Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Symphony of Fates (The Dragon Songs Saga, Book 4) by J.C. Kang

 Release date: April 7, 2017
Subgenre: Asian fantasy, epic fantasy

About Symphony of Fates:


Kaiya escapes her ordeal at the hands of the Teleri Emperor, only to return to a homeland beset by enemies on all sides, and crumbling from within.

As a teenager, she quelled a rebellion with the Dragon Scale Lute. As a young adult, she vanquished a dragon with the power of her voice.

Now, robbed of her magic by grief, Kaiya must navigate a web of court intrigue to save the realm before it falls. Only she can lay claim to the Dragon Throne on behalf of her unborn sons—whether the father is the lover who perished rescuing her, or the hated enemy who killed him.

In the final story in Kaiya’s saga, she must rally a nation, repel invaders, and prove to the world why her family alone holds the Mandate of Heaven.

Excerpt:

 

Chapter 1: Deceptions

The setting sun outside the castle window taunted Kaiya, its descent marking one more day of concealing her pregnancy. Though Doctor Wu’s unparalleled acupuncture skills detected the twin boys in her womb, she couldn’t discern their father. Was it the exiled spy she’d to love during her escape from the frigid Northwest? Or the foreign tyrant who murdered him?

Neither was an appropriate match for a nineteen-year-old princess. Not when her unborn sons stood next in line to inherit the Dragon Throne.

“My choice is clear.” Kaiya turned to her half-elf bodyguard, who was also her sworn sister and one-time rival in love.

Yan Jie sat on the wood floors of the guest suite’s anteroom, sharpening a wicked knife that didn’t match the softness of her plain, pink dress. She looked up, even as she continued to draw the knife across a whetstone in rhythmic swishes. Jie’s childlike features had never appeared so forlorn.

Kaiya should’ve also been wallowing in grief. She’d ransomed her body and dignity to spare hostages from a brutal death, yet couldn’t save Father, Eldest Brother, or her beloved Tian. The experience would have broken her, if not for the mental block of Jie’s Tiger Eye technique.
It gave Kaiya emotionless clarity. “Ming is Tian’s brother and heir to a province. He’s the best match.”

Jie shrugged. Her usually perky voice droned. “You already rejected him once. No, twice.”

“I doubt he’ll need much convincing,” Kaiya said. Ming would likely jump at the opportunity for social mobility, but she’d use the magic of her voice if necessary.

Now if he would only return home from his deployment before her flat belly started to swell.

The double doors slid open, revealing the castle steward. His green court robes rustled as he sank to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor. “Dian-xia, Lord Zheng has returned and is on his way to greet you.”

Well, that was serendipitous. At last, after five days of waiting in his family’s castle at the border to the Wilds. A week since missing her period.

After conveying her permission with a nod, Kaiya turned toward Jie. “This is it. Try not to kill him.”

Staring at the wall, Jie nodded absently. A sudden jerk of her hand revealed a trickle of blood on her finger.

“Are you all right?” Kaiya took a step toward her. For the meticulous Moquan to nick herself sharpening a knife…

With a bob of her head, Jie thrust the bleeding hand behind her. “It is nothing, Dian-xia.”

Kaiya peered at the girl. Despite the command to speak freely, Jie’s tone and diction had reverted back to distant formality.

Someone cleared their throat at the door. Kaiya looked up, prepared to declare her intentions to Zheng Ming.

Lord Zheng Han, father of Tian and Ming, knelt on one knee, fist to the ground. His dark green travelling cloak, draped over his plain robes, smelled of a humid early spring. He must’ve come directly to meet with her. If only Ming travelled so fast.

Amazon 

 

About The Dragon Songs Saga

  1. Songs of Insurrection
  2. Orchestra of Treacheries
  3. Dances of Deception 
  4. Symphony of Fates  

 

About J.C. Kang:

JC Kang's unhealthy obsession with Fantasy and Sci-Fi began at an early age when his brother introduced him to The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Star Trek and Star Wars. As an adult, he combines his geek roots with his professional experiences as a Chinese Medicine doctor, martial arts instructor and technical writer to pen multicultural epic fantasy stories. 

 



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