Serpent's Kiss Page 31
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Watch for
Firestorm Forever
The Final Dragonfire Novel
Coming Soon!
Deborah also writes as Claire Delacroix.
Read on for an excerpt from
Fallen
by Claire Delacroix
Book #1 of the Prometheus Project
At the end of the 21st century, the future of humanity hangs in the balance, caught between the radioactive waste of a half century of nuclear wars and the repressive authority of the Republic. Angels sacrifice their wings to join a secret fraternity of freedom fighters, risking classification as mutants and consignment to the Republic’s slave dens. Each warrior is a volunteer, but no angel anticipates the full cost of his fall.
The Eyes of the Republic are Everywhere.
Lilia Desjardins has never played by the rules and she isn’t about to start when her estranged husband’s death is declared an accident. Lilia knows Gid better than that, and if anyone is owed justice, it’s the most decent man she’s ever known. She leaves all she knows to risk the dark heart of the Republic—only to find that she herself has been targeted by forces unknown and that her deepest secret has not only been uncovered but will be used against her.
Adam Montgomery will do anything to complete his earthly mission and return to the existence he knows, even if he has to seduce the enigmatic Lilia Desjardins. But when his contact is murdered and he must rely upon Lilia’s silence to save him from the slave dens, Adam knows that his wings might be only his first sacrifice.
As danger and intrigue surround them, Lilia and Adam realize they must work together—body, mind and soul—in order to save the world.
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Excerpt from Fallen Copyright © 2007, 2013 Claire Delacroix, Inc.
July 2, 2099
The surgery hurt far more than he’d expected.
But then, how could he have prepared for an experience so new? He’d known nothing of pain.
Until the first cut.
A line of fire ripped across his back and he screamed. It was the first audible sound he’d ever made.
Feathers were falling, surrounding him with a curtain of drifting white. It took him a moment to realize that they were his own feathers. They had lost their familiar luminescence and looked alien.
He was becoming alien himself. The idea horrified him, until the surgeon sealed the wound. Heat seared across his back, following the line of the incision. Wetness spilled on his cheeks and he tasted the salt of his tears.
Another first.
His bellow made the floor vibrate. The smell of burned flesh was new as well, and sickening.
He reminded himself that he had volunteered.
The second cut hurt less, maybe because he knew what to expect. Maybe it was the way of earthly matter, so susceptible to sensation, to learn to ignore stimuli once they had been experienced.
Munkar didn’t know. He crouched on the floor, shaking, his flesh pulsing and wet. He waited for the surgeon’s fingertip to sear the second wound. He caught his breath at the burn on his skin, then heard the steady pound of his heart. He spread his hands and looked at the flesh he had become.
He felt heavy and slow, bound by gravity in a way he’d never known before. The physical constraints of his body were inescapable, unforgettable, impossible to ignore.
He felt weak.
No, he felt diminished.
There were other cuts—one in the back of his neck, one in the palm of his left hand—but they seemed almost incidental in comparison to losing his wings.
Munkar couldn’t even look at the furious blaze of his attendants. Had he been so radiant himself, just moments ago? It seemed impossible, but he knew it was so.
The taller one bent and kissed his cheeks in turn, a flush of heat on each side of his face that left it burning.
You will forget.
The words filled his thoughts, and he knew there was an elusive familiarity about the way he felt rather than heard them.
But he couldn’t grasp the memory.
He certainly couldn’t reply in kind.
Already, much of what he had known was slipping away. He had doubts. He felt fear. He’d never been vulnerable before and he didn’t like it.
The brilliant light faded and when he opened his eyes, he was alone in an empty building.
No, not alone. A woman stepped out of the shadows and smiled.
“Raziel,” he whispered in amazement, forcing his first word over his tongue and past his lips. It was slow and lacked elegance. He didn’t like the sound of his voice.
“They call me Rachel here,” she said with the confident ease he had always associated with her.
She offered him a pile of dark cloth and he took it, because she expected as much. His fingers stroked the surfaces—leather, fur, velvet—sensation overwhelming his thoughts.
“Come on, Adam Montgomery, I’ll show you around.”
“Adam Montgomery?” He repeated the unfamiliar name, pleased to hear his words becoming more fluid. Was the mortal realm completely without grace?
“That’s you, at least in this place. It’s all set up. I’ll tell you more as we walk.”
