So without further ado, we present…

A dark figure dropped from the castle wall. It crept through the blackest parts of the night toward the shadow of the tree Mal hid under while he anxiously waited for his lover.

Mal?s heart beat in time with the light footsteps as the impossible shadow neared. The news he had now weighed heavily on his mind with each approaching thump. The black figure appeared and Mal?s chest expanded impossibly in anticipation.

?Mal,? it said, as the shadows separated revealing the Darkling in all his dazzling glory. His black Kafta rippled in the evening breeze, and the light of the moon shone behind him, making him look like a fallen angel.

?Darkling!? Mal exclaimed, pulling the evil warlord into his arms.

?I missed you,? The Darkling replied. Embracing him, and gripping Mal?s face passionately, The Darkling leaned close for a desperate kiss. ?I came as soon as I could. Alina has been getting suspicious so I had to pretend to torture some innocent peasants to get her off my back.?

Mal stared at the Darkling, his deep eyes flashing with emotion. ?There?s so much to say. I have news. Very, very? difficult news for you.?

A soft feminine voice gave a pained gasp. ?Mal? Darkling?? Alina croaked as she came around the tree and saw the two men locked together. ?What?s going on here??

?Alina?? The Darkling replied, pushing away from Mal. ?I um? caught your lover! Ha! Now I shall take him to my dungeon and do wicked things to him! Very, very wicked! Because I?m evil and not because I find him extremely attractive??

Mal glared at The Darkling and shook his head, dropping all pretences in the face of Alina?s exasperated disbelief. ?I?m so sorry you had to find out this way, Alina. He had me tied up in the chains in his dungeon and he was being all deliciously evil and that?s really hard to resist, okay? One thing led to another and? we fell in love.?

Alina looked to the Darkling who shrugged his shoulders. ?His youthful, naïve, boyish optimism finally got to me, Alina. What can I say? There?s no resisting that face.?

Her mouth fell open and she tried not to scrunch her face up as she held back the tears. ?You don?t believe this do you, Mal? You know he tried to seduce me to use me too?? she stepped forward, planning to reach out to the man she loved, but he stepped back into The Darkling?s waiting arms instead.

?It?s not like that, Alina,? The Darkling said, his face softening with tender emotion. ?I didn?t plan for this to happen. I only planned to rule Ravka. Not his heart??

?We didn?t want to hurt you,? Mal explained as Alina?s head spun in crazy circles.

The Darkling put up his hand as if he were a student in a school room, ?Well, technically I wanted to hurt her, unless she agreed to be my power source so that I can continue my plans to conquer the world.?

Alina whirled on Mal who shrugged helplessly. ?He really can?t help himself, you know,? he explained. ?It?s really just a front for his emotionally sensitive, delicate soul. Please don?t hate me, Alina! I need you to understand.?

Alina fought back tears and tried to calm her heartbreak. ?I wish you guys had told me. Of course, I?ll always love and care about you, Mal,? she said, reaching out and patting him on the shoulder. ?You can?t help who you love. And whilst I?m hurt that I?m not the one for you, I understand. I just want you to be happy.?

Mal smiled happily as The Darkling took his hand, “Thank you, Alina, Sun Summoner of Ravka. You are a true friend.”

Alina?s smile fell, “Oh hell, no! I am Mal?s friend. You? You, I?m going to turn into a Darkling Shish-ka-bob if you so much as hurt a single hair on his head, buddy. You got that? You treat my boy well or you?ll have to answer to me.”

The Darkling put a long, slender finger under Mal?s chin and guided the golden-haired boy?s attention back to him. Mal gazed into the Darkling’s eyes, and momentarily lost his train of thought as the Darkling lightly stroked his plump cheek with his thumb. He leaned in and gently placed his soft lips along the curve of his jaw. Mal’s eyes fluttered shut.  Incredibly soft, luscious lips, Mal thought.

The Darkling unleashed a trail of kisses towards his waiting lips, teasing them with his breath, igniting the air between. For a moment, nothing existed. Not the Fold, not the impending war, not even Ravka. Suddenly, he pulled back. Mal released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and the Darkling muttered, “I will never hurt my Mal-Mal.?

Alina shook her head as Mal remained transfixed on his lover?s face. ?If I?d known a few smoochies would turn him into some kind of sappy, kitten-hugging, Romeo then I?d have puckered up ages ago.?

?Alas, it never would have worked, Alina,? The Darkling rectified. ?Only my Mal-Mal could have effected this change. Now, darling, tell me of this most difficult news.”

