Title Of Book: Troy
By: CL Schneider
Genre: Fantasy
Sub-Genre: Action/Adventure, Sword & Sorcery

Blurb:

Can a man born a slave change his destiny with one secret mission?

Born of the Shinree, an enslaved fallen race, Ian Troy is magically bound to protect the kingdom of Rella. Since childhood, he trained to be their champion in a seemingly never-ending war. Called to the battlefield a brash young man of seventeen, Troy is anxious to show off his prowess with both magic and blade. He believes his role is vital to the realms of Mirra’kelan finally knowing peace.

Only, war is nothing like he thought.

After a year of being mistrusted and shunned simply for the blood in his veins—his magic restrained by an authoritarian queen—Troy has grudgingly learned his place. He follows orders and suffers their abuse in silence because the cost of insolence is a chain around his neck.

When Queen Aylagar handpicks him for a mission deep inside enemy territory, he thinks his time has come. Fate willing, he will prove to them all: Ian Troy is more than the “witch” they believe.

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Excerpt

There were mutters of “My Queen,” as Aylagar approached. Eyes were lowered, heads were bowed. Those of us close enough to realize she walked among us, all moved to get down on one knee.

Aylagar halted our action with a lift of her hand. “As you were.”

She waited, letting us re-settle into place, then was on the move again, winding between the nearest fires, circling around.

Aylagar completed one, two, three thoughtful laps, inspecting us in silence. The quiet broke with her firm call. “Listen up!”

Spoons were put down, bowls and mugs lowered.

“I need four volunteers. The assignment will take you away from the fight for some time, but it could provide critical intelligence to our enemy’s campaign. I won’t lie to you,” she added, quickly, something that was never a thought in our minds. Aylagar was brutally honest in her words. “Neither the difficulty, nor the danger, is to be taken lightly.” She started her fourth lap. “But, I believe, it has a high prospect of success if handled correctly by all involved.”
Her boots sloshed in the muck behind me. I hunched my shoulders and dropped my head, trying to make myself look small and unimportant. Others did the same though most puffed out their chests, wanting her attention.

The man beside me grunted, noticing my attempt and knowing it was in vain. I bore the conspicuous markings of my people: hair and eyes white as bone. There was no hiding from her or anyone.

He threw me a sneer and mouthed, “Coward.”

I said nothing, but the word pricked at my temper. I’d proven myself countless times, and he knew it. They all knew it. Odds meant nothing to me. I wasn’t afraid to fight or die. Death could come for me tomorrow, and I’d try like hell to take him down with me. Just not tonight.
Tonight, I was tired to the core and sick as hell. My body was weak and trembling. I needed food, and a quiet place to tend to my illness. The former was the only reason I was at the fire, awaiting my turn to eat. If I thought I had the strength to hike out of camp to tend the latter, it would have been done by now. I wouldn’t be here squatting in the mud, trying to disappear.

Gods, just this once. Make me less noticeable.

Make her choose faster.

Aylagar went on speaking, but I didn’t have the focus to listen. Her voice had turned hollow and distant over the pounding of my heart.

Come on, goddammit. Pick someone.

The faster the queen got what she needed, the faster her exhausted troops could eat and bed down for the night. The quicker I could sneak out past the sentries, find someplace remote, and cast. If I can last that long.

I squeezed my hands into tight fists.

Sweat drenched my skin despite the cool night air.

Tighter…
The skin broke on my palms. Blood welled under my nails.

Tighter…

Red trickled off my hand into the mud. I tried to focus on the pain, but I was too far gone.
The tremors were too deep in me, too long unanswered. Only one thing would stop them.
Magic.

My pulse skipped as I yearned for the relief, the pleasure.

I can’t keep going like this, so long in between spells.

I didn’t want to hurt anyone. But I would if I didn’t cast soon.

Only, she was still talking, still circling. Still watching.

And I was running out of time.

Waiting much longer would lead to me doing something reckless, like standing and walking away without permission. If I do, it will be the end of me.

Being Shinree meant I wasn’t free to act of my own accord. It meant following orders and not drawing attention to the poorly veiled lie of my existence: I was far from free.

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Meet CL Schneider

C. L. Schneider is an award-winning author of immersive fantasy fiction, including The Crown of Stones Trilogy and the Nite Fire Series. While fantasy is her main focus, she also pens the occasional horror or apocalyptic tale. Born in a small Kansas town, Schneider resides in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley Region with her husband and two sons. To learn more about the worlds she creates, please visit her website http://www.clschneiderauthor.com or connect with C. L. Schneider on social media, where she is an active part of the indie author community.

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Connect with CL Schneider

Website: http://www.clschneiderauthor.com/
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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-l-schneider
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7704723.C_L_Schneider

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