We're hosting a book blitz for Forged by Fire by Danielle Annett. This is a new adult urban fantasy and the sixth book in the Blood and Magic series. This book blitz is hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Read on to learn more about the book, read an excerpt and enter the giveaway!
ABOUT THE BOOK!
Series: Blood and Magic #6
Author: Danielle Annett
Genre: New Adult, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: November 3, 2019
I thought I’d get a break. Maybe catch some R&R.
Boy, was I wrong.
My best friend is still MIA.
My foe turned friend—Inarus—is safe, maybe. Though he’s anything but sound.
And now Melody, my Harpy gal pal—is missing, leaving behind a trail of blood like some macabre Hansel and Gretel.
I’m still trying to figure out how to balance being a mercenary, and the mate of the Alpha of Pacific Northwest Pack, and the cherry on the flipping sundae that is my life, is a string of attacks against the Pack’s Clan houses.
Something is off about these attacks.
The assailants are hopped up on Harpy blood.
And I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe in coincidences. Someone kidnapped Melody and they’re using her to go after the Pack. I’ll give you three guesses who it is, but you’ll only need one.
The HAC is behind everything, and my mother is behind them. It’s the fight I always knew was coming, but this time only one of us will survive.
READ AN EXCERPT!
Ryan hadn’t exaggerated about all the blood. She better be alive.
I didn’t know a lot about Harpies. But I did know that their blood carried regenerative properties. Hopefully her healing could keep up with her injuries and hopefully all this blood didn’t belong only to her.
The normally beige carpet was stained a rust red. Large swatches spread across the floor in long smears.
Not only had someone bled, but someone had been dragged to make these sort of marks.
Blood spatter coated the walls. I got closer and spotted the arc pattern of blood from a knife or sword wound and cursed.
With this much blood loss, she wouldn’t last long if she healed at human speed.
I took in the upturned furniture and the blue-black feathers scattered around the living space.
She hadn’t gone without a fight. Good.
Two glass table lamps were shattered near the doorway. She’d likely thrown them at her attackers. And a coffee table stood on its side, one of its legs broken.
Someone had to of heard something. There were no wards on her apartment. Nothing that would have drowned out the noise.
When I was done here, I’d check in with the rest of the tenants. If anyone knew what happened, I’d find out. There were three other units on this floor. Ryan had originally lived on the fifth floor but had since moved to the second beside Mel’s. Floors five and six were undergoing renovations so there was no point looking for tenants there.
When I’d lived here, I’d been the only tenant on floor four, but I knew an elderly couple had lived in the unit directly below Melody and they were almost always home. With any luck, they’d have some information for me to run with. Missing persons cases were hard without any breadcrumbs to follow.
I’d be sure to check in with everyone and get a list from the super of those who weren’t home so I could follow up with them later. I needed as much information as possible.
Mel wasn’t the type to make enemies. She was a home body. She didn’t even really work. I knew she did something for her caste. But that was Harpy business and she didn’t really ever talk about it. When I’d lived here, she would go out maybe three or four times a month max to handle “harpy crap” as she often referred to it.
Could this be related to Harpy business?
I scrubbed a hand over my face. Some friend I was. If this was Harpy business, I was screwed. She was literally the only Harpy I knew and had ever met.
Why hadn’t I ever pried further? Why didn’t I needle my way into her life more?
I sighed. Because I had secrets too and at the time I hadn’t wanted her to pry into mine.
“Aria will find her.” Declan’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I scowled at him.
I wasn’t sure if I should be thrilled about his confidence in me or annoyed he was giving Ryan false hope. Declan knew better than to make promises. But I decided it didn’t matter. Melody was my friend. No one hurt my friends and got away with it.
Ryan seemed to gather himself. His eyes red and bloodshot. He’d always had such a carefree vibe. This was a different side of him I wasn’t accustomed to seeing. He was a musician who brought home a different girl every night of the week. Much to Melody’s horror.
I’d had no idea he felt anything for Melody beyond friendship and before today, I would have said friendship was too strong a word for what Ryan felt toward her.
Right now his face was stoic but determined and he rose a few notches in my book.
Life wasn’t fair but Melody deserved happiness. She deserved to know that the man she’d been pining over the last year did, in fact, care about her.
I had to find her. I had to fix this.
Ryan stepped out of the room and stood in the doorway. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to hide the moisture in his eyes.
I hung back, letting him have his moment.
“I need to make a few calls. I—” he exhaled on a harsh breath.
He needed time alone to process all of this. I knew the feeling. But we didn’t have the luxury of time. The longer we took, the less of a chance we’d have of finding her.
“I know this is hard.” I signaled for him to follow me into the kitchen and took a seat.
Reluctantly Ryan sat, taking the seat across from me. “But I need to ask you a few questions and we need to create a timeline. When was the last time you saw Mel? Has she had any visitors? Has anyone that you didn’t recognize been by this week? Has her behavior been off in any way? I need you to tell me everything.”
He sighed. He wanted to refuse, I could see it on his face. But after a few seconds he nodded and we got down to business.
Twenty minutes later, I had all the information Ryan could give me and muttered a silent curse.
I stared at my notepad in frustration. It wasn’t much but it would have to be enough.
“Go home. Get some rest.”
He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. “I don’t think I could sleep right now.”
“You need to. You look like you just got in from a gig, am I right?”
He nodded.
“Alright then. You need sleep. You won’t be any help unless you’re at one hundred percent. Get some rest and sit tight.”
He shook his head, a silent refusal. “I can’t just sit on my hands and do nothing.” A furrow formed between his brows and he turned away, his jaw clenched.
“You won’t be. Keep your eyes and ears open. Whoever took her might come back. They might decide to clean up the scene. If anyone suspicious comes by, call me.”
