As a goddess-born healer, Selah Kilbrid wants nothing to do with the goddess of death and disease, nor any of her human progeny. But when the two people she loves most disappear—her dearest friend Nora Goodwin and her betrothed Lord Henry Fitzalan—Selah has no choice but to leave London in pursuit of Death’s most powerful daughter.

Accompanied by a ragtag group of travelers, Selah follows a treacherous path across the Irish Sea to the long-forgotten prison of a witch who once nearly destroyed Ireland. Selah would face any danger to protect those she loves, but what if it means unleashing a greater evil on the human world? Could she risk the lives of many to save a few, or are some sacrifices too great?

Excerpt

Milky water sluiced over me as I stood and climbed from the tub. Shallow puddles formed on the flagstones around my feet. Henry tilted his chin up at my approach, and though his eyes remained shut, he tracked each step with a startling awareness.

Self-conscious, I drew my arms together to help hide my nakedness. “No peeking.”

He smiled, much like a wolf. “I wouldn’t dare.”

A gentle touch to his forearm was all it took for him to relinquish the towel. Shaking out the cloth, I wrapped it around myself, tucking in the ends to keep it in place. Then I stepped even closer and slid both arms around him.

He responded at once, opening his eyes as he ran his hands up my bare arms to my shoulders. Heat burned in my skin from his touch.

“Does this mean we’re done arguing?”

I nodded, temporarily incapable of speech.

“Good.” His deep voice vibrated through me, a sudden strike to the flint deep in my core. Flames blazed to life, and I shivered from the heat.

His hands moved to my back, pressed me even closer. “I love you,” he breathed. Dipping his head, he touched his lips to mine, tentative and featherlight as though he were holding back.

My mind grew fuzzy, and without warning, desire pooled like warm honey in my stomach. I needed more of him, to have him fill every crevice and space with his being. Fire coursed to the surface, and a small moan escaped me as it flowed unhindered into Henry.

He crushed me to him, an iron hand on my back as the other moved up to cup my head. His mouth turned hard, demanding more, and I whimpered into his lips when his desire rushed back, a raging river so intense it saturated my senses. A darker, deeper current stole my breath.

The flames leapt higher, desperate for air. Fire rushed from every pore to lap over my skin where it met a wildness I’d never felt before, never dreamt possible in a human.

The gentleman in Henry had always kept a tight leash on his less civilized side. Now the two were at war. His savagery spiraled red and black, filling my lungs, coursing through my veins. Primitive and fierce, it nearly consumed me.

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Kari Edgren is the author of the Goddess Born series. In 2010 and 2011 she was a semifinalist for the Amazon Break Through Novel Award. In 2013, she was a RWA Golden Heart finalist. Ms. Edgren enjoys writing both historical and contemporary fiction, so long as there’s a paranormal twist. She resides on a mountain top in the Pacific Northwest where she spends a great deal of time dreaming about the sun and torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts.

For more information please visit Kari Edgren’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads