Title:
Birksanna’s Sacrifice
Author:
Sabrina Rawson
Genre: New
Adult Fantasy Romance
Blitz Host:
Lady
Amber's Tours
Synopsis:
Prologue
Captured, physically and emotionally exhausted, Briksanna Akmond, High Princess
of Skaldanna has no idea where she is or how long she is going to be kept
prisoner. The Prophesy speaks of her having a starring role in the
downfall of Lord Drakkoon. She escapes her prison draining her
persecutor of life.
Two thousand years hiding in the Earth Realm, Briksanna
heads a mercenary group called Lightning Strike where every member is part of
her adopted family. Her secret love, Nathanial, openly declares his
promise to cherish her forever despite his own reservations. They are
visited by the Goddess Merridian who explains The Prophesy and the importance
of their roles. She reveals Lord Drakkoon is her twin brother and the
history of his role in the Under Realm.
In a dream sequence, Briksanna recalls her prison
tormentor was actually her betrothed. Thinking he was dead, she
grieved her lost love during her imprisonment. She does not want to
feel the vulnerability of love, and prays for healing from her pain; when her
prayers go unanswered she uses her energy to destroy the prison.
Waking, Briksanna is reassured by Nathanial of their growing
relationship while giving her space to build their relationship in trust.
Nathanial’s brother, Stark, sits with the rest of the family
explaining the importance of solidarity regarding The
Prophesy.
In the Under Realm, Lord Drakkoon interrogates his most
trusted warrior why he failed his latest mission, in the Earth Realm.
The warrior explains his encounter with Briksanna’s family, and how
he lost all of his soldiers. Lord Drakkoon uses his power to alter
the warrior forever changing him. Merridian is in Lord Drakkoon’s
castle when her energy is drained barely escaping the Under Realm with her
life. Briksanna is drained of energy in the Earth Realm.
She contacts her friend, Katerina, who confirms the same had been
felt in the Second Realm resulting in the death of her lands.
Briksanna promises to bring help right before fainting in Nathanial’s
arms. In a dream sequence, Briksanna recalls believing she is a
victim of tragedy and embraces the desire for vengeance. Nathanial
takes Briksanna to their room to have a surprise visit by Skaldanna’s seer
Vakgdona. She informs him of a quest they will need to embark on in
order to gain the weapon needed for The Prophesy. Stark brings
Briksanna’s twin daughters, who are healers, to the room. Stark
reminisces on his past relationship with Nathanial while heading to get
something to eat. Nathanial feels unsure of his capabilities of being
a king and shares it with Stark. Intent on forgetting Nathanial and
Briksanna explore their love, embrace their heated desire allowing their
emotions free reign.
Stark is surprised when the Goddess Merridian appears out
of nowhere seeking shelter before passing out in his arms. He takes
her to the infirmary turning her over to the twins. The twins
explain, to the rest of the family, the dynamics of energy and High Royalty distribution
of energy on Skaldanna. Briksanna doesn’t believe she can trust
Merridian and she offers a truce allowing Briksanna to access her memories.
Briksanna explains what is to be expected while on Skaldanna as
royalty and how energy is the sole source of life in all the realms.
The warrior interacts with Lord Drakkoon, further acknowledging his
hatred for him. He reflects on The Mistress as his protector while he
cherishes the medallion she gave him and together they will destroy Lord Drakkoon.
The next day, all family members prepare to leave for
Skaldanna. Nathanial reflects on his own personal trust issues while
Briksanna and Katerina form a portal successfully transporting everyone.
Briksanna is surprised to find, Hawk, the general of her father’s
royal guards waiting for her. Mistakenly reacting to aggression from
Hawk, the twins threaten Hawk at sword point until Briksanna forces them to
release him. They go to the castle and engage in heated discussions
forcing Merridian to reveal herself as a Goddess. Everyone agrees to
survey the damage to the Second Realm. Briksanna speculates on the
possibility of a different villain acting out these
attacks.
In the west wing of the castle two guards assigned to the
wing disrespect Briksanna and Nathanial. Suddenly the lovers fight
viciously, attempting to kill one another. Merridian sees an evil
spell weaving around them and she breaks the spell rendering Nathanial and
Briksanna unconscious. Katerina says she witnessed the day
Briksanna’s family had been killed by the same magic. Nathanial and
Briksanna awaken horrified by their memories and reassure themselves of their
love. Nathanial leaves to survey the land with the men and Briksanna
seeks Katerina and one of the twins to view the grounds outside.
