Excerpt from Clans of Europa: Tina (Releases tomorrow--pre-order now)

 

The unwanted Nobek...

 “Your work shows the hidden depths of a man who doesn’t prefer to emote.”

Osopa paused. Uncertainty shimmered to the surface. “That has long been a failing of mine. I do feel. Strongly.”

His unwavering gaze hinted that it might be her he felt strongly for. Tina thought of how he’d run in after the Tragoom attack despite needing to be elsewhere, how he’d reached for her and Yorso. His emotional promise to keep them safe no matter what had been spoken with passion.

He was difficult, but not impossible, to reach. She edged towards him. “I won’t laugh if you express yourself. Or reject you. You can be open with me.”

He paused his packing to regard her. “You’ve been patient with how I’ve treated you. I could have behaved better.”

“You could have acted worse. There’ve been moments when you let me peek behind that formidable stoicism.”

He chuckled and began wrapping his last piece. “I used to be far more awful. Until Tukui, and later Yorso, I didn’t think I could share much with anyone. I’m supposed to be tough.”

“Because you’re the designated warrior? Or is there more? I sense a bigger story behind the strong, silent treatment.”

He paused before speaking again, his voice low. “It started when I was set aside by my parents.”

 

Releases tomorrow. You can pre-order now:

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To be loved is all Tina ever wanted. She never dreamed her prayers would be answered by the enemy.

Aspirant Tina Novak, living on Europa’s convent colony, has no place to call her own. First rejected by her father, now being sent away by Mother Superior, where can a young woman with no prospects go?

The question is delayed by a Kalquorian invasion that takes the aspirants and nuns prisoner. The enemy Kalquorians are teetering on the brink of an extinction disaster, and Earther women are always welcome spoils of war.

Chosen by the young and ambitious clan of Dramok Tukui, Imdiko Yorso, and Nobek Osopa, Tina can’t imagine what her shattered future might bring. When she discovers the gentler side of the fierce Kalquorians, her fear of them becomes fear of losing them.

Can it last? Or will they turn her away in the end, as everyone else has? When the war reaches its unthinkable, violent end, Earther and Kalquorian alike find their lives altered forever. With the lives of Tina’s most vulnerable family members at stake, she and Clan Tukui must set aside what they thought they wanted and embrace what’s possible.

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