Iridescent by Carol Oates - Excerpt & Giveaway (INT)!

Iridescent
by Carol Oates

Paperback
Published October 16th 2012
By Omnific Publishing

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Candra Ember used to dream of saving the world one person at a time. She never expected to become an angelic weapon and the last hope in the battle against ultimate darkness.

Falling for a Nephilim wasn’t part of Sebastian’s plan. Distraction is something he can’t afford when his rival, Draven, wants what Sebastian has.

Lies, manipulation, and corruption are twisting the lives of the citizens in Acheron. The Arch is missing from Heaven, and a demon is intent on claiming the city. At a time they should be growing closer, grief and paranoia is driving Candra and Sebastian apart.

If the price of restoring the Watchers to Heaven is a human soul, who deserves to be saved?

Excerpt

Ambriel trembled when she spoke again in a voice devoid of any discernible emotion. “I should have stepped in—I know I should have. You made me feel weak and pointless—Sebastian, the great leader of the Nuhra, and Ambriel, his sidekick.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Sebastian told her softly. At least, that wasn’t how he remembered. Ambriel was always the stronger of them, always showing the control and self-awareness he woefully lacked. A powerful warrior—that was how he remembered her.

She rolled her eyes, and a small smile played at the corners of her lips but didn’t completely reach her sad gaze. “Oh, please.” She blinked and stepped back, keeping her eyes on his as if they were laser beams straight into his soul.

He felt exposed and more open than he’d ever been. Before Candra, he’d had bravado and a lopsided grin. He’d used deflection so others couldn’t look too closely, knowing if they did, he would too. Why hadn’t Ambriel mentioned any of this before? It seemed to him she’d saved it up for when she could damage him the most.

One hand found her hip—or where he estimated her hip would be under the bulky coat—and the other balanced the coffee cup at her other side. “But you know what? I’m not that weak sidekick any longer.”

No. No, she wasn’t. She was an angry lioness guarding her young from a vicious predator. Part of him saw straight through her deteriorating mortal exterior to what she had been before: formidable, fierce, and righteous. Sebastian didn’t expect the accompanying wave of relief that assaulted him, causing him to shiver and his lungs to constrict uncomfortably. Until then, he hadn’t known how much and how deeply the wounds created by her absence went, how utterly discarded and alone she’d left him. Seeing her now at least proved she still existed.

“I needed you,” Sebastian admitted, and it was a dagger removed from his back to say the words. “I was nothing without you. Didn’t you have some idea I would fall apart without you there to hold me up?”

“No.” She shook her head again. “You didn’t need me. You needed to go home. I couldn’t give you that, and I couldn’t stay.” Her voice hitched. “But I won’t let you punish me by hurting her.”

About Carol Oates...

Carol Oates has never been one to remain still for long. After her parents’ mad dash to the hospital through the empty city streets of Dublin, Ireland, Carol made her debut into the world in the early hours of Christmas morning. Since then her pace has not slowed down in the least.

Carol was introduced to the world of supernatural books when, as a child, her family moved to a coastal suburb of Dublin known as Clontarf, famous as the birthplace of Bram Stoker, the prolific author responsible for breathing life into the legendary story Dracula. This stirred in Carol an early passion for reading about all things supernatural. Combine that passion with a deep interest in the history and folklore of Ireland, as well as an active and vivid imagination, and Carol Oates the author was born. Carol’s love of writing about anything not entirely “human” emerged, and the premise for her debut novel, Shades of Atlantis, was born.

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