Rogue Familiar
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Publisher: Brightlynx Publishing
Release Date: April 2023
Series: Renegades of Magic Book 2
Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance
Snippet:
At last she was now back in her room, where she’d longed to be for hours. Perversely, she regretted being alone almost immediately. She stood in the center of the room, realizing that it still held all the detritus of the disastrous seduction attempt from the night before. When she’d come in to dress earlier, she’d been focused on the task. Now, with the leisure of aloneness, she could only see all the foolish, girlish hope she’d practically oozed with the night before. The evidence of her innocent happiness now struck her as ridiculous.
Turning in a circle, she took it all in—the room that had never really been hers, even post-redecorating. Yes, she’d ruthlessly eliminated the remnants of girlhood, the dolls and pastel colors gone, and replaced them with a more adult theme, but she’d conceived it all with Jadren in mind, thinking about what would please him, when she’d stupidly imagined they’d share these rooms together as lovers.
Even worse was the bedraggled evidence of her childish vision of romance—the wilted flowers, the discarded wine, the candles that had melted down and guttered out while she slept.
No, not slept, she reminded herself ruthlessly. While she was unconscious, drugged by whatever potion Jadren had given her. He’d held out the glass of wine and smiled at her with that wicked mouth, those wizard-black eyes staring into hers with sensual challenge. She’d offered herself naked to him and he’d kissed her with all the longing she could wish for, caressing her and arousing her… That had been a kiss like no other between them, though they’d admittedly had so few. It had been dreamily romantic, intimate, and full of all that Jadren hadn’t put into words.
It had been a goodbye.
With the too-acute vision of hindsight, with her initial anger dulled into grief, she could now see how evasive Jadren had been, all the clues he’d dropped about his intentions to walk away from her, to save her from himself—or, perhaps more to the point, to liberate himself from her, the familiar he’d never wanted.
When she’d stood there naked before him, he’d said as much. Thank you for this gift of yourself. I want you to know that, as much as I’m capable of it, I appreciate this. All of this. And he’d watched her drink the wine he’d drugged, kissed her until she was so woozy she couldn’t stand, and walked away.
As much as I’m capable of it.
I’m gone. Don’t bother looking as I won’t be found.
The memory simultaneously depressed and energized her magically. Apparently even the memory of sexual interaction could recharge her magic, which was good to know. At least now, thanks to Nic, she understood what was happening.
This enervating sadness though…
What if Jadren truly wanted to be free of her? It was so difficult to know with him, scathing and distant one moment, so intensely focused on her the next. Which was the real Jadren? It could be that both were equally real, that he battled himself as much as anything. She absolutely believed that was true.
About the Book:
He left to save her from herself… But who will save him from her?
When Lady Seliah Phel wakes from a drugged sleep to find herself abandoned by her newly bonded wizard, she vows revenge—and to hunt him down. Tracking him through the familiar wilds of the marshlands of her home is the easy part; learning to use her nascent magical skills is something else entirely. So is facing the vast, uncaring society of the Convocation in a time of brewing war.
Jadren El-Adrel is not known for doing the right thing, but getting as far away from Seliah as possible before he drains her dry will be his one noble gesture. So what if she weeps a few tears. Better than her dying in his service—or enabling him to become the ravenous beast that crawls beneath his skin. Unfortunately, in his self-imposed exile, and without the power of his familiar, Jadren quickly runs afoul of the enemy.
As her vengeful quest for recapture becomes a rescue mission, Selly faces all she still doesn’t know about the greater world of wizards and familiars. And Jadren, once determined to walk his own path and stay far, far away from the idealistic fools of House Phel, finds himself aligning with them against the house of his birth. War is coming to the Convocation, which means a clever wizard should pick the side most likely to win.
Sadly, Jadren has never been all that clever…
Purchase links:
https://jeffekennedy.com/rogue-familiar
About the Author:
Jeffe Kennedy is a multi-award-winning and best-selling author of epic fantasy romance. She is the current President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). She is best known for her RITA® Award-winning novel, The Pages of the Mind, the recent trilogy, The Forgotten Empires, and the wildly popular, Dark Wizard. Jeffe lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is represented by Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
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