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Happy Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day Event!

The Following is an Excerpt from Rebecca Ethington’s Burnt Devotion. The fifth book in the #Imdalind series, due out March 22^nd and up for pre-order now.

Everything below is copyright Rebecca Ethington 2015, unedited and subject to change

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“Wynifred?” Thom’s voice drifted from behind me in a wall of worry that froze me in place, my hands hovering over the lid to a heavy wooden chest that I didn’t remember.

I tried not to let his tone dig into me, tried not to let the deep concern that lined his face bring about the confusion that I had been fighting.

But it did anyway.

It did because it was the same calm face he always had, the same calm eyes that I had fallen in love with all those years ago. The look pulled at my heart, the broken shard so raw and jagged after losing Talon, the shards trying so hard to place themselves back together, the emotion only growing the more that I was around him.

I bit my lips together in an attempt to keep the emotion inside and went back to digging through the belongings that I had hidden in the back of the room.

“What are you looking for?” Thom tried again, the soft sound of his footsteps echoing around me as he moved closer.

“Her blanket.” I said simply knowing I didn’t have to elaborate.

Thom said nothing, I only heard the sharp intake of his breath before he walked beside me, walking right up to an old trunk that had been hidden in the back, the top lifting before he even reached it.

“I had the other one on my bed in the cave in Italy,” Thom said as he lifted the old blanket from the trunk the heavy woven fibers as bright as the day the travelers had given them to her. The nomads doting over her hair, and the way her internal flame glowed. “To always keep her close. Keep you close.” 

His voice was soft as it rolled into me, and I couldn’t help it, I collapsed into him, his arms wrapping around me as he covered us with the old blanket, wrapping the edges around us and trapping us together.

“I know it’s hard,” Thom whispered, “But I will help you through this.” 

“I thought I had it all figured out, I knew who I was when I ran from Edmund, but now there are friends who don’t know who I am, and my heart feels torn in two.” 

“Can I fix it?” His hand moved up my back as he held me against him. The question a deep rumble of sincerity that I had always known from him. The question the motion, it was almost like stepping back in time.

The thought, while true, was almost ridiculous.

“What?” I couldn’t keep the awkward chuckle out of my voice no matter how hard I tried.

“This ripped heart that you speak of.”

“I don’t think that’s possible Thom, you are part of the problem…” I felt his chest harden, the muscles tensing underneath me at my admission. I tried to move away, but he held me tight against him, his magic flaring against my skin in warning of not to move.

I could tell he wasn’t mad, perhaps just hurt.

But I still owed him honesty, something – given the subject matter – that made me uncomfortable.

“I’m still in love with you,” a sharp intake of breath made me almost lose track of what I needed to say to him. Almost. He needed to hear me out. “But I am also still in love with Talon. My heart hasn’t quite gotten the memo about having lived two different lives.”

“Your heart is smarter than your head then.” It was a whisper in my ear, the warm air of his breath rushing over my neck. “They weren’t two different lives. It was just one life. Love as many people as you want.”

The words were truth. They were honest. They were a stab in the gut that and an echo of a memory. A memory of two teenage girls laughing on the floor of a punk rock bedroom, Styx playing in the background and my own voice breaking over the music with advice that at the time seemed insignificant. But now?

“It’s okay to love. I think it makes you a better person. At least then you know what it feels like to love instead of living without ever knowing. I love a lot of people that I know will never love me back, but I am happier because of it.”

I had been speaking of my brother, of my father. But hearing those words roar through my head now. I knew it was so much more than that.

“I know… I just wish that would take away the anxiety, the way everything feels like it’s crawling around inside of me.” It was so much more than that, but it was the only words that fit.

“Are you saying I need to find you something to kill?” It was then his arms loosened just enough to let me look at him, into the face that was more a part of my memory than any other. Even when I had forgotten him, even when Ilyan had taken that life from me, he still was with me in my dreams. I guess in a way he was always there.

“Something like that.”

Thom chuckled at me, his voice low and deep as it rolled over my skin and rumbled through me. I clung to him at the sound, at the movement, which only made him laugh more.

“I think I can arrange that, just give me a few days.”

I knew I should laugh, but I just couldn’t make the sound come, I couldn’t dispel the anxiety that had taken up residence in my chest.

He was right. I really did just need to kill something.

It was what I had always done after all, why should now be any different?

“Wynifred. You have always had a habit of overthinking things. Of taking the smallest bit of information and dwelling on it until it sits on your chest and you can’t breathe.”

I had related it to a saber tooth tiger earlier, I guess I wasn’t as far from the truth as I had thought.

Sometimes it scared me how well Thom knew me.

“Stop it.” The kindness in his voice was gone now and I flinched, pulling away from him and expecting a demon, but instead only finding the gruff man before me smiling, his tiny dimple peeking out behind his wild hair.

“Stop over thinking. You heart and your mind know what to do. They know who you are. They know what your answer is.” His voice was a whisper, I wasn’t even sure I was breathing. “Trust it.”

I just stared at him, at the dimple, at the dreads, at the shallow scars on his chin and

“Thom,” I began, but he only smiled, his hands pressing me against him again as he stopped what I was about to say, with that gruff irritation of his.

“Don’t say I’m wise.” He growled, “I don’t think I could take it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. He just didn’t realize, he always had been.

The Fifth Imdalind Book is Now Available for Pre-Order!!

Previously announced as DAWN OF ASH - a tricky little character (SAIN!!) decided to make some changes and now the previously announced Novella - BURNT DEVOTION has been changed into a full length novel and an imperative part of THE IMDALIND SERIES

And it’s now Available for Pre-Order to prepare for its MARCH 22ND release!

It’s time to get excited!!!

To hear more about the change in book flow - please take a minute to watch this awesome-sauce video - http://youtu.be/zGUOnrysFsE

Now get your pre-order on!! There is some exclusive content that will be included for all pre-orders - so you REALLY don’t want to miss this!

Rebecca Ethington has been telling stories since she was small. First, with writing crude scripts, and then in stage with years of theatrical performances. The Imdalind Series is her first stint into the world of literary writing. Rebecca is a mother to two, and wife to her best friend of 14 years. She was born and raised in the mountains of Salt Lake City, and hasn't found the desire to leave yet. Her days are spent writing, running, and enjoying life with her amazing family.

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