“Hey, guys? As hot as this is turning out to be, I’m starting to feel like a third-wheel. Also, The Darkling being all romantic is freaking me out, so, I think I should go,” said Alina, gesturing back to the Little Palace as she began retreating.

The men broke apart and Mal stepped forward to stop her. ”No! Wait!” Mal whisper-yelled.

Alina stopped and turned back to the lovers.

“There’s something I need to tell you. The both of you,” he corrected.

“Well, I’m not sure what more I have to do with any of this,” Alina said, frowning and gesturing at them. ?Unless, you mean, I get to watch?? she asked hopefully.

Mal frowned at her. ?Don?t cheapen our love, Alina. No, there are difficult times ahead for us. I will need your strength as well as The Darkling’s,” Mal said.

“Speak, my love,” said the Darkling. “Tell me what troubles your mind.”

“I-I-I’m pregnant,” he said, barley above a whisper.

“YOU’RE WHAT?!” Alina shouted, marching back to Mal. “How can you be pregnant?”

Mal winced. He knew this would be her reaction. “Keep it down. Do you think I want all of Ravka knowing about this? Anyway, it’s quite simple when you think about it. When two men love each other very much–” he began.

“I can’t believe this! Perhaps I could expect such carelessness from you, Mal, but Darkling?” Alina said, directing her anger to the other man. “I expected more from someone with goals to take over the world!”

The Darkling stood shell-shocked, eyes glazed over and muttered, “I’m going to be a daddy?”

“Oh, for Saint’s sake!” Alina said throwing up her arms. ?Mal! How could you let this happen? What if he tries to use your child to further his evil plans? Is everyone but me forgetting that he?s an unrepentant dictator bent on conquering and enslaving the world??

The Darkling stared at Mal, his face still frozen in shock. Yet, at Alina?s words, he shook his head out of its daze and glared at her resolutely. ?Do you think I care more for my nefarious schemes than I do about my lover and unborn child? Never!?

Mal touched The Darkling?s hand tenderly, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. ?Are you sure? I?d never ask you to compromise your evil plans for me- I mean ? us,? he said as he placed his hand paternally on his slight belly.

The Darkling gripped him tightly. ?We?re going to be a family, Mal. That?s what?s important. Becoming all-powerful, ruling with an iron-fist, subjugating humanity? None of that matters if I can?t have you.?

?Wow,? Alina said, genuinely shocked and surprised. ?That?s actually, like, the nicest way ever to bring about peace to our torn nation. Great job, guys! We fixed the world with love! And-and, I?m going to be an aunty!? she squealed, jumping up and down.

Mal, The Darkling and Alina laughed together, sharing a group hug.

Alina wiped away a few happy tears and smiled brightly in happiness for her best friend and worst enemy in their special moment. “I swear. There is just nothing that could spoil this moment. Well, unless The Darkling wasn?t really the father but, you know, nothing else!”

At Alina?s comment, the Darkling’s head snapped up and the steely look in his eyes returned. “What kind of thing is that to say? Of course I am. Tell her, Mal.”

Mal looked away unable to meet their eyes. “I? I’m not sure.”

The Darkling’s face blanched. “What do you mean you’re not sure, Mal-Mal?”

“Wait? what?? Alina stammered, stepping back in shock.

“Darkling, you have to understand, this was before you. I was looking for the stag and? and I got on this ship. He was dashing and I had way too much kvas that night?” Mal stammered.

“How could you do this to me?” Darkling said, his eyes brimming with tears. “You’re ‘Darkling’s Darling’. I thought what we had was special!”

“You are! I swear it!” Mal said. He tried to reclaim the Darkling’s hand, but was refused.

“Don’t you dare touch me! Tell me who he is, Mal-Mal!” Darkling said.

“So about that world peace we were talking about earlier?” Alina tried to interject.

“It isn’t important. You and I is what matters! It?s you that I love,” Mal said, completely ignoring Alina. He held out his hands in a gesture of peace, but the Darkling advanced anyway.

“NO! You will tell me right now before I rip another Fold into this kingdom that will rival the first!” The Darkling roared, his face twisted in hurt and betrayal.

“Uhh? I think you should definitely tell the man, Mal,” said Alina, fear written on her face as she backed away.

“Alright, alright. I’m sure you’ve met him before, actually. He’s a master of disguises and cunning. And he has the uncanny ability to show up at the absolute worst possible times,” Mal said.

