I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful one. We're always low-key. We head to my dad's, eat, converse for a while then head home to nap in a food coma. We definitely had a good time.
The weather is crazy weird again, which is actually kind of typical for the end of November. It's usually a little colder and the question of whether it'll snow or not. Now it's more like up and down temperatures that go back and forth to drive anyone with sinus issues to the pharmacy to stock up on meds.
I finished up the episode of Ted Lasso I started and thoroughly enjoyed. I'm iffy on Jamie's redemption but hopeful it'll continue and stick. I honestly hated that character so much last season.
I also spent the week watching a large chunk of Batman: The Animated Series as mentioned in last week's post. I started with episode seventeen of season one and continued through episode thirty. I'll be watching more this week with a plan to finish out November with my memorial to Kevin.
One of the things I love most about revisiting this series is finding overlooked gems in the rewatch. There were a couple of episodes I'd completely forgotten about and it's nice to see them again.
That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Rite of Passage, book three of the Warlock's Curse series.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Nadia Iris and Falk Ridenour have one goal—to thwart her father's nefarious power grab. Even though they're on the same page, Nadia struggles for balance and Falk has to make some hard choices about their future.
And a preview snippet…
Nadia fought the tears
threatening to come. "Just this once, I actually want someone to tell me
what to do." Why couldn't Falk do this one little thing?
The liquid she'd held back leaked
from the corners of her eyes. How the hell did Falk think he could help with
what needed to be done? Boris had to be stopped, but if she couldn't take him
down … how could she halt his plans?
Movement from the doorway drew
her attention and Sebastian entered the room.
He stopped beside the fire and
glanced around. "Where's Mr. Wonderful?" The sneering tone matched
the look on his face.
Nadia quickly wiped her cheeks
and faced Sebastian. "Not here. Go find someone else to irritate."
She couldn't deal with the annoyance of pointed barbs right now.
Sebastian narrowed his gaze.
"You've been crying." He grasped her bicep. "You never cry. What
did I miss?" He nudged her toward a wingback chair and made her sit.
The one person on the
planet—aside from Boris—she didn't want making decisions for her, yet Sebastian
happened to be the only one stepping up. Go figure.
She snorted. "Oh, you missed
a great argument with Falk. The one time I want him to put his foot down and
tell me what to do and he walks away." Her fingers curled into her palms.
Sebastian huffed out a breath.
"And exactly where did Mr. Paragon wander off to?" He poked at the
wood in the fireplace then settled in the chair next to hers.
Nadia waved a hand. "Who the
hell knows? I'm trying to figure out how to manage Boris since he's pretty much
stymied every option I have to deal with him and Falk decides to be cryptic by
saying I know what needs to be done and he'd help me out." She met
Sebastian's gaze. "By leaving me high and dry? How does that help?"
Sebastian's demeanor visibly
changed. He went from slouching in the chair to sitting straight up. His usual
practiced bland features sharpened and his blank stare snapped to life.
He leaned forward. "Geez,
Nadia. Did you wake up on the stupid side of the bed today?" His hands
pressed on his thighs. "You can't kill Boris because his blood runs
through your veins and he hexed you to keep you from spouting off about him.
Did he do the same to Falk?"
Her mouth dropped open.
"Damn. No he didn't. And you think—" She couldn't say the
rest—because it meant Falk planned to do something very, very dangerous.
Sebastian clicked his tongue
against his teeth. "It doesn't matter what I think. What does your knight
in shining armor think and do?"
Falk would engage with Boris and
make every effort to keep him in a battle of magickal will until one of them
perished. She should've gone after him when he left.
Nadia got up and paced back and
forth. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." She stopped and whirled to face Sebastian.
"Where? Where would they meet? And when? Dammit, why would Falk take this
on?"
Sebastian smirked. "The why
is plain for anyone to see. He's loyal to anyone he loves." He got up and
went to gaze out at the grounds. "The where? Someplace out of the way to
minimize damage. When? That's a bit trickier. My guess would be early, like the
wee hours of the morning. He'd want to test Boris's mettle and learn any
weaknesses and dawn or soon after is the safest time."
Nadia shook her head. Sebastian
showing an understanding of tactics and planning? When did that happen?
She set the thought aside and
focused on the where. "An out of the way place…" The location hit her
almost immediately. "The mill. It's not part of the village proper and the
walls are thick enough to withstand a magickal battle." Her shoulders
slumped. "Doesn't do me a damned bit of good though. I won't be able to
help."
Sebastian swung his gaze her way.
"What do you mean? Of course you can. You need to go and make your choice
known."
Nadia flung her arm out. "How?
My asshole father made it impossible for me to speak against him in a way that
would clarify what I want."
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Then
don't speak, Nads. You don't have to verbalize what's in your heart. It's there
for anyone with half a brain to see." He tsked. "And Boris might be a
maniacal egomaniac with tunnel vision but he's also got two eyeballs that won't
be able to deny what's in front of him."
She still had doubts. "Okay,
great. What about the blood tie? You know he'll pull that thread and try to use
it." And he'd wield it against Falk if he could.
Sebastian gently reminded.
"Boris's blood isn't the only DNA you have, Nadia. Manchen blood bonds you
two, yes, but you also have Iris blood coursing through your veins." His
brows furrowed. "Did you forget that?"
She blinked. "Damn.
Actually, I pretty much did." Maybe she did get up on the stupid side of
the bed today.
Everything became very clear in
her mind and she envisioned exactly what needed to happen.
She went and threw her arms
around him. "I love you, Sebastian." Whether he knew it or not, he'd
picked a side, too.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"You do?"
She laughed. "Yes, like the
brother I never had or even wanted." Easing away from him, she held his
gaze. "But I'm glad to have now."
Her unspoken message registered.
He gave a nod. "That's it
then, isn't it? Our fate sealed and all that."
She lifted her chin. "Your
fate is right where you left it. Your choice is whether to meet it head-on or
continue hiding away from it." Starting for the door, she angled her head
around. "But you don't have to decide today. I'd like you to stick around
for a bit … if you're up for it."
Sebastian tilted his head to one
side. "Is that a challenge?"
She cracked a smile. "Yeah,
if you choose to accept it." She didn't wait for a reply … she had a
showdown to prepare for.
I have so much love for this story. Nadia and Falk are rock solid even when they don't agree and Sebastian finally proves he's got more going on than being a pawn. This is such a fun group of characters.
That's it for this week.
Cheers!
Skye
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