Page 36

BLURB

She was stolen from the shadows. Now she must rise to the light—or be consumed by it.

Ana Angevire has spent her life as a pawn—manipulated and betrayed. No more.

As Trova’s rightful heir, she will seize her throne—and make her betrayers pay.

But first, she’ll need to master the celestial magic stirring in her blood—a power that will either make her unstoppable…or destroy her completely.

And the one person who can help her is the man who ripped out her heart.

Leonidas Claerwyn stole her away, shattered her heart, and turned her world to ash.

Now, he vows to fight beside her—but he needs something in return. His brother’s life hangs in the balance, and only Ana’s magic can save him.

With dangerous enemies closing in and a ruthless zealot hunting her, Ana knows that putting her trust in Leon could be her undoing. Yet every stolen glance, each fleeting touch threatens to send her back into his arms.

Love is a fatal weakness in a world ruled by deception. And surrendering to Leon again? It could cost her everything.

Get your copy of Forged in Flame and Shadow

Available July 16th, 2025

* * *

EXCERPT

Chapter 1

Morgana

Present Day

“Hurry. I don’t know how long we have.” My whispers sound too loud in the hushed air of the camp. I help Tira shove the items she’s carefully gathered over the last few days into her pack—food, a few Filusian coins…anything that will help us get back to the border and home to Trova.

First, however, we have to get away from the seven highly trained fae sleeping around us.

They unbound us after we crossed over into Filusia. I can only suppose that once they didn’t need to worry about either of us trying to attract a border patrol, they were less nervous about letting us off the leash. The same went for my magic. It returned to me two days after we crossed. As Etusca’s potion wore off, the familiar heat burned through my veins, begging to be released.

The fae didn’t make me take any more potion. Leon claimed it was a friendly gesture to encourage peaceful cooperation as we travelled through fae country. I think in truth none of his friends could stomach it – the idea of holding me down and forcing it down my throat, when just days ago we ate together and slept in the same cabin, played cards and exchanged jokes.

Leon might be a heartless monster, but at least his unit have some shame.

“I did what I had to.”

I can still hear Leon saying it—and every time those words come back to me I feel the same rage, the same stab of betrayal I did in that moment. But I can’t let my anger distract me now. This moment is too crucial.

I secure my own pack to my back, then Tira and I rise, silent as ghosts. That is, until I have to stop her nearly tripping over a thick tree root.

“Watch out,” I hiss, pointing it out. Tira pauses, and throws me a grateful look before we tip toe cautiously around the tree. Thankfully the mossy earth muffles our steps. Filusia’s foliage is thicker, lusher, more colorful than Trova’s, but all I care about is that it swallows up the sound of our movements as we reach the edge of the camp.

“Where is he?” I murmur, and Tira points to a figure lying on the ground.

Since my magic returned, they’ve been watching me more closely than Tira. They see me as more of a threat. Seven military-trained fae against one solari might be good odds for them, but I could still do some damage before they managed to stop me.

It means that as they kept an eye on me, Tira has been able to linger in places unnoticed. Such as by the horses, slipping items out of the saddlebags we’ll need for our journey.

Or slipping something into them.

At the edge of the camp, we reach the figure of Stratton, slumped over beside a tree trunk.

“You used the plant?” I whisper to Tira. That was the plan, but I want to be sure.

“Yes. You think it worked well enough?” she murmurs back.

“Seems so. Leon only ever gave me a few leaves. The amount I gave you should hopefully knock him out for hours. Maybe they won’t notice we’re gone until morning.”

We’re lucky that the plant Leon used to put me to sleep before he trained me grows here too. It wasn’t so hard for me keep an eye out, grab a sprig of it and pass it to Tira. They usually let us eat in peace alone, at the edge of the group. Even Etusca has given up trying to speak to me after I’ve blankly ignored her for four days.

Now we watch as Stratton’s chest rises in even motion, his eyes moving slightly beneath his closed lids. Beside him is an open wine flask.

After they drugged me in my sleep, I refuse to eat or drink anything the fae give me before Tira checks it first. But the fae haven’t been so cautious with their own food.

Though we’re travelling through Filusia, we’ve still been camping outside, avoiding big towns for some reason no one has bothered to share with me. Yet not being wanted criminals, like we were in Trova, does mean the supplies have suddenly gotten much better, including proper meals, and plenty of wine.

