Indie Book Spotlight: Birthright (The Crystal Throne Bk 1), by Kim Fedyk

Blurb

Arleth, a 17-year-old slave in a backwater world, has no idea that her life is about to be turned upside down. She is too busy trying to avoid the abuse from her owner Bella. But when the legendary king of Oherra comes to Tocarra, Arleth soon finds herself being chased by assassins, sought out by spies, and smack dab in the middle of a decades-long war. It soon becomes clear to Arleth that powerful forces are at play. Not everyone is who they seem, even those she wants to trust the most.

Haunted by an ancient magic, Arleth must decide who she can trust and fast. The wrong choice would cost her the ultimate price - a fate worse than death - to end up as an enchantment. A hollowed-out shell of a person; devoid of thought, consciousness, and feeling. That's if the birthright she's completely unaware of doesn't kill her first.

Excerpt

The force of the Greken colliding into the man had caused his hood to fall off and Arleth could now see the man’s face clearly. He was ordinary enough looking except for a long scar running diagonally down his right cheek almost from the inside of his right eye to his right ear lobe. She watched as the man ducked and narrowly avoided a powerful swing from the Greken’s axe. Deftly, the man sprung up to the Greken’s side and plunged his dagger into the beast’s thigh. The dagger was thrust three-quarters of the way in, but the Greken hardly seemed to notice. Arleth watched in amazement as a few of the creature’s tentacles grabbed onto the ones beside it with teeth-like pincers and formed into a thick arm the size of a small tree trunk. It flung itself at the man’s head, cracking into his skull with a sickening crash. The man stuttered backward from the force of the impact. His hand was still grasping the dagger, which had been ripped out of the creature’s leg by the powerful blow. A thin line of blood dripped down his head and ran down his cheek. The Greken roared, swinging its serpentine head in the direction of the man and glaring at him with its yellow eyes. The creature took a step forward and lifted his axe above his head. With a hiss of anticipation, the creature brought the axe flying down, aiming for the top of the man’s head.

Arleth closed her eyes, she didn’t want to see the axe connect. The Greken was too powerful for the man; he would be split in two. With her eyes tightly shut, Arleth winced expecting to hear the man’s scream at any second. But the moments passed and the scream didn’t come. Hesitantly she opened her eyes and stared at the combatants in surprise. Somehow the man was not dead. Instead, he had met the axe blow with his dagger and was holding it off above his head. The Greken was much more powerful though and it didn’t look like the man could keep it up for much longer. His face was strained from the effort and he was slowly bending under the Greken’s force. With a hiss of fury, the Greken took one of its hands off the axe and swiped at the man with its claws. The man, not being able to move out of the way, was hit square in the chest. The claws ripped through his shirt and exposed his bare chest. The Greken raised his arm once more and again struck at the man’s chest. Ribbons of red appeared as the claws shredded through his skin. The man grunted in pain and clenched his teeth together. The Greken smiled and raised his arm to his mouth. With a long-forked tongue, the creature licked the man’s blood off of his outstretched claw. It hissed in satisfaction and glared at the man in triumph.

The man yelled at the creature and with a burst of strength he shifted to one side, narrowly missing the Greken’s axe as it came crashing down beside him. For a moment the creature’s axe was stuck in the sand and in that instant, the man launched himself lightning-fast at the creature. He raised his dagger and with a fierce, two-handed blow sliced through the Greken’s wrist. There was a spray of blood and the axe crashed to the ground with the Greken’s severed hand falling on top of it. Arleth grimaced in disgust and put a hand to her mouth. The Greken screeched in pain and rammed its head into the man, pushing him backward a few steps. But the man quickly regained the advantage, rushing at the Greken and ducking to avoid the tentacles lashing out at him. With a fluid motion, he raced behind the Greken, slashing through any tentacles he couldn’t avoid. The man rammed his dagger into the base of the creature’s back and watched as the Greken’s legs collapsed under him and he fell to the ground. With astounding agility, the man climbed up the creature’s back and dug his dagger into its neck. The Greken’s yellow eyes opened momentarily in surprise. Its body convulsed a few times and then went still, head hunched over, dagger still protruding from its neck.

But Arleth missed the Greken's last breaths. As soon as the man had plunged his dagger into the beast’s back and the creature had collapsed Arleth had started to back away. She was now full-out running as fast as she could away from the man and toward Sonohan. She had realized then, as unexpected as it was, that the man was going to defeat the Greken. The way she saw it, she could either stay where she was and wait for the man to do the same to her, or she could run and try to gain enough distance that the man either wouldn't be able to or wouldn't be interested in trying to catch her. Also, she thought with excitement, if she managed to outrun the man, with the Greken dead, she might be able to escape! This thought spurred her to run faster.

About the Author

I have always been driven to the magical and was inspired early on by the greats: JRR Tolkein, Robert Jordan, and Terry Goodkind.

My debut fantasy series: the Crystal Throne trilogy was a way for me to write the sort of magical universe I had always dreamt about. I particularly wanted to create a series where the main character was a teenage girl who was not driven by love but by her own prowess and strength.

When I am not writing, you can find me on the slopitch field; going on some crazy adventure with my son; or at a local restaurant trying the new hottest craze. (Ok you got me, where I will be ordering yet another version of chicken fingers and fries).