Title- Sworn to Secrecy
Series- The Courtlight Series #4
By- Terah Edun
Expected Publication Date-February 28, 2014
In the heart of the Imperial Courts, Ciardis Weathervane knows that death is coming for the empire. With her friends by her side and the new triad of Weathervanes, she's in a race against time to convince the courts of the same.
She must do her best to unite kith, mages, nobles and merchants under one cause - the fight to prevent a war. Soon she is forced to keep a secret that could exonerate her mother of the Empress's death, and is always one move away from stepping into diplomatic chaos.
Throw in a Daemoni Prince who is showing interest in the youngest Weathervane, a jealous Prince Heir, and a irritated dragon with her own designs on Ciardis, and you have an Imperial Court in turmoil.
This fourth novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Conflict.
LINKS:
Kindle- http://www.amazon.com/Sworn-To-Secrecy-Courtlight-4-ebook/dp/B00IMPE6PK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393983767&sr=8-1&keywords=Terah+Edun
EXCERPT from Sworn to Secrecy
As they flew over the city, Ciardis
was surprised to see the sky darkening with ominous clouds. Not the kind that
predict heavy rains, but the ones that flashed and flared with clouds of purple
and midnight blue full of thunder and lightning. The winds picked up and
slammed into them above the city. In Thanar’s arms she felt the buffet of harsh
winds tangling her hair, ice scraping her skin, and the feel of Thanar’s
muscles bunching as he clutched at her desperately, trying to keep ahold of her
and stay flying high.
“What’s going on?” she yelled into
his ear. She tried turning to face forward and see what was in front of them
but the wind and ice was too strong. They stung her eyes and forced them
closed. She couldn’t imagine how Thanar was handling it. Determined not to bury
her face in his shoulder and wish away her fears, she faced backwards, looking
past his broad black wings to what lay behind them.
She almost wished she hadn’t.
Because what she saw almost made her swallow her tongue down her throat in fear.
She screamed in his ear. “Thanar!
Trouble!”
“What kind?” he snapped back.
“The fire-breathing dragon kind!”
He turned his head slightly in the
air, too laden down by her weight while he fought the fierce winds to turn his
full body. What he saw made him start cursing enough to set the air on fire in
three languages.
“Hang on,” he snapped at her.
“To what?” she screamed as he
suddenly dropped through the air.
Desperately she clung to his neck
and prayed to the seven gods to deliver them from this evil. Because the dragon
wasn’t just passing by. When Thanar dropped, so did he. The great horned beast,
black of scale and fiery of eyes, smiled with rows of razor-sharp teeth as he
gained airspeed on them with a leisurely pursuit. The dragon didn’t even look like
he was breaking a sweat. If dragons could sweat at all.
Not that Ciardis was such a
connoisseur of dragon physique. It could have been female for all she knew. The
only thing she could say with definite certainty was that it didn’t look
friendly and it certainly wasn’t Raisa.
“This isn’t working,” Ciardis
screamed to Thanar. “He’s gaining on us.”
Thanar kept falling in the air.
“I’ve got an idea.”
“Does it involve us bashing into a
building at top speed? Because it looks like that’s what going to happen more
or less,” she said. By this time Ciardis had her nails digging into Thanar’s
topless shoulders, and she was fairly certain it would leave a mark if they
survived.
REVIEW
I was super excited to get to continue with this amazing, fantasy adventure. As I've come to expect, whenever Ciardis is involved in anything, mayhem ensues. Her family's reappearance at Court causes quite a stir and Ciardis is forced into solving a great mystery that may very well save the empire, as well as her mother's life.
It was great catching up with the many wonderful characters I got to know in the first three books, and there were a few new additions, with some strange creatures as well. Once again there were many twists and turns in this story, and the action only skyrocketed as Ciardis and her friends went in search of answers. I have to admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for Thanar. He's painted as this ruthless killer, and even though that's quite an accurate assessment, there was just something that drew me to him. Obviously, something also drew Ciardis to him and they shared a bond, no matter how much she refused to acknowledge it. This, however, brought into question her love for Sebastian. There's a bit of a love triangle brewing and I cannot wait to see where it will lead. With Ciardis anything is possible.
This book was filled with all the mysticism that I've enjoyed in each book before it, and it just keeps getting better and better. I wonder if there will ever been an end to the chaos and excitement. I surely hope not as this is one series I could continue reading forever.
Courtlight Series #1
By Terah Edun
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age
Seventeen-year-old Ciardis has grown up in poverty, a cleaner in a small vale on the outskirts of the empire. But beneath her empire’s seemingly idyllic surface lies a hidden secret. Whispers of an inept crown Prince are growing ever louder—intensified by the five year anniversary of the soulbond initiations.
Amidst scandalous whispers, Ciardis finds herself chosen to train for the Companion’s Guild. She leaves her home and sets off on a personal journey to become a Court Companion. A position she’d never thought possible for a lowly servant to obtain, she must prove that she has the skills to attract a Patron.
But she must master those skills quickly. If the legends are true, only Ciardis can harness the power to raise a Prince in an Imperial Court sworn to bring him down.
This sensational series debut melds intricate storylines with remarkable characters and unforgettable magic. Sworn To Raise is ideal for fans of Kristin Cashore, Michelle Sagara, and Maria Snyder.
Links-
Read my REVIEW of Sworn to Raise
Courtlight Series # 2
By Terah Edun
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age
Eighteen-year-old companion trainee Ciardis Weathervane has won the friendship of the royal heir and saved his claim to the throne. Yet her interference in the inheritance rights leaves more harm done than good. The Ameles Forest lies unprotected and its inhabitants are dying.
As humans begin to die in gruesome deaths, the Emperor dispatches the royal heir to the forests with the solution to the kith concerns.
With enemies closing ranks in Sandrin, Ciardis can little afford to leave the city’s nest of vipers to take on a new task. But she’s given no choice when her loyalty to the crown and courts are called into question.
To keep the Companions’ Guild happy and the favor of the Imperial Court, Ciardis will be tested in frightening new ways, especially when she’s faced with an obstacle that could risk the lives of her friends and the family she never thought she had.
This second novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Raise.
Links-
Sworn to Conflict
Courtlight Series # 3
By Terah Edun
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age
Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.
A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.
As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.
This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.
Links-
Read my REVIEW of Sworn to Conflict
EXCERPT from Sworn to Conflict
Lillian Weathervane and Vana Cloudbreaker came to a silent understanding. Their eyes met and Lillian turned around while Vana fully sheathed her swords.
Lillian cupped Ciardis’s face in her hands and looked down at her with pride. “My darling daughter, it’s time for you to return to camp. Time for you to take your place once again by the Prince Heir’s side.”
“No,” said Ciardis, “I’m not leaving you.”
Lillian shook her head. “And I will not leave you. We will only be apart a short while. But for now Sebastian is seeking you, and if he doesn’t find you he will send out search parties. People who cannot be allowed to find me.”
“How do you know he’s looking for me?”
Lillian smiled with wise eyes. “Because I know how long you’ve been gone and I see how he looks at you.”
“Now go, and remember—tell no one,” Lillian said with a gentle push of her hands. Before Ciardis could object again the Lord Chamberlain clasped a firm hand on her left shoulder and transported her from the Aether Realm with the amulet he had retrieved from Vana.
She turned around and saw that she was back in the snow-laden field with the horses. Frowning, she turned to the Lord Chamberlain to angrily demand that he return her to the Aether Realm. But before she could he was gone in a blink of an eye, back to Lillian Weathervane’s side, she assumed. Ciardis stamped her foot angrily but there was nothing she could do about it. She no longer had the bracelet that linked her to that realm. And the truthsayer’s body had vanished.
“Ciardis, what are you doing?” said a confused voice to her left.
She whirled around to see Kane leaning against the fence with a puzzled look on his face.
“I was…well…talking to someone.”
“To whom?” he asked, looking at the empty field. There was no one else around and no tracks in the snow that would indicate there had been.
She almost told him about Lillian and Vana and the Lord Chamberlain but then she remembered Lillian’s admonition, her fight for survival, and the fact that this whole northern campaign might be a secret plot led by the Imperial courts. She closed her mouth with a click.
“No one,” she said, looking at Kane wistfully. “Just myself.” Wishing she could tell him.
“Well,” he said with amusement, “if you’re done, then Sebastian is in a fine fit looking for you, not to mention the fact that you have a meeting with the commander of this army.”
She nodded and traipsed across the snow.
“The general is supposedly on the outskirts of camp. We’ll have to ride there,” he explained.
She was glad they hadn’t confronted General Barnaren right away, but they also hadn’t had time to plan what she and Sebastian were going to tell him about the sanctuary and the Daemoni tales. But she knew that now Sebastian wouldn’t wait. He was in a fury. On one hand she could understand it; Barnaren had been keeping secrets upon secrets from him since the beginning. If either course were true, it wouldn’t negate that fact. As the Prince Heir it was Sebastian who should have been planning the campaign, Sebastian who should have been leading the war. But the general went over his head time and again with messages to his father and secret meetings with his men.
She and Kane joined an irritated-looking Sebastian in the northernmost corner of the camp. Once he spotted her, Sebastian said, “The general is in one of the side camps, but I’m not yet sure which one.”
She nodded while Sebastian tersely questioned a regiment commander about the whereabouts of the general from atop his black stallion. Once told, they raced straight there. Sebastian didn’t stop at the request of the general’s guard to halt outside of the perimeter. He rode straight toward the four men and through them when they hastily jumped aside to avoid being trampled by his spirited stallion. Ciardis almost felt sorry for them—almost. They were too well trained not to question the presence of anyone who came into the general’s vicinity but no doubt knew they could be executed for putting a hand on the Prince Heir. It put them in a quandary.
When the general heard the commotion outside of the tent he strode outside in full battle armor with a thunderous expression on his face. An anger that didn’t lessen when he saw who had interrupted his strategic session with the commanders of the army, who spilled out of the tent behind him.
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About the Author
Terah Edun is a young adult fantasy writer born and raised in the Atlanta metropolitan area, who transplanted to the Northeast region for college, and has spent years living abroad in South Sudan and Morocco. She writes the stories that she always loved to read as a young girl.
Links-
Twitter- https://twitter.com/tedunwrites
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TerahEdunAuthor
Website- http://teedun.com/