It’s been a tense evening of watching Stratton, wondering if he’d notice something was off every time he takes a swig of the wine from his saddlebag. But the fae wine is full-bodied and aromatic, and Stratton seemed totally unaware of any foul play as he settled down to play guard. Now we carefully navigate around him, towards the collection of horses happily resting among the trees.

“Here, take its reins,” Tira murmurs to me. It’s a risk to steal a horse, given neither of us is particularly adept with them. But the fae will discover we’re gone eventually, and we don’t stand a chance of outrunning them on foot.

I look nervously back towards the camp. No movement, only shadowy figures lying wrapped up on bedrolls, dreaming the night away. The horse we choose is Phaia’s, a good-natured, peaceful animal. I thank the gods when it only huffs lightly as we coax it to its feet.

“There, good girl,” I whisper, patting it on the nose.

“If only I could say the same for you.”

Tira and I freeze, and as we lock eyes my heart sinks. Slowly, I turn to see Leon standing ahead of us. Even in the moonlight, I can see the hard set of his face, like someone preparing for an unpleasant chore.

“It wasn’t very nice of you to go and drug Stratton like that,” he says, folding his arms across his chest.

I laugh bitterly. “Right. What kind of monster would drug someone in their sleep?”

My voice is harsh to my own ears, but I can’t speak to him any other way these days, if I talk to him at all. A flash of emotion crosses his face, but I don’t analyze it. I refuse to be drawn into his attempts to provoke me.

“Step aside, Leon,” I say.

“You know I can’t do that, Morgana.”

Morgana. That’s what he calls me now. I’ve forbidden him from using Ana. Only the people I trust get to use that name, and that list of people is vanishingly short. I don’t imagine Leon will ever be on it again.

“Let us go,” I demand. I use the rage bubbling inside me to find the heat of my sunbeam power, letting the golden glow of it dance between my fingers. “I don’t want to have to use this,” I warn him, “but I will.”

“On the contrary, I think you’d very much like to burn my face off right now,” he says, with a slight tilt to his head.

I shrug. He’s right, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense to do it. All Tira and I want is to be left alone, to find my old friend Will and lie low until we can figure out what to do next. Mortally wounding one of Filusia’s princes won’t help those plans. It won’t help us stay free – and that’s all I care about right now.

“You have no right to keep us captive,” Tira snaps. “Ana is the heir to the Trovian throne, no matter what her aunt says. You’re attacking Trova by keeping her here.”

“Your country has long misjudged what’s best for it, and Morgana is doing the same,” Leon replies, before turning to address me. “For the hundredth time, it’s not safe for you to return to Trova without protection. You’ve still barely begun getting a handle on your magic and?—”

“Stop it!” I’m sick of hearing his explanations, his insistence that he knows what’s best for me. I thought he was different from Etusca and all the others who told me I needed to be locked up and held captive. But he’s just like them.

My yelling has woken the other soldiers, who swiftly jump to their feet, looking for the source of danger. Stratton is the only one who remains snoozing on the ground.

“I don’t need your protection,” I say to Leon. “I spent twenty-one years having my freedom kept from me. I won’t give it up now.”

“And what, I’m supposed to let you go wandering the Filsuian countryside alone? You wouldn’t even be able to find the border again without our help.”

I stare at him, frustrated and infuriated that he doesn’t seem to get how serious I am. Or maybe he really just doesn’t care.

“We’d find a way.”

He eyes us. “You know, we could just bind and gag you both until we get to our destination. We still have those dimane bindings from the border.”

I bare my teeth at his threat. “There’s a reason you didn’t try that with me before. You know what kind of damage I could do before you got those bindings anywhere near me.”

Leon sighs and drops his arms.

“Then what will it take? What can I say to convince you to cooperate?”

“Nothing. You can refuse to let us go now, but know that if you do, we’ll never stop trying to escape.”

He doesn’t look angry, more disappointed, and that unnerves me.

“I believe you,” he says. “So I’ll make you a deal.”

A deal? My anger flags as I struggle to figure out how to respond.

“What kind of deal?” Tira asks suspiciously.

“If Morgana can prove to me that she can defend herself, and therefore protect both of you, then I’ll let you both go free. You can return to Trova and neither I nor any of my soldiers will follow you.”

“I just have to prove I can defend myself? How?” I ask, wary.

“You’ll fight me, one on one. That’s better odds than trying to go up against all of us.” He gestures to his soldiers, who are gathering near us now. I see Etusca towards the back of the group, looking frightened.