Footsteps sounded to their right and a figure appeared. “There you are! I heard noises and naturally couldn’t believe someone had the nerve to throw a party without my presence,” he said.

“Speak of the volcra,” said Mal in disbelief, his face as pale as a ghost.

The newcomer glanced around and noticed the tension in the air. “Oh, look what we have here. A lover’s quarrel!” The stranger was dressed as some kind of dashing sea pirate, his shirt open at the chest and his breeches tailored tight to his hips.

“And just who do you think you are?” demanded the Darkling, his body tensed and ready to jump with violence at the handsome stranger. He stood in front of Mal, his fists balled up and ready to wreak havoc out of his own wounded pride.

The newcomer smiled a cocky grin that had captured so many hearts, including Mal’s. “I have been called many names. ‘That Good-Looking Fellow’, ‘Handsome Beyond All Reason’ and to some,” he said sparing a wink for Alina, making her blush. “‘Future Best Night of My Life’. But for you Darkling, you can call me ’The Competition‘.”

Alina sighed when she saw The Darkling?s eyes bug out in fury. ?We were so close to world peace, guys. So. Close.?

To Be Continued in A Darkling and Sturmhond Night?
?

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them?a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra?s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra?s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one?s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider?s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

I have never condoned person and book relationships due to the many detriments they bring with them. I?m talking a bunch of tiny paper cuts, all over your face. However, I believe the day has come for me to change my tune.

One of my absolute favourite things about this book was the attention to detail, all the little ornamental bits that made every paragraph delicious. It should be noted that this book contains:

1. A dog that has the soul of Jay Gatsby
2. A debate tournament dress code violation in the form of a Gryffindor sweater
3. Numerous Doctor Who and other nerd culture references
4. PUNS GALORE

It?s clear even from the small glimpse of Ezra?s life pre-accident that  he doesn?t exactly belong with his group of popular-jock friends. Even though Ezra spends the rest of the book attempting to discover who he is, his voice remains distinct throughout. He was reflective and cerebral, and his dry humour decorated the narration, making even the darkest parts of the book catch light just a little bit.

Not only was Ezra?s own voice sharp, the interactions with Toby and Phoebe and, of course, Cassidy were all brilliant. The characters in this book are for the most part fleshed out and on all parts entertaining.

Severed Heads and Broken Hearts (the original title) would have been an apt name for this book. Not only is it fitting within the context, it packs a swift and calculated punch. The Beginning of Everything, though dramatic and important, king of falls flat in expressing how impacting this book manages to be.

The only thing that bothered me was the way the ‘popular kids’ were portrayed. In a book that demands for its characters to be examined complexly, I would have liked to see a bit more dimension in the tennis-team members and Ezra’s ex, Charlotte. Yes, they were more immature than Ezra and his friends, but it would have been interesting if they had been more than shallow. Instead they felt like props to belittle and demonize, as well as sources of painful quotes. “I mean like, don’t you want to be like everyone else?” Charlotte asks of Ezra.

Despite this, the Beginning of Everything is a thoughtful, observant and hilarious book that just might be worth enduring paper cuts to the face for.

This is the second part of chapter one, so be sure to check out Bewitched Bookworms for the prologue and first section.

Part Two of Chapter One

Jost yanks me along as he runs toward the metro that lies miles away, farther under the hood of the strange raw weave of Arras. The other direction would take us toward the ocean and there will be nowhere to hide there. I stumble behind him, tripping against rocks in our path. Fragments of the wreckage drift by us as we run. The small sparkles of fiery debris are lovely against the black air but the clattering maelstrom behind us scrapes at my ears, and I reach up to cover them. I can?t attach what?s happened to me. How could I have done that?

“In here!” Erik?s cry stops our flight toward the metro. He waits against the rotting door frame of a shack that blends like a smudge into the shadowed landscape. The shack isn?t sturdy or large enough to have been a home. It?s hard to tell what purpose it once served?one lone building isolated miles from any other, withering and forgotten.

“You probably shouldn?t lean on that,” I point out as I near him.

He knocks the wooden frame with his fist and some dust sprinkles down as I duck inside the shack. “It?s sound enough.”

I think that is supposed to reassure me.

Erik steps outside. He?s keeping watch, waiting, like me, to see what will happen now. The downing of the ship won?t go unnoticed.

