Book Tours: Book Excerpt from “Awakening”

I’m hosting an excerpt today from “Awakening”, the second book in the BirthRight Trilogy series. I reviewed the first book, “The Arrival”, and had a blast reading through this snippet. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Book Excerpt

Sian tipped her head up to press a kiss to Daron’s jaw then scooted off the bed and went to look out the windows.

Outside the forest darkened as the sun dropped, and the sounds of the animals changed. The day dwellers were going to sleep, and the night dwellers began to venture out. The sense of awe at such a sight struck her again. The window misted with her breath when she pressed her forehead against it, looking up.

‘Daron, what’s that?’

Daron glanced up to see her pressed against the window, staring in fascination at something. Marking a place in the book, he climbed off the bed and joined her at the window. Flickering lights had begun to appear in the air, and clusters of nightbloom were opening as twilight turned to dusk. The glow of the delicate flowers was a soft gold in the dark and made him smile as he remembered trying to pick one for his mother.

‘Those are nightbloom, Pix. They only open at night and are very delicate. You can’t pick them,’ he said wryly and she smiled.

‘Tried?’

Daron nodded and opened the door to the balcony, gesturing for her to go out. Shutting the door behind them, he wrapped his arms around her as they gazed out.

‘I really wanted to pick one for my mother when I was eight. My sister told me it wasn’t possible, but I didn’t believe her.’ His older sister always knew the best, one way or another and even now, still loved to boss him and his younger brother around.

‘She was right, as always. As soon as you touch a nightbloom they wither. Just those firefae can feed from them.’

‘Firefae? Like Cat’s fire?’ Sian watched as one flitted close.

‘No, they don’t burn. They just glow. During their mating season they turn pink.’

One rested on the handrail. Sian watched as Daron coaxed it onto his hand.

‘Have a look, Pix.’

She gently cupped his hands and bent to stare at the little creature. The tiny firefae watched her with large dark eyes. It glowed, a lovely orange shade, and the energy it used hummed through Daron’s hand and hers.

‘It’s beautiful.’

It was kind of like the pictures of fairies she’d seen on Earth. A human-like shape but you couldn’t tell its sex. Its tiny body was covered with fine, hair-like filaments, so it almost looked fuzzy. The wings that it flitted around with were shaped like a fan, the edges almost ragged, floating softly in the night air. Its large eyes were surrounded with beautiful long lashes, making the little creature look adorable. A second firefae landed next to it, and Sian quietly gasped. This one had hair, or what looked like it, that surrounded its head in a golden mane.

‘That’s a male,’ Daron breathed the words as the two fae seemed to dance on his hand.

‘How can you tell?’

‘The gold mane.’

She watched the two interact together, marveling at their tiny hands and feet. Each digit had a slightly bulbous end, reminding her of frogs’ feet. The fae wandered about Daron’s hand for a bit longer, then pushed off, their delicate wings fluttering as they flew away to the nearest nightbloom.

They spent nearly an hour out there, watching as the forest turned to inky blackness. There were quite a few plants and creatures that were luminescent. It made the dark beautiful and eerie, reminding Sian of footage she’d seen of deep undersea dives. When they retired to bed, she snuggled up to Daron as he gently stroked her back.

‘Pleased to be here?’

‘I am. It’s really lovely,’ she yawned. ‘I’ll have to give Gredel a big hug for this.’

About The BirthRight Trilogy

Title: The BirthRight Trilogy

Author: Nicole MacDonald

Genre: Fantasy

The Arrival

Cat, Kassie, Sian and Loi are anything but damsels in distress. Fed up with a lack of decent male specimens they cast a love spell in the hopes of finding their soul-mates. And inadvertently land themselves on another planet.
Oops…

The Arrival, follows the girls’ adventures as they stumble through a foreign and often hostile world where humans are NOT at the top of the food chain. Friendships are forged and love teeters on the horizon while the threat of civil war looms thanks to the girls’ very unexpected ‘gifts’. Will the girls master these gifts in time to survive a war in which, not only are they the ultimate weapons, but also the ultimate prize…

Awakening

Be careful what you wish for…
A seemingly innocuous love spell caused Catherine, Sian, Laura, and Kassandra to cross worlds in search of their soul mates. But more than love drew them to Gar’nyse. Truths are revealed and lives forever altered after an attack at the castle. An age old feud between two archaic families threatens to tear the world they’ve arrived in apart. As the ultimate weapons in such a war the four girls are the only hope for peace.
But one of them lies unconscious from the attack, and the destiny that awaits her when she wakes will change everything.

Feel the Burn

The battle to save Gar’nyse is upon them and already the costs are insurmountable.
With no other option but to knowingly sail into a trap, the girls, the Griffon Guard, and the gathered forces set forth to reach the castle and destroy Jenviet. However the loss of Alek means the task sits fully on the four girls’ shoulders and with only one of them at their full Elemental abilities, the risk of death, or worse—failure—is high. Now with nothing to lose, Catherine refuses to link with the other girls, hoping that she alone will be able to take Jenviet. But the malevolent Sorceress of Vo’Arum has other plans…

Author Bio

Nicole MacDonald is a thirty something year old Kiwi who loves to read and moonlights as a novelist. From a young age she fantasized about being the heroine in the books and/or movies she watched and credits the series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ for really inspiring her. Writing only occurred to her a few years ago after reading an abysmal tale with silly useless females where upon she decided to write a tale solely for herself where the girls got to kick butt without the usual sob story—betrayed/abused/abandoned etc. That little tale eventuated into the BirthRight Trilogy.

Nicole’s current daydream is that Joss Whedon (aka the genius of film) will discover the BirthRight Trilogy and demand the film rights to it. Until then, she’s working on several other writing projects and aiming to explore the world with her partner.