First Line Friday 8/23/2024
- Sarah Bauer
- Aug 23, 2024
- 3 min read
Welcome to First Line Friday, a weekly feature where I share the captivating opening lines of my current reads. These snippets offer a glimpse into the story's world, inviting you to join the adventure and discover what happens next. Whether you're a fan of fantasy, romantasy, or science fiction, I hope these first lines pique your curiosity and inspire you to explore new stories. Happy reading!
The village of Thirbridge might well have been at the end of the earth.
It lay deep in the Forest of Cellandre, in the furthest corner of the kingdom, the loneliest and most isolated place in the world. Elodie had run as far as she could go. Any further and she would be in enemy territory in more ways than one. But no one would look for her here.
She dismounted and tied her horse to the solitary hitching post outside the inn. The child was still bundled against her side under her cloak. Asleep now, thank the light.
Every bone in Elodie’s body ached. She just wanted to fall to the ground and sleep herself, right then and there. But she couldn’t. She had to keep going. To find somewhere safe.
She had been following the lines in the earth, those places of old magic, and they had brought her here. They only skirted the edge of the village and then swirled back into the depths of the forest. In the morning, she knew, she would follow them again.
But for tonight, just tonight, she would have a meal, and food, and maybe a bath. Oh, how she longed for a bath, steaming hot, with the luxurious handmade soaps and precious oils she had left far away in Asteroth. The thought strayed to what else she had left behind and she recoiled from memories.
The child stirred. A child already, not the tiny baby she had been when they left. She had his eyes, his hair… She was the image of him…
Elodie winced and hushed the girl, stroking her long black tresses until she settled again.
‘Storm’s coming,’ said the innkeeper. ‘I warrant you’ll be staying longer than a night.’
Elodie nodded, staring at the darkening sky to the south through the open door. ‘Maybe.’
‘What’s your business?’
‘I’m… I’m a healer.’ She needed to learn not to hesitate, she chided herself inwardly.
‘You’re young for a healer,’ he commented, unaware, or uncaring, of how rude that sounded. ‘And the babe’s father?’
So he’d seen her there, snuggled in against Elodie’s side, huge dark eyes blinking at this strange world. Well, how could he miss her? She was a beautiful child.
‘He’s dead.’ That lie came far too easily. Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie. There was no father to come after them now and anyone who did… well, she would just have to take care of that if and when it happened. ‘I need somewhere to stay, somewhere to look after her.’
A spark of passion between hunter and hunted has the power to end everything…
The shadow magic has always whispered to Wren. The same power that once ravaged her home kingdom of Asteroth. She must keep her magic hidden, only using it to help people in need in the remote border village she calls home. Discovery of her gifts would mean death.
Noble knight Finn has sworn to serve the kingdom by hunting down those who use shadow magic. But sword and armour cannot save him when he is attacked by dark creatures in the woods near Wren’s village.
Wren has no choice. She risks exposing her secret – and saves this handsome stranger’s life. But as her skin gently brushes his, Wren’s magic – and an uncontrollable desire – floods through both their veins. But is their passion real? Or are the shadows tempting them?
There’s no time for Finn and Wren to untangle their feelings from the seductive call of the darkness. Because Finn was not attacked by chance. Enemy soldiers are on the move, closing in on Asteroth.
Both believe Wren’s magic to be dangerous. But what if it’s the only way to save the kingdom? And with dark days coming, can they learn to trust each other – or will giving in to their desires destroy everything they know?
Other Books by Jessica Thorne
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