“Adam Montgomery,” he repeated.
“It was as close as I could get, what with the list of authorized names and all.”
“As close to what?”
She smiled, a bit of that old radiance in her eyes. “You’re forgetting already. That’s okay: it’s easier.”
He dressed with Rachel’s assistance. Her presence made it simpler to adjust to so many changes in short order. As he finished, she tapped her toe and checked her left hand, her impatience obvious.
“We’re running out of time,” she said and he understood her urgency. “I’m glad you volunteered, especially now. You were always the best at reading the secrets of men, and I’m not sure who’s telling me the truth anymore.” Montgomery’s confusion must have been obvious, because she laughed. “Don’t worry: you’ll learn fast. It’s just the shock that slows you down at first.”
She took his hand and they left the building, each step increasing his familiarity with his body and how it worked. He found pleasure in the flex of his muscles, in the soft fur brushing his chin, in the weight of Rachel’s hand in his own.
Dawn tinged the eastern horizon. The sky was deep indigo overhead, and Montgomery marveled at its color.
A shooting star suddenly etched a blazing line across the sky, heading for the rosy eastern horizon.
“That one must be for you,” Rachel said.
Montgomery didn’t reply. He watched the star, feeling his memory slip away. He knew it had to be so, but regretted the loss all the same.
By the time the star was lost in the light of the rising sun, he remembered only his mission.
He was to aid Rachel in saving the earth.
It was the only thing he needed to know.
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Fallen
Available in a new print and digital edition,
with new bonus content.
About the Author
Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance called The Romance of the Rose published under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published over fifty novels in a wide variety of sub-genres, including historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, women’s fiction, paranormal young adult and fantasy with romantic elements. She has published under the names Claire Delacroix, Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. The Beauty, part of her successful Bride Quest series of historical romances, was her first title to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. Her books routinely appear on other bestseller lists and have won numerous awards. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Romance Writers of America’s Mentor of the Year Award.
Currently, she writes the Dragonfire series of paranormal romances featuring dragon shape shifter heroes under the name Deborah Cooke. She also is writing the True Love Brides series of medieval romances as Claire Delacroix, which continues the story of the family introduced in her popular title The Beauty Bride. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.
Connect Online!
Deborah’s Website and Blog
Deborah’s Newsletter
Deborah on Facebook
Claire on Facebook
Books by Deborah Cooke
Paranormal Romances
- The Dragonfire Series -
Kiss of Fire
Kiss of Fury
Kiss of Fate
Winter Kiss
Whisper Kiss
Harmonia’s Kiss
Darkfire Kiss
Flashfire
Ember’s Kiss
Kiss of Danger
Kiss of Darkness
Kiss of Destiny
The Dragon Legion Collection
(including “Kiss of Danger”, “Kiss of Darkness” and “Kiss of Destiny”)
Serpent’s Kiss
Firestorm Forever (2014)
Paranormal Young Adult
- The Dragon Diaries -
Flying Blind
Winging It
Blazing the Trail
Contemporary Romance
- The Coxwells -
Third Time Lucky
Double Trouble
One More Time
All or Nothing
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Books by Claire Delacroix
Time Travel Romances
Once Upon a Kiss
The Last Highlander
Love Potion #9
The Moonstone
Medieval Romances
– Harlequin Historicals –
The Romance of the Rose
Honeyed Lies
Unicorn Bride
The Sorceress
Roarke’s Folly
Pearl Beyond Price
The Magician’s Quest
Unicorn Vengeance
My Lady’s Champion
Enchanted
My Lady’s Desire
- The Bride Quest I -
The Princess
The Damsel
The Heiress
- The Bride Quest II -
The Countess
The Beauty
The Temptress
- The Rogues of Ravensmuir -
The Rogue
The Scoundrel
The Warrior
- The Jewels of Kinfairlie -
The Beauty Bride
The Rose Red Bride
The Snow White Bride
The Ballad of Rosamunde
- The True Love Brides -
The Renegade’s Heart
The Highlander’s Curse
Urban Fantasy Romance
- The Prometheus Project -
Fallen
Guardian
Rebel
Abyss
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dear Reader
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
The Pyr: The Next Generation
Excerpt from FIRESTORM FOREVER
Excerpt from FALLEN
About the Author
Connect Online!
More Books by the Author