FREEBIE Book Blitz! ~~ Escapement by Ciara Knight
Title: Escapement
(The Neumarian
Chronicles)
Author: Ciara
Knight
Genre: YA/NA Speculative
Fiction
Hosted
by: Lady
Amber's Tours
Blurb:
Ten years after
the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In
celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a
slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire.
When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves
hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in
the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to
death.
Ciara Knight writes with a ‘Little Edge
and a Lot of Heart’ with her contemporary and paranormal romance books. Her
most recent #1 Amazon bestselling series, Sweetwater County, has topped the
charts and received acclaimed reviews. Her international
best-seller, Pendulum scored 4 stars from RT Book Reviews, accolades
from InD’Tale Magazine and Night Owl Top Pick. Her young adult paranormal
series, Battle for Souls, received 5 stars from Paranormal Romance Guild and
Night Owl’s Top Pick, among other praises.
Author
Links:
Website: http://www.ciaraknight.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ciaratknight
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ciaratknight/
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Jc5ASN
Buy
Links:
The door swung open and four guards entered before Dred
stormed in. “Malvak orders ya all to the platform
now.”
My stomach
flopped. “No. It hasn’t been an
hour.”
“Malvak’s orders
changed.”
“You said they’d
be spared,” Ryder argued.
“They be ordered
to watch.”
Dred’s words stung
like a laser through my heart. “No, please. You can’t. It’s too
soon.”
Ryder still
clutched one arm and wouldn’t let me go. “Semara, listen to
me.”
“No, I won’t. This
isn’t going to happen. I’ll tell Malvak who I am and order your
release.”
“Not wise.” Dred
shoved the key into Ryder’s cell
door.
I had to do
something, anything to stop this.
“We need you,
Semara. You’re the only one left in this war-torn world who can protect Raeth.
Please, I promised my folks before they were murdered I’d take care of her.
Once I’m gone—”
“Don’t say that.”
Tears stung my eyes and I wanted to pull him against me and
disappear.
Ryder reached
through the bars and held the back of my head so our foreheads touched. “Once
I’m gone, you are her only
family.”
“Enough, it’s
time,” Dred ordered.
The guards rushed
into the cell, bound Ryder’s wrists, and dragged him from the cell. One guard
grabbed Raeth by the arm and did the same to me. Dred stood at the outside of
my cell, door open, waiting for me to
exit.
“I did all I
could,” Dred said with a heavy, deep tone. He bound my wrists and stepped back.
“Sorry, Malvak ordered—”
“You could do
more. Trust me, you’ll regret this later. You’ll go to sleep each night with
Ryder’s face haunting your dreams. I’m still tortured by making a wrong choice
when I was only twelve.”
I shoved past him
and went out to the center of town. Acid rose in my throat at the sight of the
noose hanging from a wood beam. It had to be wood. If it had been metal, I
could’ve melted it and bought some more
time.
Maybe I could try
Ryder’s plan and incapacitate Dred before he stopped me, then get his gun and
take a few down. If we could find cover and some metal we’d have a
chance.
I watched Dred out
of the corner of my eye as we approached the
platform.
“Don’t try it,
pretty face. I’ve trained for years to be a faster draw with me powers. Ya
don’t stand a chance. All you’ll accomplish is ya own
death.”
I lifted my chin, determined
to fight. “I can’t stand by and watch him
die.”
“Ya don’t have a
choice. None of us do,” Dred insisted.
“You do. Let me
use my powers and the three of us escape. Otherwise, you’ll have innocent blood
on your hands.” I pleaded.
Wind whipped
through the village. Creaks echoed from the skywalks. Water swished through the
steel waterways above. Cannons and barbed wire lined an exterior wall. It was a
fortress.
Mother had been
right to fear them. Even if I freed Ryder, how could we get out? I suspected
the walls were electrified. Maybe I could short out the wires, but I’d need
Raeth’s help to demolish the
wall.
Even if we managed
to break through the wall, then what? We’d have to get a ship and figure out
where we were.
There had to be a
way to save him. I had to be missing
something.
A horn sounded and
people came out of homes and buildings, flooding the street to watch Ryder’s
execution. Didn’t they see they were no better than the
council?
I wrung my hands
and pulled at my rope bindings that rubbed my skin
raw.
The smell of
animals and desert sand carried on the
wind.
A tall man appeared
on one of the skywalks with a fluffy cape of animal fur lining his huge frame.
I couldn’t make out his features, but he definitely had a tattoo running across
his forehead. A reflection of sunlight off his face indicated some
piercings.
“This here
Neumarian is charged with bringing the council’s wrath to our land. Do we wish
to sacrifice our way of life and be enslaved to the
council?”
“No,” the crowd
yelled back as if in a trance.
“Terminate the
prisoner and send his body as a gift to the
queen.”
“No!” I cried out
and ran for the platform. “You’re wrong. We only wish to go in peace. The queen
doesn’t know we’re here. We brought a gift!”
I ran up the
steps, but a guard snagged my hair, knocking me down so hard the wood cracked
against my shoulder. A pain shot down my arm. Ryder shouldered the man and
raced to my side. “Semara, please, don’t do
this.”
“I can’t watch you
die,” I managed through sobs.
The guards tore us
apart and placed Ryder on top of a
box.
I fought with all
my strength and drew heat from my core to my hands, but the mind splitting pain
made me collapse. I lay on the floor of the platform forced to watch the noose
being secured around his neck.
“Proceed with the
execution.”
The guard kicked
the box out from under Ryder and the rope snapped tight around his
throat.
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