Hey, everybody!
Here are some final teasers for both Worlds and Collide that I thought you all would enjoy 😊 Yup! We're getting closer *happy dance* For those that follow me on FB, the Collide teaser will be a repeat, but the Worlds one is definitely new--a little intro from Jadar's POV.
Affiliate links for preorder purchase are below each excerpt, and now, on with the show!💞
Copyright 2020, J.M. Link
All rights reserved.
*Subject to change and unedited*
Earth had agreed to
assimilate their vessels.
The fervour it
stirred still felt strange, after having been desensitized for so long by the
death and destruction that had become their existence. Jadar thought, as he and
Mina made their way to where the others gathered.
He could see her
finely bunched tresses in his periphery and the spines along his backbone
stiffened in response. He actually wondered at their feel. The awareness giving
him pause and he clicked his jaws quietly, because even as a youngling, he’d
never been as averse to touch as other Askari he encountered. Their world
was not kind to such inclinations and Jadar had learned early not to indulge
them. Memories of those times played in his mind, most of them
unpleasant...until at some point, he came to understand what he was; the path
that had been chosen for him.
Navigating their
war-ravaged home before then, however, had been a lesson in brutality not easy
to forget. Which was why he much preferred to remember everything after stumbling
into the bubbling sand pits; and the small den of esskrhen living
brazenly among them. Those three aged Askari had taught him everything he knew,
setting a course that ultimately led here. Earth, he considered. As Mina’s
scent again found its way to his nostrils. Distracting yet familiar since they
were working more closely.
In appearance, she
was as different from him as her planet was from Askara, and Jadar blinked at
the sudden comparison. It reminded him of the way some of the others had begun
to view Earth. That despite its heat and brightness, there was an allure he
hadn’t truly understood until what she just showed him. The Earthscape in
darkness had been a sight to behold, but Jadar was more drawn
to the appetites and emotions it stirred—as any Askari would be, he keened,
standing among those things again. He wasn’t sure if it was strange or tragic
that they’d had to travel halfway across the universe to experience something
like freedom. But here it was, as if driven by some unseen force.
The sense was just
a feeling, of course—like the one he’d felt before the sol he
found the sand pits, and then again when he realized his true skill. As he felt
his tresses rise boldly with the thought. Because the path of a Khurzhev was
not one most Askari tolerated.
Males dismissed him
often. Which made attracting the notice of females infinitely more difficult.
At times, he walked seen but unseen, not much different from a palkriv in
the ways that really mattered. Yet despite it all he had still managed two
near-breedings; their memories unwillingly surging to the fore. One large
female that attacked because the only alternative was an aging esskrhel,
and another which had quickly lost interest when a more suitable male slinked
from the darkness, drawn by the scent of her need. He supposed he should
consider himself fortunate to have any experience at all, as rare as it had
become for their life-givers to cycle. But both ended short because he’d proven
unworthy.
Jadar tried not to
let the reminder plague him. When in truth he hadn’t felt the same toward such
things since. He was captured shortly after, along with a handful of others who
then managed to escape here through some divine cosmic happening.
Considering they
did not expect to survive the ssvold, what befell them next
should have been easy…it wasn’t. He thought, clicking his jaws.
Making contact with
a naïve race in an unknown system was proving more difficult than he ever
imagined. But the vessel would not have lasted much longer without Earth's
help, and then they would have escaped, survived, for nothing. In no way did it
mean he trusted the humans. If anything, it made him more vigilant and Mina was
no exception.
As he tried and failed
not to seek her again, driven solely by the thought of her tresses. Really, Jadar
had worked hard to avoid them at first; but then she’d challenged him, in a
very human way. It awakened something he thought long dead inside him and ever
since then he caught himself watching her: as much a trait of his species as
his own personal nature. And while it took some time to learn her reactions,
where his thoughts eventually led proved impossible to ignore.
Very soon they
would launch an attack to take back Askara. He knew there wasn’t much time and
they had yet to uncover why their technology was so partial to humans. Because
if the Earthers at any point decided to turn Askara’s own technology against
them? There was good chance they wouldn’t survive it: numbers dwindling and so
near to extinction as they already were.
Instead, he found
he couldn’t stop thinking about Mina’s reaction to his tresses. He had never
considered the way a different species might perceive him. That, through human
eyes, he was a being to be reckoned with, a male worthy of notice. It was the
way he struggled to be seen by his own kind his entire life and Jadar knew that
was why it stuck. He also never considered alien females in a carnal way
before—to be true, few his kind did. Before the invasion, Askara had chosen
isolation by choice and their dealings were almost always in response to other
races initiating them. Which was why Tori and Aderus’ exchanges were still so
odd.
