Title: Of Stars and Lightning
Series: Stars and Shadows
Author: Melanie Mar
Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance
Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers; Found Family; Angry Gods
Release Date: August 6, 2024
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“Destiny wasn’t meant to be tested. Then again, neither was she.”Sol Yarrow didn't ask for much. A nice day for hunting. A peaceful shift at her gods-awful job. A steaming bowl of her Aunt's famous stew.
Easy.
Simple.
But after twenty-five years of simplicity, everything she thought to be true was rewritten when four strangers came to her town of Yavenharrow to take her back to a shielded land known to be inhabited by ruthless Elemental Magic Wielders, a land only known by rumors and bedtime stories. A kingdom where her Mother had been the Queen. A kingdom that, by order of succession, now belonged to her.
But what would a human with no magic and a short temper have to offer the Wielders?
Sol didn't think much.
Her Court thought otherwise.
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They watched her in silence.
She strode from table to table, an easy smile on her full lips and a gentle gaze in her emerald eyes. Although she physically looked so different from their Queen, the girl before them moved with the same swiftness, the same sense of urgency.
After several orbits around the dusty, loud tavern, she settled behind the wooden bar, returning to whatever book she had been reading the past four days.
“What do you think?” Nina asked, lowering her face to her cupped hands while she watched the girl.
Cas shrugged. “There’s no way to know for certain until we speak to her.”
They continued assessing the golden-haired girl, her smile alone captivating the table of sailors she returned to serve.
Nina sighed. “If she is who we think…how did they know?” She held up the crumpled-up letter, its edges folding and cracking with the movement.
He plucked it from her hands. “That’s the question, isn’t it? How did whoever sent us this letter find her when we couldn’t for years?”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” she whispered, tugging forward the black hood of her cloak to further conceal her face. “I don’t like that we don’t know who found her.”
Cas tapped the wooden table before them, the motion sending small bursts of dirt adrift. “The faster we get her out of here, the better.”
“Tomorrow,” Nina echoed. “We will do it tomorrow after the other two come back from scouting the area.”
He nodded.
The crunching of boots on the tiled floor made them both reach for their daggers and lock eyes. And although no physical threats loomed near, Cas's breath hitched slightly as he glanced over Nina’s shoulder.
“Greetings, travelers.”
They both stiffened at the bright, rich voice that seeped like honey around them.
“Did you two desire anything to drink? The ale here in Yavenharrow is absolutely exquisite.”
Nina didn’t move, trying her best to keep her breathing steady.
Cas smiled slightly, but carefully averted his gaze to the ground. “We are okay, thank you.”
“Well, holler if you change your mind, my Lord.”
Without any further conversation, the girl walked past them and moved to the next table, offering them the same script before once again returning to the bar.
She seemed so comfortable, so sure of her place in this world of hers.
And they were about to destroy it.
Cas lowered the letter to the table, exhaling a sigh of relief.
Nina trailed the words, although they had been engraved in her mind for weeks.
Your Princess is in Yavenharrow.
She strode from table to table, an easy smile on her full lips and a gentle gaze in her emerald eyes. Although she physically looked so different from their Queen, the girl before them moved with the same swiftness, the same sense of urgency.
After several orbits around the dusty, loud tavern, she settled behind the wooden bar, returning to whatever book she had been reading the past four days.
“What do you think?” Nina asked, lowering her face to her cupped hands while she watched the girl.
Cas shrugged. “There’s no way to know for certain until we speak to her.”
They continued assessing the golden-haired girl, her smile alone captivating the table of sailors she returned to serve.
Nina sighed. “If she is who we think…how did they know?” She held up the crumpled-up letter, its edges folding and cracking with the movement.
He plucked it from her hands. “That’s the question, isn’t it? How did whoever sent us this letter find her when we couldn’t for years?”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” she whispered, tugging forward the black hood of her cloak to further conceal her face. “I don’t like that we don’t know who found her.”
Cas tapped the wooden table before them, the motion sending small bursts of dirt adrift. “The faster we get her out of here, the better.”
“Tomorrow,” Nina echoed. “We will do it tomorrow after the other two come back from scouting the area.”
He nodded.
The crunching of boots on the tiled floor made them both reach for their daggers and lock eyes. And although no physical threats loomed near, Cas's breath hitched slightly as he glanced over Nina’s shoulder.
“Greetings, travelers.”
They both stiffened at the bright, rich voice that seeped like honey around them.
“Did you two desire anything to drink? The ale here in Yavenharrow is absolutely exquisite.”
Nina didn’t move, trying her best to keep her breathing steady.
Cas smiled slightly, but carefully averted his gaze to the ground. “We are okay, thank you.”
“Well, holler if you change your mind, my Lord.”
Without any further conversation, the girl walked past them and moved to the next table, offering them the same script before once again returning to the bar.
She seemed so comfortable, so sure of her place in this world of hers.
And they were about to destroy it.
Cas lowered the letter to the table, exhaling a sigh of relief.
Nina trailed the words, although they had been engraved in her mind for weeks.
Your Princess is in Yavenharrow.
Melanie lives in Texas and her Bachelor of Science in Psychology gives her a unique perspective on human behaviors, helping her craft three-dimensional, relatable characters with their own ways of overcoming struggles. She participated in AWP’s 19th Season of W2W as a Mentee and was published in her local university's magazine.
She is currently working on her debut romantasy novel and spending all her free time living within its world.
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