• Shop
My Account
  • Register
  • Login
Header Logo
You are here: Products Betrayal’s Price by Lisa Blackwood
Cover image of the book
Cover image of the book

Betrayal’s Price by Lisa Blackwood

For some, rebirth is not a reward.

Centuries ago the gods demanded Ashayna Stonemantle sacrifice her demon-tainted lover. She did, and then ended her own life, but it didn’t fulfill her obligations to the gods.

Reborn into a new body, Ashayna has no awareness of her former life until her sentient magic manipulates her into seeking out Sorntar, Crown Prince of the Phoenix. The majestic and charismatic Sorntar reveals that she is host to a Larnkin—a spirit creature of vast power. If she can trust the word of a man who is part avian, he is host to her Larnkin’s other half. When their Larnkins awaken early and force them into an unbreakable bond, Ashayna and Sorntar are accused of being corrupted by an ancient evil. To prove their innocence, they must discover what happened in the past to pit bondmate against bondmate. As the search for the truth draws them closer together, Ashayna realizes she’s falling in love with Sorntar. But before she can tell him, his tainted Larnkin enslaves him. The gods demand she kill her beloved, as she did once before, but she will not do it, even if it’s the only thing that will keep her soul safe from his darkness.

SKU: B00SC7DK2S Category: Romance Tags: Fantasy & Futuristic, fantasy romance
360 product view

    Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/102028-77823.cloudwaysapps.com/jqxysxqutc/public_html/wp-content/themes/megashopNEW/inc/theme-functions.php on line 1233
0%
  • Description
  • Reviews (0)

Description

About the author:

Lisa Blackwood grudgingly lives in a small town in Southern Ontario, though she would much rather live deep in a dark forest, surrounded by majestic old-growth trees. Since she cannot live her fantasy, she decided to write fantasy instead. An abundance of pets, named after various Viking gods, helps to keep the creativity flowing. Freya, her ever faithful and beloved hellhound, ensures Lisa takes a break from the computer so they can rid the garden of cats with delusions of conquest.

Here is a short sample from the book:

