Cate Pearce has a new queer fantasy book out (ace, lesbian, pansexual/bisexual), Black Crown book 1: Traitors of the Black Crown. And there’s a giveaway!
Three women will betray the black crown. A Knight. A Duchess. A Queen.
Raena Schinen narrowly escaped when the Queenâs guard murdered her entire family. If Raenaâs survival is exposed, sheâll be next. For fifteen years Raena has hidden as a male Knight, âSir Rowanâ, consumed by her vengeful desire to assassinate the Queen.
The moment Raena is close enough to exact her revenge, she is unexpectedly exiled to a foreign land. There she serves the common-born Duchess Aven Colby, whose suspicious kinship with the Queen further threatens Raenaâs delicate secrets.
Just as they become united in a common goal to curb a looming invasion, unexpected heat and romance blossoms between âSir Rowanâ and Aven. The peril demands they set out on a journey to form clandestine political alliances, risking the Queenâs wrath, and drawing Raena and Aven closer together.
But no one in the kingdom could have imagined the sinister foe rising from below the surface. In order to save themselves and those they love, Raena, Aven, and the Queen must recognize who are the oppressors and who will unite against the Black Crown.
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Giveaway
Cate is giving away a Barnes & Noble gift card with this tour:
a Rafflecopter giveawayDirect Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47202/?
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
RAENAâS SPRING
âKnights of Hawkâs Keep. Come with me, youâre next.â
Raena and Finn stood from the wooden bench and left behind their weapons and armor. Clad in fighting pads over their tunics, they followed the man into a sitting room. The humble space held nothing but five chairs and was lit by candle sconces on the stone walls.
âSit.â The man gestured.
Finn and Raenaâs chairs scraped the stone floor as they settled into them.
Raena studied the man as he paused to look through a scroll bearing the Princeâs mark. Like most elder men of Candor, he had chestnut hair to his shoulders and a clean-shaven face. Raena thought his countenance was pleasant, though his skin was marked with deep crimson blemishes as if wine had soaked into it. He wore a decorative silk tunic of emerald and gold, the colors of House Payton; colors of the Queenâs house. It made Raenaâs chest clench.
The man spoke with a low timbre. âYou two are the only knights from Hawkâs Keep? I thought Lord Sylas was sending three.â
âAye, we are the only two,â Raena answered. âI am Sir Rowan, son of Brande. This is Sir Finley, son of Wain. Sir Cames was the third, but he fell from a horse yesterday and has broken his arm.â Raena took care to deepen her voice and speak with authority, as she had practiced. There was an art and science to passing as the man she claimed to be, and confidence made all the difference. She disliked the notion that she may appear arrogant upon a first introduction, but better to be represented as an arrogant man than to reveal her secret.
âI see,â the man grumbled, âdid he at least come with Lord Sylas, to spectate the events today?â
Raena glanced at Finn, whose eyes narrowed with concern.
âNo, sir,â Finn said. âHe was told to stay in the tents and rest. He was given several teas of nightflower from the healers.â
âHmm. Very well, but the Prince will be informed,â the man retorted. âLet’s begin. I’m called Sir Han’gahan, I’m a personal guard and knight to Queen Zarana and Prince Zander. I’ll be explaining the events of the Knight’s Trials to you, and I’ll also be getting your history so we may tell it to the crowd.”
“Our history?” Finn asked, scratching at the russet stubble that coated his cheeks.
“Aye,” Han’gahan nodded, “there will be the greatest crowd you’ve ever seen, probably the greatest crowd ever assembled in all six kingdoms. The Prince wants every knight to have a story to excite the spectators. You should tell me all your achievements so I may share the details the Prince prefers. He is rather particular, as this is the first Knightâs Trial heâs ever conducted.â
Raena resisted the urge to look again at her friend Finn at the mention of sharing âeverythingâ. She felt a ball of worry growing inside her gut, clenching her insides.
âAlright, both of you are a bit young,â Hanâgahan said. âHow long have you been knights for Sylas?â
âTwo years,â Finn replied. âWe are the same age, twenty-three.â
Hanâgahan shrugged. âAs I thought, you are barely men. Well, it might be a short tale of your conquests, as we havenât seen war in Candor since you were likely born. But weâll do our best. Letâs start with you, Finley, since you are apt to sharing. Was your father a hero of the Equinox battles?â
Finn rubbed his hairy face again, an anxious tic. âNot particularly, no. He was a guard for Hawkâs Keep, so he stayed and defended it from any chance of invasion by Ediva. He would have fought for Candor, if heâd been needed in the legions.â
âHmm,â Hanâgahan grunted. âWell, Ediva didnât make it that far into Candorâs borders since the soldiers held them off at the Calam mountains, didnât they? Thatâs all right though, lad. Anything else your father did, of note?â
Finn shook his head.
âVery well,â Hanâgahan said. âHow about your own notable achievements, what have you done as a knight? Have you killed any bandits orâŚwhatever you do, in Hawkâs Keep?â
âWe have seen bandits and the forest-raiders; the Ruvians,â Finn bit his lip. âI havenât killed any, no. They are usually scared away, back into the pines. We do train for war, spar, and fight one another. We learn about the kingdoms and the famous battles of the Equinox.â
âAs all knights do,â Hanâgahan muttered. âMaybe you hunt, then? Have you killed anything at all?â
Finn shrugged. âIâve killed boars.â
Raena grew restless with Finnâs simple humility. âWe have a demonstration, sir. Every year Lord Sylas hosts a festival and we display our skill for combat. Itâs swordsmanship, poleaxe defense, and archery. Finn, er, Sir Finley, has taken second prize. Many knights compete from a variety of Candorâs noble families.â
âThere you go, lad,â Hanâgahan clapped. âWe can use that. Letâs talk about you then, Rowan. Youâre a Boen-looking thing, arenât you? Pardon me for saying it, but I havenât seen golden hair and hairless pink flesh like yours in twenty years or more. You must have some Boen ancestors, long ago?â
Raena straightened up and raised her chin. She had never been in a position to tell her false origin story alone. Lord Sylas had always introduced her as Rowan to visitors, and answered if they had questions about her heritage. Telling it now to one of the Queenâs knights, no less. âPerhaps. Iâm a bastard, so thereâs no telling.â
Hanâgahan smiled. âAye, nothing wrong with being a bastard. Your mother mustâve been Boenish. Iâve met your father, Brande, and he is as dark as any Calamytan. What a dog then, to go after another womanâs bed. I know he fought in the Equinox, so we will mention that when we speak of you. How about you? I donât suppose youâve killed bandits, or anything bigger than boars?â
Raena shook her head, âI havenât. I trained as a squire under Lord Sylas and was knighted by him, the same as Finn.â Those were easy words to say, as all of them were true, at least.
Hanâgahan waved his hand. âNo matter. Perhaps you boys can prove yourselves in the Knightâs Trial today and have something to start telling tales about.â
âRowan is being humble, sir,â Finn said. âHe shared that I was second in the knightâs demonstrations, but he neglected to mention that he was first.â
Author Bio
Cate Pearce was homeschooled on a Christmas tree farm in rural Western Washington. At age eight she was fed-up with a plotline on Star Trek TNG so she wrote her own episodes on a Commodore 64. She has been a writer ever since, but only recently decided to share that information with you and the world.
Cate has two children which she delivered at-home with the assistance of saintly midwives. Cate is unapologetic in her fervor for feminism, queerness, and Christian faith. Aside from writing, her “day job” is to prepare organizations for response and recovery from catastrophic disasters. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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