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The Bloodstone Saga
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The Bloodstone Saga Synopsis:
The
Bloodstone Saga is a series consisting of four YA Paranormal Romance
novels following the many lives and tribulations of one girl and
features a love story that spans the ages. Harmonia’s very identity is
hidden from her through the treachery of the Fates and for over two
millennia, she has been reborn time and time again into tragic lives
with tragic ends.
Every Last Kiss
Fated
With My Last Breath
My Tattered Bonds
In these four books, one girl is confronted with lies, treachery, magic and myth. She learns how strong she really is and what sacrifices she is truly prepared to make for those that she loves. Heartbreaking, poignant and emotional, these books will tug at your heart-strings and leave you breathless for more.
Here is what critics say:
The Supernatural Snark says: “Overall, Every Last Kiss is a thoroughly enjoyable start to the Bloodstone series, the world of Cleopatra’s Egypt dazzling our imaginations as the joy and tragedy of love and death plays the keys of our emotions with mightily deft fingers.”
The Caffeinated Diva says this about Fated: “Once again, the author weaves actual mythology and legend and real people with the fictional and it is absolutely seamless. While the first explored ancient Egypt and its mythology, this book delves into Greek mythology. Her ability to maintain the integrity of the true mythology while also layering her own with it is amazing and makes for a very absorbing read.”
My Vamp Fiction says this about The Bloodstone Saga: “I just have to say this author keeps blowing me away with these books. I’m totally and completely infatuated with them. I’d even go as far as to say that they may just be my favorite series of the year.”
And the Goodreads reviews are in!
Tanya Maries says: “The Bloodstone Saga is pure literary magic!!!! This is my new literary chocolate -- my new literary gold!!!”
Carrie
says: “I feel like this whole series can be described with words like
rich, exquisite, romantic...the history of the stories and the world
that was created by Ms. Cole are all of those things and more! Her
descriptions are like a delicious banquet for the mind.”
EXCERPT:
Hasani was gone when I woke and I squeezed my eyes shut against the
light from the flickering wall sconces. He must have lit them for me
before he left and even in my grumpy morning mood, I had to smile at his
consideration. I pulled the covers over my head and rested my cheek
against the comfort of my pillow for a few minutes longer before I
finally sighed and emerged into the reality of daytime.
It
couldn’t be much past daybreak, since the orange fingers of the sun
were just starting to curl around the horizon. Hasani must have risen
early to run drills with his soldiers before the Alexandrian heat rolled
in. Antony was probably with him.
I
got up quickly, tying a soft white scarf around my waist and putting on
a jeweled golden brassiere. As I pulled my hair away from my face and
fastened gold earrings into my ears, I briefly pondered my older body.
As Charmian, I may be thirty-nine, but my body was as svelte as a
teen’s. Fascinating. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that
ancient Egyptians didn’t have French fries or ice cream.
Sitting
down at my vanity table, I pulled out the multiple jars required for my
daily skin care and cosmetics application, sighing as I did. As Macy, I
was a very low-key, low-maintenance person. Charmian’s intricate,
Egyptian beauty regime was tiresome. But I had to admit that it was
effective. I had a perfect complexion.
Dipping
my fingers in a jar of scented oil, I glanced back into the mirror as I
began to apply it. And froze with my fingers at the base of my neck.
A
woman, pale and beautiful, sat on the bed behind me as though she
belonged there. Her eyes were ice blue and her long hair was so blonde
that it was snow white. I whirled around to face her.
“How did you get in here?” I demanded. “How did you get past the guards?”
She smiled peacefully at me, but didn’t answer.
“Can you speak?” I asked. “Who are you?”
She
studied me again, unmoving and silent from her perch on my bed. She
wore silvery robes embroidered with rich blue which were spread around
her and her long fingernails were silver. They sparkled in the muted
light from my window. She reminded me of what a fairy would be like.
An odd sensation began to build in my chest and I hesitated.
“Who are you?” I whispered again.
“You know who I am,” she said gently, as she rose from the bed. She was
so graceful that it seemed as though she floated as she walked toward
me.
“I don’t,” I argued, as she came to a stop behind me.
“You do,” she insisted softly, as she placed her hands on my shoulders.
And in that instant, the second that her hands touched me, I did.
I was standing face to face with Lachesis, the middle sister of the
Fates. Terrifying and powerful, the last time I had seen her, she had
been an ancient, stooped hag. My eyes flew in amazement to her lovely,
young face.
She smiled.
“I can appear as I wish, Charmian,” she said lightly. “You are
beautiful. So, of course I wanted to appear beautiful, as well. I have
no wish to scare you.”
“Then what is your wish?” I asked quietly, keeping my eyes locked on her face.
She reached past me and picked up the jar of oil, dipping her long
fingers into it. Picking up my arm, she gently began rubbing the scented
oil into my skin as she spoke.
“You are one of twelve, Charmian. Did you know that?” I shook my head, instantly intrigued.
“Yes. Twelve very important people were chosen so long ago to assist us
throughout the millennia. You were chosen for your bravery and your
heart.”
She turned my wrist over and fingered my scar.
“I placed the mark of the phoenix upon your wrist myself. The phoenix
is sacred to the order, Charmian. It symbolizes re-birth and life, the
very thing that we stand for… the things that we protect. And we gave
you that mark. It is an honor.”
I nodded. “Yes, of course it is.”
“Then why have you been doubting us?” she turned her large blue eyes to me, beseeching me.