Chapter One
Ashayna shivered at the slow tickle of moisture down her back. The day had dawned unusually humid for so early in the spring. Still, her discomfort had little to do with the heat and everything to do with the stomach-souring dread currently tying her in knots.
Glancing down at the tracks she’d been following since dawn, Ashayna frowned. Her anxiety spiraled up another notch as an unseen force guided her mare around a pile of deadfall, taking the same path as the tracks. Lupwyns had increased their raiding in recent days, and she’d seen similar sights on other scouting missions. At first glance, this set of prints was ordinary enough, but it didn’t explain why she couldn’t set one foot in any direction but forward.
Lord-Master Trensler and his acolytes would be quick to label what forced her onward as ‘demonic magic’—the darkest of evils. If she had to call it something, she preferred the name ‘sentience.’ It was somewhat less dire than calling herself demon possessed. A chill swept down her spine at the thought. Naming it didn’t help her out of her current predicament, nor did it explain how she’d become possessed in the first place, or why the sentience was so interested in this particular lupwyn’s tracks.
Time to test fate again. Her stomach twisted as she exerted her will against the sentience and reined in Swiftrunner. Her mare halted with a questioning flick of one ear. Ashayna sought a calm place in her mind while she waited. It didn’t take long for the reaction she had come to anticipate.
Spreading out like ripples on a pond, waves of hot and cold washed over her, flowing down her arms all the way to her fingertips while other tendrils reached out for the rest of her body. Power. Magic. Heresy. It wouldn’t be long before iron bands of pressure forced her into obedience like it had the last four times she’d stopped or turned away from the tracks.
“Fine. You want me to follow these damned tracks?” Ashayna challenged the sentience. “I’ll follow them.” With a huff she dismounted and glared at the prints. “But my horse isn’t going to become some lupwyn’s evening meal.”
She started up the trail, one slow step at a time. With each one, the sentience loosened its hold by small degrees, much like a snake uncoiling from its lifeless kill. A shaky breath escaped her. “I am a Stonemantle. I am not afraid of you—whatever you are. I. Am. Not. Afraid.” She wasn’t certain if she believed herself, and doubted the sentience believed her either.
Pressing the heel of her palm against her forehead, she tried to stave off the beginnings of a headache left over from the rapid departure of so much power. It probably wouldn’t work, but at least the sentience was content. For now.
Ignoring the grasping fingers of the wind, she pushed errant strands of hair back from her face. Much like the wind, the sentience was unpredictable and dangerous–and just as persistent.
Ahead, the prints veered off the path, sloping towards where she could hear the soft rumble of a stream. A hemlock’s expansive branches obscured her view. With a muttered curse, she ducked under the wet foliage. The stench of rotting vegetation rose up to swirl through her nostrils. Prickles of anger danced along her control when her feet slipped from beneath her and she slid to an ungraceful heap next to the water’s edge.
The sensation of being herded hadn’t ebbed completely. She gritted her teeth, wanting to strike out at something, tired of feeling helpless. But fighting, yelling, or sobbing wouldn’t do her a lick of good. Answers were what she needed most, and the only way to get those was to continue on the path the sentience chose. She flexed her fingers to stop their shaking. She just hoped her own personal curse didn’t get her killed by a lupwyn. Or worse, burned alive. A shudder raced over her at the thought of the punishment awaiting her at the hands of her own people, should her demonic possession be revealed—maybe it would be better to be a lupwyn’s dinner after all.
Hunkered on her heels she appraised the ground. Ignoring the icy mud and moisture seeping between her boot laces, she sank ankle deep into the quagmire. The tracks didn’t disappear into the water; rather, a little ways north of her position, three sets of tracks now marred the mud.
She crouched next to the new tracks and skimmed her fingertips along them with a light touch, afraid the saturated soil would collapse. Embedded alongside the familiar prints of a lupwyn was a much rarer track. Human-like, the prints had three elongated forward-facing toes and a thicker, heavier digit at the rear. Each ended in a deep gouge mark where talons had sunk into the soil.
Sticking a finger in the icy water she measured the depth. A low whistle escaped when her fist touch the mud before her finger reached the bottom.
“Damn big talons.” Though she’d never seen their likeness, she knew these were made by a phoenix. They fit the sketchy descriptions she’d heard soldiers whisper about when the acolytes weren’t near.
Was this what the sentience wanted her to find?
She glanced up, scanning the stream and its bordering trees. Their branches far enough apart, a phoenix flying overhead might be able to navigate between them to land safely in the water.
A phoenix here?
This new development explained the increased lupwyn patrols she’d been evading. This was the closest the enemy had ever come to the vast city of River’s Divide. What if they were mobilizing for an organized attack?
She prowled along the stream, scanning the ground for more clues. A few steps from where the phoenix tracks first emerged from the water, something glimmered in the dappled light filtering through the canopy. Ashayna edged closer until the mystery resolved itself into a bit of silver and a bright slash of indigo. Reaching down, she plucked the silver chain from the mud.
An indigo feather the length of her hand dangled from a silver clasp. Frowning, she stroked a finger down its silken length. A surprisingly pleasant scent, reminiscent of heat, spice, and the crisp fresh air of a mountain plateau, tickled her senses.
And it wasn’t the only thing tickling her senses. An alarmingly familiar mix of heat and cold was stirring in her blood again, tightening its bands of control. Numbness spread across her palms. Her fingers tingled with a frosty ache. When she tried to drop the necklace, her hand wouldn’t obey.
Even as she backed up the slope to solid ground, the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Desire rose, so strong it robbed her of her breath. Power radiated out like tentacles. Not again, she moaned at the sudden rise of the sentience.
Like a hound on a scent, it flowed below her skin, alternately caressing, and then probing forcibly at her mental barriers. A second wave of energy crashed against her shields, buckling them. The sentience invaded her mind. Where fear and desire had been its favorite tool, it now flooded her with joy. Delight, elation…those feelings seemed too small, too insignificant to encompass what she felt beneath her skin, within her mind. Her possession was now complete—every sense was alive with the feelings, even as she watched it from afar. Almost against her will, her hands looped the medallion around her neck.
Silvery flames burst to life along her arms to pool between her hands. It didn’t hurt. Agony she could have dealt with, this…this new sense of rapture was so much worse.
A cloud appeared in the air, to hover an arm’s length from her. Faint as smoke, it thickened, swirling and rolling like fog. Churning and spinning, colors danced until it had grown in size.
Vivid greens, muted greys, sun-bleached whites. They formed a stone courtyard adorned with fountains, statues, and lush foliage. Then darker whorls of indigo mixed with lustrous browns, coalescing into an exotically handsome man. He was tall, bronze-skinned, bare-chested, and wore some kind of bright, indigo-colored cloak. The cloud of magic spun itself larger, revealing more of the man. Oh, it wasn’t a cloak. He had…wings. Not a man at all, this must be a phoenix. She glanced at the indigo feather hanging from the necklace, then lifted her gaze to what—or rather who—might be the source of the feather. While she’d spent a dumbfounded moment staring down at the feather in her hand, he’d turned, his back now to her as he looked out over a stone-tiled courtyard. His fingers tapped against his thigh in clear agitation. From behind, he looked less human.
A stiff breeze ruffled his crest feathers into disarray and plastered a long, fan-shaped tail against his calves. He whirled around, whipping his tail out of the way, and paced in her direction. She focused on his face. His strong brow, well-defined cheekbones, and firm jaw surpassed human beauty. Still, the intensity of his gaze would give a wise woman pause. She wasn’t sure if his frown was a normal fixture or just a reflection of some inner conflict.
Her gaze roamed his broad shoulders, down the naked expanse of his muscular chest to his waist where a paneled-leather kilt hung low on his hips. He truly was majestic, exuding a sense of contained power in his every move.
“Hmm, perhaps I’m not the wisest of women.”
She sighed, mentally pushing aside the faint hint of longing. There would be no place for such feelings. It was war, and those who commanded armies had already decided their species would be adversaries. “Yes, he’s attractive, but you must have other reasons for revealing him to me.”
Magic swirled faster through her blood. “Guess that’s a yes.”
Wincing at the throb in her head, she concentrated on his image.
He paced in a semi-circle, his frown deepening as he searched his surroundings. When his gaze locked onto something in her direction, tension rippled along her spine and lodged between her shoulder blades. Graceful, predatory he stalked toward her and swiped the air. Nothing happened. He continued to look perplexed, his feathered brows furrowing into a frown.
Sweat dampened her skin in a sudden cold flush; her breath grew shallow. Ashayna scooped a handful of debris and heaved it at him. It flew through the image and smacked into a tree trunk behind it. Was it just a vision?
His expression turned thoughtful. Tilting his head to one side, he closed his eyes. His lips moved, shaping unknown words. Instantly, the sentience flared in response, sending a wave of its foreign wanting through her. She clamped her will down, determined she wouldn’t be enslaved. A rush of power surged through her mind, expanding out, breaking past her control. For one horrifying moment she felt her body gathering itself to move closer to the strange window, but blessed and merciful Creator, something distracted the phoenix from his work. He looked over his shoulder to someone behind him, just out of Ashayna’s range of view. The outer edges of the magic window blurred, softening…until, one tendril at a time, the cloud destabilized and vanished.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Betrayal’s Price by Lisa Blackwood” Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related products

