The King and the Criminal By Charlotte Ashe
The King and the Criminal
By Charlotte Ashe
Summary
The Heart of All Worlds series continues with Sehrys and Brieden living in Khryslee. But when King Firae is trapped by an ancient pact and Sehrys is forced to rule in his absence, Firae relys on an exiled criminal to get home. Meanwhile, a more urgent truth confronts them: Their world is in grave danger and they all play a part in its fate.
Excerpt
It came back to Firae like a cold fist slowly squeezing his heart, so slowly that he didn’t realize it was happening until the pain was overwhelming. He swallowed. They couldn’t avoid the truth. And he couldn’t bear another dishonest moment between them.
“Five months,” Firae said.
Tash made an inquisitive noise; his eyes never left Firae’s.
“I have five months to complete my mission. I promised to help Brissa, and I intend to keep that promise, but…”
“But we don’t know if we will fulfill the prophecy in time,” Tash supplied.
“The Doctrine has been compromised. The Border is unstable.”
Tash nodded. “I know.” His voice had grown very soft.
“If I don’t return with the elf responsible…” Firae forced himself to maintain eye contact rather than close his eyes and cower in the face of reality. For, whatever Tash might think, Firae was king of Yestralekrezerche, and The Border and its surrounding lands were his responsibility. “I can sacrifice tens of thousands of lives or I can sacrifice you, Tash. I—I don’t want to, but—”
Tash closed his eyes. “I know,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He swallowed thickly. “I know.”
Firae searched for anything else he could say, but everything that came to mind sounded hollow. It was true that the Council might show Tash mercy for his pure intent, but the amount of blood and essence they would need from him to restabilize The Border would likely be more than his body could withstand, even if they did wish to spare him. So Firae just watched Tash until he opened his eyes again.
“I know,” Tash said one final time, looking at Firae with such resignation that it was painful to witness. And then Tash turned to face the wall with his arms wrapped tightly around himself. Firae moved to fit behind him and wrapped an arm tentatively around Tash’s waist.
“I would like you to go back to your own quarters now,” Tash said firmly.
“Tash—” Firae began to protest.
“Just go, Firae. Please.”
Firae swallowed around a lump that had found its way into his throat and slowly removed his arm. “Of course. I…” There was nothing left to say. “Goodnight, Tash.”
Tash didn’t say anything.
Character Bio
Hello, and thank you so much for having me! I’m excited to be here!
A bit about me: I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and it has always been a passion of mine. In recent years, I decided it was time to seriously pursue it. My first novel, The Heart of All Worlds, Book 1: The Sidhe was published in 2015, and The King and the Criminal is the second book in the series. It is a love story at its heart, about Firae, an elfin king, and his uneasy alliance with Tash, a criminal he was supposed to bring to justice, but ends up caring about in a way he never anticipated.
The Basics:
What is your character’s name? Does the character have a nickname?
Firae: My name is Rigday Firae efa es Alovur Drovuru Feririar, Silerth Valusidhe efa Ferban Gira efa es Alovur Drovuru Feririar ala es Fervishlaea efa esYestralekrezershe.
Tash: Or you can just call him Firae. That’s his nomkin–his short name. What you might call a nickname. I have a long elfin name too, but for the sake of you humans, I’ll keep it simple: my nomkin is Tash.
Firae: I would prefer Your Majesty, actually, if my full title presents a problem.
Tash: Of course you would.
What is your character’s hair color? Eye color?
Tash: Firae’s hair is as black as the night itself, and his eyes are nearly indescribable: dark wine and autumn leaves lit up by the sun.
Firae: Tash’s hair is the color of fire. Gold, orange, and crimson. His eyes are the brightest and most vibrant leaf-green you will ever behold.
Where was your character born? Where has he lived since then? Where does he call home?
Tash: I was born in the Lower Midlands of Laesi, in a small rural feririar. But since my exile, there has been no place that I have truly called my home. I spent quite a few years in the border cities of Villalu, but that was never home. The closest I have come to a sense of home is Ryovni, but I have no idea how long that might last.
Firae: I was born in Alovur Drovuru, the royal feririar and capitol of Yestralekrezerche, or what you might call the Eastern Border Lands of Laesi. I was raised there by my mother, a queen of Laesi, and I was crowned king of Yestralekrezerche upon her untimely death. The Great Hall at Alovur Drovuru is and shall always be my home, no matter how far I may wander.
When has your character been in love? Had a broken heart?
Firae: I was betrothed for many years. I waited for him even after everyone told me he could not possibly still live, after the customary grieving period had long since passed. But they were all wrong: he did live, and he returned. But when he returned his heart belonged to another. I loved him; of course I did. But he did not break my heart. He could not. I am a king of Laesi. He may have left my heart bruised, but none can break me.
Tash: I was married, before my exile. I loved my husband very much. But he did not love me; he took another man into our bed, and turned his back on me when I was arrested for my crime. I still bear the scar on my chest—the divorce scar where my marriage tattoo used to lie. A healer in the border cities once told me he could heal the scar for a fee, but I refused. It is a reminder of all that I have lost, and sometimes it feels as if that which I have lost is truly all that I have to hold on to.
