Excerpt from ‘Possession’ by J. Elizabeth Hill, and a giveaway

You may recall that, a month ago, I was part of the cover reveal for Possession (Book 2 of the Mirrors of Bershan) by J. Elizabeth Hill. Today I’m very excited to have an excerpt from the book, which is due for release on 10 September. I’ve read the first book in the series and enjoyed it, so I’m definitely curious to see what happens next!

Hill is doing a giveaway as part of her blog tour: you can win a signed paperback copy of both Bound and Possesssion. There will be three winners. See below for details.

Blurb

“I never meant any of this, least of all for you to pay the price of my pride.” 

After binding themselves to each other through their magic, Faylanna Derrion and Tavis journey back to her ancestral home, Iondis, intent on restoring the estate to its former beauty. From the moment they arrive, they find the secret horrors of the place aren’t exhausted yet.

Faylanna finds an old journal of her father’s, one that shakes her understanding of her own past. Worse, Faylanna and Tavis are both nearly killed when attacked by one of the men set to guard the Ninth Mirror of Bershan, still residing at Iondis. In the aftermath, he disappears with the newly-found journal. Sure there is more to this event than they know, Faylanna and Tavis return to the capital, Rianza, for help.

More secrets await them there, ones kept for years by people Tavis never suspected. When the truth is revealed, it alters his present and future completely. Can he rise to the challenges this new fate presents him with or will the change be more than he can handle?

The truths each learn about themselves and those they thought they knew will test Faylanna and Tavis’ love for each other. Will they be able to endure the pain and chaos they face, or will it tear them apart?

Excerpt (from Chapter 3)

“I thought I’d say goodbye before you go. I’m sorry that I won’t be able to come with you, as I suspect you may need all the support you can get. Sadly, there’s no way I can get away this time. I’m still paying for our last trip, in a way,” he said ruefully.

“It’s something to do with Voslin, isn’t it?” Faylanna asked and Keari nodded. “I thought it must be. I don’t remember seeing him much when I first arrived here, but now it’s like he’s shadowing your every move.”

He hesitated. “Yes, well, I didn’t tell him I was going last time, and he was rather irritated with me about that. I didn’t tell anyone, to be honest, but he’s charged with my safety. As he’s since pointed out, that means he should go where I go. I also wonder if my father might have said something to him about ensuring I stay close to home.”

“I’m sorry I’ve caused you such trouble.”

He shook his head. “My own doing. I knew there would be a price for running off like that. But I didn’t come here to go over that old business. Faylanna, I want you to write to me with anything you might need in order to repair the damage to your estates. I can think of a few things I would suggest, but it’s your home, your land, and therefore your decision to make. The fields shouldn’t be any trouble, but the manor will be another matter entirely. I know it’s been in your family a long time, but I’m not sure you can really repair or clean it enough. In your place, I’d probably burn it to the ground and then rebuild, but you’re probably attached to it. I can understand if that’s not something you want to.”

“I haven’t decided, yet. But I’ll keep your offer in mind. Thank you, Keari.”

He nodded, then looked up in the direction of the door. He glanced back at Faylanna, then turned to look over his shoulder out the window. His distraction was so unusual that she thought it must mean something. Given how comfortable they’d been with each other since her discovery of who he really was, she could only think of one cause. “I hope that I didn’t embarrass you in the carriage coming back from the palace. If I did, I’m sorry.”

He looked back at her, surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“When I said you were like family. I just– I’ve hardly seen you since then, and now you seem uncomfortable, and it occurred to me that might be why. If it is, please forget I said anything.” The last sentence came out in a mumble as she stared down at her hands.

His own slender fingers drew her up to look at his now serious, contrite face. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. You didn’t embarrass me in the slightest. I’m delighted you feel that way. I was surprised by it, but happily so. If I neglected to tell you that, I plead distraction. I’ve had a great deal on my mind lately, and too many things demanding my attention. It’s almost like everything is conspiring to come at me at once. Now that you’ve got me thinking about it though, I did want to ask what brought that on.”

She flushed. “It was something Tavis said to me once, the day before we arrived at Iondis, before… I said I didn’t have any family left other than my father, and he said that it wasn’t true, that you cared like family. I’ve thought about it a lot since, and I wanted to tell you that I feel the same.”

He smiled more broadly than she had seen in the past few weeks. “Every time I think I have enough reasons to be glad you met that young man, he gives me another. I’ll have to find some way to thank him one of these days.” The prince stood up. “I’ll leave you to your preparations now, but please, don’t hesitate to write if you need anything at all.”

Possession book launch

To enter, click HERE!

About the author

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Julie Elizabeth Hill exported herself to Vancouver, British Columbia after many years of staring longingly at the map following every snowfall. For as long as she can remember, she’s been making up stories, but it wasn’t until high school that someone suggested writing them down. Since then, she’s been hopelessly in love with story crafting, often forgetting about everything else in the process. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook or her blog. You can also add Possession on GoodReads.

The first book in the Mirrors of Bershan trilogy, Bound, is available from:

Amazon.com

KoboBooks

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords