I’ve been working on an exciting new project, and it’s just about ready for release. This one is completely disconnected from my other series. It’s romantic urban fantasy set in the deep south – Montgomery, AL, to be exact – with the city’s beauty and its ugliness. It’s in final editing now, so I’m hoping for a winter release. Stay tuned for ARC opportunities!
Isn’t it lovely? Fire and magic and a hint of… could those be dragon scales? Yes, yes they are! I decided on a different style of cover for this book due to changing market preferences, and I love it. If this book becomes a series (and I’ve been informed by one of my beta readers that my life hangs in the balance if I don’t make it so), they will all have similar designs.
Michaela Richardson is one of the magic touched, those blessed with magical abilities after the rise of dragons returns magic to our world. Connal Pierce is one of the kin, a child of dragons, and powerful.
Together, they must find a missing agent and the dangerous cargo he was sent to retrieve before a human-only hate group plunges North America into a senseless unwinnable war.
Official backcopy blurb to come. Read on for an excerpt.
“A kin’s wing is very sensitive, especially when solid.”
“Would you like to touch them?”
“What?” She snapped her gaze to his face to find him watching her with a faint smile curving his lips. Heat bloomed across her chest and crept up to her cheeks to scorch her ears. “No. That’s all right.”
He stretched one wing to its limit, the other restrained by the small bar which separated the dining room from the kitchen. “I don’t mind.”
A tempting offer she shouldn’t accept, but she wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to! What would they feel like? Did the ghostly flames burn? Would the membrane be warm and leathery or cool and smooth? She bit her lip, battling between foolish desire and common sense. She couldn’t do it. Could she? “They’re solid?”
His smile dared her to do it, the wing curving toward her in invitation. “Touch and find out.”
She rose and took a step forward. Stopped. “Are you sure?” At his nod, she reached out and brushed her fingers along the flickering edge.
It was fire and leather and warm supple skin. The ethereal flames danced between her fingers but didn’t burn. Instead, they twined around her like a cat and fueled a different sort of fire. Enchanted, she stroked her hand over a hard joint, trailed her fingertips down the tautly stretched skin beneath it. It felt intimate in a way she couldn’t describe.
Connal released a shuddering breath. When she dragged her eyes from the light dancing along the edge of his wing, she discovered he’d leaned back in his chair with his head tilted and eyes shut. She snatched her hand away and cradled it against her chest.
“I hurt you.”
His lids rose and crimson fire danced in the dark depths of his eyes, terrifying and oddly compelling. “Not at all. You have a delicate touch, Michaela.” He brushed the edge of his wing along her back. “A kin’s wing is very sensitive, especially when solid.”
A Thread of Magic, Elaina Roberts, 2023
