Excerpt: The Curse of Broken Shadows
Before we get into this fun excerpt for The Curse of Broken Shadows, I wanted to share a fun opportunity with you! I’m participating in a Fall Book Fair with a ton of really awesome authors and some other incredible books. You can find a whole list of discounted, free, and Kindle Unlimited reads by heading to https://clcannon.net/bookfair . Plus, at the bottom, you can enter to win a Kindle Fire, Starbucks giftcard, and a one-month subscription to OwlCrate! Tons of fun. So be sure to check that out!
So, now for the even more fun stuff - a little excerpt from my latest book! If you still haven’t picked it up, be sure to grab that on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. This is an epic, romantic fantasy that really packs a punch. Many reviews are already saying that this has become their favorite read this year (and some have said favorite of all time!).
Without further delay, check out this excerpt from The Curse of Broken Shadows when we meet the shadow wolf!
Glass shattered behind her.
Brela ducked as broken window showered over her, drawing Night Carver and the throwing knife sheathed at her thigh. She rolled out of the glass, prepared to throw the blade at whatever had just smashed through the window.
But there was no figure in the middle of the room.
Just rolling black and purple smoke that almost looked liquid.
Brela followed the trails of smoke to the window… what was left of the window. It was just a hole in the wall now, splintered and dripping with black liquid that seemed to hiss against the wood… the wood laced with hellthorn.
No. Not possible.
Her lungs shrank as she turned back to the liquid smoke, shining like obsidian—like the Veil border erected by the shadow god, only alive.
She watched in horror as the smoke began to take shape, forming and swirling into claws as long as daggers. Teeth dripping with black fire, liquid and smoke at the same time. Purple eyes that burned with fury.
Elias and Farrah were across the room, armed with their blades but watching with the same horror as Brela. No one dared speak.
It was a myth. They were just stories to keep children in line, told from before the Veil wall had existed. An empty threat to keep the Anfroy soldiers away from her home. It was just a superstition.
Celvusa.
And they had broken every hellthorn seal in Gerrart’s home so it could get in.
The shadow wolf took its complete shape, towering five times as large as a normal wolf. Claws dug into the floor, splintering and cracking wood as a rumble erupted from its throat.
Calling it a growl would be like calling a dragon’s roar a squeak. This noise was like standing in the middle of a storm cloud while thunder boomed next to her head, inside her chest, and through her bones. It shook the room, knocking books off the shelves and rattling the weapons that Brela had already destroyed.
It was as if the entire house trembled in fear.
The creature looked everywhere and nowhere at once. It wasn’t facing any of them, yet it felt like those purple eyes could see everything through the swirling liquid smoke. Black fur waved like flames, evaporating into smoke that eventually curled back into the dark body. And those teeth continued to drip black death, always bared as if permanently snarling.
Brela realized that since the creature had taken form, no one had dared move anything but their eyes. She wasn’t even sure she was breathing—if she could breathe—or if the creature had stolen the air from the room. Her grip tightened on Night Carver.
It was just a small twitch of muscle, but the celvusa was suddenly glaring at her. She didn’t remember seeing it spin to look at her, rather it had just shifted its head through its body of rolling smoke to stare at her.
Purple eyes of fury remained locked on her.
Brela didn’t blink. She only thought one thing.
The only reason the people of Rooke called her the Night Terror was because they had never believed this creature truly existed.
Somehow, she forced herself to swallow the painful lump in her throat. The creature didn’t flinch. She inhaled through her nose, slow and quiet. The only responding movement came from the swirling liquid fur.
Her thumb twitched against the Scholar dagger that once belonged to her father.
That growl was back, thunderous rumbles echoing like the mountains to the west were being shifted by the gods.
She didn’t dare try moving again, but now the celvusa’s gaze had left her own and locked onto the dagger. The fire in its eyes flickered away from fury.
Recognition. Thirst. Possessiveness.
Those emotions crashed through Brela in an instant. Her nostrils flared and her grip tightened despite the snarl that curled deeper over those dripping black teeth. This creature had been drawn toward the Veil Scholar’s dagger. The last piece of her family; the only piece of her family she’d ever have.
And the only way she’d part with something so sacred would be with her death, so she did the dumbest thing she’d ever done in her life.
Brela growled back.
Remember, you can get this entire story on Amazon and find out what happens when Brela challenges the shadow wolf for the dagger in her hands! The Curse of Broken Shadows might just be your next favorite read!
