Spotlight: War of Storms by Erica Cameron
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The immortal mages have risen, and they’re out for blood.
Khya arrived at the Ryogan coast too late to stop the invasion. Now, cities are falling before the unrelenting march of an enemy army, and Khya’s squad is desperately trying to stay ahead of them. Warning the Ryogans, though, means leaving her brother imprisoned even longer. Time is running out for everyone.
how can her squad of ten stand against an army of ten thousand?
Calling in help from every ally she’s made in Ryogo, Khya tries to build a plan that won’t require sacrificing her friends or her brother. It’s a tough balance to find, especially when the leadership role she thought she wanted sits heavy on her shoulders, and her relationship with Tessen is beginning to crack under the strain.
The immortal mages have risen, and they’re out for blood.
Khya arrived at the Ryogan coast too late to stop the invasion. Now, cities are falling before the unrelenting march of an enemy army, and Khya’s squad is desperately trying to stay ahead of them. Warning the Ryogans, though, means leaving her brother imprisoned even longer. Time is running out for everyone.
The end is coming, and there’s no way to know who’ll be left standing when it hits.
Excerpt
“I also saw Sanii and Yorri moments after their bond.” His quiet words take a few seconds to land. When they do, they hit like a boulder.
I’d forgotten that. How had I forgotten? Tessen was the one who told me about the bond, and when he did, he admitted that he’d known since the day it happened.
“Your brother always felt like he had to chase everyone else’s progress, and it made him wary. He was on guard with everyone but you.” He shifts closer. “That day though, he looked... I don’t even know how to describe it. It isn’t an expression I’ve seen in any other moment.”
Closing my eyes, I turn away, not because I don’t want to see him, but because I don’t want him to see me. Everything he’s saying is true, and yet it doesn’t ease the fear knotting my stomach when I think about bonding myself.
I’ve talked about it before, but only in offhand comments as nebulous as heat waves. I’ve thought about it, but only the good parts—being able to hold on to someone I loved even beyond death. In a daydream, the pain that death brought never came; I didn’t have to consider how easily a sumai bond could tear a soul apart.
“Nothing is certain, Khya, but when has that stopped us?” Tessen shifts, something he’s wearing scraping against the rock. “Why are you letting it stop you now?”
“This is different! I’m not afraid of suffering. I’ll gladly throw myself into a maelstrom if I need to.” My hands are tight fists against my thighs, but my words flow like a waterfall once I start. “How can whatever joy someone finds in a sumai be worth the inevitable agony? And it is inevitable. Even immortality isn’t forever. We’ve proven that. A sumai means one day tearing someone I love in half and leaving them bleeding from the inside out. Because of me.”
Silence. My own breathing is shockingly harsh in the stillness. When did I start sucking in air like I was sprinting?
Why isn’t Tessen saying anything? “What if I told you I was willing?” he asks after so many breaths I’d stopped counting. “What if, for me, suffering that kind of agony is worth it for everything that came before?”
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About the Author
Erica Cameron is the author of books for young adults including the Ryogan Chronicles, the Assassins duology, and The Dream War Saga. She also co-authored the Laguna Tides novels with Lani Woodland. An advocate for asexuality and emotional abuse awareness, Erica has also worked with teens at a residential rehabilitation facility in her hometown of Fort Lauderdale.
