Night Watchmen #2
Candace Knoebel
YA Paranormal Romance
October 31, 2014
Amazon * Goodreads
The stunning sequel to the thrilling paranormal romance novel Everlasting!
One lie will change everything.
Faye Middleton has secured the Dagger of Retribution for the High Priesthood, but in doing so, she’s opened the door to more demands set by them. She now has to break the Holy Seal, and soon. Trapped in the alluring Ethryeal City, Faye is pushed to the breaking point trying to discover just what she is truly capable of, even if it means destroying herself in the process.
With the clock ticking down to the war between both Covens, and the truth about her parent’s mysterious disappearance within her reach, Faye is faced with tough choices that will forever change her. Will Faye be able to handle the demands from the Priesthood, and still be able to continue her search for her parents?
But more importantly, can she survive the truth she finds?
Excerpt
“It seems even in a new city we can’t
avoid interruptions.” He walks back over to me.
“Yeah,” I say, blowing out a large
breath.
He clears his throat. Runs his hands
down his thighs. “Maybe it’s a sign.”
“A sign?” I start to protest, but he
shushes me with a long, deep, kiss. His velvet tongue dances with mine, and his
hand finds the small of my back, supporting me as my knees convert to jelly. He
kisses me with a certain madness, a longing delivered only by the distance
forced between us.
Kissing him fills the hollowed ache
inside of me. It eases the pain of everything I can’t control. The things I
can’t fix. Of missing my parents, and Katie, and all the conversations we’ll
never have.
I feel every emotion storming through
him, and share the pain of having been stripped of control.
“I can’t get enough,” he says, trying to
catch a breath. Holding me like he’ll never let go again. “I promise you,” he
says as he breaks away from the kiss, his chest rising and falling rapidly,
“this will happen. It’s going to happen. Soon. This—it’s just not the right
time.” There’s desperation in his voice. He’s clinging to the edges of sanity.
Of strength.
I run my fingers through his hair and
plant a kiss on his lips, ignoring the whirlwind spiraling within me. Ignoring
the ache that won’t seem to leave me. “When is the right time?” I ask evenly,
trying to control my breathing.
The heat between us is intoxicating.
He rests his forehead against mine.
Licks his lips and drags in a breath. It takes him a moment to speak, to pull
himself back, and I envy that he even can. I envy his strength and how easy it
is for him to slip in and out of desire. “When I can take you out like a normal
person, learn all the secrets you’ve kept buried within you,” he says, his eyes
sparkling with love. “And after we figure out what the hell is going on here.”
His bucket of ice-cold words splash over
me.
I know it’s my turn to speak, but I want
to make sure what I say is on point, and I can’t do that when I still feel his
hands on my skin and his lips on my body. I can’t quell the storm he’s
unleashed, breaking open every part of longing that I spent hour after hour
shutting off. There’s no way to pretend that I don’t feel his heart beating
wildly against his ribcage, wanting to be set free.
“That could take forever,” I admit,
hating how this seems so easy for him.
Maybe he senses this because he exhales
like he agrees with me. Like he knows it could take forever, and there’s no way
either of us could make it that long. “I won’t be able to hold back forever,
Faye. You-you’re so damn perfect. So damn tempting. I’m just… you deserve the
best. You should be taken out and properly wooed. You should have the perfect
night to give yourself to me, and I intend to make that happen. Very soon.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. My
insides don’t care about a proper night, but my heart is flattered. My mind
understands. I take his hand and squeeze, trying to be glad that I fell for a
perfect gentleman. Striving not to be ashamed of my blatant want for this man
who drives every inch of me deliciously insane.
“You never cease to surprise me,” I say,
the side of my mouth lifting up.
He chuckles. “I surprise myself,” he
admits, “because it’s sure as hell taking every last bit of my self-control to
keep from exploring every inch of you right now.” He ruffles a hand in the back
of his hair. Tries to keep his eyes on anything but me.
My heart swells. “I uh-maybe we should
talk about something else then,” I say, my voice strained and shaky.
“Yeah,” he agrees, taking a seat on my
bed. He moves back against the wall, takes in a breath, and then shifts
subjects. “I can’t believe Clara got us out.”
