Unexpected Bargain

Can a friendship be saved? Will love win the day? Can Magic be restored? And will the Guardians thwart the mad gods to secure peace for another 1000 years?

The epic-laced high fantasy serial continues....

Solancei, life-shield and friend of Princess Iambre, has disappeared under mysterious circumstances during a visit to the main seat of a dubious ally.

Fearful of the future, Iambre is suddenly left with bigger issues than her own rebellious heart or what to wear for the next banquet. Though she senses something rotten, on the surface the Princess' concerns for her friend appear unfounded. Could she simply be seeing things that are not there? Or is the danger perhaps closer than she could ever imagine?

Regretting her recent dire behaviour, Iambre hopes for the best yet fears the worst, but now - to throw further shadows on her existence, Iambre's would-be lover, Bilan Metavo, Lance Captain of her retinue, remains steadfast in the face of her advances. Does she really stand to lose him too?

Meanwhile, still cut off from her precious skills, Solancei finds herself mired in dire circumstances where a reckless choice might be the only thing that can save her - and she is not the only one.

Elsewhere, Malandar - jaded Spell-Weaver and Commander of the once-all-powerful Guardians who protect the Veils of Time against the ancient, mad gods - has awoken to a world that still bears the now almost 1000 years-old scars of a supernatural betrayal.

Mounting frustration shadowing his progress, his fey notions in regards to procuring a Neidar Ba'raie to further his cause, only strengthen - however, this ancient well of magic is an illegal presence that should not exist. It's dangerous, and taking it for his own use is against all the Laws he has sworn to uphold. But does the end justify the means? Or will this forever tarnish him in the eyes of the Creator?The search for the Twins must remain true, yet for every mile travelled the lines seem to blur just a little more for the weakened Guardian; time is running short - and not just for Malandar.
A young seer has some troubling visions...

Excerpt:
Breath hitching, Solancei doubled over, her vision floating strangely out of focus and time. Del'Draventar disappeared as though enveloped in a haze, then came back into focus.

"I would protect you!" he assured her, completely out of context; she didn't understand why, but his eyes trailed some kind of threat she could not see.

Her vision wavered again. Her body was awash with vivacious pain and her head throbbed.

'Are we under attack?' she wanted to cry, rubbing her temples and feeling worse by the beat, but a ring of steel cut back her words as del'Draventar drew his ancestral sword with an aggressive flourish.