"Dethroned took quite a different turn than I expected . . . and I loved it!"
Release Date: June 19th, 2018
For eighteen-year-old Rouen Rivoche, being a fairy princess isn’t about fancy parties and happily ever afters.
Rouen’s people are the dark Fae whose powers of lightning, thundersnow, and all things Winter make them cold, severe, and 100% intolerant of rebellion.
Too bad being a rebel is in Rouen’s blood.
Against tradition, she’s teamed up with Syl Skye, the sleeper-princess of the fair Fae—a mortal enemy who Rouen should want to kill but only wants to kiss. Plus, to be with Syl, Rouen’s masquerading as a glam goth-rock star and human high school student. Honestly, Rouen doesn’t think things could get any more complicated.
Then, she discovers she must become Queen of the Winter Court or all her people will die. No pressure.
Now, dark forces are amassing in the Winter Court, turning Rouen’s people against her and blocking her path to the throne. Even Syl with all her powers of white flame and Summer can’t stop this new kind of evil.
Because betrayal cuts close when it’s someone you love… and now it looks like Rouen’s going to be dethroned before she ever becomes queen.
EXCERPT
As soon as the Adamant Guard drag me from the throne room, as soon as I can no longer see my father reveling in the evil power of his dark self, or the Knights dragging Syl away, I force myself to take a breath.
Calm down, Roue. Think.
I know where they are taking me.
Down the winding dark halls, beneath heavy archways, down spiraling stairs to the bowels of Castle Knockma.
To the Oubliettes.
Soon enough, the iron doors rise up, red-orange and rusted, at the end of a gloomy hall lined with carved black dragons. Sealed by dark Fae gramarye, the double doors loom twenty feet tall, impenetrable, solid, power-sapping iron.
The sorceroscience used to create the Oubliettes was something Father stole from the first witch, long ago. A deep, dark eldritch combination of magic and technology.
Shivers claw my spine. No one’s ever escaped the Oubliettes.
Father follows behind the Adamant Guard, his boots thudding like the drums of doom as they drag me to the doors. Emotionless, under his sway, even Alystin and Liriel, my staunchest supporters, are deaf to my pleas. Even now, I can see the shadowy, rootlike ropes that bind their hearts and minds against me.
Hearthstone power twisted by my father’s dark side.
“Why?” I twist around in their hold, find my father in the gloom. “Why didn’t you just control me, too?”
I would’ve walked to the Oubliettes on my own.
“I don’t want to control you, sweet child.” His cold smile cuts the darkness. “I want you to see that what I do is for your own good. I want you to obey.”
So that’s his game. He knows Fae can’t be forced to do certain things—like love. Like take marriage vows. “Fat chance,” I snarl through gritted teeth. “I’ll die before I marry anyone but Syl.”
“Perhaps you’ll change your mind when you see the Oubliettes.” His expression softens, and for a moment, the good side of my father shines through. “Surely marrying a prince and being a dutiful daughter is better than being locked away in the darkness, forever, with only your dark side for company.”
He sounds so reasonable, the Adamant King I once knew.
But even the thought chills me to the bone. Fae have gone mad in the Oubliettes, their dark sides slowly consuming the rest of their personality until all that’s left of them is foul, wicked, and malicious—a stark raving beast with no feelings or remorse.
As horrid as that fate is, life without Syl would be worse. “I won’t marry anyone but Syl.”
He sighs, already summoning his magic to open the doors. “Very well then. Put her in.”
Morudain pushes me forward as my father mentally commands the seal to open. Frost lines the coiled dragon sigil, black light pulsing from the seal as it splits. The doors rumble, and from within, a loud, grinding noise throbs.
Slowly, slowly, the doors crack open.
Red rust plumes down in a shower, decay puffing from the depths of the chamber beyond.
Darkness stretches out beyond the portal, a vast, black nothing.
I imagine I hear screams. But that’s impossible.
No one imprisoned in the Oubliette, surrounded by iron, should have the strength to scream. In fact, there’s so much iron in that chamber I can taste it. It coats my tongue and stings my nose. My eyes water as the noxious stench stains the very air.
“Alystin! Liriel!” I struggle, but they join Morudain in dragging me forward, toward a blackness even my dark Fae eyes have trouble piercing.
There’s nothing beyond that doorway but an abyss.
A long, long fall through darkness.
“Perhaps I’ll check on you in fifty years.” My father’s good side vanishes beneath the smug smirk of his dark side. “Perhaps not.”
“You—” I fight, but they clap me in chains. The slightest touch singes my skin; agony shoots through every nerve-ending. Summersteel! I cry out as the lethal metal burns around my wrists, my throat. It saps my strength and all my dark Fae powers, and then they push me.
I fall. Down, down, down.
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About the author:
Raised by witches and dragons in the northern wilds, GIE writes angsty urban fantasy YA romance--where girls who are mortal enemies kick butt, take names, and fall in love against all odds.
She enjoys long hikes in the woods (where better to find the fair folk?), believing in fairies (in fact, she's clapping right now), dancing with dark elves (always wear your best shoes), being a self-rescuing princess (hello, black belt!), and writing diverse books about teenage girls finding love, romance, and their own inner power.
She might be planning high tea at the Fae Court right now.
GIE is multi-published, and in her role as an editor has helped hundreds of authors make their dream of being published a reality.
Author's Giveaway
Thanks so much for being part of the blitz for DETHRONED! <3
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