Sworn to Raise (Courtlight #1) by Terah Edun
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
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Seventeen-year-old Ciardis has grown up in poverty, a cleaner in a small vale on the outskirts of the kingdom. But beneath her kingdom’s seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder—intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.
Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion’s Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she’d never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.
But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.
This sensational series debut melds intricate storylines with remarkable characters and unforgettable magic. Sworn To Raise is ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore, Michelle Sagara, and Maria Snyder.
Sworn to Transfer (Courtlight #2) by Terah Edun
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
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Eighteen-year-old companion trainee Ciardis Weathervane has won the friendship of the royal heir and saved his claim to the throne. Yet her interference in the inheritance rights leaves more harm done than good. With the death of the Princess Heir, the Ameles forest - the home of the kith, is dying.
The inhabitants of the forest, magic-wielding non-humans, are defiant. They have not forgotten their long struggles nor are they content to watch as the last of their lands perish. As humans begin to die in gruesome deaths, the Emperor dispatches the royal heir to the forests with the solution to the kith concerns.
With enemies closing ranks in Sandrin, Ciardis can little afford to leave the city’s nest of vipers to take on a new task. But she’s given no choice when her loyalty to the crown and courts are called into question.
To keep the Companions’ Guild happy and the favor of the Imperial Court, Ciardis will be tested in frightening new ways, especially when she’s faced with an obstacle that could risk the lives of her friends and the family she never thought she had.
This second novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Raise.
A storm was rolling in off the coast of Sandrin. Heavy rains buffeted the docks and high winds whipped the ends of coiled loops of thick sailor’s rope up into the air across the deck of the large ship. Ciardis Weathervane huddled miserably as she felt the ice-cold wind and rain buffeting her every few minutes in steady waves. First the cold rain would slice into her face, and then a heavy stream of frosty air would strike, pushing her cloak back and soaking her front. Still, she stayed where she was, and she fought not to shiver under the thick blue cloak that she wore.
Prince Sebastian wasn’t far from her side. If you could call across the ship with dozens of soldiers between them “not far.” It was the closest he’d been to her in weeks, though. Ciardis felt her heart clench just a little when she thought about that. The distance that had seemed to have grown between the two of them wasn’t only physical. Shaking off her nerves and turning from the railing where she gazed pensively down into the gray, churning water of the ocean, she took in the gathering around her.
To her left stood a living hedge with hair, eyes, chattering teeth, and she was sure, frozen fingers. The guards stood at attention in neat rows with upright pikes in their right hands, their left hands gripping sheathed swords at their waists, and their golden armor dripping wet in the downpour. Staring stoically ahead to a man—and woman—the Prince Heir’s guard didn’t flinch at the monstrous sound of thunder and lightning cracking down over the ocean to the east of the ship.
• • •
“Where have you been?” said Ciardis, not looking up. The blood had already turned the bucket water red, though there were still spots to clean up. She didn’t see Stephanie watching her as she finished cleaning off the cross bolt that Stephanie had removed from the dead man’s chest with a handkerchief from Ciardis’s nightstand.
“Away,” the woman said. “Training.”
“With whom?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“And you evade all of my answers,” said Ciardis pointedly.
She put the clean crossbolt back into the bow and primed it to fire.
“Not unintentionally.”
Ciardis dropped the last rag in the bucket and raised an irritated eyebrow.
“Look, you come in here criticizing the way I handle things—”
“And saved your life.”
“And want me to do things your way,” Ciardis continued without pause. “But you won’t tell me what the way is or how you knew about the duke’s man.”
Standing up, Stephanie tossed her an irritated look. “The duke’s man was obvious—the Duke of Cinnis hasn’t been subtle in his loathing of you ever since you revealed that he cheated on his wife.”
“Why does everyone focus on that?” Ciardis said, her temper rising, “He was trying to assassinate Sebastian, but does anyone mention that? No! It’s always, ‘Oh, that evil Ciardis, she exposed him in bed with another woman.’”
• • •
A night wolf came barreling out of the forest, snarling and white teeth bared in the moonlight. It hit Meres—or, rather, it tried to. His sword gleamed as it arced through the air to slice into the night wolf’s chest. The wolf howled in pain and kept coming. Two others emerged from the trees and ranged around their small group, preparing to attack. Meres began to speak, not in the language of humans but in the language of beasts.
He was trying to reason with the wolves. It wasn’t working.
Vana edged forward. “Alexandra, take the one closest to you. I’ll take care of the other two.”
Vana gathered magic and shot the arrow in her bow. It split in two. Not when it hit its target, but before. The split arrow had reformed into two perfect arrows. One arrow angled left and the other angled right to target the two remaining night wolves. Ciardis was expecting the arrows to inflict a small wound on the large wolves. They were the size of horses, with heads as large as oxen’s heads. She didn’t think they’d go down easy. She was wrong.
The wolves were thrown back into the woods. Ciardis heard distinct thumps and yelps as they landed. Without pause, Vana knocked a second arrow as she waited for them to return.
• • •
The world folded and time stood still.
When Ciardis awoke, she was no longer in the clearing. She lay in a makeshift bed of vines. She twisted and turned, trying to see more. Her head was the only thing capable of movement, her body from her shoulders to her feet bound by the moving vines. The vines were twisting, never still, and a dark color that shifted like smoke. Stifling a scream, she saw that the vines were made of shadows.
The man must have brought her here, but where was here?
Looking up, she saw more trees, but they were different. The trees had huge trunks and red leaves falling to the ground. She looked around but couldn’t see much else. The shadow man walked out of the darkness of the surrounding forest.
“Ciardis Weathervane,” he said softly. “I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
“Who are you?” she said while trying to fight against the vines. But every movement just caused them to tighten, cutting into her blood circulation and making her feel faint.
“And can you call off your creepy vines?” she snapped.
He looked at her with unreadable eyes.
“It’s not like you’re going anywhere.”
She glared at him. “I’ll ask again: Who. Are. You?”
“I go by many names. None of which are important to you. Just know that I work in the service of the empire.”
“By killing kith?” she said sardonically.
“By doing whatever is necessary right the wrongs done against me,” he hissed back.
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Terah Edun is an international development professional and author/lover of all things Young Adult Fantasy fiction. She is a native Georgian, adoptive Washingtonian, unrepentant expat currently living in South Sudan, brilliant dreamer, lover of dogs and not-so-closet geek. Her first novel, Red Madrassa, was released on November 8th and her second novel, Sworn to Raise, comes out in April 2013.
ซุปเปอร์ สล็อต สล็อตเป็นเกมที่มีความสนุกสนานและตื่นเต้นที่ไม่ต้องการทักทาย pg เนื่องจากมันไม่ต้องการทักทายทางการเดิมพันในสล็อต และไม่ต้องการมีกลยุทธ์เฉพาะเพื่อชนะในเกม
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