by Tamara Grantham
March 7th 2023
Genres: Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction
The riveting sequel to Rone-award winning The 7th Lie.
When her worst fears come true, Sabine Harper must fight to save the only world she calls home.
Six months after Agent Harper stopped a deadly solar flare from destroying Earth, she’s sent back to the world of Ithical, where a mysterious civilization lives hidden under a dome. She’s tasked with finding the person responsible for stealing cerecite—a rare ore with near-magical capabilities. While cerecite can heal and provide energy, Sabine suspects the one stealing it may be using it for more sinister purposes.
After one of the world’s shield generators is destroyed, Sabine travels with Prince Morven to search for the perpetrator. They’re accompanied by the palace gardener, Cade MacDougall, and the princess, Vevina. When they locate the destroyed generator, they make a shocking discovery. The one who demolished the generator has plans to ruin the next three, which would not only devastate their civilization, but completely erase it.
But not all is as it seems. Sabine suspects her employer, Vortech, may not have the best intentions. Worse, the culprit may be closer than she realizes—close enough to kill if she gets too near to the truth. If Sabine and her companions can’t find the culprit in time, they could not only lose their world, but lose everyone they hold dear—including one another.
Excerpt:
Crickets chirped a staccato cadence, and far in the distance came the hooting of an owl. Stars twinkled in the satin blackness of the universe. Morven’s gaze went to the sky, where he looked with fascination at the pinpoints of light burning millions of miles away.
“You’re lucky your world isn’t built with a shield. You can see the stars the way they’re meant to be.” He pointed to a bright star on the western horizon. “Venus,” he said. “The Mayans thought of it as the morning star, the sky god and the most powerful deity, as powerful as the moon or sun.”
I eyed him. “Where do you get this stuff?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re like an encyclopedia.”
“You forget I was stuck in a wheelchair for half my life. What else did I have to do but read every book available? Plus, I like astronomy.” He pointed to another group of stars. “You see the Big Dipper?”
“Yes.”
“It comprises Ursa Major. The story goes that Zeus was smitten by a nymph named Callisto. Zeus’s wife Hera got jealous, as she usually did, and she turned Callisto from a beautiful nymph into a bear. Later, Callisto birthed a son, the baby bear, or Ursa Minor.” I followed his finger to a smaller grouping of stars. “Hera was furious. She tried to kill Callisto and her son. Zeus found out what Hera was up to. To protect them, he placed them in the night sky to live eternally.”
His gaze softened, and his voice struck a chord deep inside me.
“Interestingly enough, Jupiter’s fourth moon is named after Callisto. You can see it there.” He pointed to a star on the western horizon. “Just there, see? It’s a planet, so it doesn’t twinkle the way stars do.”
“I see it.” A chilly breeze gusted inside, and strands of loose hair tickled my nose. Morven drew his fingers along my cheek until he tucked the strands behind my ear. I rubbed my hands over my bare arms for warmth. He pulled me to him. His warmth surrounded me, and I breathed a contented sigh.
My tense shoulders relaxed as I stared out at the stars, at the Big Dipper forming the bear, the little dipper comprising the baby bear. I closed my eyes, and Morven’s story echoed in my head. The mother and son sent to live eternally in the sky—a place Zeus thought they would be safe.
Zeus did it to protect them. But what if that was a life they never wanted?
Crickets chirped a staccato cadence, and far in the distance came the hooting of an owl. Stars twinkled in the satin blackness of the universe. Morven’s gaze went to the sky, where he looked with fascination at the pinpoints of light burning millions of miles away.
“You’re lucky your world isn’t built with a shield. You can see the stars the way they’re meant to be.” He pointed to a bright star on the western horizon. “Venus,” he said. “The Mayans thought of it as the morning star, the sky god and the most powerful deity, as powerful as the moon or sun.”
I eyed him. “Where do you get this stuff?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re like an encyclopedia.”
“You forget I was stuck in a wheelchair for half my life. What else did I have to do but read every book available? Plus, I like astronomy.” He pointed to another group of stars. “You see the Big Dipper?”
“Yes.”
“It comprises Ursa Major. The story goes that Zeus was smitten by a nymph named Callisto. Zeus’s wife Hera got jealous, as she usually did, and she turned Callisto from a beautiful nymph into a bear. Later, Callisto birthed a son, the baby bear, or Ursa Minor.” I followed his finger to a smaller grouping of stars. “Hera was furious. She tried to kill Callisto and her son. Zeus found out what Hera was up to. To protect them, he placed them in the night sky to live eternally.”
His gaze softened, and his voice struck a chord deep inside me.
“Interestingly enough, Jupiter’s fourth moon is named after Callisto. You can see it there.” He pointed to a star on the western horizon. “Just there, see? It’s a planet, so it doesn’t twinkle the way stars do.”
“I see it.” A chilly breeze gusted inside, and strands of loose hair tickled my nose. Morven drew his fingers along my cheek until he tucked the strands behind my ear. I rubbed my hands over my bare arms for warmth. He pulled me to him. His warmth surrounded me, and I breathed a contented sigh.
My tense shoulders relaxed as I stared out at the stars, at the Big Dipper forming the bear, the little dipper comprising the baby bear. I closed my eyes, and Morven’s story echoed in my head. The mother and son sent to live eternally in the sky—a place Zeus thought they would be safe.
Zeus did it to protect them. But what if that was a life they never wanted?
Website-FB-TwitterTamara Grantham is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, the Shine novellas, and the Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB’S Book of the Year Awards, a RONE award for best New Adult Romance, and is a #1 bestseller on Amazon with over 200 five-star reviews.
Tamara holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Lamar University. She has been a featured speaker at multiple writing conferences, and she has been a panelist at Comic Con Wizard World speaking on the topic of female leads. For her first published project, she collaborated with New York-Times bestselling author, William Bernhardt, in writing the Shine series.
Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking nature walks--which fuel her inspiration for creating fantastical worlds--and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made. You can find her online at www.TamaraGrantham.com.
GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)a Rafflecopter giveaway
$25 Amazon gift card and two eBooks (Books One and Two of The Chronicles of Ithical.)
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Beautiful cover!
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