The air is heavy here. The chill of it and the lack of light, remind me of the cell I was kept in at the Coventry?and of the cells I visited only hours ago with Jost before we made our escape. It feels like years have passed already.

Someone flips on a handlight and I wonder what treasures we?ve brought from Arras in our pockets. I?m suddenly aware of weight in my own?the digifile. It will be useless here, I realize.

The battered structure and the somber darkness outside remind me how lost I am, and so I wait for something to change. Something to indicate I haven?t made a terrible mistake, but not even a breeze disturbs us here. We can?t hide for long now that I?ve attacked the ship. The Guild will find us whether we stay here or head back toward the metro. I can al- most see the gloating look that will be on Cormac?s too-perfect face when his officers catch us. By then they will have patched up the hole I ripped in the Coventry?s weave to get to Earth. He won?t waste any time sending me to be altered once he has me back. It will be straight to the clinic for me, to be made into an obedient Creweler and wife. Dread locks me to the spot, and I wait for the Guild to come and drag me away again. Erik, Jost, and I sit in silence for a long time before I start to relax. We?re hidden for now. Sheltered and safe, but most important, no one has come after us yet.

I want to go outside and search for the ship?to see what I?ve done. I want to study the strange raw weave that floats above us here. Instead I scrape through a layer of dust on the window to peek out. Jost stands beside me and brushes ash from my hair. He frowns, examining one of my arms. I look down. Small burns speckle my pale skin, some have even blistered. I?d been too terrified to feel it.

“Does it hurt?” Jost asks.

I shake my head and a bobby pin tumbles to the floor. “Here,” he says, reaching behind me. He tugs at the remaining pins until my hair swirls down across my shoulders in a cascade of scarlet. I shake it, trying to get any remaining debris out.

“Better?” I ask. We?re so close that my green eyes reflect back from his blue ones.

Jost swallows, but we?re interrupted before he can respond.

“What happened back there?” Erik demands.

“I caught the ship, but?”

“Nothing,” Jost cuts me off. “It was an accident.”

“Looked more like suicide to me. They?ll know exactly where we are now,” Erik says, taking a step toward his brother.

“What if it was looking for us?” I ask, balling my fists. “At least I bought us some time.”

“You destroyed it,” Erik says in a soft voice. Our eyes meet and I turn away. It was an accident, and he knows that. He isn?t accusing me of doing it on purpose. No, the accusation in his words is far more cutting. He?s accusing me of not being in control.

He?s right.

“I want to go check things out,” I say.

“We should wait until morning,” Jost suggests.

I take a slow, steadying breath. “I don?t think morning is coming.”

“They don?t have daylight here?” he asks.

“No.” Erik steps in. “Didn?t you see the sky? They don?t have a sun. It?s that weave we fell through when she ripped us from Arras.”

So Erik noticed the raw weave suspended above Earth, too. But how much did he notice? Did he see the ship was attached to the sky?

“I want to get a better look at it,” I say, and start toward the door.

“If there are any survivors on that ship, they could be out there,” Jost argues.

The splitting hull flashes through my mind and the memory of ripping  metal  scratches in  my  ears. No one could live through that.

“There are no survivors,” I say.

“She?s right,” Erik says. It?s not a friendly agreement, but it isn?t hostile. He?s cool and distant.

“I won?t be long,” I assure Jost.

“Do you think you?re going alone?” he asks.

“I can take care of myself. I?m not some helpless girl.” “She?s right  again,” Erik  calls from the dark recess he?s crouched in. “Look what she?s gotten us into.”

I bite my lip. That was hostile. Definitely not his usual friendly banter.

“I know that,” Jost says loudly. “But none of us should be wandering around on our own.”

I study his face for a moment, wondering if he would be so eager to escort his brother to check out the landscape. I decide not to ask.

But Jost continues. “Of course you?re welcome to wander off anytime.”

I guess that answers that.

Continuing reading the first chapter tomorrow on  Xpresso Reads!

Monday, May 20?Prologue and Part One of Chapter One

Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, May 21?Part Two of Chapter One

Cuddlebuggery (You are here now!)

Wednesday, May 22?Part Three of Chapter One

Xpresso Reads

Thursday, May 23?Part Four of Chapter One

The Book Cellar

Friday, May 24?Part Five of Chapter One

BookYAReview

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Crewel is out now!

Goodreads | Good Books | Indiebound

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift ? the ability to weave the very fabric of reality? they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don?t want her to become a Spinster ? one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

?Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls.  Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power.  Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it ? or destroy it.

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