“You’ll find her, right?” The hushed whisper was filled with more despair than I could process. “I never had the chance to tell her…” he didn’t need to finish.
I reached out and grasped his hand. “I’ll find her.”
I was going to hell for this. I shouldn’t make promises I couldn’t keep, but I couldn’t handle Ryan falling apart in front of me either.
I would find her. And who ever took her way going to pay.
I didn’t know a lot about Harpies. But I did know that their blood carried regenerative properties. Hopefully her healing could keep up with her injuries and hopefully all this blood didn’t belong only to her.
The normally beige carpet was stained a rust red. Large swatches spread across the floor in long smears.
Not only had someone bled, but someone had been dragged to make these sort of marks.
Blood spatter coated the walls. I got closer and spotted the arc pattern of blood from a knife or sword wound and cursed.
With this much blood loss, she wouldn’t last long if she healed at human speed.
I took in the upturned furniture and the blue-black feathers scattered around the living space.
She hadn’t gone without a fight. Good.
Two glass table lamps were shattered near the doorway. She’d likely thrown them at her attackers. And a coffee table stood on its side, one of its legs broken.
Someone had to of heard something. There were no wards on her apartment. Nothing that would have drowned out the noise.
When I was done here, I’d check in with the rest of the tenants. If anyone knew what happened, I’d find out. There were three other units on this floor. Ryan had originally lived on the fifth floor but had since moved to the second beside Mel’s. Floors five and six were undergoing renovations so there was no point looking for tenants there.
When I’d lived here, I’d been the only tenant on floor four, but I knew an elderly couple had lived in the unit directly below Melody and they were almost always home. With any luck, they’d have some information for me to run with. Missing persons cases were hard without any breadcrumbs to follow.
I’d be sure to check in with everyone and get a list from the super of those who weren’t home so I could follow up with them later. I needed as much information as possible.
Mel wasn’t the type to make enemies. She was a home body. She didn’t even really work. I knew she did something for her caste. But that was Harpy business and she didn’t really ever talk about it. When I’d lived here, she would go out maybe three or four times a month max to handle “harpy crap” as she often referred to it.
Could this be related to Harpy business?
I scrubbed a hand over my face. Some friend I was. If this was Harpy business, I was screwed. She was literally the only Harpy I knew and had ever met.
Why hadn’t I ever pried further? Why didn’t I needle my way into her life more?
I sighed. Because I had secrets too and at the time I hadn’t wanted her to pry into mine.
“Aria will find her.” Declan’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I scowled at him.
I wasn’t sure if I should be thrilled about his confidence in me or annoyed he was giving Ryan false hope. Declan knew better than to make promises. But I decided it didn’t matter. Melody was my friend. No one hurt my friends and got away with it.
Ryan seemed to gather himself. His eyes red and bloodshot. He’d always had such a carefree vibe. This was a different side of him I wasn’t accustomed to seeing. He was a musician who brought home a different girl every night of the week. Much to Melody’s horror.
I’d had no idea he felt anything for Melody beyond friendship and before today, I would have said friendship was too strong a word for what Ryan felt toward her.
Right now his face was stoic but determined and he rose a few notches in my book.
Life wasn’t fair but Melody deserved happiness. She deserved to know that the man she’d been pining over the last year did, in fact, care about her.
I had to find her. I had to fix this.
Ryan stepped out of the room and stood in the doorway. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to hide the moisture in his eyes.
I hung back, letting him have his moment.
“I need to make a few calls. I—” he exhaled on a harsh breath.
He needed time alone to process all of this. I knew the feeling. But we didn’t have the luxury of time. The longer we took, the less of a chance we’d have of finding her.
“I know this is hard.” I signaled for him to follow me into the kitchen and took a seat.
Reluctantly Ryan sat, taking the seat across from me. “But I need to ask you a few questions and we need to create a timeline. When was the last time you saw Mel? Has she had any visitors? Has anyone that you didn’t recognize been by this week? Has her behavior been off in any way? I need you to tell me everything.”
He sighed. He wanted to refuse, I could see it on his face. But after a few seconds he nodded and we got down to business.
Twenty minutes later, I had all the information Ryan could give me and muttered a silent curse.
I stared at my notepad in frustration. It wasn’t much but it would have to be enough.
“Go home. Get some rest.”
He rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. “I don’t think I could sleep right now.”
“You need to. You look like you just got in from a gig, am I right?”
He nodded.
“Alright then. You need sleep. You won’t be any help unless you’re at one hundred percent. Get some rest and sit tight.”
He shook his head, a silent refusal. “I can’t just sit on my hands and do nothing.” A furrow formed between his brows and he turned away, his jaw clenched.
“You won’t be. Keep your eyes and ears open. Whoever took her might come back. They might decide to clean up the scene. If anyone suspicious comes by, call me.”
“You’ll find her, right?” The hushed whisper was filled with more despair than I could process. “I never had the chance to tell her…” he didn’t need to finish.
I reached out and grasped his hand. “I’ll find her.”
I was going to hell for this. I shouldn’t make promises I couldn’t keep, but I couldn’t handle Ryan falling apart in front of me either.
I would find her. And who ever took her way going to pay.
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR!
I'm just a girl with an obsession for Marvel movies, a love of all things Urban Fantasy, and a cheerleader for the underdog in any given story.
If you're looking for a heroine you can root for ... someone who defies the odds and gets up every time they're knocked down ... then look no further because that's what you'll find in my books.
I hope you'll join me in Aria Naveed's adventures. She's pretty badass if I do say so myself.
And if for some strange reason you want to know more about me, check out my website www.Danielle-Annett.com and catch me on facebook https://bit.ly/2t588Uu
Also don't forget to sign up for my newsletter so you never miss a new release: https://www.subscribepage.com/y7i0o9
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