Desperate Magic Read online

  Desperate Magic

  By Rebecca York

  Book three of The Chronicles of Arandal

  Willow was left behind when her sister Rowan fled Valleyhold and became Queen of Arandal. Now she’s receiving broken telepathic messages from the new queen, begging for help. She’ll do anything to reach her, even if that means risking her life to break through Valleyhold’s protective magic.

  Dragon shifter Cullendor sees opportunity in Willow’s desperation. He needs someone to show him how humans behave so he can steal the throne of Arandal from Rowan’s husband. After he saves Willow’s life, he thinks she’s just the woman to teach him. But when he seduces her, he’s not expecting her to teach him how to love.

  As Willow and Cullendor draw closer to Rowan, Cullendor begins to wonder whether power is really more important to him than love. But once Willow discovers the secrets he’s been hiding, how will he convince her that his feelings are real?

  22,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to our July lineup of books! If I’m not on the beach somewhere while you’re reading this, there’s something wrong with life (unless you’re reading this in December—in which case, I hope I’m by a fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa in my hand). But no matter where you are while you’re reading this, I can tell you one thing: you’re in for a treat. (Sure, I say that every month, but it’s always true!) This month brings a fun mix of returning authors and debut authors, with fun, contemporary beach reads, some troublesome dragons, a few steps back in time, and characters in a race against time and a fight for their lives.

  Let’s kick off with the perfect beach read. Make sure you pick up Christi Barth’s Love at High Tide. Beach reading doesn’t get much better than this. It starts with a beach rescue, continues with a beach romance, and has sun, sand, sexual tension and two characters you will love.

  Maybe the beach isn’t your thing in the summer, but baseball is. Take a peek at Alison Packard’s The Winning Season. After hitting rock bottom, bad-boy catcher Matt Scanlon is traded to the team he’s loathed since boyhood, and he must confront a painful incident in his past before he can rebuild his life and his career. Once you’ve fallen in love with Matt, go back and read Alison’s debut romance, Love in the Afternoon.

  Continuing in the contemporary romance genre, we have party planner Tess, who can’t believe that hotel manager Jeremy could possibly be interested in her. She’s everyone’s BFF, not friends-with-benefits material. But he’s got more than friendship on his mind in Kate Davies’s Life of the Party, book three in the Girls Most Likely to... series.

  Maybe you like your romance with a side of suspense? If so, check out Anne Marie Becker’s Deadly Bonds, and Betrayed by Trust from Ana Barrons. Two romantic suspense books, four characters in fights for their lives.

  Or maybe you like your romance with a large helping of sexy times? If so, Lynda Aicher’s Bonds of Desire is the book for you. Lawyer Allison English never planned to return to The Den—despite her naughty fantasies about being bound by owner Seth Matthews. But when club guest Tyler Wysong is injured in a scene, Seth turns to Allie for help. Aroused by both men, Allie should turn the case down. But she can’t...

  Joining Lynda in the erotic romance category this month are two male/male titles. First up is His Roommate’s Pleasure by Lana McGregor. Adam had no idea that his jock roommate was gay—and into leashes, paddles, and domination. And Adam, an inexperienced virgin who’s only ever kissed one guy, is surprised to find himself curious about submitting... Then Samantha Ann King returns with the follow-up to her debut romance, Sharing Hailey. In Waiting for Ty, too many beers and four long years of denying their feelings for each other thrust two men together in a lip-lock and a night of no-holds-barred sex that forces them to confront their greatest love and their deepest fears.

  In Sky Hunter, the third and final installment of Fae Sutherland’s male/male space opera romance series, Skybound, the Crux Ansata’s brash and rebellious ship mechanic, Jeret, finds himself face-to-face with a dangerous past he never thought to revisit—and the only man he has never been able to forget.

  Looking for more books in the paranormal category? Start with Ruth A. Casie’s The Guardian’s Witch and Desperate Magic by Rebecca York. And for fans of historical romance, in Georgie Lee’s Hero’s Redemption, a widow and a war hero brought together by a scheme must learn to trust one another and accept the tragedy that links them in order to find love. Meanwhile, historical romance author Susanna Fraser, who can always be counted on to deliver a unique and unusual historical romance, returns with A Dream Defiant, in which a black British soldier marries a beautiful English war widow, but he can’t believe she wants him for himself, and not merely as her bodyguard and protector.

  This month Carina Press is pleased to announce three debut authors. Mystery author Patricia Hale will grip you by the throat with her suspenseful story of retribution, In the Shadow of Revenge. As children they witnessed horror and created a pact, as women they planned their revenge and waited.

  Also debuting this month is Reese Ryan, with Making the First Move. When ambitious HR exec Melanie Gordon falls for sweet, sexy philanthropist Raine Mason, she discovers that his selflessness is driven by a dark and tragic secret that threatens to keep them apart.