Fun & In-Depth Questions:
Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Does he wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Is he in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or is he wearing a pair of blue and gold slippers knitted by his grandmother?
Tash: My feet are bare. My feet are nearly always bare. It is preferable that way, for a sidhe, unless one has access to living fibers spun by the earth weavers. To place anything—even human boots—between one’s feet and the life force of the world is to cut oneself off from all that is. Few sidhe would ever choose such a thing.
Firae: My feet are clad in boots made from living fibers. They are the finest boots in all of Laesi, no matter what Queen Alqii may claim. The earth weavers of the Lower Midlands are nothing compared with those of the Eastern Border Lands. The soles of my boots are tough and self-repairing, made from the woody outer stem of the srechelee flower-tree, their uppers from silken marsh plants near the shores of the Khryslean Sea. They are boots fit for a king, and I would expect nothing less.
When your character thinks of her childhood kitchen, what smell does he associate with it? Sauerkraut? Oatmeal cookies? Paint? Why is that smell so resonant for her?
Tash: sidhe kitchens vary quite a bit from those in human homes. Most of our food is plucked from branches or from the grass beneath our feet. But we do have gathering rooms: rooms for mixing and arranging food, for making tea and potions and preserves. For sitting together and sharing a meal. My mother was the healer for our feririar when I was growing up, and so our gathering room always smelt of potions and poultices. There was a particular tea my mother used to make, for many ailments, and I would often take a cup at night, even when I was in perfect health, just for the comfort it offered. Its smell was warm and woody and slightly floral, and whenever I smell something that resembles that tea even slightly, I feel a pang in my chest and I long for the home I left behind.
Firae: There are what you might call kitchens in the Great Hall, for the preparation of feasts, but I rarely stepped foot into them, and most meals were gathered from the garden. Outside the dining hall window was the sweetest honeysuckle I have ever tasted in my life, and when it bloomed its scent would fill the Hall. My mother and I would always become excited for honeysuckle season—while it was true that we could grow it ourselves using magic, we could never manage a plant as sweet as that one.
I still think of her whenever I smell honeysuckle, though after she died, that particular honeysuckle plant never smelled or tasted quite as sweet again.
Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for her to throw out? What is difficult for her to part with? Why?
Firae: I am not familiar with this concept—“Spring cleaning.” I assume it is a strange human custom of some sort?
Tash: Or perhaps a custom of those who do not live the pampered life of a royal.
Firae: From your rude tone I glean that it is something the Common caste practices as well?
Tash: It is. We clear away that which we no longer use or want, to make room for new things to enter our lives. I imagine your servants do it, even if you are unaware.
Firae: They do seem to bustle about with exaggerated vigor at the start of spring.
Tash: Sidhe do not attach meaning to objects in the way that humans do, though. At least not to the same degree. But there are things I would not wish to throw away if I still had them: My father gave me a picture book as a child; it showed creatures from lands far beyond Laesi. I loved that book more than any toy. And my brother made me a small sculpture of the goddess M!Ferauvise out of colored glass. I cherished it. But I lost everything when I was exiled, and now, there is no object with which I would not part.
Firae: I suppose there are many things I would find difficult to dispose of: My mother’s robes and jewelry. My cape of flowers. My grimchin whistle—it was whittled by The Speaker of the Hive herself, more than five centuries ago. I would, however, be happy to part with most of my useless trinkets. I appreciate gifts from my subjects, of course, but there are only so many dancing vines and woven flower dolls that a king can manage.
FOLLOW THE TOUR!
About the Author
Charlotte Ashe works in the nonprofit world by day and writes romantic fantasy by night. A long-time fan of speculative fiction that skews feminist and features LGBT characters, Charlotte loves writing stories that are sexy, heartfelt, and full of magic and adventure. She has put her BA in literature and creative writing to use over the years as a writer of fan fiction, and her most popular work has drawn more than one million readers worldwide, been translated into several languages, and been featured in online publications including The Backlot. Her first novel, The Sidhe, was published in 2015 by Interlude Press and named a finalist for a Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award.
The King & The Criminal will be published by Interlude Press on December 8, 2016. Connect with author Charlotte Ashe at CharlotteAshe.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/charlotteashewrites and on Twitter at @CobwebsandAshes
Category Fiction, Romance, LGBT, Epic Fantasy, Gay
BISAC
FIC009090 FICTION / Fantasy / Romantic
FIC009020 FICTION / Fantasy / Epic
FIC027190 FICTION / Romance / LGBT / Gay
ISBN (Trade) 978-1-941530-86-3
ISBN (eBook) 978-1-941530-87-0
Publication Date December 8, 2016
Trim 6×9 Trade
Pages 296 (81,450 words)
Price
$17.99 print/$6.99 multi-format eBook
Publisher Interlude Press
Cover Design CB Messer
Contact
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