QSFer Cari Z. has a new mm fantasy romance out: Defiance.
Two enemies, born into conflict, find love despite the odds. Their fight to stay together will define the future not just for themselves, but for the world.
Petur Alloui is a powerful prince, a gifted shifter, and a fighter at the top of his game. He wants for nothing…except a challenge. He didn’t expect that challenge to come in the form of a trained assassin, immune to magic, who saves his life even though their countries are sworn enemies.
If Deyvid was smarter, he would have let Petur die on the road instead of taking the spell meant for him. By saving the silver-tongued prince, he gives Petur the chance to woo him, and Petur is nothing if not persuasive.
They’re in love…but love might not be enough to hold back the forces fighting to tear them apart.
Defiance is the thrilling M/M fantasy prequel to the bestselling Triad trilogy with enemies to lovers, graphic violence, and explicit sexual content.
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Excerpt
It was midafternoon by the time Petur and his squad rode into the main square of Veshay, one of the villages perched at the southern edge of the Forest of Linnet. He checked the flag flying from the pole by the central fountain to make sure the town acknowledged the Riyalian crown. This far from the capital, borders became a bit more permeable, and no matter how eager Petur had been to get out of Delomar and stretch his legs—and wings—his sister had warned him against giving aid to a town pledged to Mersaighe.
“We don’t need to make them any bolder when it comes to raiding our merchants and setting traps for our patrols,” she’d said as they sat and drank together the night before he left, almost two weeks ago. “For a country that’s marginally allied with us, their mages spend an unseemly amount of time making our lives difficult.”
“It’s because you’re too good to them,” Petur had replied, deeper into his cups than his sister. A bit of wine sloshed over the edge of his solid silver goblet as he lifted it in a salute. “Queen Tania the Benevolent.” She chuckled and raised her own cup in response. “I still think we could teach them a lesson that would diminish their boldness if you’d just let me take a hundred of our elite troops down there to hunt the worst of the troublemakers.”
Tania frowned. “You know I can’t condone that. It would be a massacre, and we can’t afford to lose any more face to the rulers of Mersaighe.”
“We can handle a few mages,” Petur snapped.
“It’s not just a few mages, though,” she snapped right back. “The last report from your own spies indicated that they think there are upward of twenty mages making trouble for us along the border. Whether it’s an independent band of mercenaries or not, that’s too much magic for us to take on without magic of our own, and I’m not on good enough terms with Queen Melisse yet to ask for aid without being expected to pay more for it than I care to.”
“So what’s the point of sending a group of us down at all?” Petur said before taking a deep drink. It wasn’t that he was unhappy to go, but to be a bandage for the problem instead of thoroughly stemming the flow of blood irritated him.
“Your presence will show our people that we’re taking their troubles seriously without having to commit the kind of numbers that could be interpreted as a military challenge,” Tania told him. “Stay long enough to raise spirits and make some flashy kills, and by the time you return, I might have a deal negotiated with the Bekkons.”
“Bekkons.” Petur snorted. “Useless outside of their magic.” Bekkon was a fifth the size of Riyale and lacked the same military infrastructure. Their land was peaceful by dint of being remote, and the only thing they really had to be proud of was their proficiency with magic. Even then, they didn’t make battle mages of the same renown as Mersaighe did, but—
Tania laughed. “Petur, you’re so cruel! And not entirely correct either. Bekkon has recently instituted a new program to protect their northern border from incursions by the Harrier clans. They’ve created a griffin-riding unit.”
“Griffin riders?” Despite himself, he was reluctantly impressed. “I didn’t think the beasts could be domesticated to that extent.”
“Neither did I. Perhaps I’ll be able to get the details out of Melisse eventually.”
“Or I could send a spy.”
His sister shook her head. “Not every problem can be solved by shifting into a sneaky shape.”
Most can, though.
Their conference had ended shortly after that, and the next morning, his head aching only slightly, Petur had led a six-person squad of his best shifters south. It felt good to get out of Delomar and back on the road; court affairs had taken up too much of his time recently. Petur thrived on work, not performing empty pleasantries toward their nobles and any visiting embassies. He knew his strengths, and putting forward an inoffensive demeanor wasn’t one of them.
Still, as welcome as the time on the road was, it was nice to arrive at Veshay, the largest of the towns which had reported raiding and wreckage thanks to the attacking mages. Perhaps tonight he’d sleep in a proper bed and—
Proper bed? Listen to yourself. Triple gods, he’d gone soft. Petur silently resolved to say nothing at all of potential comforts and instead, dismounted from his horse and waited for the boldest villager to approach him. It took several minutes and a good deal of furtive muttering from the gathering crowd, but eventually, a gray-haired woman with a carefully welcoming expression on her face stepped forward.
“Greetings, Your Highness,” she said, curtsying once she was within five feet of him. “Welcome to Veshay. My name is Mistress Glenanne. What can our humble town offer you?”
So, she recognized the royal seal dangling from the chain around his neck. This woman was well educated for a villager. “I think, Mistress,” he replied, making an effort to warm his voice, “that the real question is, what can we do for you?”
A little puzzled frown crossed her forehead. “I—I don’t recall sending word asking for anything from the capital, sire, much less anything that would require your august presence.”
Petur did his best to hold onto his impatience. “Have you not suffered from raids for the past month?” he asked. “Have there not been two of your people killed, and more injured? Have you not had to take in numerous merchants traveling this road and nurse them back to health?”
“We have, sire, but—” Mistress Glenanne paused, then gathered herself. “Where are my manners? Would you and your company care to join me in my home for refreshments? My sons will tend to your horses while you relieve yourselves.”
Author Bio
Cari Z. is a Colorado girl who loves snow and sunshine. She writes award-winning LGBTQ fiction featuring aliens, supervillains, soothsayers, and even normal people sometimes. Cari has published short stories, novellas and novels with numerous print and e-presses, and she also offers up a tremendous amount of free content on her blog and on AO3 as CariZee. Follow her blog, join her Patreon, or sign up for her newsletter to read her serial stories!
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