Title: Primordial Dust
Author:
Sarah Daltry
Genre: Fantasy
(Romance/YA)
Blurb:
A princess, trained to behave. An
assassin, betrothed to her. A thief, whose eyes she dreams of at night. A
kingdom at war, torn apart by the suppression of magic and truth, as well as
family secrets that threaten to destroy decades of peace.
Questions of loyalty, of morality,
and of free will culminate in a fantasy novel about forging one’s own path and
choosing one’s own destiny.
Buy Links:
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/
Teaser:
Excerpt:
Alusia
smiles wanly. “What happened in Kooram?” she asks.
“There
was a party. We were dancing. Seamus and I were celebrating our engagement...”
I pause, ashamed. He sits beside me, unaware of my role in this, oblivious to
my own deception. “It was my fault.”
Seamus
takes my hand. “Alondra, stop. You know this has nothing to do with you.”
“It has
everything to do with her,” Alusia interrupts. “And her mother.”
“Look,
although Alondra seems thankful for whatever you want to share with her, I
don't care what these secrets are. This is not her fault and she does not need
you blaming her.” Seamus's anger is new to me. I have been so amazed by his
calm, his kindness; he is more like a Demorian now than I have ever seen him,
and I have watched him cut a man's throat.
Alusia
sighs. “I do not mean to assign blame. But we can no longer pretend that this
was a rogue attack, that these events have not culminated in bringing you here,
that fate has not worked its magic to get this book into her hands.” She runs
her fingers along the book on her lap.
“It's
fine,” I say. “But it was not fate. Maybe I did not make the only bad choices,
but choices got us here. And I, for one, am tired of hearing about fate.”
“The
attack,” Seamus continues. “It was sudden. A siren spell warned us before the
mages were slaughtered. I don't know how they breached the Demorian guard, but
without the dying spell of an elder mage, no one would be sitting here right
now with you.”
“So you
ran?” Alusia asks.
“I don't
run,” I argue. “In fact, I am only here because someone kidnapped me in my
sleep.”
“It was
her father's wish,” Seamus mumbles.
“The
forces came quickly. We spread the word to meet in the caves and Kooram split
into two groups: those who were running for the caves, and those who would stay
behind. My parents were with those running, but I stayed. Ereditus, our
commander, rallied the troops. Seamus was already by my side. My friend,
Lormander...”
I stop
and think of that moment. Sanara's face, broken by the choice he was making, is
etched into my memory. I watched her fingers slowly fall from his hand and the
agony in her glance as she turned back to see him one last time tore me
asunder. And now, somewhere, are they reunited? Did she lead everyone to
Tallagut? Did he stay behind in the caves to face his death, remembering her
kiss as the blade entered his heart? I choke on the images and tears rest on
the precipice of my eyelids.
“We
stayed,” I repeat. “There were so many of them. It was chaos. Smoke billowed
from the streets, from our homes, from everything that was my childhood. I saw
young boys, thinking they were brave, split in twain as the attackers stepped
over the corpses, trailing death. What I remember most was the sound. The crash
of swords, the screams of the fallen, the crackle of burning. The details are
hazy. We left Kooram in ruins when we saw that we were outclassed. I walked
through fields of carnage to the caves, only to wake on the other side, in a
mirror world, yet untouched.”
“The
king, he asked that we come here. He said you had the answers, the only weapon
we could use against him,” Seamus adds. My shattered body sits beside him, but
my mind and my soul are still with the dead.
“I am an
old woman, and a forgotten mage,” Alusia says. “I am also the keeper of secrets
and memories. I do not forge steel. My only weapon is knowledge. But that I
have in abundance, and I believe it is time Alondra take her share.”
She
rises from the dusty chair and approaches. I sense my hands as they lift to
take the book she offers; the leather cover is hardened, but smooth to touch. I
run my hand along the spine and trace the embossed seal.
“Please
take this to your room. You will need time, and you will need privacy. When you
are done, I will be waiting for your questions.”
Dream Cast:
A princess
of a kingdom lost in time and wrapped in secrets. Snarky and difficult, because
life has always been easy, she is unprepared to be the leader she needs to be
when her city falls.
Seamus:
A trained
assassin tasked with keeping his own city, and all the cities of the kingdom,
safe. Betrothed to Alondra for diplomatic reasons. Much kinder than his
profession reveals.
Layla:
A young
girl trained to be an assassin, sent to kill the son of the king. Her hopes
rest on succeeding in her quest, because if she fails, there is no alternative
but death.
Tevlin:
The
mysterious man who captures Alondra’s heart on a night before the world fell
apart. His eyes whispered secrets, but they may be secrets that led to the ruin
of everything she held dear.
About the Author:
Sarah
Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She's written
works in various genres - romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn't as
important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah
tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she's been known to shake it up. Most of
her stories are about relationships - romantic, familial, friendly - because
love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn't matter if the story is
set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future -
human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This
is the principle behind all of Sarah's stories.
Sarah
has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing
to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying
art history and really anything because learning is fun.
When
Sarah isn't writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking the internet for
pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.
She has written several books, most notably Bitter Fruits, an urban fantasy in the Eden’s Fall series, Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story, and the six book New Adult Flowering series, including Forget Me Not, Lily of the Valley, Blue
Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Orange Blossom, and Ambrosia.
Social Media Links:
Top Ten:
Sarah’s Favorite
Fantasy Movies:
1.
The
Princess Bride
2.
Labyrinth
3 .
The
Neverending Story
4 .
Brave
5.
The Wizard
of Oz
6.
Shrek
7.
Pan’s
Labyrinth
8.
Harry
Potter (all of them)
9.
Bridge to
Terabithia
10. Mirrormask
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