NEW RELEASE: Hearts in Exile by Mysti Parker

Yeah, that's me! The highly anticipated third book in the stand-alone Tallenmere fantasy romance series is finally here. Meet Loralee, the Dragon Keeper, and her lover, the handsome paladin Sir Robert. Those of you who read Serenya's Song will remember the pivotal role Sir Robert played in saving Summerwind and the entire world from a demonic invasion. Now, you can learn about his past and how Loralee helped him become the warrior he never thought he could be...







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Hearts in Exile

by

Mysti Parker

In Tallenmere, fate has a way of catching up with you...

Somewhere, hidden in the waters of the Southern Sea, lies an island unlike any other. Within the amber glow of its pyrogem-laden cliffs, legend says the very heart of the dragon god Drae keeps the island, and its occupants, alive.

Loralee Munroviel, daughter of Leogard's High Priestess Arianne, had no idea what she would face when she arrived by boat ten years ago and was left alone in exile. All she knew about Draekoria's inhabitants was written in one tattered notebook. Now, her life revolves around keeping Drae's descendants happy. Never in her life did she imagine being a Dragon Keeper.

Captain Igrorio Everlyn, known as Sir Robert to his unit of Holy Paladins, has faced his share of hell, battling the evils of Emperor Sarvonn's tyranny and the dark god Tyr's abominations. But none of that compares to the ten years of hell he's been without Loralee, presumed dead.

One freak storm changes everything. Now the two of them must fight to reestablish the delicate balance of the island before the dragons take things into their own hands. Through it all, they discover the secrets that kept them, and their hearts, exiled for a decade.

Available NOW at: 

http://www.melange-books.com/authors/mystiparker/heartsinexile.html

Coming to Amazon, B&N, and many other online book retailers later in June!

Excerpt  from Chapter Seven:

 Loralee, as daughter of the High Priestess, miraculously healed young Igrorio (Sir Robert) from his near-death experience during the Plague. His parents both died horrifically, and while he recovers in the Temple, Loralee is the only one who can lessen the weight of his grief...

I spent the next few days flipping through books without seeing the words. The only things I could picture were things I wanted to forget. The image of my father’s flesh melting from his face had been permanently etched into my eyes. I put down the books and paced when it became too much to bear.

Loralee often accompanied me to the Temple gardens and walked in silence by my side. Hummingbirds and butterflies flitted among blooms of every shape and color, but all I could think of was my mother and how much she loved flowers.

Other patients strolled along, some laughing, some crying, some muttering to themselves, and reminding me of Papa’s final days. They were all ages, various races. Survivors of the Plague with as uncertain an outlook as my own. I knew I couldn’t stay here indefinitely, but where would I go? I was too old to go into the orphanage, yet too young to be apprenticed in a trade, and I had no family; not even any distant relatives I could name.

The days were bad enough, but nights proved far worse. Unfamiliar sounds—crying and moaning from adjacent rooms, brooms swishing, strange chanting—all of it pestered my ears and kept me awake well into the night. When sleep finally claimed my exhausted body, nightmares rampaged through my mind. I’d shoot up in bed, gasping, clawing at sheets soaked in sweat. The rest of the night left me lying on my side, crying uncontrollably until the first pale streaks of dawn appeared beyond the glass overhead.

On one of those nights, Loralee came to me as I faced the wall and buried my face in the pillow to muffle the sound of my sobbing. I didn’t even realize she was there until she cleared her throat. I felt so foolish, like a helpless baby. But, she simply handed me a handkerchief and sat beside me. I wanted to yell at her to go away, but her quiet presence gave me comfort.

I rolled to my back, staring up at the silvery moonlight coming in through the glass in the ceiling.

“How do you ever get over losing someone?” I put a hand over the heavy squeeze that imprisoned my heart. “How do you heal this pain in your chest?”

She didn’t say anything for a little while, as though trying to find the right words. I’d heard people say things about faith and prayer and believing the gods had our best interests at heart, and I expected the same empty speech from Loralee.

“I think,” she said, “you just keep breathing. You take one breath, one minute, one day at a time and, after a while, it hurts a little less. But you never forget. The pain never goes away completely. I think you just learn to live with it.”

I met her gaze, and even in the dim light of my room, I saw tears glistening in her eyes. Caught off-guard by her compassion and the unexpected visit, I tried to come up with some kind of intelligent response.

“So, it’s like when our neighbor Reglyn lost his foot? He was inconsolable and a complete ass for a long while, but eventually, he hobbled around quite well and didn’t throw things at us.”

I caught the flash of her smile. “Yes, I think it may be very much like that.”

In this light, she looks rather pretty. A tight silk headwrap hid her hair, and she wore a silk robe, I guess to cover her nightgown, and clutched it together at her collarbone. I handed her the handkerchief, but she shook her head.

“No, you keep it. Listen, tomorrow morning, I want you to meet me in the Gardens bright and early. Eight o’clock sharp.”

“Why?”

“Something special. You’ll see.”

I nodded. She smiled and left me alone once again, but this time, sleep came more easily. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t dread waking up to a new day.

Available NOW at: 

http://www.melange-books.com/authors/mystiparker/heartsinexile.html

Coming to Amazon, B&N, and many other online book retailers later in June!