Title: A Dance of Water and Air
Series: Elemental Magicae, Book One
Author: Antonia Aquilante
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Release Date: October 1, 2018
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 83600
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, fantasy, trans, magic, elements, court intrigue, arranged marriage, friends to lovers
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Synopsis
Edmund is heir to the throne of Thalassa
and a wielder of Water magic. Devoted to his kingdom and his duty to it, Edmund
can do nothing but acquiesce to an arranged marriage with the queen of a
neighboring kingdom. The marriage and the child it is required to produce will
seal an alliance between Thalassa and Aither that is vital to Thalassa’s
safety, and far more important than Edmund’s personal misgivings.
Arden is the younger brother of Aither’s
queen and a wielder of Air magic. Raised in the politics of the court to
support his sister’s rule, he understands the alliance is important to Aither,
even as he worries about his sister marrying someone she’s never met. When
Edmund arrives in Aither to prepare for the wedding, Arden is tasked with
helping him settle in at court. As they spend more time together, Edmund and
Arden develop a close friendship, then stronger feelings, but with Edmund’s
wedding approaching, they must hide their feelings, even from themselves.
When someone tries to assassinate the
queen, Edmund is blamed, and Arden rescues him before he can be executed for a
crime he didn’t commit. To prevent a war between their kingdoms and protect
them from a dangerous enemy, Edmund and Arden will have to discover who wants
to pit Aither and Thalassa against each other and mend relations between the
two kingdoms as they evade those searching for them—all while finding a way to
be together.
Excerpt
The Dance of Water and Air
Antonia Aquilante © 2018
All Rights Reserved
Chapter One
Edmund swam, long limbs slicing through
the clear, warm water. His mind quieted in the repetitive motion, in the
weightlessness and the comfort of being surrounded by his Element. Everything
washed away, leaving him calm and relaxed, the only time he ever was lately.
If only he could stay there.
He imagined it for a moment. Spending
his life swimming and sailing. All his time in the soothing embrace of the
water, or at the shore or bank, feeling Water’s power, learning to use its
magic. It was a lovely dream. A lovely, impossible dream. With that thought,
tension—the tension his morning swim had briefly dispelled—came flooding back.
He stopped swimming and flipped onto his back, closing his eyes and taking a
deep breath before letting it out in a long sigh.
The sigh had barely left him when he
heard the scrape of a shoe against stone. He bit back another sigh and flipped
over again to straighten and tread water in the center of the large pool. His
secretary stood on the tiled terrace. Peregrine knew better than anyone that
this time was Edmund’s and wouldn’t disturb him unless it was urgent. Disaster
or grave injury were top of the list.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Highness.” Peregrine
would never call him by name when someone else might hear, and Edmund would
never try to convince him otherwise. Edmund was far too aware of the dictates
of his own position. And far too grateful to have found a friend in Peregrine
to quibble overly about how they had to behave in public. “I apologize for
disturbing you, sir, but the king has called for you.”
A summons from Father certainly counted
as a valid reason to disturb him, especially with the rising tensions between
Thalassa and their neighbor, Tycen. It seemed Edmund would be cutting his swim
short this morning. He struck out for the terrace where Peregrine waited,
swimming with steady but unhurried strokes. He wouldn’t dawdle, but if there
had been reason to rush, Peregrine would have said.
Soon enough, he reached the terrace and
pulled himself up to sit on the edge. Peregrine handed him a towel. He wiped
his face first and stood to strip off his soaking wet swim pants and dry the
rest of him. Peregrine wouldn’t care about Edmund’s nudity, and he didn’t worry
that someone else would come upon them. The pool he chose for his swims wasn’t
the largest of the many on the palace grounds, but it was the most private. The
terrace they stood on was the only one that connected to the palace, and it was
shaded from view. The rest of the area was screened with trees and shrubbery.
The smaller terraces on the side opposite them were even more secluded. He’d
spent much time in the pool, which was fed by the same underground spring as
the rest of the palace waterways, and on the terraces over the years.
