Coming to Audio in March, 2023. The Ice King's Consort, narrated by John Solo
Exclusive Excerpt from The Ice King's Consort
When we finally stopped for the night, it was growing dark, and I looked around myself nervously. It looked like just more of the endless white forest, only with much more whirling snow. It was bitterly cold, and the dark pine trees covered in snow stretched endlessly in every direction. The sky did hold the gleam of stars overhead though, and the river—the one we’d been riding beside most of the day—was frozen solid, shining black as glass.
The soldiers set up camp quickly, and before long, there were warm fires built to help keep the cold at bay, and temporary dwellings consisting of wooden racks or thin curved poles, covered with deer hides and furs. I shouldn’t have been amazed at how quickly they’d been built, though I was becoming so accustomed to their magic that this hardly even qualified as such. It seemed to me they only used their magic on practical things for themselves, like building fires and structures like these.
Before long, the soldiers were all casting dice and eating and drinking heavily. As some of the fires they built died down, they took coals from them and buried them under a thick layer of dirt they dug from the frozen ground with sticks on top of that dirt. Then they placed their thick furs on top of these buried coals and the beds they made were surprisingly warm.
Afterward, we ate our evening meal. Juul brought it to me with his own hands and sat down beside me to eat. Again, the meal consisted of cold meats and cheeses, along with many bottles of the blood red wine the Quendi seemed to favor. After we’d eaten, the king stood up and looked out toward the frozen river, rubbing his hands together. “Juul,” he called over to him. “It’s a beautiful night for ice skating. The moonlight makes it almost as bright as day.”
“That it does,” Juul replied. “Pavel, would you like to go skating with us?”
I knew about ice skating, of course, but I’d never had the time for anything like that, even as a boy. I’d seen the children of our village out on the frozen lakes and ponds, with the metal runners tied to their shoes. It looked like fun, but I knew it was much more difficult than the skaters made it look.
“I would, but unfortunately I don’t have any skates with me.”
“Not a problem,” Tarrak said, laughing. “Because we’re not using any. We’re just going to slide across the surface.
”Juul laughed at the expression on my face, and I was so charmed to see the rare sight, even if he was laughing at me, that I smiled at him and let him pull me into his arms. He was so seldom amused or happy about anything. Tarrak had told me it was just his way, but I used every chance I could to make him smile because it lit him up from inside. There was a great deal of laughter and shouting as many of the soldiers came with us to the river to slide across its slick surface. I knew the Elves had proper skates with metal runners to cut the ice, but I supposed they obviously wouldn’t take them along on a trip like this one, where they might be expected to do battle. Instead, they eagerly slid and glided on just their boots or even their backsides across the smooth, frozen expanse of the river and seemed to be having a wonderful time judging by all their laughter and loud shouting.
Juul assured me over and over of the ice’s thickness and the impossibility of falling through. I was glad of the moon going behind a cloud though, because I’d looked down at my feet and had seen the black water moving silently and sluggishly underneath the thick ice. Or at least I fancied I did, and with my imagination, that was just as bad. I clutched Juul’s arm even tighter and held onto him for dear life. I wasn’t nearly as graceful as the Elves.
After a while, when nothing happened and no one fell through, Juul coaxed me into easing up on his arm and simply holding his hand. I grew more confident because it really was fun, and Juul went nice and slow for me so I wouldn’t fall. Then the king came gliding over, stopped in front of us with a flourish, and held out his arms to Juul.
“Let’s dance, Juul!” he shouted, and laughing, he grabbed Juul and spun him away from me into a wild dance on the ice. Their faces were fierce as they laughed out loud, yet beautiful in that uncertain light. I made my way back over to the shore and stood watching them twirl and slide with abandon. It looked a bit more like they were in some athletic competition than dancing, but they were both so beautiful it was something to see. I pulled out my pipes to play a little polka for them, and they looked over at me and laughed even harder, redoubling their efforts. A few of the other soldiers joined in dancing together on the ice or watching and clapping their hands from the shore in time to the music.
Soon there were perhaps ten couples out on the ice. Around and around the dancers spun, their long coats flying around their legs and fanning out behind them. To and fro, up and down the frozen river they went, and I’d never seen anything like it. They were all so beautiful with the moonlight shining down on them, and I put back my head and looked up at the stars, shining like diamonds in the sky above us and glistening on the surface of the river below. I knew this was a moment I’d remember all my life. My song ended, and they stopped dancing, holding their sides, out of breath from their exertions. Juul took a running slide toward me and swept me into his arms to pick me up and twirl me around. We fell down laughing in the snow, and he kissed me until we were both beyond breathless.
Runaway Omega
As I lay there shivering under my cheap blanket and feeling, as stated, plenty damn sorry for myself, I realized how pathetic I was and I hated it. I made a vow that as soon as I had this baby, my life would be different—better. I was going to pull myself together and make a new life for myself. I wasn't going to live like this, or at least not for much longer.
