The Revolution is coming, and soon, the gilded cage will burn. Succumb to Darkness a Dark Fantasy by Lauren A. R. Masterson ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway
Evanangela must learn to survive in the French vampire court after her fall from grace.
The Revolution is coming, and soon, the gilded cage will burn.
Succumb to Darkness
by Lauren A. R. Masterson
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Evanangela falls from grace, her wings burned and her soul blackened as she is reborn into a vampire. Àmichemin adopts her into the vampire court and shows her a life of brutal slaughters masquerading as elegant affairs at Seigneur Verseau’s side. She must find her place in the realm of the damned and somehow regain her virtue.
But all is not well in the Nacre Court, as there is a dire blood shortage. The greed of the vampires is eroding the careful balance of the feeds, and Verseau and Àmichemin must act to prevent a full-on revolt within the court. Can she keep her secret and survive?
Chapter
One
Evanangela
hid her face in her hands as her wings disintegrated. The feathers turned from their glorious
silver splendor to grey, then to black, then to ash; the flames consuming them
as she fell. Her eyes changed from
colorless, to cobalt, then to cherry.
Her teeth grew and sharpened until they were serrated and hung low like
ivory thorns.
The
fallen angel clutched her chest as her inner light went out and was replaced
with cold darkness. She screamed as her
heart blackened and the clear holy blood darkened. Red tears flowed down her cheeks, leaving her
veins empty. When her virgin feet
touched the Earth, she slumped into a heap.
Her leg muscles were weak, as she was used to flying, never having
walked. The solid ground was foreign
compared to the shifting clouds and winds she was used to frolicking
through. Her bare hands skimmed the cool
grass. She flinched at the sensation,
her mind racing to process all the new feelings that flooded her body.
Evanangela
turned and saw the setting sun. “My last
sunset. How I wish I could fly once more
and burn in it.”
She
watched in quiet remorse as the sun disappeared below the treetops. A breeze rustled her tunic gown. She shivered.
The warm feathery weight of her wings had always insulated her against
the wind. Now, she felt naked, her body
light and exposed. Evanangela reached
back and brushed her empty shoulder blades.
They were solid and smooth.
My
beautiful wings! I know it to be true
that Dieu is
righteous and just, but this is simply too much!
She
sank to her knees, bowing her head as she cried, but no tears came. Her eyes burned from the lack of release and
her face was flushed. Evanangela sat
back on her heels. The sky was dark now,
and she could see the bare plains as she never had from above. Silver mists in the shape of humans floated
about through the grass. Had Evanangela
still been an angel, she would have ushered these lost souls to peace. But her new dead heart could not hear their
pleas.
“Mon
Seigneur Dieu, why have
you forsaken these souls? Are they
damned as I have been?” She watched the
mists writhe and shift until she was startled by the sound of footsteps.
A shiver ran down her spine. The scent of living flesh was near and her
veins contracted with desire. Evanangela
clutched the long grass, willing herself to stay and erase the thoughts of
killing. Her heart burned to release
tears, but her eyes could find none. The
human’s footsteps thundered as he approached.
Evanangela cringed, her skull ached from the noise.
The fool! He is tramping so loud, all of France must be
able to hear him blundering through these fields!
Reason slowly dripped away as her
breathing became shallow. His scent was
on the wind, faint, but it rolled over her tongue, igniting her instinct to
hunt. She traced the sound, her body
tense, ready to strike once the traveler was in range. In a spitting rage, Evanangela ran, without
stealth or grace, and tackled the lost traveler. Her crimson eyes were bright with the madness
of the feed as she threw her jaws open, exposing the glinting fangs.
“Oh, Seigneur Dieu, sauvez-moi!” He covered his eyes, trembling and screaming.
Evanangela
froze. The fire in her eyes extinguished
and she released her grip.
“Seigneur.” She whispered.
The
man took advantage of her confusion and pushed Evanangela away. She sat there, staring at nothing while the
traveler ran back to the woods. The
desire for blood escaped to the back of her mind, for now.
“A
demon! Dieu, save us from the demon!” The traveler’s cries were becoming faint as he
reached the trees.
What
am I to do? To live this half-life I
must kill, to kill is to die, and to die is never to return to whom I once was.
Evanangela
grabbed her hair, shaking her head and prostrating herself on the grass,
screaming. “Why must it be this way?”
Start
at the beginning, and when you come to the end, stop.”
–Mad
Hatter from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Lauren
A.R. Masterson graduated from Columbia College of Chicago with a
degree in Fiction Writing. During her college days, she began
working as a freelance model eventually making it her full-time
profession after graduating. She toured nationally, met scores
of creative people, and had many adventures. After retiring
from modeling, and experiencing a divorce, Lauren felt the drain of
her creativity. But after finding a loving and supporting
community she began exploring her writing talent and art again.
Lauren is now a regular in the local Chicago writing communities and
is dedicated to enhancing her craft.
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This looks and sounds like a creepy read. Especially with Halloween around the corner.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a creepy good time
ReplyDeleteAn intriguing synopsis and excerpt, Succumb to Darkness sounds like a thrilling read and I am looking forward to it. Thank you for sharing the author's bio and the book details
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