Once Edmund was dry, Peregrine handed
him the robe he’d left hanging over the back of a chair when he’d arrived. He’d
also left a book there—he’d been far too optimistic about his time when he came
down here, apparently. He thanked Peregrine and shrugged into the blue-green
silk. It was new, something he hadn’t really needed, but he liked the color
against his brown skin and the feel of the smooth, cool silk.
“Any idea what my father needs?” Edmund
stepped into his sandals and picked up his book from the table.
“None.”
He raised his eyebrow at Peregrine in
surprise. Edmund could always rely on Peregrine for more information than
seemed possible about everyone from the maids to the king. He’d long since
gotten over any misgivings about Peregrine’s seeming omniscience and begun to rely
on it. For Peregrine not to have an inkling of what was brewing… Odd. And
slightly disturbing.
“I guess we’ll find out.”
Not immediately, of course. A summons
through official channels called for more formality. Edmund couldn’t appear in
the king’s presence in nothing but a thin robe and sandals. Peregrine kept pace
as Edmund walked to his rooms, informing him of other court news and gossip
that he might find interesting or useful as they walked.
Edmund’s rooms were a floor up from the
garden pool. A guard stationed near the door jumped to open it for Edmund as he
approached. He nodded but didn’t slow as he sailed through the door, Peregrine
at his heels. His sandals made soft tapping sounds on the green and white tile
of the entryway. His sitting room opened up in front of him, curtains
fluttering in the breeze blowing in off the ocean below. He had no time to
relax there or even to eat the breakfast that was sure to be laid out in the
dining room. Instead, he turned left, taking the short hallway leading to his
bedchamber, dressing room, and bathing room.
He went directly to the bathing room.
Wide windows let in sunlight over the large tub, empty because he usually
bathed after breakfast. There was no time to fill it, let alone soak. He
settled for rinsing the salt from his skin with water from the basin and
briskly rubbed a towel over his shoulder-length hair. Having it drip all over
his clothing while he met with Father just wouldn’t do. When he’d squeezed as
much of the water from it as he could, he left the towel and went to the
dressing room.
Peregrine was there, laying out clothes.
“That isn’t your job,” Edmund said.
“I’m aware.”
“I can select my own clothing.”
“I’m aware of that as well. Put them on
anyway.”
Edmund laughed and did as he was told.
Peregrine was only saving him time and knew what would be appropriate for him
to wear, considering the meeting with Father and the day ahead. He pulled on
undergarments and slim gray pants and dropped a sleeveless white shirt over his
head. Peregrine held out a dark teal jacket for him, helping him shrug into the
embroidered silk. Edmund murmured his thanks and fastened the jacket over his
chest, fingers working quickly over the row of little silver buttons. When he was
finished, he stepped into shoes and fastened the silver and aquamarine drop
earrings Peregrine had just pulled from their box into his ears. It was the
only jewelry Peregrine had chosen, and as he looked in the mirror, Edmund had
to admit he was probably right in that. The clothing didn’t need more.
“Thank you,” Edmund said.
“My pleasure, Edmund.”
“Perhaps I should have you dress me
every day. You have an eye for it. Much better than anyone else. Do you think
you’d prefer it to being my secretary?”
Peregrine sent a stern frown at Edmund.
“Funny.”
It was, for any number of reasons. Only
one being that Peregrine was frighteningly efficient in his present position
and far too good at it to do anything else. In fact, he was far too skilled to
be anything except a royal secretary, and it was Edmund’s good fortune to have
him.
“Shall we?” Peregrine didn’t mention
that Edmund shouldn’t keep Father waiting, but he didn’t have to.
“Yes. Catch me up on any changes to my
schedule as we walk.”
Peregrine did so, barely consulting his
notebook. Edmund listened carefully as they left his rooms and strode through
the palace corridors. His own wing, reserved for the rooms of the royal
children, was quiet as it was only occupied by him and Kerenza. His sister
would still be abed—she preferred to rise late when she had the opportunity—and
he had no appointments that might bring anyone to his office until later in the
day. When they passed out of the wing, the entrance marked by a three-tiered
fountain decorated in mosaics of blue and green tiles, the corridors became
more populated. But everyone gave way for the prince and his secretary, bowing
as Edmund passed them.