“I haven’t!” I protested. “The priest Annen has tried to convince me of
his theories… but being a member of the Order is all I know. I have no
wish to believe him.”
“But you’ve wondered.”
She
stated it as a fact, watching my face as she absently held her open
palm out to a butterfly that had flown in from my window. The delicate
yellow wings quivered as it crawled onto her hand and sat still.
“I know your heart, Charmian.”
I sighed. “I couldn’t help but wonder how much truth was in what he
said. But I have no wish to believe him. I’ve put his claims out of my
mind.”
“As you should,” she instructed with the first trace of a harsh tone.
She watched the butterfly for a moment more, her blue eyes glinting,
before she snapped her hand shut, crushing the delicate insect between
her fingers. I gasped as she put it in her mouth, chewing calmly as she
contemplated me.
“You are one of the best we have, Charmian. Yet you’ve lost your bloodstone.”
My heart dropped into my toes. I couldn’t deny it.
“Yes,” I admitted in a whisper, my head bowed.
“Get
it back,” she hissed, her face clouding over and for a split second,
one brief moment, I saw a glimpse of the ancient hag that she was. I
sucked my breath in, waiting for a storm.
She calmed herself, resuming her tranquil tone, her face regaining its youth and beauty.
“Our
bloodstones are powerful, as you know. They are the keys to
everything. That sniveling eunuch will not be able to use it- because
it was made for you. But the bloodstones were made from one stone. One.
When one is lost, we all suffer.”
I
stared at her intrigued, as she pulled her own bloodstone out of her
robes. Hers was larger than mine and set in an intricate setting
surrounded by rubies, but it had clearly been cut from the same mother
stone… glistening blood-red, with black veins.
“Our
power as a whole should not be diminished because of the carelessness
of one, should it?” she purred, sliding her hands smoothly over my
shoulders and stopping with her fingers wrapped lightly around my neck.
I gulped, then shook my head quickly.
“Then, fix it,” she instructed pleasantly, removing her hands. “No
matter what you need to do to repair your error, you have my support.
Do you understand?”
Did I? Was she saying that retrieving my bloodstone using any means necessary was more important than restoring history?
Before I could speak, she nodded. “I see that we’ve come to an understanding. You’re such a bright girl.”
Confusion
flooded through me as I watched her adjust her clothing. How could
this be happening? My entire being was dedicated to enforcing the plan
of the Fates. Never had we deviated before, under the threat that
chaos would ensue. How could we deviate now? Unless the threat was
just that… an idle threat. I had forgotten that my thoughts were not
safe around her, until she snapped me from my reverie with a growl.
“Do
not question us again, Charmian! There are times when the Plan is not
as important as protecting the Order. It is as simple as that. And I
will not explain myself to you!”
But
she just had. The Order had a weakness. The Bloodstones. And nothing
on earth was as important as keeping them. I quickly blanked my
thoughts so that she couldn’t read them again and nodded.
“Yes, Lachesis. I’m sorry. Rest assured, I will fix this…” My voice trailed off hesitantly.
“But?” she prompted.
“But can I just ask one thing? Can I just know one thing… because I know I will not remember it in my next life anyway.”
She studied me quietly, reading my thoughts and hearing my unspoken question. Her face an unreadable, lovely mask.
“In each life your memories from your previous lives are wiped clean for
your own benefit,” she finally explained. “It benefits you in many
ways. If you were able to remember the sadness from your previous
lives, it would drive you to insanity. You would lose your
effectiveness as a Keeper.”
I nodded. Ahmose had been right.
“And you forget the gifts you are capable of through your bloodstone as a
safeguard,” she added. “The power that we are able to harness is
exquisite and enormous. Too much burden for any one person to be aware
of, life after life.”
“But you…”
“My sisters and I have each other to keep us in check. You have no one. But your Aegis.”
Realization settled upon me like a cloud. So, Ahmose wasn’t just there to assist me… he was there to keep me firmly in place.
“So, now you know.” She stared at me. “For now. You’ll forget it again soon enough.”
That thought was not comforting.
“Charmian?”
I looked up at her.
“Yes?”
“Be good.”
And she was gone.
I
took a shaking breath and sank into my bed, allowing the softness to
comfort me momentarily. I wasn’t sure what to think. She had just
confirmed that at least some of the things that Annen had told me were
true… but since she openly admitted them, didn’t that mean that the
Order had nothing to hide? I was at a loss.
My
hand brushed against a rolled up papyrus on my bed. Staring at it
suspiciously, I picked it up. How had she left it? I hadn’t seen her
with it at all.
As
I unrolled it, the yellow butterfly that I had just seen Lachesis eat
flew from the confines of the paper and out my window. I watched it fly
away in shock, alive and well, before I turned my attention to the
paper in my hands. Delicate, feminine writing flowed across the page in
English.
There are things you were never meant to understand.
You will have to trust me.
Before
I even had a chance to ponder its meaning, the cryptic message burst
into flame and I dropped it to the stone floor, watching it burn on the
stone. Within a minute, it had disappeared completely… as though it had
never existed.
ABOUT COURTNEY COLE:
Courtney Cole
is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She
has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate
America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves
chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.
Courtney lives in
quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince
Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their
orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.
LINKS:
Website: http://www.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
Author Goodreads: http://www.
Dante's Girl Goodreads: https://www.
Mia's Heart Goodreads: https://www.
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