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  Of Darkness and Fire #1 Publication Date: February 28th, 2022 Genre: Fantasy/ Romantic Fantasy Over 100 years ago, Aethion was thrown in the middle of what would forever be known as The Great War. Kingdoms were torn apart, countless innocent lives lost because of the greed and lust for power of one man – Lachlan Roarke. His band of misfits called themselves The Horde. Which was fitting, seeing as they tended to overrun and eradicate everything in their path. He’s the reason I lost my mother. The reason I can’t sleep at night without constant nightmares plaguing my mind. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is her. Everything I am today is because of her and the night I was forced to stand by and watch as she was murdered. Now, as the time draws near when I must fulfill my destiny as queen of Helia, we find ourselves on the brink of war once again. The Horde is back, although with someone unknown at their helm as leader. The time for revenge is now, and I know it’ll be the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. It’s my duty to save my kingdom. Not only do I owe it to my people, whom I love and swore to protect, but also to make good on the promise I made myself the night I saw the light fade from my mother’s eyes. I will destroy all those who seek to destroy me. I only hope it won’t be the last thing I do. Author Note: This book contains explicit content and darker elements, including mature language, violence, and sexual content. It is not not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. Add to Goodreads

Excerpt

You won’t make it. You’re going to be too late. The voices in my head continued to torment and taunt me as I raced through the gilded halls of the palace. My home. I slipped around the corner of a corridor, chancing a glance briefly at the sentries standing guard by an archway. They reached out for me, tried to stop me, but their shouts fell on deaf ears; I didn’t have time to stop and explain. I was racing against an invisible clock, counting down the seconds until my life was altered—changed so irrevocably, I didn’t know how I would move on. Their footsteps echoed off of the stone walls behind me. My heart was racing, aching as I pushed myself further, harder than I ever had before. Decades of training should have prepared me for this type of situation, but I was royally fucked. No amount of killing or training could prepare me for this. The cost of my failure would be far too great if I didn’t make it in time. Dark corridors seemed to stretch on indefinitely, drifting into a never-ending time loop. The screams of my people rang off the palace walls. Pure, unbridled chaos from the world outside these walls continued to reign around me. Helia was under attack. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it from happening. They were here, The Horde, and they delighted in the torturing of my people. I was a simple fool to believe we could’ve stopped this from happening. My heart seemed to fracture. One particular scream sounded out above the rest into the chilly night air, the only one that mattered in this moment. No. No. No. My head was pounding, aching as my magic coiled underneath the surface of my skin. It begged to be set free, physically hurting me to keep it restrained. But I required every single last drop to do what I needed to do. The door to the throne room came into view as I rounded the last corner, the golden archway contorting into tight vines above the entry. I kicked open the doors, my breathing erratic as I took in the scene in front of me. My mother was lying in the middle of the room. Her body was broken and battered, but her face remained masked in steely defiance. She was beautiful, even as she laid before me. A masked assailant was the only force holding her body up, one hand solidly gripping her hair. My eyes frantically searched my mother’s, instantly realizing my worst fears were coming to fruition. She had accepted her fate. I was too late. She lifted her neck, meeting my gaze, and I nearly gasped. Her eyes were blazing, two beacons calling to me on the darkest of nights. They held within them a promise to guide and haunt me until the end of my days. “I love you, sweet girl. Never stop fighting,” she whispered to me, right as a blade plunged into her chest and pierced her heart.

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About the Author

Amber Palmer is an American fantasy romance author. She was born in Arizona, but raised in Texas. She is the proud parent of three (evil) cats and one puppy dog, and when she isn’t nose deep in a spicy fantasy novel, she’s listening to her bookish Spotify playlists and making notes for her next project! A passionate advocate for mental health, Amber features characters processing various traumas in her work. She is an unapologetic lover of anything spicy, while also making time to game with her husband.

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