken her heartsglass and hidden it so well that no one had been able to find it.

And now, more than a decade later, Mykaela was dying. She could no longer return to Kion. Her health had deteriorated to the point where she had to remain near her heartsglass, still hidden somewhere within Odalia, here in the city of Kneave. It was hard enough to be a bone witch; that she’d survived for this long was a miracle in itself.

I grabbed what was left of the king’s shoulders, pulling him toward me. He reeked of death and obstinacy. “Answer me!” My voice echoed off the columns. “Didn’t you love her even a little? Or are you so petty that you’d allow her to suffer for the rest of her years? She’s dying. What grudge do you harbor to hate her this much?”

“Tea.”

I froze. So did Fox.

I had told no one else about my weekly excursions to the royal crypts. Not my friend Polaire, who would have boxed my ears if she’d known, nor Mistress Parmina, who would doom me to a life cleaning outhouses. Only Fox was privy to my secret, which he had agreed to keep despite his own misgivings. And Mykaela was the last person I wanted to find out.

She had aged more rapidly during the last few years since she had taken me under her wing. There was more gray in her golden hair, more lines on her face. Her back stooped slightly, like she struggled under a heavy burden. She had taken to using a cane everywhere she went, unsure of her own feet.

“Mykaela,” I stammered, “you’re not supposed to be here.”

“I could say the same for you,” she answered, but her eyes were fixed on King Vanor, her pain obvious. He watched her gravely, without shame or guilt, and my anger rose again. How many raisings had my sister-asha endured, forced to watch while this king refused to speak?

I raised my finger to sketch out the rune that would send Vanor back to the world of the dead, but Mykaela lifted a hand. “Vanor,” she said quietly, “it’s been a while.”

The decaying figure said nothing. His eyes studied her, savage and hungry and ill suited for such an impassive face.

“I apologize for my wayward apprentice. She has been willful and intractable since her admission to my asha-ka and has shown little improvement since. Please return to your rest. Tea, let him go.”

Mykaela’s words were a steel knife through my heart. Stuttering apologies, I completed the spell and watched as King Vanor’s body crumbled back into dust in his open coffin. Even as his features dissolved, King Vanor never once looked away from Mykaela’s face.

“Close the lid and move the stone back in place,” she said. I could detect the anger behind her calm. “I would tell King Telemaine to seal his coffin, but even that might not stop you. Whatever possessed you to let her do this, Fox?”

Fox shrugged, grinning like an abashed schoolboy. “I’m her familiar. It comes with the territory.”

“Being her familiar is no excuse for being an imbecile! And you! What possessed you to summon dead royalty in the middle of the night?”

“I wanted to help.” The excuse sounded weaker when made to Mykaela than to Fox. “I thought that I could control daeva now! You said no Dark asha’s ever done that before! That’s why…why I…”

Mykaela sighed. “And so by that logic, you think you are different from Dark asha of the past? What you have in ability, Tea, you lack in wisdom. You cannot compel the dead if they are not willing. Wasn’t that the first lesson I taught you after you raised Fox from his grave? Arrogance is not a virtue, sister.”

I looked down, blinking back tears. Was I arrogant to want to save her? Unlike Fox, Dark asha and all those with a silver heartsglass cannot be raised from the dead, and that permanence frightened me. “I’m sorry. I want to help. But I feel so powerless.”

I heard her move closer, felt her hand on my head, stroking my hair.

“It’s not such a bad thing, to feel powerless sometimes. It teaches us that some situations are inevitable and that we should spend what little time we have in the company of the people that matter most. Do you understand me, Tea?”

“Yes.” I wept.

“Tea, I’m not dead yet.” A finger nudged at my chin. “I would appreciate it if you stopped acting like I was. I do not give up so easily, but we must adopt other means.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It is only an apology if you mean it. This is the last time you will be summoning anyone in the royal crypts, no matter how noble you think your actions are. Promise me.”

“I promise,” I mumbled.

“The same is true for you too, Fox.”

“I promise, milady.”

“Good. Now help me up the stairs. My legs aren’t what they used to be.”

Fox reached down and scooped Mykaela into his arms. “It’s the fastest way,” he explained. “You’ve expended enough energy yelling at us.”

The older asha chuckled. “Yes, that’s always been rather tiresome now that I think about it. Perhaps you should direct your energies toward more productive tasks so I can tire less.”

“How did you know we were here?” I asked.

“I’ve taken to wandering at night. I looked in on Tea, but her room was empty. I detected a shifting of runes nearby and merely followed it to its source.”

“I didn’t mean to make you worry.” The staircase led back to the Odalian palace gardens. For the past two months, Fox and I had been King Telemaine’s guests, traveling the kingdom and tending to the sickly. Most of the people here fear and dislike bone witches, though with lesser fervor than before. It is not easy to hold a grudge against someone who has nursed you back to health.

At the king’s invitation, Mykaela had taken up residence in the castle indefinitely. But every day finds her weaker, and I feared the palace would serve as her hospice.

“There are many other concerns, Tea. Likh has a new case pending, hasn’t he?”

