An Exclusive Excerpt
Goddess of War
by, K.N. Lee
There was no reply. His heart
raced as he searched the cabin, turning furniture over and calling her name.
The four year old was nowhere to be found. Hunt laid his mother back on the
table and covered her body with a cloak that hung from a hook beside the back
door.
Kellian watched him rub his
eyes and open the back door. Once he stood outside, he paused.
“What is it?”
Hunt held up a hand. “I hear
something,” he whispered.
Kellian stepped forward and
strained to hear whatever it was that Hunt spoke of. He heard the howling of
the wind, the rustling of snow covered trees, and a soft cry.
His eyes widened. He dared to
hope. “Luna?”
“Papa,” a muffled voice cried.
Hunt turned to his father with
wild eyes. “She’s in the chest.”
Kellian nodded. “Get the key!”
He rushed out the door to the
stable and saw that it had been ransacked. The horses were gone, and all that
remained intact was the secret hatch that they kept their valuables in. He
wiped the top of the hatch clean of dirt and stones, revealing door. Kellian pulled the door open and looked down into a hole in the ground that was four feet deep
and three feet wide. Inside the hole was a sturdy wooden chest. The chest was beautiful, adorned with intricate golden symbols engraved by the holy clerics of the
west. It had been a gift to the king from the eastern clerics, and the king had then
given it to Kellian when he won the War of Thorns for him several years ago.
“Use it to take care of your
family,” the king had said to him in private. King Lorrian was the closest
thing to a brother Kellian had ever had. They’d practically trained and fought
together since their teen years, and Kellian had moved up in the ranks to be
general of the five armies of the west.
Kellian had asked how, and the
sly grin that had taken over King Lorrian’s face would forever remain with him.
King Lorrian had patted the
chest with a hand and their eyes met. “Because it is a magic chest, my friend.
It turns simple objects into gold, enchants weapons, and will store food for an
eternity. Your family will never need money or food, and will always be protected
by the weapons you enchant with it.”
Shaking, he pulled the chest
from the ground and set it inside the stable.
“Papa?”
He stared at the chest with
fear. He never asked what the chest would do to a person. He never thought he
had to, for the chest was too small for a person…unless they were a child.
“I’m here, Luna. Papa and Hunt
are here. We’ll get you out.”
Hunt ran back with the long
golden key in his hand. He fell to his knees behind the chest and handed it to
Kellian.
Inserting the key into the
chest, Kellian tried to steady his hand as he turned the lock. A sharp clicking
sound resonated in their ears, and with a deep breath, he opened the lid.
What they saw inside made both
of their faces pale. Hunt looked to his father with eyes of terror, then back
to his younger sister inside.
Coming soon to Amazon.com and www.knlee.com
An ordinary
child.
A magic chest
from the east.
When Luna's
mother puts her in the chest to protect her from discovery during a village
raid, her father returns when it’s too late. Everyone in the village is
dead...except for Luna. Kellian knows what that box does to objects, but
questions what it can do to a human.
What did it do to
his daughter?
Her fate is
uncertain as her father returns to the royal army that he commands with her in
tow. He cannot help but wonder if she will have a normal life when forced to
grow up surrounded by violence and war. He also cannot believe what she can do
when she picks up a weapon for the first time.
War will never be
the same when Luna is on the field. Blood and power fuel her, and empires,
kingdoms, and dynasties clamor to assassinate her. No one can stop her. Nothing
can tame her…except possibly a magic she never expected to find.
The magic of
love.
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