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Perfect Equinox
Marra is a proud and free-spirited satyrn woman, standing on her own two hooves and with a good head under her horns. When she meets the handsome human shopkeeper Bron of Greyfield’s Emporium, it’s more than just a chance encounter. Satyrn and human, they shouldn’t mix - at least, according to Marra’s father, Samir Lirra, a powerful and controlling patriarch.
But Marra isn’t one to let tradition or her father’s wishes stand in the way of what she wants. Bron is competent, caring, and stirs a passion in Marra that she can’t ignore. So when Bron later arrives with a mysterious gift of alchemical stones for her shop… and a contract that binds his very life to them, Marra knows she has to act.
As they race against time, Marra and Bron must navigate a world of alchemy, ancient magic, and the iron grip of Marra’s monstrous father. Any chance they have of a future together - and possibly their very lives - hangs in the balance. Will they be able to break free of the corrupt legacy of the stones, and undo the horrors with which they are entwined?
Or will the secret of the stones consume them both?
...Gennessa watched as the flame-haired woman stalked into the woods.
Tears ruined her makeup as Marra returned to her shop, and she was just too tired to care. She clenched her hands around her bag, clinging to it for comfort.
Bron hadn’t been at his store. Or his home. Or even the tavern he liked so much. He was... gone. And she didn’t know where. The kitten could locate him, but it would require time, and by that point...
It was ruined. All of it. He wouldn’t even look at her after this. And it was all because... She stopped herself. No. She couldn’t blame father for being what he was. She should have expected it and ensured he was included and not surprised. She knew how he was about humans... how he was about a lot of things.
The door to her shop opened without her reaching for it, not unexpected with Kitten taking care of things. The sudden rush of arms enveloping her caused a moment of panic until she caught his scent.
Bron. Marra slipped the blood-knife back into her pocket unnoticed, and then reached around him as he held her in the doorway.
His voice was heavy as he spoke rapidly, “I’m sorry, I had to find you. After your father ... I had to make sure you were okay, and then you weren’t here, but the cat told me I needed to be here...”
She pulled away. “Cat?”
He stopped. “Yes. Your.. cat?”
She stared at him with a blank expression. “You saw... Kitten. You... talked to her?”
He was stammering, “I mean... I know it’s madness, but I just knew I should stay, and the… she.. was...”
“You saw her.” It wasn’t a question. It was a revelation. Her hands grabbed his face and dragged him down, bending him over to her level. She kissed him and withdrew after a moment to examine his face.
His voice was slow as he spoke, “Have you been... Crying?” She watched him turn red in the wrong way. His shoulders tensed as he gripped her arms. She could smell his rising anger as his back straightened.
That wouldn’t do at all. Marra quickly pressed her lips against his again. Firmly. Her hand wrapped around the back of his neck to stop him from trying to pull back. He never tried. He leaned in and pulled her closer.
When she finally let him withdraw, his eyes were wonderfully glazed, and his breath was deep and steady. She didn’t even have to ask Kitten to close the door as she led him up the narrow steps to her apartment. Her familiar knew what to do.
He glanced around at her sitting room as she continued to lead through and into her private chambers. His eyes drifted, finally coming to rest on her bed. Pulling him past the threshold, she reached around him and shut the door with a click that caused him to jump slightly. His gaze met hers, then he scooped her up in his arms. Bron’s eyes never left hers as he carried her to the bed and laid her down upon its crisp sheets. She looked up at his form as it loomed over hers.
And then he kissed her. It was even better when he started it.
Perfect Equinox is the first book of The Equinox Cycle, a tale of magic and alchemical power... and where love is the most dangerous gamble of all.
Marra Lirra never cared for rules. As a satyrn alchemist, she knows that in Lyricrest, trade is king, deals are sacred, and everything—even love—has a price. So when she takes Bron Greyfield, a human merchant, as her lover, she doesn’t expect consequences. Until her father provides them.
Bron becomes a pawn in a game he never learned to play, caught in the iron-clad grip of the Lirra family's contracts and debts. Now, what started as a private rebellion turns into a public war, as Marra is forced to navigate the ruthless world of merchant politics, where alchemy fuels power struggles, and every choice has a cost.
For those who crave a story where love is the spark that fuels both magic and fate, and is written in ink and blood... Perfect Equinox is a tale where desire isn’t just forbidden. It’s the fuse that leads to ruin and rebirth.
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