I slept late the next morning, burrowing under the thin blankets, because it was raining outside and so damn cold in that little apartment I could see my own breath. I didn’t have much to get up for anyway. Hunger finally drove me out of bed when I remembered that Tuesday was free lunch day at the Methodist Church three blocks down the street. Sometimes, if I was lucky, they gave out seconds, if there weren’t too many people in line, and they usually had fresh fruit I could pocket to eat later that day. Even though I had no plans to keep this baby, I wanted to give it the best start in life that I could.
I quickly washed up in the stained sink and wet down my hair, trying to tame the curls. I had used up all the expensive products I used to depend on, and I couldn’t afford to buy more. None of my clothes really fit me anymore, either, so just last week, when I couldn't stretch my clothes around my stomach any longer, I had used up the last of my meager savings on thrift store sweatpants to fit around my fat waist. I put those on, along with my puffy jacket and ball cap, and looked sadly at my good leather boots. They didn’t exactly go with the outfit, and it was raining outside, and besides they were all I had left now of my life B.P. or Before Pregnancy, especially since the police had confiscated my Glock. My feet were swollen anyway, so I put on some old tennis shoes instead and went out into the drizzling rain.
I was walking, keeping my head down so the icy rain wouldn't hit me in the face, when a big, black SUV drove past me. It suddenly slammed on the brakes, backed up, and pulled in quickly at the curb. The driver’s door flew open and Logan Grady erupted from the car.
I stopped dead still in complete shock and just looked at him as he barreled toward me like a freight train. I panicked and took a quick couple of steps backward. He yelled at me, pointing his finger. His face even partially transformed a little, and I saw his canines lengthen as he snarled at me.
“Stop, you son-of-a-bitch. Don’t you fucking dare run from me!”
I stopped. When your alpha roared like that and showed you his teeth, you damn well better stop if you had any sense of self-preservation. He stormed up to me, taking a handful of my puffy jacket and shouting down in my face. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“Well, I…”
“Shut up! I’m so mad at you right now, I want to beat your ass, so give me a few seconds to calm down, so I won't hurt you.”
That sounded like an excellent idea to me. “O-okay.”
Not two seconds later, he shook me ‘til my teeth rattled. “I thought you were dead! You just cleared out your room and disappeared! Just packed your damn bags and left without a word! What kind of person does that? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how many people have been looking for you? How scared your dad has been? How scared I’ve been? We thought you must be dead! Well, answer me, damn it!”
“Well, I…”
“Shut up! There's nothing you can say that I want to hear!"
"Okay, but you just said..."
"Shut up and get in the goddamn truck.”
“Logan, I have to…”
“Either you get in that fucking truck or I’ll put you in it!”
I got in the fucking truck. He stomped along every step of the way behind me, herding me with his big body and keeping his hand clamped on the back of my neck. He gave me a little shove at the door to make sure I climbed in, then went around to the driver’s side. The heat was blasting inside the truck, and it was so warm and the moment so unreal I thought I might pass out for a second. He turned to face me and the burning look he gave me snapped me right out of it.
“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked, his voice loud and filling up the truck, his face an alarming shade of red.
I shook my head helplessly and looked down at my lap. What could I tell him? That I ran because the person I thought I was didn’t exist and never had? I ran because I couldn’t face him and all the others and what they’d inevitably think about me now? Because it turns out that I’m an omega and I’m pregnant and I’m terrified, and oh, yeah, by the way, the baby is yours.
Uh, no. Just no. If he was already feeling like he wanted to kill me, that would seriously push him over the edge.
“Are you crazy, Kade? Is that it? Did you suddenly go batshit crazy and forget to tell me? Who does something like that anyway? Who just picks up and runs away from their home, their pack, their fucking life and never looks back? Didn’t you think we’d be worried about you—wonder what the fuck happened to you? How could you do that to me? To your father?”
“I’m sorry!” I cried out, burying my face in my hands. Shit, I never used to be so emotional. Was this from pregnancy hormones? I was scared to death that I was about to burst into tears. “But I couldn’t tell you! If you knew—if you or my dad or anybody else knew what happened and why I left, you’d just have hated me, and I couldn’t take that. You’d never have understood! Don’t you see? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face everybody! I couldn’t face you!”
I slept late the next morning, burrowing under the thin blankets, because it was raining outside and so damn cold in that little apartment I could see my own breath. I didn’t have much to get up for anyway. Hunger finally drove me out of bed when I remembered that Tuesday was free lunch day at the Methodist Church three blocks down the street. Sometimes, if I was lucky, they gave out seconds, if there weren’t too many people in line, and they usually had fresh fruit I could pocket to eat later that day. Even though I had no plans to keep this baby, I wanted to give it the best start in life that I could.
