Blurb:
As
an Arcánús, one of Cupid’s blessed children, Amandus’s mission in life was to
aid his father in bestowing love upon others.Unfortunately, when he found his
own soul mate he was incapable of making her perceive their connection.
Furthermore, she doomed their love forever. Amandus’s only hope is a spell
concocted by Cupid: The Arcánús Amator: Spell of the Secret Lovers.
Hailey
is desperate for love. She’s so desperate that when she finds a spell on the
internet that promises to connect soul mates, she decides she must try it.
Convincing her friend Hannah to help her, the girls embark on a one-night craze
that will produce life-changing results and bring to life what was thought to
be only a myth.
Excerpt:
She frowned. “What the
hell’s happened?” She was quite sure this was not how the spell worked.
Granted, she hadn’t exactly read the entire information sheet on the website.
“No one does,” she
whined, bouncing on the balls of her feet while staring at the flickering flame
of the candle. The thing was more than 20 pages long. It was like reading one
of those software agreements. No one read the damn thing. She’d read the
instructions and the first page with all the warnings and that was more than
enough. Taking a deep breath, she managed to settle her nerves a little.
Everyone thought she was the ditsy blonde obsessed with the occult, but she
wasn’t. She was a hard worker, impatient when things didn’t go as expected. It
was partially the reason why she’d filed through so many relationships. Why
stay with a guy when he clearly had nothing to offer? Some of her friends
argued that she didn’t give them a chance. She begged to differ. She’d given
them a chance, they just hadn’t taken it.
True, her impatience
sometimes got her into some trouble but it also saved her from a lot of it.
That, however, wasn’t the case now. Annoyed that the spell had gone awry, she
brushed back her bangs impatiently. Whatever had happened was not important.
The priority was getting Hannah back home. Scanning the room for her discarded
laptop, she did a double take.
Obstructing the exit to
the living room stood the most gorgeous man she had laid eyes on. He was
massive. His head almost brushed the top of the doorframe. His heavily muscled
arms were crossed in front of him, his chest bare except for the intricate
design of a red-inked tattoo that started around his left nipple and descended
across his side to his hip. Low on his hips, he wore a long black skirt made
out of what looked like leather.
Hailey hesitated a
moment before finally glancing fully at his face. Her breath stilled as their
eyes locked. A clear shade of violet, they were not from this world.
Swallowing, she took a step backwards without breaking her stare. The
stranger’s eyes glittered with curiosity and amusement.
“Careful with the center
of the star,” he warned.
Hailey stumbled and froze. His voice was deep and commanding and had a familiar ring to it that sent her senses reeling. Shaking her head slightly, she continued moving away from him.
Hailey stumbled and froze. His voice was deep and commanding and had a familiar ring to it that sent her senses reeling. Shaking her head slightly, she continued moving away from him.
“Watch—”
Breath exploded from her
lungs as she crashed into a shelf, a few ornaments she and Hannah kept,
crashing to the floor.
“—out. Are you all
right?”
Hailey winced, the back
of the shelf digging into her skin, but she nodded anyway. The stranger flashed
her a grin that made her knees weak. Hailey swallowed. The urge to see him
smile again clawed at her insides like a desperate hunger.
Ignoring her, he glanced
down at the pentagram, his silky dark curls framing his strong jaw and straight
nose.
“You don’t look like you
knew what you were getting into.”
Hailey held on to the
bookcase behind her. She was afraid that if she moved the whole thing would
topple over her head and she’d wake up, realizing that the man in the center of
the room was nothing more than a dream.
“Read the first page of
the instructions and didn’t bother to read the rest, huh?”
His eyes lifted to hers
with a sassy smirk that lit up his violet eyes. Hailey stared speechless, the
urge to touch the man making her palms itch as if she’d stepped into poison
ivy.
“Yeah, you never did
care what you got into, Ariadne.”
Goose bumps
sprouted over her flesh and she released the shelf, rubbing her arms in an
attempt to warm her suddenly chilled skin. Ariadne.