I hesitate, weighing the offer. Even on his own, I know Leon is very powerful. I might not know exactly how powerful – most of the time I’ve been around him in action, I’ve been distracted by other things, but it’s been enough to know that fighting him won’t be easy.

“So we go free if Ana’s wins,” Tira says. “What if she loses?”

“Then she must continue with us to our destination, where I’ve arranged for her to get more help with her magic. I want her word that if she loses, she’ll cooperate and won’t attempt any more escapes. As for you, Tira, frankly you’re already free to do as you wish. If you want to go, then go. The Temple may want you dead, but hardly anyone can identify you, and you have a much smaller target on your back. Returning to Trova wouldn’t be so dangerous for you.”

Tira scowls. “I’m not going anywhere without Ana.”

Leon nods. “That’s what I thought.”

I’m still considering the offer. I’ve fought Leon before in my dreams, so I have some idea of what to expect. Besides, this could be our only chance to get out of here now. The fae will keep a close eye on Tira after this, so there’ll be no more sneaking around.

“Alright,” I say, then turn to speak to the blond fae gathered with the others. “Alastor, will you confirm that Leon will let us go if I win?”

He looks between Leon and me. “The captain’s word is sound,” he says.

“No. Use your magic,” I demand. “I want to hear it from his lips, knowing he can’t lie.”

I fix Leon with an unapologetic stare. If he thinks I’m ever going to blindly trust him again, he’s a fool. As foolish as I was when I bought all his talk about parting ways at the border. I won’t make that mistake again.

Leon frowns at my request, but nods his permission to Alastor. The air fills with the fizz of Alastor’s magic before he speaks.

“Leon, do you promise to uphold your end of the deal if Morgana wins the fight?”

“I do,” Leon says.

The magic’s aura fades and Alastor shrugs at me. “There you go.”

“Fine,” I say. “Let’s do this then.”

“Maybe somewhere away from the horses?” Alastor suggests. “We could do without them getting fried or stabbed.”

Before anyone can answer, Etusca’s voice cuts shrilly through the air. “Morgana, don’t do this. It’s not safe.”

I ignore her, just as I have every day since she sold me out to the fae.

“Where should we start?” I ask.

They find a clearing safely away from the horses. I pull my knife from my pack and sheathe it in my belt. The fae took it off me at the border, but Tira managed to sneak it back for me. When Damia sees it her eyes narrow.

“Remind me to hide that better in future.”

Tira catches my elbow, looking nervous. “You will be careful, won’t you?”

I nod. I’m doing this for both of us, even if she isn’t stuck with the fae like I am.

“We’ll stop at first blood, or whoever surrenders first,” Leon says.

I loosen my stance a little, readying myself for quick movement. The others put as much space between us and them as they can while still staying close enough to follow what’s happening.

My hand wanders to my knife, double-checking that it’s still there. I hope I won’t have to use it in close quarters at all. When it comes to physical strength, I’m completely outmatched, so my plan is to bring him down at a distance with my magic. Even then, I’ll need to do it fast—to surprise him with brute force early. I don’t like my chances if this drags out.

“Ready…” Eryx’s growling voice rings out through the trees.

Leon drops almost into a crouch, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m a fluffy little prey animal in front of a wolf. I focus my thoughts, finding the rage and heat in my veins.

“Begin,” Eryx shouts.

I throw my palms forward, hurling a four-foot-wide stream of searing light in Leon’s direction.

But he’s ready for it, and his crouching position allows him to roll swiftly out of the way.

I summon more sunlight, but it takes a little longer after the intensity of my first blast. I expect Leon to charge at me, but instead he straightens up, watching me from the edge of the clearing.

The ground beneath me rumbles and begins to split open just as I conjure my second beam, throwing the golden light wide. A tree groans and crashes to the ground just as I do, the churning earth threatening to swallow me up as Leon’s terrial magic shakes it apart. I drag myself out of the collapsing hole, focusing on the fallen tree now in my eyeline.

Think of freedom. Think of the thing you yearn most for.

I find the pull of my desire and use it to summon my orbital magic.

The fae shout and Etusca screams as the tree goes hurtling across the clearing. And yet somehow, it misses Leon. He’s so quick that I lose track of him whenever I so much as blink, but I do my best to aim for him as I release the tree with a deafening crack. It hits another trunk, splitting in two.

When I see him, he has his sword drawn, and he’s stalking towards me.