Appalled at the destruction within the land, Briksanna
embraces the core energy from Skaldanna collaborating with one of the twins,
they sing the land back to life. Briksanna embraces her role as High
Queen understanding The Prophesy more clearly. Nathanial worries when
the lightning begins, only to be caught up in the energy tsunami flying through
the realm, effectively erasing his insecurities, strengthening his resolve to
be the leader he wants to be. Racing back to where the women were,
Nathanial orders everyone to the castle.
Heading to their rooms, Briksanna gets violently ill
revealing she is pregnant with their first child dictated by The Prophesy.
She expresses her fears for their child and the children they have
fostered together along with the impact being pregnant will have on their reign
in the near future. Nathanial replaces all her doubts with his love.
She accepts his love, trusting him with everything she has.
He accepts his role as High King knowing she will forever stand
beside him never in front of him. Together they accept their roles
within The Prophesy.
Although I
have only been physically writing for two years the ideas that conceived my
first novel have been percolating in my mind for many years. In many ways I
found life experiences influencing my story although written in fantasy
format.
Nelson
Mandela's words inspired me:
"There
is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less
than the one you are capable of living."
No truer
words could have been said. After my first cancer battle three years ago, I was
in the frame of mind of surviving trying to get back to my swing of things.
Problem was I couldn't. I wasn't the same person anymore. Then I relapsed by
the end of the first year. Came through that experience exhausted and have had
multiple tumors pop up ever since. To say my health being a mental/physical
challenge is putting it mild.
I realize
what I left behind in that operating room in 2010 was my passion. Cancer can't
take that away, I put it away along with my drive and ambition. My creative
muse happily skipped right along with the rest of them. I had to discover
myself. Well here I am three years post my first surgery and even if I have to
do it again in a few months, so what! I refuse to settle for a life less than
what I can create for myself.
I live in
Sonoma County heart of the wine country of California enjoying life in the
rural land happily married to a wonderful supportive husband. You can always
find me reading a book, cooking a meal for our multitude of children or playing
with our dog,
Taylor.
Links:
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/authorsabrinarawson
Follow for
photos, history and book tour
information:
www.sabrinarawson.com
Email me
at:
sabrina.rawson@outlook.com
Buy Links are at Amazon:
“I mean it, Bri, I’m going to take care of you first then
you and I can talk, deal? That is the best I can offer after all we
have been through tonight.” Sounding very serious he was putting all
his mental effort to block her from his thoughts so she was unable to ascertain
if he was lying or not. He wanted her to trust
him.
Looking
at her mate her grin managed to reach her eyes for the first time in many
years, “Deal Mate.” Two can play at that
game.
He stilled his body, eyes turning a molten green, like an
animal ready to pounce before shaking it off knowing he needed to put her needs
before his allowing the cool Nate to come to the forefront. Smiling
he picked her up, “Mrs. Angelo, you have made me a very proud man. I
swear I will do all that I can to keep my promise to both you and the Goddess.
Now let’s get you showered, some food in you and a clean change of
clothes. With the way I am feeling right now not necessarily in that
order.”
“Warm or hot?” he asked walking into the large
bathroom.
“What?” Licking her lips he wondered what it
would feel like to have his arms wrapped around her all night long.
She seemed distracted by his touch before, but now she couldn’t keep
her thoughts in the present tense. She kept projecting her own
fantasies of them together under the running water, he was afraid he would lose
his cool and jump her. If she didn’t get her head out of the gutter
soon he was going to combust from his own desires boiling inside of
him.
He smiled at her knowing she was distracted with her own
private thoughts and this touched his heart knowing he excited her with just a
thought. They were the same reasons he was struggling with by putting
her basic needs first. He did not need her attacking him like an
animal clearly as her mind was demanding her to do because if she did he
wouldn’t last a second.
“Water, warm or hot?” He repeated poised by the
head of the shower stall.
“Warm, please.” Shaking her head slightly trying
to clear her thoughts he figured she should try deep breathing if focusing on
the present moment continued to fail her. Goodness sakes, she was
acting like a crazed teenager around him and he liked it.
Suddenly feeling doubtful of her worth to him sobered up
her libido real quick. She stole a quick glance at him hoping to
reassure herself of his commitment towards her but he saw her looking at him
from the corner of his eyes anyway.
I have got to let go of this self-doubt. Those
thoughts have no place between us in this moment. If I say that
enough times maybe I will believe it?
Setting her down carefully on the bathroom counter,
holding her around the waist with one arm he leaned into the shower stall to
turn on the water. She was too quiet for his liking, because after
turning the water on he turned back and stared at her. After a couple
of debatable seconds he went with his gut pulling her into a hug wrapping his
massive arms around her filling his senses with her scent. She had
endured so much. He wanted to give her so much and not frighten her
with his presence in her life in the process. He knew he was the man
for her and she was the woman for him but she still had a hard time with
trusting despite what her heart and mind were saying. There was still
a piece of her she kept hidden. Some things were just hard for her to
let go of. That he could defiantly understand.
