The Defender by Rachel Rossano - Book Tour + Giveaway
New roles. New rules. No margin for
error.
Zezilia Ilar joins the sept son’s
entourage as a defender. Her growing Talent ability makes her a target for the
Elitists, and her gender makes people question her competence. She must protect
the sept son. Any mistake could be fatal.
Hadrian Aleron always knew his beliefs
would cause trouble, but he didn’t realize how much. Rebels are rising. He
could lose his title, his position, and if he’s not careful, his life. As the
assassination attempts grow bolder, Hadrian must rely upon his young defender
and their shared faith in the Almighty to keep him from faltering.
Rachel Rossano lives with her husband and three children in the northeastern part of the United States. Homeschooled through high school, she began writing her early teens. She didn’t become serious about pursuing a career as an author until after she had graduated from college and happily married. Then the children came.
Now she spends her days being a wife, mother, teacher, and household manager. Her evenings and free moments are devoted to her other loves, writing and book cover design. Drawing on a lifelong fascination with reading and history, she spends hours creating historical feeling fantasy worlds and populating them with characters who live and breathe on the page.
Snippet #1
Zezilia
Suddenly,
I was aware of a new presence on the perimeter of my thoughts. Dropping my
connection with Hadrian, I began erecting the barriers that Selwyn had taught
me, working from my angulus, the center of my consciousness, outward.
“Zezilia?”
Hadrian’s rich flavor distracted me.
I
wrenched my concentration back to the growing feeling of invasion. It was
stronger than Selwyn’s first trial attack all those months ago, more subtle
too. Whoever it was, he didn’t want me to notice his existence until it was too
late for me do anything about it. By the grace of the Almighty, I had sensed it
early enough.
I
slid the last of my defenses into place just as someone touched my arm. I
paused to raise my eyes. My gaze traced the path from the hand on my arm to
Renato’s concerned face. The invader touched the first of my defenses. When
nothing happened, fear spread through my chest. Renato must have seen it in my
eyes. The invader resumed his advance as Renato’s musky taste filled my mouth.
“Are
you alright?”
The
attacker bypassed another trap. I knew what I had to do. Shoving away Renato’s
connection, I ConPropped. My Talent senses went blind, but I didn’t need them
to hear the deafening crash from the far end of the room. All eyes went to the
man sprawled among the remains of a table at King Sabine’s feet. Well, all but
Hadrian’s. His gaze immediately found my face. His concern quickly turned to
something more serious as he realized what might have happened. I didn’t dare
risk touching my amoveo just yet. If I awakened my Talent, I would again become
vulnerable, and this time, the enemy would be angry.
Snippet #2
Zezilia
I
fought them the whole way. At least one of the young men limped away with a
nasty bruise on his shin, and two had teeth marks on their hands. After the
second yelped and withdrew his hand, a sweaty-smelling scrap of wool was
stuffed in my mouth instead. They dragged me backwards into a dark room, and
the door closed behind us with a final thump. Before I could catch my balance,
they released me and let me fall to my knees blind and bewildered. I didn’t
dare touch my amoveo now that I was obviously being targeted. The men might be
in league with the strange man in the Council Hall. Now that I was unhindered,
I spat out the rag and peered into the darkness.
“You
always were such a pest, Zez.” Vander, one of my elder brothers, lit a lamp,
bathing the small storeroom in a meager glow. “Why couldn’t you have come
quietly?”
“If
I had known I was coming to speak to you, I wouldn’t have protested,” I
replied. “The method of my invitation was a bit hostile.”
I
scanned the room as I slowly rose to my feet. The lack of windows was hardly
surprising. Pressing in on my right and left were towering shelves full of
towels, bedding, and pillows. In the shadow of Vander’s solid form, a second
door beckoned invitingly. If I could just get past him, I had a hope of getting
free.
He
grunted. “We had to get you away from the stick-in-the-mud of a sept son
without him knowing. Father wants to speak with you, and his exaltedness has
made it clear that he will not make you available. So, we had to use other
means.”
“You
could have at least told me where you were taking me,” I pointed out. Even if
Vander had asked, I wouldn’t have come, but it was point worth making just the
same.
“I
did tell you.” He laughed jeeringly then. “For all that hype about your
abilities, you missed my sending from only inches away. Tsk, tsk. Not all that
you are supposed to be, are you?”
I
almost opened my mouth to explain that I had ConPropped, and my Talent was
blind, but I stopped in time.
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