Father’s office was near the council
chambers and other administrative offices in the main block of the palace. He
worked sometimes in the small private library attached to his rooms, but all
his official meetings took place here. If Edmund had any doubt that today’s
summons was serious and formal, it would have been dispelled by the location of
the meeting.
Peregrine knocked when they arrived, and
a moment later, the door was opened by Father’s secretary, who bowed and
stepped aside. Edmund bowed slightly as soon as he entered the room, then
walked closer to Father’s desk. Peregrine remained back near the closed door.
Father looked up from the papers he was examining to study Edmund with a keen
eye. Edmund was sure Father was cataloging every detail of his appearance from
his attire to his still damp hair.
Father was dressed formally, as Edmund
would expect. His jacket was green, heavily embroidered in gold and white, the
color vivid against his dark skin. The circlet of his rank sat on his head amid
black curls now streaked with gray. Edmund had not worn his own circlet,
deeming it unnecessary for the day he had planned; he hoped he wouldn’t regret
that decision. The set of Father’s features caused Edmund’s stomach to churn
unpleasantly.
“You called for me, Father?”
“Yes. Come sit down. I need to speak with
you.” The seriousness of his tone did nothing to alleviate Edmund’s sudden
concern.
Edmund took the chair across from
Father’s desk, hoping he properly concealed his anxiety. He’d been trained all
his life to mask every emotion, so he’d best be able to. He looked at Father
and waited for him to speak.
“As you know, we’ve been pursuing an
alliance with Aither,” Father said.
And, of course, Edmund did know, though
he hadn’t been involved in the negotiations. Aither sat at their western
border. Theirs was generally a friendly border to begin with, trade flowing
freely between the two countries, but Father and his council had hoped that the
looming threat of Tycen’s aggression might worry Aither’s young queen as much
as it had them and would tempt her into an alliance. Edmund hadn’t been
informed about the state of the negotiations in some time. Had they gone
horribly wrong?
“We’ve come to an agreement with Queen
Hollis.”
“You—” Edmund stopped. He’d been so sure
Father was going to say just the opposite that he couldn’t believe what he’d
heard. “That’s wonderful, Father. Did the final agreement go as you’d hoped?”
“We got what we needed from it.”
“Good.” And yet the relief Edmund
should’ve been feeling didn’t come. Father didn’t look as if he’d just concluded
a successful negotiation, didn’t look as if he was pleased by the outcome.
Or…no, not as if he was displeased, but too serious. “Is something wrong?”
“Not at all. However, the promises of
increased trade and mutual protection were not enough on their own to secure
the alliance we needed.”
Edmund wasn’t surprised, though he
hadn’t been privy to the particulars of what Father wanted, aside from Aither
standing with them should Tycen press their aggression. “What did they ask
for?”
“Queen Hollis and her advisors required
more assurance of our compliance, and truth be told, I wasn’t upset to have
more of theirs. They’re Air wielders, so they’re different from us, but Water
and Air are compatible. Even if I would have preferred an alliance with no
deeper entanglements.”
“Father?” A rush of cold spread through
Edmund’s veins.
“You and Queen Hollis will wed with the
expectation of a child being born within two years. The alliance will be
secured by blood and all the stronger for it.”
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Meet the Author
Antonia Aquilante has been making up
stories for as long as she can remember, and at the age of twelve, decided she
would be a writer when she grew up. After many years and a few career detours,
she has returned to that original plan. Her stories have changed over the
years, but one thing has remained consistent—they all end in happily ever
after.
She has a fondness for travel (and a
long list of places she wants to visit and revisit), taking photos, family
history, fabulous shoes, baking treats (which she shares with friends and
family), and of course, reading. She usually has at least two books started at
once and never goes anywhere without her Kindle. Though she is a convert to
e-books, she still loves paper books the best, and there are a couple thousand
of them residing in her home with her.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Antonia
is living there again after years in Washington, DC and North Carolina for
school and work. She enjoys being back in the Garden State but admits to being
tempted every so often to run away from home and live in Italy.
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