QSFer Kasia Bacon has a new MM military fantasy romance in the Order series: Loose Cannons.
The life of a Scout is hardly ever dull.
A new mission from Commander Heinnés takes Ervyn and Lochan to the garrison of the Royal Artillery in Derrhwÿn, where the couple find themselves hard-pressed and in a tight spot.
Loose Cannons is an Order Series novella featuring a wee bit of adventure, a hot encounter in the armoury pavilion and the after-effects of a dodgy love talisman. (Don’t try it at home!)
Get It At Payhip
Excerpt
We never found out what Capitan Terryés, the Royal Artillery Commander, had done to piss off Heinnés.
Given the cutthroat rivalry that existed within the Elven Forces between units and their commanding officers, it could have been a thing as trivial as a lost bet or card game. Or an ego bruised over allocation of army funds for the next quarter. Whatever the captain’s offence—factual or perceived—it had Heinnés tight-lipped and fuming upon his return from Asirhwÿn, where he’d attended the annual gathering of the highest-ranking military officials.
Nothing good ever came from his foul mood for us—the Scouts. Each flare of his redheaded temper historically translated into something we would gladly pay good coin to avoid. Like being assigned the grimmest maintenance and cleaning duties around the garrison or put through punishing drills till the small hours.
Thus, upon receiving summoning orders to report to Heinnés right away, Lochan and I braced ourselves for the worst.
When we turned up outside the commander’s study, several lads loitered in the corridor, moderate concern etched on their features. Having spotted Marbles perched on a high windowsill amidst the crowd, Lochan and I advanced in his direction without needing to communicate our intentions. Whatever went down in the bastion, the little spy made it his concern to poke his upturned nose into everything.
By Marbles’ side stood Sabre, of course. The northern swordmaster’s arm rested around Marbles’ shoulders. After the capture of Freno Sigrunés, the miraculous had happened. The pair had quit being at perpetual loggerheads with each other and instead had become joined at the hip, taking their newfound harmony to the point of completing each other’s sentences. I reserved judgment on which was more annoying.
“How bad is it looking, then?” I jerked my chin at the door.
“We’re thinking a solid level two,” Marbles replied.
Sabre nodded and drew the smaller man a little closer. “With the potential for level three, though.”
“Hm.” I scanned the faces of those present and scowled. “Damn. Where’s Kudiyés?”
Marbles waved his hand, pointing vaguely to the main barracks behind him.
“Lieutenant Javyés has already—”
“—sent someone to find him,” Sabre said.
While a two wasn’t critical according to the five-grade irritability scale we’d established to assess Heinnés’ frame of mind—incidents of bodily harm only ever occurred at the peak—experience had taught us that shit could quickly escalate in unfavourable circumstances. To prevent the events from going down that route, Kudiyés’ presence had become invaluable.
Perhaps it had to do with his persuading and negotiating skills? That, archery aside, had earned him a place in our unit, after all. Kudiyés, as we said, could sell a hairbrush to a bald Elf and make them consider it a bargain. Whatever the reason, my fellow sharpshooter and the commander’s unofficial orderly counted as the only person capable of mollifying Heinnés’ inner beast. When Kudiyésed in time, a precarious crisis had the potential to be diffused rather than erupting into a thunderstorm over our heads.
And right then, of course, the bastard Kudiyés was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s go in,” Lochan murmured. “Best not keep him waiting.”
“Good luck,” Sabre said, managing to sound rather dubious.
Marbles just winked at us.
Author Bio
A linguist and an avid reader with a particular fondness for fantasy and paranormal genres, KASIA BACON lives in London with her husband. When not tearing her hair out over a translating project, she writes stories about the shenanigans of emotionally constipated assassins and sexy Elves. Otherwise, she can be found shaking her loins at a Zumba class, binging on anime or admiring throwing knives on Pinterest. A lover of MMA and Muay Thai, she also enjoys nature and the great outdoors.
| Author Website | https://kasiabacon.wixsite.com/orderseries |
| Author Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/groups/baconandelves |
| Author Twitter | https://twitter.com/kasia_bb |