Genre: Adult Fiction (Mythology/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: December 19, 2017
Publisher: CTP Pulse
Sold at the age of seventeen to the king of the realm, Ursula has spent the last four years serving as his submissive concubine. She has grown to love him with a fierce loyalty, but when he orders her to kill a spirited young girl, she simply cannot obey.Her master does not take defiance lightly, so Ursula must find the girl she spared and return her to the king—or lose her own head. Her search leads to the girl’s former employer, a handsome man who introduces Ursula to a world of experiences and freedoms she has never known. Though thrilling and intoxicating, she knows this new lifestyle is only temporary.She must finish her quest and return to her master…before this new, softer kind of love has her questioning everything.
I recoiled as he reached out and brushed my cheek with the tips of his chewed on fingers. “He has broken you.”
“What, my face?” I scoffed. “Poseidon is not responsible for this brutality. It was a trespassing whore that did this to me.”
His fingers trailed the length of my neck and stopped on my chest. “I'm not concerned with your superficial wounds. I can heal those in just moments. But, I’m afraid I can do nothing to heal your heart.”
I blinked back tears that burned in response to the unexpected directness of this prisoner. “You know nothing of the state of my heart, Chiron.”
“I know a great deal about it. It's collapsing, my dear Ursula.”
“How can you suggest such a thing? We have never had conversations with any degree of intimacy. You have nothing to draw such nonsense from.”
“There was a time when you had spirit on our visits. Once upon a time, there was a light in your eye. Now they are empty, stone cold, and void of anything at all.”
“It was the light of youth you speak of.” I shrugged. “I have aged. Not everyone may have the gift of immortality.”
“What are you now, Ursula? All but twenty?”
I nodded.
“Four years under Poseidon's reign has aged you drastically. You look to be thirty, at least. Look at you, dear thing.”
I stepped back — the impact of the insult had nearly toppled me. Who was he to make such an observation out loud? My head screamed to hurl hurt back at him, but my tongue was long ago tamed against such things. Poseidon had seen to that.
“What, my face?” I scoffed. “Poseidon is not responsible for this brutality. It was a trespassing whore that did this to me.”
His fingers trailed the length of my neck and stopped on my chest. “I'm not concerned with your superficial wounds. I can heal those in just moments. But, I’m afraid I can do nothing to heal your heart.”
I blinked back tears that burned in response to the unexpected directness of this prisoner. “You know nothing of the state of my heart, Chiron.”
“I know a great deal about it. It's collapsing, my dear Ursula.”
“How can you suggest such a thing? We have never had conversations with any degree of intimacy. You have nothing to draw such nonsense from.”
“There was a time when you had spirit on our visits. Once upon a time, there was a light in your eye. Now they are empty, stone cold, and void of anything at all.”
“It was the light of youth you speak of.” I shrugged. “I have aged. Not everyone may have the gift of immortality.”
“What are you now, Ursula? All but twenty?”
I nodded.
“Four years under Poseidon's reign has aged you drastically. You look to be thirty, at least. Look at you, dear thing.”
I stepped back — the impact of the insult had nearly toppled me. Who was he to make such an observation out loud? My head screamed to hurl hurt back at him, but my tongue was long ago tamed against such things. Poseidon had seen to that.
She also writes young adult romances under her pseudonym, M.E. Rhines.
To learn more about Mary Bernsen and her books, visit her blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
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