  And joining Carina Press with her Golden Heart-winning paranormal romance is debut author Lorenda Christensen. Fans of Katie MacAlister’s Aisling Grey and Light Dragons series will want to check this one out, and so will any fans of fun paranormal romances featuring dragons and heroines with a bit of backbone. In Never Deal with Dragons, the first in a new series, a human mediator bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to partner with an ex-boyfriend to stop a war between two dragon monarchs.

  I hope you enjoy all of this month’s new releases. There’s certainly a variety to choose from, to keep you occupied no matter what your summer (or winter) activity.

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  A sudden burst of pain slammed into Willow’s shoulder, and she cried out, struggling not to pitch forward. When she was steady on her feet again, she turned around and saw one of the youngsters from the village standing twenty yards away, a look of satisfaction on his rounded face.

  He had hurled a bolt of power at her—a schoolboy’s clumsy assault. He should have hit her square in the back. She could do far worse to him if she chose, but she ordered herself not to retaliate.

  “Is this how you amuse yourself?” she asked, hoping her voice sounded calm. Six months ago she would have been shocked by the attack
. Now nothing surprised her.

  His expression was defiant. “Your sister betrayed us. You’d do the same, if the elders hadn’t fixed it so you can’t leave the village.”

  “My sister didn’t betray anyone. She escaped to save her life.”

  Willow hoped she spoke the truth. In reality she didn’t know if Rowan was alive and well. She could only pray to Ravina for her safety.

  The boy made a scoffing sound. “She left Valleyhold with an outlander. He could bring his soldiers back here to slay us all.”

  Prince Grantland of Arandal, she silently added. And as far as she knew, all he’d wanted to do was get out of Valleyhold alive. Aloud she said, “He won’t do that. And if he did, they wouldn’t get through the wards.”

  “No thanks to you. The elders don’t even trust you on shield duty, do they?”

  It was true. Every adult in Valleyhold took his or her turn sending psychic energy to the invisible dome that kept invaders from their high mountain refuge. Everyone but her.

  More than a hundred years ago, her people’s psychic powers had branded them as witches in the kingdom of Arandal. Those who had escaped with their lives had found asylum in this hidden valley and erected a barrier that prevented enemies from attacking. But it also kept anyone inside from leaving—unless they were given specific permission.

  Willow sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to defend herself with words—or any other way.

  Hoping the little vermin wasn’t going attack again, she turned and marched up the hill toward the meadows where she could be alone. She had a carry bag slung over her shoulder, with some food and extra clothes. If she wanted to stay up on the mountain in one of the sheepherder’s huts, she could.

  Until her seventeenth year, Valleyhold had been a place of friendship and laughter. A place of warmth and comfort where she’d felt secure in her role as a highborn daughter of respected parents. Now it was a prison, with no escape.

  Instead of stopping to gather the herbs she’d promised her mother, she climbed steadily away from the village.

  She had learned her lesson the hard way and stopped well short of the protective dome. Every time she’d approached the barrier, her head had begun to pound and her breath had grown labored. She knew that if she tried to get through, she would kill herself in the attempt. She was trapped in here, and she had to accept that.

  She had had good reason to leave. Her parents had betrothed her to a powerful wizard who hid his evil plans from all but a few people. Rowan and Grantland had killed him, been threatened with death or worse by the elders and managed to escape.

  After Rowan’s defection, Willow’s whole family had been shunned. But her mother and father had worked hard to get back into the good graces of the Valleyhold community. Willow watched with disgust as her mother brought her famous meat pies to other housewives in the village, and her father spent endless hours with teams of men repairing thatched roofs and wattle and daub siding—all the while proclaiming that they had disowned their older daughter.

  The tactics earned them acceptance back into the bosom of the community, but Willow refused to denounce her sister. She loved Rowan. There had been a bond between them since they were little girls, a bond she couldn’t simply dismiss.

  Which was why she’d kept to herself, choosing more solitary duties like watching herds of sheep or gathering herbs for cooking and medical purposes.

  Willow gathered her long, homespun skirt around her ankles, settled down on a grassy hillside as close as she dared get to the barrier and looked back at the village. It seemed so peaceful, unless you understood the tensions seething below the surface. She sat for long hours, then finally realized it was getting dark. She should either turn around and go home or seek out one of the shepherd’s huts. Probably a hut, she thought, since the narrow cobblestone streets made her feel hemmed in now. Every time she stepped into the public square where Rowan and Grantland had been imprisoned in a cage reinforced by psychic wards, she had to struggle to catch her breath.

  Tipping her head back, she looked up at the stars and the two moons, then caught her breath as a great shadow passed over the protective dome.

  It was a dragon. The beast turned in a circle, as though he was looking down at her and considering her a tasty morsel.