Prev Next
  • Cover image of the book

    Fated Mates by Michelle Fox, Selena Kitt, Michelle McCleod, Cerys du Lys, Ava Catori, Deanna Roy, Eve Langlais, Ty Nolan, J.E. & M. Keep, Adriana Hunter, Liliana Rhodes, Lynn Red, A.T. Mitchell, Skye Eagleday, Alexis Dare, A.E. Grace, Georgette St. Clair

    0 out of 5

    If you like your men dark, dangerous and alpha, this exclusive shifter romance boxed set is for you. Featuring hot stories from popular New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble bestselling authors, including Adriana Hunter, Liliana Rhodes, Lynn Red, A.T Mitchell and more, these steamy books and alpha shifters will be sure to whet your appetite and leave you longing for more.”

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Curvy Girls Love it Hot by Marisa Michaels

    0 out of 5

    My best friend since elementary school, Trevor Larrson, is a handsome professional football player who was just traded to our local team in our hometown. Trevor always dated skinny girls who looked like models, not girls like me. When he moved back and sparks started to fly between us, it was a dream come true. I had lusted after Trevor for a long time. I didn't think a curvy girl like me would fit into Trevor's world, but the way he looked at me said that wasn't true at all.

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Close Up and Personal by JS Taylor

    0 out of 5

    Actress and director. The stage is set for passion…

    Drama-school graduate Isabella Green wants to be a script-writer. But when she meets famous director James Berkeley, she’s tempted into the glamorous world of acting.

    Behind the camera, the mysterious Berkeley commands discipline at all times. But Isabella soon discovers his dominant male tendencies also extend into the dressing room.

    Suddenly Isabella is discovering a side of herself she never knew existed. But she is also learning more about the alluring James Berkeley. Is his desperate past something she can help heal? Or will the flames of passion consume them both when the cameras start rolling?

