Kingdom of Yute: Tor's Betrayal Following a spark of passion, Tor Harnesson leaves behind his former life to become a member of the rebel cause. Surrounded by mistrust, his every motive questioned, Tor risks all for the chance to be near the one woman who captivates him like no other. She’s a provoking little creature, the small kiss of her mouth a seductive little bow that begs to be ravaged, her slender slip of a body every man’s wet, cock-in-fist fantasy. Drawn inexorably to the mysterious handsome stranger, Spark struggles to make sense of her feelings for Tor Harnesson. His wide mouth and hard lips look like they wouldn’t know what to do with a sense of humor…but Spark is sure they’d have a fair idea of how to drive a woman to the brink of insanity. Torn apart by mistrust and misunderstanding, the lovers learn they are willing to suffer many things in the name of honor…and willing to risk all for a tempestuous love that leads to their ultimate downfall. When Tor’s life is on the line, only Spark and her rebel army are powerful enough to save him. Will Tor die the betrayer or will he die betrayed? |
| Cover Art by Syneca |
Excerpt We were a small company of six out recruiting. It was dusk when we were spotted by a unit of nobguards. Immediately we split up, but there were so many guards—there were always so many guards. Before we knew it, five of us were trapped together, with the highwall behind us. The highwall stood a good eight feet tall and was thick enough at the top for a man to easily stand on. Built out of huge stone blocks seamlessly locked together, the wall ran for miles, enclosing the fine homes and fine world of the nobheads within. The huge blocks of dark stone had been put together long before our time and we couldn’t begin to guess how that feat might have been accomplished. We only knew that the wall was meant to keep riff-raff like us out of the nobhead world. With our backs to the wall, and facing dismal odds, we pulled our steel. There was always a chance in fighting and, even if there wasn’t, death was always preferable to capture, at least in our case. We’d all broken enough nob laws to be put to death several times over, and we were certain the nobguard would make it feel that way, should they ever get their hands on us. And there we were, backs to the wall. When, out of nowhere, Tor came clattering toward us, mounted on a horse. Riding a horse! If you are from the south, you may not understand the significance of this fact. Because, at that time—on the Yute Peninsula—only nobheads were permitted to own, ride, or even touch a horse. It was probably the most aggravating of all their insufferable rules and discriminations, and punishable by death! No big deal—as I said before, we were all in for it anyway. What was remarkable was the fact that Tor could ride! None of us had ever been on a horse’s back, and wouldn’t know what to do if we were—yet there was Tor Harnesson careering toward us, but obviously in control of the tall, leggy creature. He pulled up right in front of us and leapt for the top of the wall, vaulting to crouch at its top. Reaching down, he pulled Thane up beside him as the nobguards were closing on us. Thank Ishtar, they carried no bows! As I stretched for Thane’s arm, I was surprised when Tor’s big hand reached me first, closing around my wrist as he snatched me from the ground. My foot touched the top of the wall for an instant before he pushed me over the other side—the nobhead side. “Run!” he commanded. I rolled as I hit the ground and came up on my feet running—running through a perfectly groomed garden that had to have been tortured in order to produce such unnatural results. On my left was a lighted mansion, and I kept close to the highwall, dodging the hedges and benches, almost dying when a man loomed suddenly before me. In the same heart-stopping moment, I realized that the entirely naked man was very white and very marble…and very virile, I noted as I whipped past. Pounding footsteps followed, but I assumed it was one of my companions and continued without looking back. Then I was in a maze of streets. Screeching to a halt at the end of an empty lane, I realized that the road it emptied onto was populated with clusters of finely dressed nobheads. Only I was a bit late in this observation—as I had drawn the attention of the people in the street. They stared at me. In my worn clothing I must have looked like a mistake. An ugly blot in their perfectly planned, carefully preserved world. But before I had a chance to backpedal out of there, I was grabbed from behind and propelled down a narrow chasm between tall palatial homes. Several twists and turns later, I was smashed up against hard stone inside the shadowed recess of an unexplained notch in the wall, the purpose of which may have been to house a small god at one time. And there we stood, crushed together and sucking air—Tor Harnesson and I. I couldn’t have chosen a better way to die, I thought, though some air would have been nice. But there wasn’t much to be had with Tor’s hard chest and hard body crammed against mine. Waiting for his breathing to return to normal, I grew concerned when his chest was still heaving long after I’d gotten back to baseline breathing. Well, relatively baseline. I was still feeling a bit breathless, but that had more to do with Tor’s warm proximity than the dash we’d just made. Because of our difference in height, his chin rested on the top of my head. I felt a few hairs on my head lift and realized they must be…stuck to his lips…or something. He said something in Rhyssian, a low deep rumble. Then he eased away, gave me a fraction of an inch—just a fraction—and bent his mouth to my ear. “Thor’s Slagbit, I love you,” he said. Those were his first words to me. |
| Other Books in the Kingdom Series |
madison hayes
Kingdom of Yute: Tor's Betrayal
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