“Whoa.” Ember glided back and raised her hands. “Noted. Don’t touch the hip.” She did, however, offer Cheyenne support to get to her feet. Then the halfling turned slowly around to watch every other magical in the Heart staring at her in stunned silence.
Yep. Everyone thought I would die today.
Maleshi stepped forward and cleared her throat, then turned to address the witnesses gathered in the courtyard. “Ba’rael Verdys, the Spider Crown of Ambar’ogúl, has met the final deathflame. The new Cycle has turned today. It moves for Cheyenne Summerlin. The Black Flame of Ambar’ogúl. The new Crown.”
Ba’rael’s soldiers fell to their knees as one, their metal axes and swords and maces clinking against armor as they bowed their heads. One by one, the members of the Four-Pointed Star did the same. Some of them closed their eyes. Most had recovered from their shock and now grinned at Cheyenne, nodding and thumping their hands and feet against whatever metal was within reach.
Byrd and Lumil shoved each other until they were both on their knees. Corian thumped a fist to his chest and knelt as well. Persh’al and Venga both did the same, until finally it was just Maleshi standing in front of Cheyenne and Ember.
The general pressed her fist to her chest as well and held Cheyenne’s gaze. “May the Black Flame reign.”
“May the Black Flame reign.” The echoing response rose from every mouth in the courtyard.
Maleshi raised an eyebrow at Cheyenne as she lowered herself to one knee and nodded.
“Okay, so we have two options here,” Ember muttered.
“What’s that?”
“I can either bow like everyone else and drop you and we’ll all be on our knees, or I can keep holding you up like this so everyone thinks you can stand on your own.”
“You know what, Em? I’m sure a Nós Aní is exempt from the whole ‘bowing to the new Crown’ rule.”
“Okay, sure.” Ember nodded and tightened her hold on her friend. “We’ll just stand here, then.”
“Yep.” Cheyenne grimaced and tried to ignore the pain flaring through her body. “I guess we have a little time to let it all sink in.”
The fae snorted. “The Black Flame, huh?”
“Shut up. You know it’s badass.”
“For sure.” Turning to meet Cheyenne’s gaze, Ember grinned. “May the fucking Black Flame reign.”
Cheyenne's adventures don't end here. Join her as her story continues to unfold in The Drow Hath Sent Thee.
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Dark Is Her Nature
For Hire: Teachers for special school in Virginia countryside.
Must be able to handle teenagers with special abilities.
Cannot be afraid to discipline werewolves, wizards, elves and other assorted hormonal teens.
Apply at the School of Necessary Magic.
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON RETAILERS AND IN KINDLE UNLIMITED!
The Magic Compass
If smart phones and GPS rule the world - why am I hunting a magic compass to save the planet?
Austin Detective Maggie Parker has seen some weird things in her day, but finding a surly gnome rooting through her garage beats all.
Her world is about to be turned upside down in a frantic search for 4 Elementals.
Each one has an artifact that can keep the Earth humming along, but they need her to unite them first.
Unless the forces against her get there first.
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Author Notes - Martha Carr
July 20, 2020
I’ve been working with my old trainer from Chicago – over Zoom. One of the strange benefits of a very strange year. Laura was my favorite trainer I’ve ever run into because she bothered to research physical hindrances I had with credible sources and came up with creative solutions. They were challenging without being dangerous and lead to progress. Never had anyone before or since tailor something to me that much and so effectively. Also, she’s got a wicked sense of humor, which is a big plus.
It turns out Laura has added a new element of mindfulness around exercise. I’ve been practicing mindfulness around food for a couple of years now and it’s changed the way I eat in ways I didn’t think were possible. Basically, the short version is that I became more aware of whether I liked what I was eating or not (you’d think that would be obvious but turns out, nope) and whether I was hungry or full.
I wondered when I started that journey just how much it could change decades old habits. Turns out, it could change them to the point where I can actually eat just one. And I quit doing the old seesaw of eating perfectly or throwing caution to the wind.
How do you do all that with exercise? When we started, I had no clue.
I’m kind of all or nothing with exercise too and generally, I don’t like it most of the time. There are aspects of it I like and certain exercises I like more, but how do I get to mindfulness? (Laura likes to say there are certain exercises I dislike less. Semantics.)
Some of my instructions have been to use a short meditation before I start working out. To take an approach of building at a moderate pace to something. To make up a list of ways to blow off steam – the naughty list – so I already know what I’d like to do on days that running seems like too much. (Actually build in that there will be those days and be ready, instead of acting like maybe this time that won’t happen). And to make a list of the exercises I like – or dislike less till there are sixty or more for me to choose from.
Mind blown. So obvious but I never saw any of this before. Makes me think that there’s a chance I could learn to incorporate regular exercise in my
