Title: Found: The Folk, Book 3
Author: Meg Benjamin
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
Some think she’s a monster. He thinks she’s the love of his life.
After she sent several men to the hospital, Dame Blanche Eva Winchester is learning to control her power. But she’s also bored to tears. Enter Prince Bertie, who offers her the chance to go undercover as a waitress in order to find out who’s attacking men in the parking lots of Folk-owned clubs. Bertie’s motives aren’t entirely innocent—he’s smitten by the lethal lady’s charms. But he and Eva discover the attacks are part of a more wide-ranging conspiracy, involving the very survival of the Folk.
As their investigations bring Bertie and Eva closer, Eva finds the downside of dating a prince, even one as yummy as Bertie. But when the prince is attacked, Eva swears to protect him. To overcome a ruthless enemy, the two must stage a last-ditch battle in the blizzard-ridden mountains. And this time they’ll need more than love and super strength to survive.
Excerpt:
Like most nights, only Moretti’s car and her own remained. She threw the purse strap over her shoulder to keep her hands free, moving from the illumination of the mercury lights to the dimness at the back.
She paused at her car door, flipping through her key ring. Okay, muggers, now’s your opportunity. Come and get me.
Something growled in the space beyond the lights.
At first, Eva thought she was imagining things. Monsters in the gloom were over the top. She opened the car door and dropped her purse on the seat, peering into the darkness.
“Is anyone there?” She tried to work a tremor into her voice, annoyed to discover it wasn’t difficult. Time to guts-up, Dame Blanche.
For a moment, the night was still. Then something gray detached itself from the darker atmosphere around it, moving steadily in her direction. Another moment and it had emerged completely—a large dog, sleek silver and black fur, jagged ears. Pointed teeth. Very pointed.
Eva stiffened, remembering all the things Reynard had told her. Avoid the teeth and claws—they might have venom. Don’t let it get close. Assume it’s here to kill you. She gathered her hands into fists, ready to throw the first of several power punches.
“I wouldn’t.” The voice came from behind her, and she turned.
Another shifter stood a few feet away, his eyes shining yellow in the moonlight. She recognized him from before. That made two. If they worked together, a third might be out there somewhere.
Well, sh*t. She’d trained for virtually every eventuality she could think of, but she hadn’t thought far enough. One shifter in animal form, the other still human. And a third waiting in the wings.
Which should she take on first? Would the human stay human? How quickly could they shift? And would the same tactics work on both?
She took a deep breath and tapped the ancient silver on her ring finger. “Ward,” she murmured. “And make it fast.”
Bertie was dozing when he felt the alarm. The ring burned against his skin, jarring him awake almost instantly and sending a jolt of guilt surging through his brain. He should have been awake. He should have been alert.
You should have been with her. That, most of all.
He made the two-block journey in something close to the speed of sound, pulling the Porsche to a stop at the entrance to the parking lot. He squinted toward the far end, where he could see Eva’s car. A pair of people circled there: Eva and a man.
And the man’s dog. His quite large dog. Sh*t.
Bertie leapt from the car and raced toward them. The dog went flying across the lot, landing on its four paws several feet away. Eva whirled to face the man, who was advancing toward her.
Bertie spun toward the dog and shouted the first thing that occurred to him, which happened to be a freeze spell he’d learned from the Barbegazi. The dog’s steps slowed as frost began to spread across its coat. Bertie ran back toward Eva and her opponent.
She was holding her own, buffeting the man with power blows administered from a distance. He snarled at her, moving slowly in her direction, battered but still upright.
Fu*k, he’s warded.
Bertie threw his hand up, sending a small bolt of lightning sizzling through the air in front of the man’s wards. For a moment he had an impression of outlines, the extent of the shielding.
Bertie raced toward them. As he ran, he muttered an unlocking spell. With any luck the shield was a simple one, and it didn’t extend too far. If he could lift it for a moment . . . “Hit him,” he yelled. The warded man took another of Eva’s power thrusts, only this one threw him onto his back and sent him skidding toward the edge of the lot.
Wards down. Yes! Bertie raised his hand, readying another lightning bolt.
The man staggered to his feet, staring back and forth between them, wide-eyed. Then he ran off into the darkness.
One done.
Bertie headed toward Eva again as another man stepped out of the darkness where he’d been hiding. Bertie recognized him—the shifter who’d grabbed Eva before. The man dropped to his hands and knees.
“Look out,” Bertie yelled, “he’s shifting.”
The shifter’s body elongated, legs and arms shortening. His head rose as the air seemed to shiver around him. Thick fur covered his arms and back, ripping his shirt to shreds.
“Bertie, look out for the other one,” Eva screamed.
He swiveled to find the frost-covered dog a couple of feet away. He looked like he was suffering, but he also looked like suffering wasn’t an obstacle for him. He dragged himself forward on frozen legs, opening his mouth to show a mass of sharp teeth.
Playing fair was no longer a concern. Bertie pulled his knife from his boot and threw it.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zLGsdw
If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
Always a witch. I love the idea of powerful old ladies who scare the hell out of the local establishment. Of course, I’m not quite as taken with the whole burning-at-the-stake thing, but like the T-shirt says, “We’re the descendants of the witches you didn’t burn.”
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
I had so much fun writing the Folk trilogy. I got to do a deep dive into fairy lore and then translate it into contemporary Colorado. If fairies were humans with a few special powers, where would they live, how would they behave, how would they keep their magic a secret? Found is the last book in the trilogy, which meant I got to revisit a lot of my favorite characters from Away and Unseen (but Found can also be read on its own). The hero of Found is one of those favorite characters, Prince Bertie—an actual prince of the Folk. Bertie was my chance to write a regency hero, since I’ll never write a historical romance myself. But he’s also a bit of a pirate swashbuckler who needs a heroine to match. Enter Eva, a Dame Blanche with a lot of lethal powers of her own. But the two of them are up against a deadly conspiracy, some do-or-die rebels ready to take down the Folk. Bertie’s not sure he has time for romance, but Eva’s more temptation than he can handle. It’s a fight to the end in a Colorado blizzard, and I enjoyed it so much I’m working on a second trilogy.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs October 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on November 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Her new cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.
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