“I know, right? I never thought for a
second it would be her face I saw when we were released. She’s just always been
so… so mean and hateful.” Thoughts of being back at the Academy race through my
mind. Clara’s open distaste of me. Mack’s mistrust of her. Her thirst for
power. It just doesn’t make sense that she would want to help us… at least not
from the kindness of her shriveled-up heart.
“Clara’s ruthless,” he says, the bitterness in
his tone leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
I look to him, wishing for once the
answer would come easy for me.
“But maybe,” he says, searching my eyes,
“maybe we should go along with it for the time being. See what she wants.” He
grabs my hand. “I mean, really, what choice do we have? We’re running out of
allies. And choices. Mack isn’t here, and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get
in touch with him. She’s basically the only person we have on our side in this
city—the only one who’s connected to home.”
“I don’t know about her being on our
side, but yeah, I think you’re right. We should at least play along for the
time being. At least until the Priesthood reveals what they want next from us,”
I say.
He leans his head back and closes his
eyes. Drags in a breath. “As much as I hate to admit this. Hell, as much as I
hate to go along with this, all we can really do is let go, jump in feet first,
and hope for the best,” he says on an exhale. “We just have to keep a keen eye
out, and we need to be prepared for whatever they throw at us because, really,
we’re all we’ve got, and we have to make that work.”
The sad part is he’s exactly right.
Everlasting (Night
Watchmen, #1)
What if your destiny lay on the other
side of death?
The annual Culling ceremony is a day every coming-of-age novice looks forward
to within the Primeval Coven. It’s the start to being initiated into the Night
Watchmen, humankind’s protectors, and it’s the long-awaited day when novices
discover if they’re a Hunter or a Witch.
But this day is not a happy one for Faye Middleton. Not when she’s known her
whole life that she’s a Defect and is about to face banishment in front of her
fellow novices. She’s forced to attend the Culling with little hope for her future,
but what she discovers about herself is far worse than she could’ve imagined.
And far more dangerous.
Thrown into training and separated from her friends, Faye must learn to adjust.
She struggles to find her place within the Coven, and with Jaxen Gramm, the
darkly handsome and extremely unnerving man assigned to watch and protect her.
Emotions run high, and when she discovers a deadly secret about him, her
struggles deepen. As corruption within the Coven begins to unravel, Faye pieces
together her role in saving the future of her people, and within Jaxen’s
life...but will the truth save her, or be her undoing?
Links for purchase (available in ebook and paperback):
The Gramm Curse (Night Watchmen, #0.5)
Set before Everlasting, the addicting start to
the Night Watchmen Series, The Gramm Curse is a novella told
from Jaxen Gramm’s perspective.
How
far is one willing to go for love?
Before finding a love that shakes the entire foundation of his world, Jaxen
Gramm only had his Witch, Jezibelle Beaumont, to worry about. He’s her Hunter,
and he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe from the curse placed on his
bloodline, even if it means keeping her far from his heart.
But when a spell is offered that has the power to remove the curse, temptation
clouds the ethical judgment of the Gramm brothers and their Witches.
In this action-packed novella, enter the dark recesses of Jaxen’s mind as he
battles with himself over a decision that
could not only cost him his life, but the life of fellow Coven members. Reunite
with Gavin, Cassie, Mack, and Jezi as they dance around the dangers of a civil
war on the brink of beginning.
Links for purchase (available in ebook and paperback):
About the Author
Candace
Knoebel is the award-winning author of Born in Flames-book one in a
young adult fantasy trilogy. She discovered in 2009 through lunch breaks
and late nights after putting her kids to bed, a world where she could escape
the ever-pressing days of an eight to five Purgatory. And an outlet for
all the voices residing in her head.Published by 48fourteen in 2012, Born in Flames went on to win Turning the Pages Book of the Year award in February of 2013. In January of 2014, the last book in the trilogy, From the Embers, was released, thusly completing the trilogy. She now works on the Night Watchmen Series, while guzzling Red Bulls and pretending to be a ninja on Heelys.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.candaceknoebel.com
Blog: http://candaceknoebel.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CandaceKnoebel
Twitter: www.twitter.com/candaceknoebel
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6458922.Candace_Knoebel
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Thanks so much for the excerpt! I feel like novel excerpts are like trailers to movies, and that's why I enjoy reading them so much!
ReplyDeleteI read book one of this series, and it was quite good.
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