Will she ever trust him enough so they could endure The
Prophesy and defeat Lord Drakkoon? More importantly could he trust
her to endure the upcoming battle for the sake for the universe? What
a complete mess this was. When he dreamed of confronting Bri with the
truth of his feelings for her he didn’t count on all of this drama to go with
it. Frowning he thought about where his thoughts were heading.
He would lay down his life for her no matter what, so what the hell
was he worried about? For him there was no one else in the world he
would rather spend his days with. She was the one for him and there
was nothing anyone could do or say that would cause him to betray her
trust.
He let go of her, turned around and adjusted the water
temperature. She heard a stray thought from him float by her like a
breeze in the bathroom.
I don’t know if I can trust her not to forget me.
She has been alive longer than I can imagine. I don’t even
know if there is someone else on Skaldanna waiting for her to come back to.
She could have someone who’s been waiting for her all this time and I
show up. She deserves someone who has more knowledge in all of this
prophesy stuff than me. What can I bring to the table that I have
gained in my whopping thirty six years of life?
He
was frightened he would not measure up to the man she needed him to be in order
for her to succeed with her role in The Prophesy. She understood, in
that moment, he had always been in the present tense with her. What was
going on in that very moment, between the both of them, was the most important
thing in his world and he knew it. He had not been keeping the truth
of his commitment to her hidden, she had chosen not to look into his heart
seeing what was right in front of her. This man was her chosen mate
and she believed she had chosen well. Her father would be proud of
her choice.
“You are my purpose now, Nathanial.” she said quietly from
behind, placing her hand on the small of his back to reassure him of her
presence. “I will do the will of the Gods for the sake of the
universe but never lose sight that I do this for the sake of the life of our
future son.”
Turning around slowly, Nate looked at her for just a few
moments, and then gave a clipped nod. “Let me help you get out of
these clothes.” Keeping his eyes trained on her beautiful lips he
pulled her t-shirt over her head. He looked like a man who was
staring at the world’s greatest problem and she was the
answer.
He reached around her and unclasped her bra careful not to
frighten her with his actions. “You are beautiful to me.” Pulling
the bra away slowly gazing at her making her feel like the most beautiful woman
he had ever laid eyes on. “You are so beautiful to me.”
Bringing his eyes up to her face she recognized the aroused
expression on his face mirrored hers.
“Baby, I want you more than I want to breathe, right now,
but what kind of husband would I be to you if I start this relationship off
being selfish?” His voice sounded deeper, gravely like he was
straining to get the words out. His voice sent chills up her spine
despite her warmth and she was getting hotter by the
second.
Knowing
how exhausted she was, he bent on one knee to unlace her boots.
Lifting her right leg he pulled off one boot repeating the action
with her other foot. Still in a kneeling he reached up to unbutton
her pants and pulled the zipper down holding his breath until the zipper went
as far as it could go. Chancing a look at her face before he
continued with pulling her pants down, he wanted to make sure she was ok with
him helping her undress. She stopped him mid motion with a slight
touch of her hands.
“I can hear your thoughts as if they are my own.
I want you to know before we go any further, I have never laid with a
man.” Not waiting for his response, she straightened her shoulders
hoping down from the counter pulling her pants down in front of him while he
remained kneeling in front of her.
What was he going to say? Here I am old enough
to be his grandmother, more than several times removed, and I am just a plain
virgin.
Grabbing her hand before she could step into the shower,
he said “There is nothing plain about you. I am both humbled and
honored that you have chosen me to share your love, no don’t look away, that’s
right, I said love. Bri, I will not turn away from this thing we have
to go through. I love you more than I want to breathe. I
may have doubts now and then, but in the end I will always do the right thing.
Now get in there and wash up. The sooner you do that the
sooner we can eat.”
Eyes glistening listening to his declaration of love for
her, she felt another crack in the armor she had built around her soul.
“I love you. I have wanted to say that for a long time.
I did not know how or if you felt the same way. I was
afraid to tell you before, but am no longer.” Sounding more confidant
she pleaded with her eyes for him to believe her. “Thank you for
being here with me. I do not know what I would have done if you were
not here with me. Truly, I do love you.”
Not hesitating when he spoke next, “I love you
forever”
Appearing as if it was the hardest thing in the world to
do, he closed his eyes, kissed her lightly on the forehead then turned around
and walked right out the bathroom, closing the door, allowing her the privacy
of a warm shower.
No comments:
Post a Comment