  Her heart began to race as he dived toward her out of the darkness, and she threw a protective arm across her face. She thought he would hit the barrier, and she braced for the impact, but when she felt no crash above her, she peeked around her sleeve and saw that he had pulled out of his dive at the last minute.

  He circled again, lingering in the sky above her, before finally flying away.

  Mayhap she should get off this hilltop.

  She had pushed herself up when she heard someone call her name.

  “Willow?”

  Cautiously she looked around, seeing no one. “Yes?”

  “Willow.”

  She recognized the speaker now. It was her sister, using the silent communication they had enjoyed since childhood—for the first time since Rowan had escaped from Valleyhold.

  Willow looked toward the barrier. “Rowan! Where are you? Have you come back?”

  “No. I am far away.”

  Recognizing the note of panic in her sister’s answer, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I need your help. I’m in danger. I need you to come to me.”

  Willow’s chest tightened. “I cannot get out of Valleyhold. The elders—”

  She didn’t finish the sentence because she sensed that the connection had snapped off as quickly as it had come to her.

  She waited long moments for her sister to reach her again, but there was no repetition of the contact.

  Had she imagined the communication because she was so miserable in Valleyhold? She dismissed that explanation quickly.

  It had been real, and she knew Rowan was in trouble. But why? And where was she?

  Had Grantland abandoned her? Was he abusing her? Had the people of Arandal discovered her psychic power? There were so many things that could have gone wrong. Had she even gotten to Castle Arandal? There was no way to answer those questions. Willow only knew that her sister was in danger, and she must go to her aid.

  Alone on the hilltop, she looked around. If anyone knew she’d been talking to Rowan, she’d be in grave danger, and not simply from a village boy using her for target practice.

  But her sister was in danger now, or she wouldn’t have made that desperate plea for help.

  Silently Willow shouted her name again, hoping against hope to hear more, but the link had gone dead, as if someone had sliced through the connection with a sharp knife.

  Willow clenched her fists, choking back a cry of frustration. She had been shunned since her sister’s escape, yet she’d tried to hold on to the conviction that Rowan was well and happy.

  Now Willow knew it was all wishful thinking. Rowan was in trouble.

  Which meant Willow had to get out of Valleyhold. That was the first step.

  Dropping to her knees, she clasped her hands in front of her and prayed to Ravina, wife of Holder, the chief of the gods.

  “Help me,” she whispered. “Come to the aid of a woman who needs all the strength you can give her. Not for myself. For my sister.”

  Hoping Ravina had heard her, she turned toward the invisible shield and took a deep breath. Fists clenched, she began to run forward, determination to escape propelling her, but the closer she got to the invisible shield, the more her steps slowed. Her head began to pound as though someone were hitting her repeatedly with a sledgehammer, her chest felt like a giant weight was squeezing off her breath and her vision blurred. Still she forced herself forward, step by step.

  Determination wasn’t enough. With a groan, she wavered on her feet then dropped to her knees. When
she tried to crawl forward she made it only a little farther before she fell to the ground where she lay panting. The force field had trapped her as though she were an insect caught in pinesap. She couldn’t move—either forward or back—and she knew she was going to die in this no-man’s-land the elders had created.

  Help me. The words echoed in her head moments before the world went cold and black around her. And then she heard nothing, felt nothing.

  She didn’t know how long she lay on the hard ground, but something brought her back to consciousness. It was a hot wind, blowing toward her, curling around her, bringing the life back to her body. The wind seemed to be coming from the other side of the barrier, but how was that possible? Her eyes blinked open, and she turned her head to find what was out there. What she saw made her cry out in shock.

  A dragon crouched on the other side of the transparent dome. It must be the dragon who had flown over her earlier. Now he was on the ground, staring at her with his enormous yellow eyes. His mouth was open and he was blowing heat toward her. Not fire, but a warm, healing breath.

  She gasped and made an attempt to crawl away, but his gaze held her.

  She stared at him, hardly able to believe he had chosen to bring her back from the dead. Her people had always feared dragons, yet this one had saved her life.

  “Why?” she whispered.

  He didn’t answer. Probably he didn’t even speak her language. As she watched, he reached out and scratched at the barrier with one of his great claws.

  Amazed that he had gotten so close, she pushed herself up, keeping her gaze fixed on him. Was he telling her he could help her escape? And then what? Did he want her to leave Valleyhold so he could make a meal of her—or something worse?

  Her mind was hardly functioning on a rational level, but her desire to help her sister was a powerful motivator. Thinking only of Rowan, she crawled forward, still surrounded by the heat of the dragon’s breath. Or mayhap her reasons were more selfish. Perhaps she was letting the great beast help her because she didn’t want the elders to find her dead in this no-man’s-land and know she had tried to escape.