    Lights, camera, action…

    Close Up and Personal strips down to zero dollars over Christmas – 24th-28th December – get yours free!

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Seasons of Love by Annette Evans

    0 out of 5

    Delve into this collection of six romantic short stories that are perfect for any season.

    Second Chance: After a tragic childhood, Miranda Larsen cuts herself off emotionally, but can Tom Wilson break through the wall that Miranda has built around herself?

    The Good Guy: Josie spent her childhood summers with best friends Trey Wheeler and Adam O’Brien until the death of her grandparents. When she moves back to town all grown up, who will she choose — Trey or Adam?

    The Rancher & the Lass: Holden Campbell promised Bridget Monaghan’s father that he would take care of her if anything ever happened to him. But how can a man tame a fiery Irish redhead especially in the wild west of 1885?

    The Road Home: Sara Damalio returns home after eight long years and encounters a modern day hero in Dean Merritt. But how will Sara react when she finds out who Dean really is?

    Never Too Late: Denise Emerson has spent the last twenty years married to George, but yearning for Mark Patterson. Will a chance encounter with Mark end Denise’s marriage or strengthen it?

    Love & Football: Sofia Grimaldi is still mourning her dead fiancé when she meets the handsome Erik Collins. Can a winning season carry the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory and bring Sofia and Erik together?

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Coffee Break by Hayet Brach

    0 out of 5

    A girl putting herself on display. An unexpected guest. A couple overwhelmed by desire. Three new tales of love and lust – enticing, enthralling, and exciting.

    Includes the stories ‘Coffee Break’, ‘The Guest’ and ‘Something In The Water’.

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Click: An Online Love Story by Lisa Becker

    0 out of 5

    Click: An Online Love Story – Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with “My buddies and I were out drinking one night,” to the egotistical “B”celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC’s, FWD’s and inadvertent Reply to All’s, readers will root for Renee to “click” with the right man.

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits by Erin Quinn, Caridad Pineiro, Erin Kellison, Lisa Kessler, Chris Marie Green, Mary Leo, Maureen Child, Cassi Carver, Janet Wellington, Theresa Meyers, Sheri Whitefeather, Elisabeth Staab

    0 out of 5

    Bad boys, tortured alpha heroes, and kick-ass heroines all come together in 12 steamy full-length paranormal romance novels and novellas from NY Times, USA Today, and national bestselling authors! Whether you’re looking for tantalizing dark tales or the humorous side of the supernatural, you’ll get werewolves, vampires, fallen angels, monster hunters, and ghosts—every one of them a hot temptation you won’t be able to resist…

    DIABLO SPRINGS by Erin Quinn: Gracie Beck vowed that she would never to return to Diablo Springs, but the haunted town lures her back—along with the man who betrayed her years ago. Reilly broke her heart with his lies. Now, he wants a second chance to win her, but can they survive the ghosts of Diablo Springs?

    VAMPIRE REBORN by Caridad Pineiro: Would you be reborn for love? Ryder Latimer, sexy Southern vampire, will have to make one of the most difficult choices in his undead life: Become human again or protect his new wife and child.

    SHADOW FALL by Erin Kellison: Just discovering her magic, ballerina Annabella Ames didn’t mean to summon a dark wolf from Twilight, nor the tempting fallen angel Custo Santovari, who has no place in Heaven. The cunning wolf stalks them relentlessly, and danger seduces as they fight for redemption and love.

    NIGHT ANGEL by Lisa Kessler: When Colin Flynn returns home to Ireland, the immortal Night Walker’s flesh has healed, but the scars hide a broken spirit. Juliana Duffy plays piano in spite of her deafness, challenging him to redefine himself and find the strength to battle an ancient enemy.

    SHADOWS TILL SUNRISE by Chris Marie Green: Two monster hunters fighting a star-crossed attraction and one bloodthirsty phantom leaving a trail of death… Can love survive till the sun rises?

    A SHADOW AT TWILIGHT by Mary Leo: They say Hotel Colorado is haunted, but when Dillon Spencer appears in his hotel room to find Hilly Thompson, his assistant, soaking in the tub, he begins to question whether or not he’s alive, dead, or caught in another dimension.

    MORE THAN FIENDS by Maureen Child: At 32, Cassidy Burke discovers she’s a legendary Demon Duster. But she’s got bigger problems than some pesky demons. Like, Logan Miller–first love, baby daddy to her genius daughter is back. Then there’s Devlin Cole, a walking orgasm with too many secrets. Cassidy’s life is out of control and about to get way too interesting.

