Title: Taking Medusa
Author: S.M. McCoy
Genre: Romantic Fantasy Adventure
Publisher: Broken Books
Book Blurb:
My blood can cure death, but it can also be the deadliest poison on Earth, and the gods will try to kill me just for existing.
Hades wants me to join him. Zeus is still bitter about an age-old prophecy that the dark gods, the monsters of Tartarus, will rule Olympus. And Poseidon is the key to everything, maybe even my heart, but his son, Triton, rules Atlantis, and I accidentally killed his daughter, Coraline.
All I know for certain is the gods have mistreated us ‘monsters’ long enough, and I’m yanking through the ribbons of fate to change my history before I’m beheaded all over again.
My name is Alessandra, most call me Aless, and I had no idea my family was more than just superstitious, they were hiding me from the gods, and lying about who I was.
I was Medusa.
And now that the gods have found me… I’m destined to die.
Excerpt:
A slow smile lifted the corner of his mouth. Under different circumstances the action could have been considered handsomely cheeky, something that would have got me excited about what he had planned. Anxious energy filled me, and I shifted on the bed.
He nodded once, and then lifted his coffee mug in challenge. Taking a sip, he then moved around the kitchen island to open a closet on the other side of the room. Still carrying his mug, he reached in and grabbed a suit and headed to the bathroom. Returning clothed in his new outfit, I sucked in a breath at the sight of him. The air scratched my throat and I coughed, bringing his attention to me. He glanced up from adjusting his cuffs, a regular high-society prince. His blue eyes twinkled, he knew exactly how he affected me.
“Not many escape the sea as you have, but it seems though it valued your life, it didn’t value your comfort. Why is that?” I opened my mouth to respond, but he lifted his hand to silence me at the door. Hovering in the door frame he added with a sigh, “It’s not the correct question. The why is predictable, because it is intriguing. Intriguing enough to keep you alive,” he tapped the door with his palm, “perhaps,” he said more to himself than to me then he stared me down to instruct, “Find some clothes and join me outside.”
The door closed behind him, and I was so distracted with his deep blue eyes I missed seeing his hand grab the handle making the whole action seem as if done by a phantom.
Did I have any choice other than that door? Searching the small studio, there were no windows in the bathroom, so it really was stay in this room or join him outside.
Tugging on the hem of his top, I wrung the edges nervously. Was I only going to dress for my execution, or did what he say give me hope that the king would keep me alive because the sea did? The closet only had a few items, he was a man of simple needs it seemed. I ran my hands over the fabrics of a few suits, similar to the one he was wearing, almost like a uniform, albeit a fancy uniform. And he was probably the only man who decided to hang up a pair of ripped black jeans, and a plain white cotton shirt next to it. A stark contrast to the rest of the attire was a sparkling champagne colored dress, this was probably what he was referring to when he asked me to get dressed. As it was the only female clothing available, making me wonder if it belonged to his girlfriend. I didn’t find any other evidence of him living with another person, but the place was sparse, so a lack of evidence wasn’t evidence of a lack of co-habitation.
The dress was beautiful, but a bit too revealing on top for meeting my fate. I grabbed the large white, button-up shirt, switching it out for the black pajama shirt, then slipping the champagne-colored sparkles over it. Layers never hurt anyone, and the dress cinched in the extra fabric of the shirt made to cover the large shoulders of the man who most likely waited for me just outside that door. I smoothed out the shirt’s wrinkles under the dress, and actually thought the combination looked presentable, toning the evening wear down to a more comfortable casual that I wasn’t offended by. Better than having my chest on display with the plunging neckline his girlfriend was okay with showing off.
I slipped on the heels underneath, and forced myself to open the door.
My escort took in my choice to borrow his shirt and seemed amused, but didn’t say a word until we made it to what I assumed was a throne room. Considering it did indeed have a throne, made of gold no less, and happened to be filled with elegantly dressed people on either side of the large hall.
At the center, sitting on a golden stair that led up to the throne with his fingers steepled to the crease between his brow, was a white-haired man wearing nothing but golden armored greaves, and boots. His elbows on his thighs, he did not appear to be ready for an audience, either in deep thought, or distressed by the loss of his daughter. I assumed this man was the king I was to be presented to.
Walking down the aisle with my escort at my side, the king lifted his head, and all eyes were on me as I was announced to the room.
“Conqueror of the Coral Sea, Maiden Alessandra, and her escort Sentinel of the Atlantic, Dion.”
So much for them not knowing about killing Coraline. I was pretty sure Triton named his daughters after the seven seas, if my knowledge of myths was accurate, and that kind of introduction was puzzling to say the least. Conqueror could be seen as a compliment, but the way the king sat there, not in his throne, only served to heighten my nerves. When he lifted his blue eyes to greet me, I was surprised to see his features that would have made me think he wasn’t older than thirty. His white hair was cropped short, unlike what any mythical portraits of his likeness have shown long hair and a bushy beard. He did have some blue-tinted shadow of a goatee, but not what I would have expected when meeting the king.
My sentinel escort, Dion, his name glided in my mind like a sin, but I pushed the thought out of my mind as he bowed his head to the king.
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Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6NXSN7X
Amazon CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C6NXSN7X
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6NXSN7X
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Author Biography:
S.M. McCoy is a mom of two tiny humans in training, narrates audiobooks for fantasy/sci-fi indie authors, and when she isn’t writing (which is MOST of the time) you can find her consuming copious amounts of coffee, promoting indie authors, reading alien smut, fantasy, sci-fi and romance books, chowing down on Indian butter chicken, and when she actually hangs out with people in person, in real life, outside of the internet, (gasps) she’s playing board or card games. All around nerd, lover of the strange, and all things fantastical.
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