Before The Dawn | Vanirian Nights

Before the Dawn

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[Vanirian Nights]

This book, like MIND ME, is a stand-alone.

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House of Prithvi | Vishal Balor

House of Almartis | Xena Turmiel

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A witch with a niche for cultivating and weaponizing poisonous plants.

A dais prince abandoning ship.

Xena had been many things in her life, but powerful hadn't been one of them. Her coven was a dying thing, only thriving on the plants and vegetables that could be grown no matter the weather. At the age of 17, Xena was expelled from the Academy over spell-work that had been deemed illegal due to its requirement for blood. Elim, a schoolmate who told on Xena's misuse magic, was the first victim. Before the wards could be solidified against her at Midnight, Xena snuck back onto the sacred Academy grounds and killed her friend turned foe. She'd then slank through the barrier with mere seconds to spare, and Elim's death would forever remain a mystery. 

Maine, which attracted magical beings due to its protection against those that reign as deities in the sky, had been viewed as a clear punishment by Xena. She did not want to tend to the gardens. She did not want to set up tables with fresh produce or attend another wedding for the love-sick and hopeless. Selling to humans hadn't been the issue, it was all of those magical bastards that dared look down on Xena. A failure, a weak excuse of a witch, an ugly worm that belonged with the dirt. Tired of being the lesser being, Xena crossed over into faction territory, leaving behind beautiful Maine and climbing the ranks in New Hampshire instead. She'd planned to be something more than a lowly gardener.

Where power was concerned, Xena hadn't been capable of casting a single spell that didn't involve blood-magic, and her only active ability had been that of all witches in her coven. She could bring life to plants anywhere, no matter the season. Her problem? Every man she had ever loved betrayed her. The price of her heartache was, and forever will be, death.

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Vishal Balor had been many things in his life, but stupid hadn't been one of them. His people had fallen in line like leashed dogs, pledging fealty to the King of New Hylis with the promise that the entire world would be theirs. With each bended knee, more and more of Vishal's resolve had solidified, like magma meeting the sea. It wasn't in cowardice that he'd fled the ever-growing city of New Hylis, only a need for preservation. When his brother Varin abandoned his title and stepped down as the head of House Prithvi, Vishal had two choices. He could accept the title Varin had passed down to him, or he could abandon the meaningless thing and go with Varin. For Vishal, the choice was simple. Together, the brothers filtered out their inner circle until only loyalists to Prithvi remained. Leaving behind the title to their sister, Alana, and brother, Rellu, House Prithvi would divide. It was either kneel to New Hylis or leave, and Varin was not in the business of kneeling to anything.

Varin wanted to gain the trust and loyalty of human and faction-folk alike, using any remaining loyalists of House of Prithvi to do so. His brother Varin's first prospect had been Maine, home to the most defiant beings in the western hemisphere, an impossible conquest. The guardians there - the Elder's and their strange soldiers - had made entering the city impossible. The undead were not welcome much of anywhere, but Varin's ambitions never faltered, and Vishal's loyalty to House Prithvi would never be swayed.

A murderous witch and the bastard of night.

Fated to meet and yet doomed all the same.

Vishal had wanted power. He could not settle for a witch without any.

───※ ·❆· ※──────※ ·❆· ※──────※ ·❆· ※───

When I was writing BEFORE YOU, I had to stop and think where Alana and Rellu fit into all of this. Having them dais born felt like plot armor, especially since vampires were among the most hunted and hated (due to their ability to create mindless undead). Given that fact, there couldn't be a whole hell of a lot of them just hanging around, waiting to be brought into the story without any real meaning. When I was fleshing out the world of Vanir and all those connected to Mavrick, I had written a series of mini-stories, and that's when my favorite person ever, Vishal, was born.

(I seriously love him sm)

I hope you enjoy!