Aaand Final Teasers ;)

                 

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!💞

Spanning Worlds by J.M. Link
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. 

Spanning Worlds, releasing Oct 30th 2020, preorder affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3jrK8nh

 

When Fae Collide by J.M. Link
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