Wings of Tavea Blog Tour: excerpt & givewaway


We are one of the hosts for today's stop on The Wings of Tavea Blog Tour presented by Xpresso Book Tours. This is a clean high fantasy YA series with two books published. Check out the excerpt below and enter the giveaway.
Wings of Arian (The Solus Trilogy #1) by Devri Walls
 -- April 24th 2012 
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life.
She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar.

However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation.

And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

Wings of Tavea (The Solus Trilogy #2) by Devri Walls
 -- November, 2012
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes&Noble  

Kiora is rapidly learning that evil and lies come in shades of black and white and swirling greys, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of leaving Meros.

Kiora and her protector Emane step through the pass into a world they never knew existed but were always meant to save, only to find it far worse than they could have ever imagined. Good has been forced into hiding for its own survival, while the rest of the land bows to the Shadow, a force that pushes any remaining thoughts of Dralazar from Kiora’s mind. This land is full of new creatures, each more dangerous than the last. Her visions have taken on a deadly twist, and magic, or what comes of it, was never so real. And then there is Alcander: a Tavean, their guide, and an entirely different kind of trouble.

Excerpt:
         Alcander spoke a charm under his breath. Both of their clothes immediately took on a light glow.
         “What did you do?” Kiora asked, running her fingers over the illuminated fabric.
         “It’s a protection spell. It prevents any fatal magical blows from killing you.”
         Kiora frowned. “If it protects against magical blows, why don’t we use it during a fight?”
         “Because it is the easiest charm to undo and everybody knows how to undo it. It would be useless in battle. But in training it’s perfect.” Crossing his arms in front of him, he almost smiled. “And I said it wouldn’t kill you, I didn’t say it wouldn’t hurt. How much combat training have you had?”
         Kiora thought about it. She had learned how to use her magic, and she had been in a few battles. But training? “None.”
         Alcander’s right eye twitched. “I should have expected that would be your answer.”
         His irritation made her blood boil. “That’s right,” Kiora snapped. “Because I don’t know anything about anything!”
         Any bit of amusement Kiora had noticed from him earlier fled. His eyes narrowed in an icy gaze. “Let’s train.” He shouted directions as he crossed the room. “We start in the largest ring. You may go anywhere in the ring, but you may not leave the ring.” He spun to face her. “Do you understand?”
         “Yes.”
         “You may take the first shot.”
         She hesitated. His hand flicked out, shooting a bolt of magic straight at her. She barely had to time to gasp before it hit her square in the chest and sent her flying across the room. Luckily for her head, she landed before she slammed into the wall of the cave. Unluckily for her, her behind was throbbing. She moaned, dropping her head back.
         “Don’t hesitate,” he yelled.
         Glaring at him, Kiora shouted back, “You said I could go first.”
         “Lesson one: Don’t trust evil. Be on your guard no matter what they say.”
         In one movement she pushed off the ground and shot a white bolt of magic at
him. Alcander flipped himself up and over, looking more like a bird than a person, his white hair flowing behind him as he nimbly avoided her magic. He landed silently on his feet. Her jaw hung open. “How did you—”
         Instead of answering he threw more magic. She put up a shield and the magic bounced off it.
         “Never try to have a conversation during a fight,” he scolded.
         “Why not?” she yelled, shooting magic back at him. “I can multitask, can’t you?”
         She thought she heard him laugh but she couldn’t be sure—she was too busy diving away from another flare of magic. Unfortunately, her dive left her legs exposed and his magic sizzled against the enchantment he had placed over her. It kept his shot from burning a hole through her leg, but it still hurt. She swore, rolling to her feet.
         “You want to talk? Let’s talk then,” Alcander shouted.
         She threw another bolt of magic, stronger than the first, and again he jumped over like it was nothing.
         “Is it true you grew up without evil?” he asked, throwing a bit of magic that nipped her arm and spun her in a circle.
         She tried to rub her throbbing arm as they circled around the ring, eyes glued on each other. “It’s true.”
         “No evil at all?”
         “Why is that so hard to believe?”
         He laughed. “Because evil is reality. There is no facet of my world not impregnated with it.” He whipped out his wrist.
         An invisible current swept her feet out from under her. She came down hard on the rock, cracking her head. She moaned, gripping the back of her head.
         “Get up!” he demanded. “If you stay down, they will kill you.”
         She scrambled to her feet, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. She threw
more magic. He didn’t even have to jump this time; he simply stepped out of the way.
         “Come on, Kiora, think! You keep doing the same things over and over again.”
He began walking again and she moved in the opposite direction, still circling. “Have you ever been lied to?” he asked.
         “Recently?” But the answer in her head was: About everything!
         “No, before. Did your people lie?”
         “No.”
         “Cheat?”
         “No.” Her brain raced to think how she could catch him off guard.
         “I can’t imagine.”
         “And I—” an idea flashed in, “can’t imagine living as you have.” She sent a bolt flying right were she had every time. He jumped to avoid it. Grinning, she extended her other hand, releasing more magic right into his flight path. She saw his eyes widen, but there was no stopping the inevitable. The magic collided with him a good ten feet in the air, changing the trajectory of his body. He flew end-over-end out of the circle and into the wall.
         Kiora was torn. Her instinct was to rush to him and apologize for hurting him. But at the same time, she was a little proud of what she had done.
         Alcander was against the wall, gasping for air. “Are you okay?” she asked, taking a step towards him. “Fine,” he gasped, holding out his hand to stop her. “That . . . was . . . good.”
         It looked like she had knocked the air out of him. The pride left, and she felt awful. “Sorry.”
         “Don’t ever be sorry.” His eyes glinted.
         Something Malena and Eleana had told her when she was first learning of evil
flashed into her mind. They had told her one of her greatest gifts would be the pain she felt at others’ pain, and her kind heart. It made a little more sense now. “I will always be sorry,” Kiora whispered.


About the author:
Devri Walls
Devri Walls lives in Kuna Idaho with her husband ebooktwo kids. She has worked as a music teacher and currently, a preschool teacher. She majored in theater and her love of a story still drives her today. Thankfully, she has finally found an outlet for all the voices in her head. Her first novel, Wings of Arian, is available on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and Apple. The second book in the Solus trilogy, Wings of Tavea is scheduled for release Nov 2012.

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