I quickly washed up in the stained sink and wet down my hair, trying to tame the curls. I had used up all the expensive products I used to depend on, and I couldn’t afford to buy more. None of my clothes really fit me anymore, either, so just last week, when I couldn't stretch my clothes around my stomach any longer, I had used up the last of my meager savings on thrift store sweatpants to fit around my fat waist. I put those on, along with my puffy jacket and ball cap, and looked sadly at my good leather boots. They didn’t exactly go with the outfit, and it was raining outside, and besides they were all I had left now of my life B.P. or Before Pregnancy, especially since the police had confiscated my Glock. My feet were swollen anyway, so I put on some old tennis shoes instead and went out into the drizzling rain.
I was walking, keeping my head down so the icy rain wouldn't hit me in the face, when a big, black SUV drove past me. It suddenly slammed on the brakes, backed up, and pulled in quickly at the curb. The driver’s door flew open and Logan Grady erupted from the car.
I stopped dead still in complete shock and just looked at him as he barreled toward me like a freight train. I panicked and took a quick couple of steps backward. He yelled at me, pointing his finger. His face even partially transformed a little, and I saw his canines lengthen as he snarled at me.
“Stop, you son-of-a-bitch. Don’t you fucking dare run from me!”
I stopped. When your alpha roared like that and showed you his teeth, you damn well better stop if you had any sense of self-preservation. He stormed up to me, taking a handful of my puffy jacket and shouting down in my face. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“Well, I…”
“Shut up! I’m so mad at you right now, I want to beat your ass, so give me a few seconds to calm down, so I won't hurt you.”
That sounded like an excellent idea to me. “O-okay.”
Not two seconds later, he shook me ‘til my teeth rattled. “I thought you were dead! You just cleared out your room and disappeared! Just packed your damn bags and left without a word! What kind of person does that? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how many people have been looking for you? How scared your dad has been? How scared I’ve been? We thought you must be dead! Well, answer me, damn it!”
“Well, I…”
“Shut up! There's nothing you can say that I want to hear!"
"Okay, but you just said..."
"Shut up and get in the goddamn truck.”
“Logan, I have to…”
“Either you get in that fucking truck or I’ll put you in it!”
I got in the fucking truck. He stomped along every step of the way behind me, herding me with his big body and keeping his hand clamped on the back of my neck. He gave me a little shove at the door to make sure I climbed in, then went around to the driver’s side. The heat was blasting inside the truck, and it was so warm and the moment so unreal I thought I might pass out for a second. He turned to face me and the burning look he gave me snapped me right out of it.
“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked, his voice loud and filling up the truck, his face an alarming shade of red.
I shook my head helplessly and looked down at my lap. What could I tell him? That I ran because the person I thought I was didn’t exist and never had? I ran because I couldn’t face him and all the others and what they’d inevitably think about me now? Because it turns out that I’m an omega and I’m pregnant and I’m terrified, and oh, yeah, by the way, the baby is yours.
Uh, no. Just no. If he was already feeling like he wanted to kill me, that would seriously push him over the edge.
“Are you crazy, Kade? Is that it? Did you suddenly go batshit crazy and forget to tell me? Who does something like that anyway? Who just picks up and runs away from their home, their pack, their fucking life and never looks back? Didn’t you think we’d be worried about you—wonder what the fuck happened to you? How could you do that to me? To your father?”
“I’m sorry!” I cried out, burying my face in my hands. Shit, I never used to be so emotional. Was this from pregnancy hormones? I was scared to death that I was about to burst into tears. “But I couldn’t tell you! If you knew—if you or my dad or anybody else knew what happened and why I left, you’d just have hated me, and I couldn’t take that. You’d never have understood! Don’t you see? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face everybody! I couldn’t face you!”
Dragon's lair--Dragon Prophecies 3
“A little magic can take you a long way”
Chase
I had always known Dragons existed, of course. Everyone knew that. Those old maps that had "HC SVNT DRACONES,” or “Here be dragons,” printed at the edges of their known world hadn’t been kidding. In those early maps, you might also see images of sea monsters or stylized pictures of Dragons. I guess it was a way for those old map makers to say, “Be careful. There's bad stuff out there."
I had also heard that pure-blooded Dragons were touchy and easily offended, and that they were a surly bunch who were evil-tempered. As a general rule, they didn’t care much for humans, though they certainly liked them well enough for sex. They jealously guarded their treasures, being greedy and covetous creatures, obsessed with increasing their hoards. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Dragons were dangerous and bad to know. They were driven by their love of treasure, were motivated by it, spent their time guarding it and would literally kill to increase it.
Very much like my own father, actually, who was not a Dragon and therefore, had no excuse for his love of money and the crimes it caused him to commit.
The fact that I knew the Solokov Dragons in particular existed was due to my father’s transgressions and mine for allowing myself to be sucked into them. But I’m getting ahead of myself, and my knowledge, or the lack thereof, about Dragons is really not a part of the story. How I came to help save the world is the real story here, and it—like my relationship with the gorgeous Dragon, Alexei Solokov—was, as they say, complicated.