    IMMORTAL POSSESSION by Cassi Carver: When Dr. Evelyn Vale is paired with Immortal Bounty’s sexy commander to go undercover and infiltrate a supernatural body-trafficking ring, she’s eager to get to work. Until she learns the catch… To crack this case, he’ll need to possess her body.

    FOREVER ROSE by Janet Wellington: Tarot cards predict a dangerous journey for Taylor Rose, but she doesn’t expect to travel back to 1888 San Diego. What the cards didn’t predict was falling for a man bent on revenge, a helpful ghost, and spooky séances. Is she there to prevent a murder or to find love?

    WELCOME HOME, VAMPIRE by Theresa Meyers: Corporal Cole Wagner lost his humanity in war – literally. Turned into a vampire by the military’s Vector Force, he’s the ultimate weapon, but when he returns home to set the past right, will the enemy stop at nothing to get him, including threatening the life of the woman he loved, and lost, before?

    VAMPIRE MAGIC (Blood Genie, books 1 and 2) by Sheri Whitefeather: Two tenderly romantic, wildly erotic stories featuring supernatural hybrids (vampires/genies) who grant wishes for the exchange of blood.

    WILD NIGHTS WITH A LONE WOLF by Elisabeth Staab: A mandatory vacation lands Agent Sherri Walker in bed with a local werewolf. Asher Hughes walked away from his outlaw pack but couldn’t ditch the bad blood. Together they’ll have to pull off one hell of an act to get out of treacherous territory alive.

    Purchase
    Quick View
  • Cover image of the book

    Some Like it Geek by C. Jordan

    0 out of 5

    Fall Quiet by Zoe York

    To Score or Not to Score by Angela Quarles

    One blind date. One case of mistaken identity. One Navy SEAL faced with his high school crush. What could go wrong?

    The Adorkable Girl and the Geek (Gone Geek 5) by Sidney Bristol

    The Girl Next Door by C. Jordan

    Bath Bomb by Clara Leigh (Forbidden Bad Boys)

    Recipe for a wild weekend: Take one geeky actor, a video game idol, and cinema’s best known towel model. Add a chocolate-box cottage, a liberal sprinkling of snow… make that lots of snow, and an oversized bathtub.

    Result: THREESOME!

    In the Spotlight by Ally Decker

    Pretending to date a movie star definitely wasn’t on Sylvia Urban’s agenda but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. And after a paparazzo catches them in rather uncompromising position, this is exactly what this girl has to do.

    Greg Abrams really needs everything to go right if he wants his new project to get green-lighted, but when the cute Broadway geek almost literally falls into his life, things get complicated really fast.

    As the pair grows closer, the ‘pretend’ part of pretend dating gets thrown out of the window, but after they started off as a lie, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not.

    Play by Olivia Devon

    Aaron Eldridge’s passion for his latest virtual reality program skyrockets when he meets a woman who shares his obsession for all things geek. The premier launch of HyperLyfe at Lux, Manhattan’s hottest sex club, would be a perfect opportunity to get Katie Martinez to check out his new toy, and the kinky sex ideas he has in mind.

    What if your deepest fantasies could come true?

    Purchase
    Quick View

Book Categories

  • Collections & Anthologies
  • Contemporary
  • Erotica
  • Fantasy
  • Gothic
  • Historical Romance
  • Multicultural & Interracial
  • Mystery & Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Science Fiction
  • Time Travel
  • Westerns
  • Romance
  • Author Interviews
banner-01testtesttesttest
banner-01testtesttesttest
banner-01testtesttesttest

Top Rated Products

  • More Than Everything by Delphie Gray
    5.00 out of 5
  • Her Majesty's Harem by N.J. Adel
    5.00 out of 5
  • Crashing Into Me by R.L JACKSON
    5.00 out of 5
  • Captured by Conner Kincaid
    5.00 out of 5
  • Hidden Embers by Jane Burrelli
    5.00 out of 5

Author Marketing Club

WantonReads.com supports indie authors!

for Authors

  • Submit Your Book
  • Submit an Author Interview
  • Get Featured Placement

for Readers

  • Discover New Books
  • Meet the Authors
  • About WantonReads

Thanks for visiting!

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
© 2022 - WantonReads.com
View Cart Checkout Continue Shopping