03 - The Eternal Rose
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The Eternal Rose
by Gail Dayton
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Fantasy
Juno Books
www.juno-books.com
Copyright ©2007 by Gail Dayton
First published in 2007, 2007
NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.
THE ETERNAL ROSE
Praise for the First Two Books of
The One Rose Trilogy by Gail Dayton
The Compass Rose
With unadulterated sensuality that practically ignites the pages and a fantasy quest that is as masterfully intricate as it is entertaining, Dayton's
The Compass Rose
will absolutely blow away fans of romance-powered fantasy. In a word: wow!
-Paul Goat Allen, Barnes & Noble's
Explorations
From amazing characterizations to a world unlike any you've read about before, this book takes you straight into the heart of the story and makes you a part of the action, the mystery, the romance, and the unimaginable magic that is the nation of Adara.... Gail Dayton has created a magical world unlike anything I've ever experienced.
-
Romance Junkies
[A] fantastic read ... this hybrid of fantasy and romance treats the reader to a very creative, and very sensual exploration of what fantasy romance can be.
-
Smart Bitches
In this sprawling romantic fantasy, personal battles are mirrored neatly in large-scale conflicts. Kallista is a convincing heroine, torn between her sworn duty and her desires, and the men ... are marvelous, larger-than-life characters, with complementary skills set in careful counterpoint. (4 1/2 Stars)
-RT Bookclub
magazine
+ Nominated for a Reviewer's Choice Award by
RT Bookclub
magazine as Best Fantasy Novel of 2005
+ Finalist, 2006 Prism Award from the Romance Writers of America's Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Chapter
Praise for the First Two Books of
The One Rose Trilogy
By Gail Dayton
The Barbed Rose
[With]
The Barbed Rose,
Dayton springs a powerful, breathtaking novel on eager fans. New characters and old favorites are as deeply sympathetic as always, and their adventures take on a heightened level of excitement as they once again battle demons to save their world.... Dayton is a fantasy storytelling master. She imbues her prose with wonderful sensuality, elaborate details and captivating emotional depth.... For an intricately plotted, beautifully written romantic fantasy, look no further than
The Barbed Rose.
I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.
-
BookLoons
The world building in
The Barbed Rose
is fantastic; making readers feel the place really exists. The characters are real, totally likeable and complex and readers enjoy getting to know the members of the ilian. In a world where everyday magic is taken for granted the heroine stands alone because she has great magic and an ever growing magical ability. Gail Dayton's tale has many surprises in store for the reader especially the dramatic ending.
-The Best Reviews
I can only say, damn, this is some good storytelling ... I hope someone has the good sense to publish it, because I personally am eager to know what happens. Seriously.
-
Smart Bitches
*
Nominated, 2006 Prism Award from the Romance Writers of America's Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Chapter
Books by Gail Dayton
The Rose Trilogy
The Compass Rose
The Barbed Rose
The Eternal Rose
Other Books
Her Convenient Millionaire
Hide-and-Sheikh
THE ETERNAL ROSE
Gail Dayton
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THE ETERNAL ROSE
Copyright © 2007 by Gail Shelton
Cover design © 2007 by Stephen H. Segal
ISBN-13: 978-0-8095-7165-9
ISBN-10: 0-8095-7165-X
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007928882
Publisher's Note:
No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means, mechanical, electronic, or otherwise, without first obtaining the permission of the copyright holder except for brief passages quoted by reviewers or in connection with critical analysis.
Juno Books
Rockville, MD
www.juno-books.com
To Jared in the U.S. Army;
his brother, Chad, in the U.S. Navy;
and their sister, Lindi, in the U.S. Air Force.
Thanks guys, and take care of yourselves.
Also a big, big “thank you” to
Catie in Ireland and Sarah in College Station for pitching this book to Juno for me.
I scarcely had to lift a finger. You're the best.
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Chapter One
The air tasted wrong.
Not like yestereve's fish course lingering beyond its welcome, nor like the stinks of backed-up palace plumbing. Nothing so simple, so ordinary, could taste so wrong. She hesitated, breaking the rhythm of her stride to sample the air more carefully, and her entourage stumbled into confusion around her.
“What is it, my Reinine?” one of them asked.
After six years, she had finally got past the urge to look around to find whom the courtiers addressed, had finally grasped the idea they were talking to
her
. To Kallista Varyl, Godstruck Naitan of the One, Ruler of all Adara from the Devil's Neck and the Jeroan Sea in the north to the Mountains of the Wind in the south, from Dostu prinsipality far to the east to Emtai in the west.
She
was Kallista Reinine.
She still didn't
feel
like a Reinine, but she'd become fairly adept at pretending. And after six years thecourt had mostly stopped sayingthings like “but Serysta Reinine always—” or “a Reinine must never—” They had learned that Kallista Reinine had her own way of doing things.
“Kallista?"
Her name, the touch on her elbow, brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the chief of her security and answered the question in his eyes by spinning a tendril of magic from him. His mouth quirked in the tiniest of smiles and he moved a step closer, motioning her other bodyguards into tighter formation with a sweep of his eyes and a turn of his head. Torchay Omvir had been her bodyguard for more years than she liked to remember and one of the first of her iliasti, her temple-bound mates. He was also father to her eldest child.
“Trouble, my Reinine?” Leyja Byrek rested a hand on the hilt of her sword, eyes scouring the palace around them for enemies. Sunlight pooled just under the tall windows that lined one side of the corridor in Summerglen Palace here in the heart of the capital city, making the white marble floor almost too bright to look at.
The last of Kallista's godmarked, magic-linked mates, Leyja had been bodyguard and ilias to the Reinine who had come before. Tall and freckled, with hair a lighter red than Torchay's near-crimson mane, she could have passed for his kinswoman. But Torchay hailed from the Devil's Neck prinsipality of Korbin while Leyja's home was in the coastal swamps of Kimishen prinsipality, near the port of Kishkim.
“Maybe trouble. Maybe not.” Kallista gave as much of an answer as she knew. She swept a hand forward. “Let's move on. I grow impatient for my luncheon."
She spilled magic gently into the air, sending it to search out the tastes and find the wrongness. Her midday meal was waiting, her favorite time of day when all the sycophants and hangers-on were dismissed, and her family gathered. All ten members of their ilian, plus the nine children.
Thenoisetendedtowarddeafening,themannersnon-existent—andthat was without considering the children. But the whole family was together.
Her councilors hated it, begrudging any of the time between the chimes of the countless clocks spent on anything besides Adara's affairs—and hence their own—especially at midday. But Kallista was adamant. She was ilias and parent before she was Reinine. She could delegate many of the Reinine's duties. She would not delegate her role as parent to her children.
A flicker of motion ahead caught her attention. Had the magic found something?
Shechecked,foundherspellburblingmerrilyalong,pokingintocorners, sweeping up desiccated husks of expired spells cast by various naitani in the palace, including herself. Torchay's shout explained what she'd seen.
“
Girls!
” His roar could surely be heard halfway across the city of Arikon. “Stop right there."
Two small bodies froze in midstep where they'd been scurrying along, hugging the corridor wall leading to the family dining room.
Kallista's twins hunched their shoulders in anticipation of the scold about to come thundering down on them.