Read an excerpt from Broken Arrow by Azaria M.J. Durant (Excerpt & #Giveaway)


Welcome to my tour stop! Check out an excerpt and giveaway below...

Broken Arrow
(Darkened Destinay Saga #1)
By Azaria M.J. Durant
YA Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 380 Pages
July 29th 2018

Summary

An ancient power long kept dormant stirs in the shadows once more as one boy embarks on a quest to earn his freedom and the freedom of his world!

Magic has turned to myth, the Vaelhyreans of old to legend, and the power wielded by the ancients has long been forgotten. However, with Ealdred, a mere half-breed slave boy, myth becomes real, the forgotten remembered, and the power of legend is reborn within him.

Ealdred is merged into a world of mystery, brimming with deceit, where the remaining Vaelhyreans are in a desperate fight for their very survival. When Ealdred is kidnapped by the power-mongering dark lord Zeldek himself, he must make a choice; to commit his newfound magic to Zeldek’s service or die. But when he meets Bellator, clever yet treacherous servant of Zeldek, an alternative is presented to him: to escape from Zeldek’s stronghold and embark on a quest to find a cursed arrow and free the Vaelhyreans from the spell that keeps their powers at bay.

Yet how can he survive in a world where magic is illegal, half-breeds are hated, and the four countries are on the brink of war?

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Excerpt

Down on the grass, fingers in the soft dirt, I am unable to finish my pledge. A shock of cold rushes through my arms, gathering in my palms, and blue lightning flashes from the sky.  The ground around me explodes, throwing Ralcher back onto the cobbled path.  Rocks and dirt shower down on me, and I fling my arms over my head to shield myself.
Crack!
The sound is followed by muffled screams from indoors. Forgetting about myself, I look up toward the building. Although my vision is blurred, I can see that it is undamaged, which is more than I can say for the rest of the courtyard. The cobblestones have been ploughed up, the grass left in ravaged clumps, and the oak tree has been uprooted and thrown against the now crumbling wall that surrounds the estate.
My gaze falls to the ground close around me. Though scattered with dirt and stones, it is otherwise untouched.
The rain pours down harder than before.
Ralcher picks himself up off the ground, stumbling in a full circle before his mad eyes come to rest on me. “You did this!”
I shake my head, shocked. That feeling of exhaustion is taking me again, and I blink, trying to keep focus.
My voice is weak. “I didn’t.”
An insane glee takes hold of him. “You’re a sorcerer!”
            “No, I’m not. I swear!”
            “But you are! I saw your eyes glow. You’re a sorcerer!” He pauses, realization dawning. “You just tried to kill me.”
“No, please!” I cry desperately with aching lungs. “I didn’t!”
“This has gone too far, I’m afraid,” he says, and leaps over a mound in front of him, charging toward me.
Terror rips through me, giving me strength to run. I bolt for the wall, scrambling over turned-over boulders, dirt, and roots. Ralcher is close behind, but I manage to scale the wall before he reaches me. I leap down the other side, ignoring the pain prickling in my ankle as I stumble toward the opening of a nearby alleyway.
The world is spinning around me, but I manage to stay on my feet. I bump into the corner of the wall beside the alley before stumbling onto the dark, grimy pathway, clinging to the wall for support.
I’ve got to be invisible before the city guards start looking for me. As soon as they receive word of a sorcerer loose in the city, they’ll be after me. They’ll close the city gates until they catch me. There’s no way I can get out in time.
They will catch me, eventually. No matter what I say, they won’t believe that I’m not a sorcerer. Ralcher’s the son of a powerful lord. I’m a nobody.
Panic begins to creep in. Unless I figure out a way to escape the city, I’m doomed.

About the Author

Azaria M. J. Durant is a young, passionate writer of fantasy with plans to branch out into sci-fi and dystopian. She enjoys writing stories with action, adventure, unexpected plot twists, and fleshed out characters that challenge gender roles and expectations.

Azaria lives in Atlantic Canada with her family, cats, and dogs, and her big dreams to travel the world. In the moments when she isn’t writing, she is sketching concept art for her stories, participating in community theatre, or curled up with a good book and a bag of mint chocolates.


Tour-Wide Giveaway

2x eBook copies of Broken Arrow
Ends November 8th

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