The asha association had rejected Likh’s appeal to join, but Polaire had dredged up an obscure law that permitted Deathseekers to train in the Willows until they turned fifteen, which was Likh’s current age.

Mykaela glanced over Fox’s shoulder, back at the catacombs, then turned away.

She still loves him, I thought, and fury burned through me like a fever. “I’m really sorry, Mykkie.”

She smiled. “As I said, only if you mean it, Tea. Get some rest. We’ve got a busy day ahead.”

* * *

I listened until my brother’s footsteps faded before sneaking out of my room a second time. I opened the doors of my mind to welcome the hidden shadows; they wrapped around my core, creating a barrier that had for many months prevented Fox from discovering the other sentience I hoarded away, like a sweet vintage I had no intentions of sharing. I couldn’t. Not yet.

Chief waited for me at the stables. A lone woman on a horse caused no outcry, and we rode undisturbed out of the city, into a copse of trees that hid us further from view. I climbed off my stallion, told him to await my return, and moved deeper into the forest, into a small clearing that served as a rendezvous point.

I reached out once more to the moving darkness. The scar on my right thigh was hot to the touch. It burned in the cold air, but I felt no pain.

Despite its size, the beast was made of stealth and shadows. Where there was once nothing, it now stood beside me, as if summoned from the air. Three pairs of hooded eyes gazed down at me, forked tongues dancing. Its wings extended, and twilight rolled over me, soothing and pleasant.

Master? It was a voice but not in the manner we think of voices. Our bond gave us an understanding that went beyond language.

I reached out. Its scaly hide was a combination of coarse bark and rough sandpaper.

Play? It sat, unmoving, as I climbed up its back.

Yes.

In the blink of an eye, we were soaring across the sky, rolling meadows and fields of green passing below us. Turn, I thought, testing the limits of my control, as I have over the last several months. The azi complied, wings curving toward the horizon. I laughed, the sound joyous and free against the wind, and one head dipped briefly to nuzzle at my cheek, purring.

This is not selfishness, I told myself, but a responsibility. Mykaela was partly right; I was arrogant and overconfident, but I was not like other Dark asha. No other Dark asha had been able to tame the azi. And riding with it on quiet nights meant it was not rampaging through cities.

But I also knew I had to keep my companion a secret. Raising a dead king was a far lesser sin than taking a daeva as a familiar. I shall conquer this, I thought and, in doing so, sealed my fate.

Why are we at Daanoris?” I asked again when she paused. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because I need you as a witness as well as a storyteller, Bard. You will not remain unbiased for long if I supply you with foresight.”

“You summoned me. I travel with you. My opinions will make little difference.”

“You have a reputation for impartiality, Bard. I trust your judgment and my prudence. And here in Santiang, there is someone I would like you to meet.”

“Who?”

“They call him the Heartforger.” She flashed me a quick mischievous grin. “I find it difficult to believe you will be so eager to rule in my favor after the endless stretch of corpses I summoned in my wake. Or after informing you of my intentions to take Daanoris. It is not easy to mask your repugnance. Why have I come to Daanoris? Perhaps simply because I can. Has that not crossed your mind?”

“Tea,” Kalen admonished, his voice low and amused.

She laughed. “Let me continue my story while we still have the luxury.”

The shadows grew across the trees. The daeva melted slowly into the forest, moving silently despite their sizes. No other sound passed through the woods—no chirping of birds nor chatter of squirrels. There was only the wind whispering through the leaves, the crackling of fire, and the sound of the asha’s voice.

Other Works by Rin Chupeco:

 

The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1)
Author: Rin Chupeco
Release Date: March 7, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN: 9781492652786

Summary:

When Tea accidentally resurrects her dead brother, she learns she is a different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized in her community. But she finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training. There Tea learns to wield her magic in the face of dark forces and the deceit of those who would plot against her, including the ruling royals, who are waging their own war for control of the land.

Told from Tea’s perspective while she waits in exile, collecting the strength and force to combat those who killed her one true love, and a visiting Bard’s perspective, this is another magical tale woven by The Girl from the Well author.

Buy Links for The Bone Witch:
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The Suffering
Author: Rin Chupeco
Release Date: September 8, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN: 9781492629849

Summary:

After barely escaping the evil spirit that tried to destroy his soul, Tark vows to spend his life protecting the innocent. So when his mentor goes missing on a ghost-hunting expedition, Tark and Okiku join the search. But the Suicide Forest has seduced thousands of people to their deaths over the centuries and is thick with their sorrows.

With time running out and danger at every turn, Tark will either become a hero—or die trying.

Buy Links for The Suffering: 
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BooksAMillion
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Indiebound

Despite uncanny resemblances to Japanese revenants, Rin Chupeco has always maintained her sense of humor. Raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. She's been a technical writer and travel blogger, but now makes things up for a living. Connect with Rin at rinchupeco.com

Social Media: 

Website: http://www.rinchupeco.com/

Twitter: @RinChupeco

Instagram: @rinchupeco

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