Dark Fire is releasing on June 12th! Woot!
While we wait, I’ll be sharing the first chapter with you. Today, we see the first scene.
Dracheons prided themselves on having two things – honor and absolute control.
Dare was a being of honor. He didn’t lie, didn’t cheat, fought fiercely yet fairly, had earned everything he possessed.
What he lacked was control. His humanoid side couldn’t restrain his inner Drache. The beast was too strong, always prowled at the surface, was visible to all.
Dare stood at the top of the Refuge’s white stone walls where he wouldn’t be disturbed. The space was quiet, occupied only by one guard—a friend.
Squaring his shoulders, Dare held up his silver scale-covered fingers. That would be his focus, his everything. He shut down his other senses, narrowed his view to the tip of his right index finger.
His beast fought him, snarling, clawing, clinging to its position. He ignored that part of him, concentrating on the curve of a single scale.
The Drache became bored and gradually retreated deeper inside him. His scales faded from view.
Expanding his sphere of awareness, Dare observed the blue of the sky, the heat of the sun’s rays. His skin remained human-like.
He could do this. Satisfaction flared within him. He would learn to restrain his beast and would no longer be seen as an outcast among his kind. His fellow Dracheons would accept him, would welcome him back to his home planet.
His mate, whoever she was, would be proud to claim him as her male. When he finally found her, she would gaze at him with warm admiration, with lust, with caring. He—
Carinae E’s arid breeze blew over him, bringing with it the scent of blood. It was faint yet strong enough to provoke his Drache.
The beast roared, surging to the surface, prepared to fight, to maim, to kill. Dare’s scales shone, lit by the solitary sun.
He’d lost control. Again. Fraggin’ hole. He curled his fingers into fists, frustration flaying him.
He was running out of time. His female was somewhere on the small outlaw planet. They would eventually meet and his instincts would drive him to bond with her.
Mating was savage and extreme. It provoked even the most docile of Draches.
His much more primitive beast would tear her apart. He grimaced, staring down at the beings swarming around the Refuge’s main gates.
Dracheons’ emphasis on control existed because in the ancient past, precious females had been killed during the mating process.
Dare, a genetic throwback to that time, had been the focus of debates. Some believed he should be put to death. Many, including his parents, supported a movement to ban him from ever mating and possibly passing his affliction on to his offspring. All had considered him to be an outcast.
That made it easier for him to leave the planet undetected and travel to Carinae E. His Drache had located its mate. It would not be denied.
He was her male. He could also be the being who would cause her death. Hoping not to find her, yet driven to look, Dare searched the crowd below him.
All of his senses, including his vision, were more enhanced than any human’s. He studied every female’s eyes, lips, other facial features, seeking to feel something, anything.
He experienced only relief. She wasn’t one of the newcomers. The identity of his mate, the female he’d traveled across the universe to meet, continued to be unknown.
He had more time to learn how to master his beast.
Before trying again, he would fight, burn off some of his excess energy. On Dracheon, physical confrontations were frowned upon. In the Refuge, they were embraced.
Especially if the skirmishes were with the Humanoid Alliance.
A group of those males approached the main gates, guns in their hands. The Humanoid Alliance had tortured many of Dare’s friends, the fellow warriors guarding the Refuge. The humans weren’t welcome in the settlement, knew that, were clearly planning to create trouble for Balvan, the giant green male positioned at the entrance.
Dare leaned forward. The males would give him the fight he yearned for.
Balvan can handle those males. Kralj, the settlement’s all-knowing, all-powerful Ruler, pushed that thought into his head. The modified humanoid monitored the thoughts, speech, and actions of everyone within his wide range. He was aware of the situation. Meet me in my working chambers. Now.
Duty called. Dare perused the activity before him one more time, noting the newcomers. None of them belonged to him, and for that, he was grateful.
Read the next installment (Available May 21st): http://tasteofcyn.com/?p=6389
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Dark Fire
What the Beast wants, the Beast gets.
Dare’s savage nature has made him an outcast among his kind. The silver-scaled Dracheon warrior can’t control his inner beast. It’s too strong. When his primitive instincts told him his destined mate was on Carinae E, he had no choice. He had to travel to the outlaw planet. There, he hoped to meet a female powerful enough to survive his Drache.
He finds Faylee, a delicate little human.
Faylee is the best thief on the planet. Everyone she encounters mistakes her for a young boy…except for a tall, shiny warrior from off-planet. When she gazes into Dare’s flame-filled eyes, he makes her feel, for the first time, like a desirable female. The fire-breathing male has her yearning for hot kisses, fierce embraces, and a future filled with love. She doesn’t realize mating with him might be the last thing she ever does.
Dare’s beast isn’t the only danger on the planet. An enemy from the past has returned and he’s determined to stop Dare and Faylee…permanently. They’ll need luck and the assistance of every warrior in the Refuge to stay alive.
Dark Fire is a STANDALONE SciFi Romance set in a gritty, dark world.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Fire-Refuge-Book-4-ebook/dp/B07CW2Y8B7/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Fire-Refuge-Book-4-ebook/dp/B07CW2Y8B7/
Apple/iTunes : https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-fire/id1381353384
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-fire-cynthia-sax/1128614574
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dark-fire-22
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/824382
