First Line Friday 8/30/2024
- Sarah Bauer
- Aug 30, 2024
- 2 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!
Power has a certain taste to it. A hot, golden tang slinking down the throat and trailing smoke in its wake, like seared meat or aged liquor. Something to settle the body, soothe the heart. It is the answer to every type of hunger, an addictive luxury that requires little else in accompaniment, some salve solely made to take up every bit of space it can find.
Power also has a certain taste coming back up. And Anton Makusa can’t say he finds it very pleasant at all.
He takes a shaky breath, fighting to keep his stomach under control. The guards inside the throne room peer through the gold-thread curtains, calling in concern, but Anton wipes his mouth and waves them off. His vision flickers and doubles. His skin screams with raw misery, his qi at once too big for his body and too ill-fitting in its mold. The last minute of his existence tries to escape from understanding. He’s struggling beyond belief to hold on to consciousness, to cling to life. Memories that are both his own and not flash before his eyes. He looks at his hands, and the image lurches. He’s washing blood off. Writing with old ink.
Then, in a snap, the pain eases. Though the nausea remains, his body stands intact. His surroundings register again. One guard steps onto the balcony to ask if he would like assistance to come inside now, and Anton throws his gaze out over the ledge in disbelief.
Chloe Gong returns with power plays, spilled blood, and lethal romance in the thrilling fantasy sequel to New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller Immortal Longings, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er’s bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She now serves as royal advisor to Kasa’s adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne.
Only Calla knows it isn’t really August.
Anton Makusa is still furious about Calla’s betrayal in the final round of the games. In an impossible feat, he took over August’s body to survive and has no intention of giving up this newfound power. But when his first love, the beautiful, explosive Otta Avia, awakens from a yearslong coma and reveals a secret that threatens the monarchy’s authority over Talin, chaos erupts. As tensions come to a boiling point, Calla and Anton must set their conflicts aside and head to the kingdom’s far reaches to prevent anarchy...even if their empire might be better off burning.
Other Books by Chloe Gong
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