Welcome to another edition of MFRW Book Hooks featuring another snippet from Chapter One of Tova’s Dragon.
A flash of lightning startled her, followed by a clap of thunder. Oh, goddess, just what she needed. She quickened her pace as the skies opened and rain poured down. Lightning flashed again and again as the thunder grew louder. Closer. Boulders littered the path, forcing her to weave around them and skirt the edge of the cliff. She made the mistake of looking over the rim and her heart lurched in fear, but she kept on.
She skidded to a halt when she came to a fork in the path. The right fork led toward a cleft in the mountain, but appeared to go nowhere. The left fork wound upward to the castle, but would leave her completely exposed to the storm. As she hesitated, a bolt of lightning darted at her. She raised a hand and directed what magic she had left to deflect the blow. Lightning hit a nearby tree, strong enough to split it down the middle.
She dropped to her knees and rested her hands on the earth, exhausted, her physical energy and magical powers depleted. ::Earth Mother, guide me.:: Her silent plea was answered when a voice beckoned her from the right. ::Follow the path to the cave.::
A cave! Thank the goddess.
The wind at her back propelled her through a narrow opening between two pine trees toward a steep cliff. She stumbled to a halt, searching for the cave. A brilliant flash of lightning revealed an opening just large enough for a man to crawl through. She tumbled inside as thunder shook the mountain.
Safe inside, she sank to the ground, gasping for breath and chilled to the bone. Her entire body trembled from fear and exertion. She closed her eyes and sent up a prayer of thanks for the relative safety of the cave and waited for her eyes to adjust to the blackness.
What had she seen outside? She searched her memory for what she knew of the area. On the rare occasions she’d seen the dragonfolk, they’d looked much like everyone else. But they kept apart, and visitors to the area were discouraged. True, dragon motifs decorated the doorframes of their houses—she’d seen that herself—and rumor said they worshipped some kind of serpent god.
According to Mutti Zee, over the years, travelers through these mountains had claimed to see large winged creatures soaring in the sky at sunrise, while others swore they’d seen men and women change shape and fly into the night. She’d thought the stories to be old wives’ tales, but now she wasn’t certain.
When she opened her eyes again, she spied a darker area. She moved toward it and found a passage leading farther into the mountain, along with a torch propped against the wall. She sighed in relief and reached into her pouch for her flint to light it.
The oil sparked to life, and she entered the passage, one hand on the tunnel wall for balance as she followed the trail down into the mountain. As she rounded a bend, she slipped on a loose rock and lost her balance. She dropped the torch, her head banged against the tunnel wall, and everything went blank.
Tova’s Dragon
by Lyndi Lamont
Kingdoms & Legends Part 2
Steamy Paranormal Romance Novella
An earth mage sets out to save the kingdom, but must team up with a sexy outlawed dragon shifter. Together, they have the power to defeat the evil wizard, but only if they survive the coming battle. And if they do, can an earth mage find happiness with a dragonshifter?
Available for purchase or loan at Amazon:
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07635W1SR
AU: https://www.amazon.au/dp/B07635W1SR/
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07635W1SR/
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07635W1SR/
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Lyndi