The name rang in her ears like a long forgotten memory always running at the
edge of her vision, just a breadth away from her grasp.
“I—”
No words came out as he
carefully watched her face, almost as if saving every detail of her features
into his memory. Her mouth felt parched, her tongue too large, as she searched
for words that wouldn’t come.
“Yes?”
Butterflies danced in
the pit of her stomach and her chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.
Fear mingled with a strange sense of joy. Names, places, and moments in time
danced in the edge of her vision, taunting her to remember them, taunting her
to say them aloud but fleeing before she could take hold of them.
“My name isn’t…”
The man raised his dark
eyebrows, the shadow of a smile lifting the edge of his full lips.
“I know.”
“Oh.”
Buy Links:
Author Bio:
Defined as weird since she was about eight, Elyzabeth honors
the title by making up songs about her chores, doodling stars and flowers on
any blank sheet of paper and talking to her dog whenever he feigns interest.
Losing the battle to the voices in her head is her favorite
pastime after annoying her younger sister with her singing. Writing stories
full of passion and emotion where love conquers all is her happy pill and
she'll forgo sleep to make her readers live the dream.
You can stalk her here:
~~~~~~~~
From the Author...
Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to be here today with none other
than the God of Love, Cupid!
*Cupid tilts his head in
acknowledgment, his locks gleaming under the sunlight like sparks of gold
beneath a river bed. He smiles at me from the other side of the garden table.*
Cupid: I am pleased
to be here and thankful to you for retelling my child’s story. There are some
valuable lessons in Arcanus Amator.
Elyzabeth: For
instance?
Cupid: Not all that
glitters is gold. There is light in darkness. We can be blind to that which
lies in front of us.
*He bursts out laughing.
His blue eyes twinkle.*
Cupid: I recommend
readers pick up the book and discover them themselves.
Elyzabeth: Of course,
but I would interview you if that’s all right.
Cupid: Certainly.
Elyzabeth: Can you tell
us how it is to be in charge of the world’s most important emotion?
Cupid: It’s a very
big responsibility, Elyzabeth. That’s why I have my children to help me.
Elyzabeth: Ah, yes, the
Arcánús. They’re also your guard, no?
Cupid: Not my
guards. They are the guardians of love. They’re the ones that help me bestow
love upon others.
Elyzabeth: But they’re
also deadly.
Cupid: If the need
arises…
Elyzabeth: Like with
Ariadna.
*Cupid frowns. He folds
his hands over the table and stares into the distance for a few seconds.*
Cupid: Yes, as it
happened the witch Ariadna proved to be a curse.
Elyzabeth: Figuratively
and literally.
*Cupid says nothing. His
long fingers wrap around his tall glass of water and he takes another sip of
water. As he sets his glass down, he looks at me.*
Cupid: Yes. She
cursed the Arcanus because she was blind to love.
Elyzabeth: Blind to
love? Are you sure that it wasn’t simply that the Gods of love neglected her.
*Cupid leans forward.
The friendly gleam in his eyes has vanished and is replaced by a silent power I
can’t help but feel uneasy.*
Cupid: Love is
there for everyone to grasp, Elyzabeth. However, sometimes we are blind to it. *He raises his hand to silence me.*
It can be because we’re too busy working or because we’re
pursuing other interests. At times it can happen as quickly as lightening falls
from the sky and at other times it can take years, but it is there. We neglect
no one.
Elyzabeth: All right,
all right. But Ariadne--
*Cupid laughs*
Cupid: Doomed
herself and—
Elyzabeth: Arcánús
Amator spell?
Cupid: Was a little
something I concocted, but I do not have much more time to spare, Elyzabeth.
*I stand with Cupid as
he pulls his chair back from the table.*
Know this, love, like life, is a complicated game, but it is
better to have loved one night than to not love forever.
*Cupid places his hands
over his heart as he speaks. I follow his gaze as he stares up at the bright
blue sky. When I look at him again, he’s gone.*
Elyzabeth: Thank you,
Cupid and thank you readers. I hope you enjoyed this brief, yet I think intense
interview with the God of Love.
