The Circle of Conspiracy by Cas Peace - Book Tour + Giveaway
Nine months have passed since Brynne Sullyan helped forge an alliance between the realms of Albia and Andaryon. A fragile peace reigns as both sides recover from the events of the previous year. Then mysterious raiders strike Andaryon villages.
Attempts are made on the life of Albia’s High King. As Sullyan scrambles to find those responsible, unseen enemies threaten to pull apart everything she has worked for, including her marriage.
The alliance begins to crumble, and Sullyan finds herself caught between two monarchs: the king she’s sworn allegiance to, and the man she loves as a father. To betray either one would break her heart, but if conflict is inevitable, she must make a choice…
Cas lives in the lovely county of Hampshire, southern UK, where she was born. On leaving school she trained for two years before qualifying as horse-riding instructor. During this time she also learned to carriage-drive. She spent thirteen years in the British Civil Service before moving to Rome, Italy, where she and her husband, Dave, lived for three years. They enjoy returning whenever they can. Cas supports many animal charities and owns two rescue dogs. She has a large collection of cacti and loves gardening. She is also a folk singer/songwriter and is currently writing and recording nine folk-style songs to accompany each of her fantasy books. You can listen to and download all the songs from her website: www.caspeace.com
See the video of her performing live at the King’s Envoy book launch here: http://www.caspeace.com/cas-
Excerpt #1 - from Book 1 The
Challenge:
Bull planted himself in front of Robin.
“You young idiot! What the Void do you think you’re playing at?”
“Nothing,”
spat Robin, his own temper rising. “I’m playing at nothing, Bull. Ask Sullyan
what she’s playing at. Ask Taran!”
“I would,
only you’ve driven him out, haven’t you? Well, I hope you’re proud of yourself.
Oh, come on, Robin! Can’t you see you’re mistaken? If you believe for one
minute that either of them would betray you like that, then you’ve no more
sense than a mule’s backside!”
Robin
rounded on him. “What do you know about it? I’ve spoken to people who saw them, Bull! It’s not just hearsay
or gossip. This is fact.”
“Oh,
fact, is it? Says who? Denny? And what exactly did he see, Robin? Two good
friends working together, that’s what. That’s why she took Taran with her, for
the gods’ sake! What did you expect her to do, ignore him? She would have
behaved the same way if I’d gone, do you realize that? Would you have believed
the rumors if it had been me instead of Taran? Because I love her just as much
as he does, I can tell you that! And I know for a fact that she loves me too,
because she’s told me often enough.
“But she
doesn’t feel the same way about either of us as she does about you, gods help
her! You know that perfectly well, yet this is how you repay her. One stupid
little rumor from a man who’s bored out of his brain, a man who knows no better
than to elaborate on some overheard, spiteful comment, and you throw away
everything you’ve achieved over the last four years like a broken bowstring.
Not to mention the love and trust of your life mate! What kind of a man does
that make you?”
Robin
looked as if he wanted to strike Bull, and the big man would almost have
welcomed a fight. He thought he could probably still beat Robin in a fistfight,
owing to his greater mass and size, but even if he couldn’t, it would give the
young man a chance to work some of the poison out of his system. The Major
controlled his fury with a huge effort, although his fists remained balled.
Ignoring Bull’s question, he flung one of his own.
“If
they’re so innocent, Bull, why did she turn her powers on me? Tell me that, if
you can! If that isn’t a betrayal of trust, I don’t know what is.”
Bull
shook his head. He was still dismayed at how overwrought Sullyan must have been
to forget herself so thoroughly. He retorted forcefully. “You drove her to
that! Something else to be proud of. You’re the only one who’s ever succeeded
in making her lose control. That alone should tell you the depth of her
feelings!”
He turned
his head briefly before facing the furious young man again. Dropping the anger,
he tried appealing to Robin through sadness. “Dammit, Robin, she’s hurting so
badly. She needs her friends around her right now. We all do. Artesans should
stick together at times like this, not tear each other apart.”
Robin’s
hand cut the air in a desperate gesture. “Well, I’m hurting too,” he cried, a
note of hysteria creeping into his voice. “Only no one seems to care about
that! You’re all turning against me and I’ve done nothing wrong. If all you can
do is blame and berate me, then I’m better off without you. Just leave me alone
in future.”
He flung himself away and stalked off,
but not before Bull saw the tears glittering in his eyes.
2 Comments
Many thanks for hosting me, Jasmine, I do appreciate it!
ReplyDeletexx Cas
You're very welcome! :) Happy to help!
DeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.