Perhaps witnessing
them had begun to warp his mind, Jadar considered. Thinking back to the feel of
Mina’s skin—thin, shifting, delicate. It slid over the arm he clasped in
response to her slight incite; the true meaning of which he was still trying to
decide.
As a khurzhev,
he was more attuned than most to the nuances of touch. Not so much as a human,
perhaps, but for an Askari... It just served to remind him once more of their
differences. Her mannerisms, her expressions, and, of course, the pallor of her
skin: which was a light loamy shade that was at least more appealing than
Tori’s near translucent coloring. She wore the same type of coverings as other
Earthers, except for dark lines that framed her eyes which helped to perceive
color. Sometimes it felt like she observed him just as closely, though he
wasn’t certain whether it was interest or intrigue. And he shouldn’t care. Jadar
rumbled, forcing his focus back as they came upon the gathering.
Not with what they
had yet to face.
Copyright 2020, J.M. Link
All rights reserved.
*Subject to change and unedited*
My muscles jerked when the smaller door opened again and Erlathan appeared in the doorway not too much later. “We can toss them off the balcony if you want. Or burn them,” I said, looking up from my gadget and nodding to the dirty trousers he clutched in one hand.
He chuckled. “Is that what you would do?”
Oh-ho. “Probably.”
His sharp eyes caught on my gadget and he moved closer. “What
magic is this?”
I held up the clear thin tablet. To him, it probably looked
like a piece of glass, with shapes and colors moving across it.
“It’s called a gadget. There’s a computer inside, that does
everything for us.”
He looked around the rest of the room, unabashed in his
curiosity. “You can sit for a while if you want.”
“I’m more comfortable standing, thank you.” I didn’t miss how
stiffly he stood. My chest twinged.
“Did the salve help?”
“It did.” He shifted.
“Then keep it. I can get more.”
His gaze shot back to me. “What would you like in return?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Not everyone’s like that, you
know.”
His attention began to wander again. “Fair firlya, all
of life is but a give and take. Even the laws of magic are bound by it. You are
the only one I’ve met who has shown to reject it.”
“I’ll consider that a compliment.” I eyed him.
“Ahhh, what is—”
I leapt from the bed, bumping into him as I lunged to block
his hand.
“Don’t touch that!! It’s my gun!” I worked hard to soften my
voice, heart still skipping. “It’s dangerous,” I told him.
We were inches apart, he stared down into my face. “My
apologies.” Then he murmured something in elvish. I grunted. We really needed
those translations.
“I just, don’t want you getting hurt,” I explained, and he
blinked as if I just told him I shat gold.
Silence fell between us. I looked back at the bed. “Look, um.
I could arrange those ridiculous pillows on the floor, if you like, and you can
take the bed. If, you’d rather not sleep alone tonight.” Part of me felt like an
ass for flinging myself across the room just now, but I’d been planning to
offer anyway.
“You’re offering me your bed? If I stay, I’ll not be taking
your bed. I will take the floor.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can tell you’re hurting.”
I jumped when he suddenly held my face between his hands. “I
will take the floor, and be glad for it,” he muttered softly.
“Alright,” I replied, feeling my skin heat. I reached up,
gently pulling his hands from my face. The signals had to be me. Sure, he was flirtatious,
but I’d known a lot of people like that, with everyone. I also had no idea of the
details of his relationship with the king, but it was obvious now what he’d
meant by ‘acquaintance’.
I cleared my throat and turned toward the bed. Carefully
arranging the rest of the pillows on the floor in the best make-shift bed possible.
I stood back. “Tada.”
Erlathan smiled. Tossing his torn trousers and tunic off to
the side before he closed the distance. The firm kiss to the corner of my mouth
took me by surprise and I tensed, heart pounding as fire heated my veins. I
didn’t think he needed or realized what he was playing at…or maybe he did.
“Okay, tha—yup, you’re welcome,” I huffed, turning my head
down into his firm chest. Then I acted on the impulse and hugged him lightly.
Not wanting him to think he’d done anything too bad or deny him some human
affection, if that’s what he sought.
I felt him stiffen, arms momentarily lifting as I patted his
back. Then they wrapped gently around me. He started to sway.
“You only had ask if you wanted to dance,” he whispered, and
a shiver ran down my spine.
I raised my head. “That’s not what I—” It began with a
chuckle, but this time Erlathan took my mouth fully.
I froze, eyes fluttering.
When Fae Collide, releasing Dec 26th 2020, preorder affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3hvNTqS
