How The Warrior Fell (Falling Warriors series Book 1)
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Authors: Nicole René
Tags: #HOW THE WARRIOR FELL
HOW THE WARRIOR FELL
Copyright © 2016 Nicole René
All rights reserved.
Editing by: Indie Solutions
Author and series branding/logo by: © Hang Le
Interior Design & Formatting by: Perfectly Publishable
Cover design by: © Kari Ayasha Cover to Cover designs
Front cover photography by: © Joel Hicks Photography
Models: Joel Hicks and Tillie Feather
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted to any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or locales are used factiously. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
EXCERPT of How The Warrior Claimed
To my family.
(Yes, you still have to skip over the sex scenes. Especially you, Grandma.)
“L
EAWYN?”
The girl sighed softly, sitting up from her prone position and turning her cerulean eyes towards the voice that called her name.
“Leawyn, where are you?” The voice shouted her name again, the tone more irked and frustrated than it was before. Leawyn stood, pushing a wayward strand of long, golden hair away from her face and started to make her way down to her handmaiden, Brees.
“Leawyn, if you do not come here right now, I’ll—”
“I’m here, Brees,” Leawyn called out, her voice soft and melodic as she rounded the corner of the small cove she was resting in. At the sound of Leawyn’s voice, Brees whirled around to face her, a disapproving frown in place.
“Where have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you!” Brees said sharply, snatching Leawyn by the wrist angrily when she was within distance.
“I was just—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Brees snapped, interrupting Leawyn mid-sentence. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you to not wander off when you have so much work to do.”
Leawyn stayed silent, knowing that provoking Brees wouldn’t do her any good as she was dragged up the sandy hill and back towards their village.
Brees had been her handmaiden for as long as she could remember. Though, in Leawyn’s eyes, Brees was more of a mother to her since her own mother died giving birth to her.
“What’s the hurry, Brees?” Leawyn asked, a bit amused by the woman’s pace. She practically had to jog to keep alongside her fussy handmaiden.
Brees huffed, looking over her shoulder at Leawyn. “Have you forgotten?” Brees asked in her strange accent.
Brees wasn’t born in the Rhoxolani like Leawyn was and instead came to their humble village when Brees was just a young girl traveling with a band of sea merchants. It was here, in the Rhoxolani tribe,that Brees met and fell in love with a young Rhoxolani warrior whom she later married.
Gwan, unfortunately, was slain during one of the many tribe battles between the Izayges and Rhoxolani.
Leawyn’s brows knitted together in confusion at her handmaiden’s impatience. She couldn't think of anything particularly special about today. She woke up and did her chores just like any other day. Then she went out to the cliffs to sit and enjoy time to herself.
Was she supposed to do something else?
Leawyn smiled guiltily at Brees when she looked over her shoulder at Leawyn’s silence. “For Goddess’s sakes, Leawyn! You were told earlier today!”
Leawyn thought about telling Brees she had no idea what she was talking about. No one told Leawyn anything. But, judging by the annoyed scowl on Brees’s face,she’d be better off keeping that tidbit of information to herself.
They reached the main hut, and a few moments later, Brees opened the flap to Leawyn’s room and ushered her in. Leawyn watched as Brees went to her chest of gowns and searched through them, shoving a soft, pale blue dress into her handsmoments later.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Leawyn asked, looking down to her modest brown gown.
At Brees’s annoyed glare, Leawyn wisely didn’t argue further and instead put on the garment. The color of the dress brought out Leawyn’s eyes and made her golden hair that much brighter. It had a sweetheart neckline with long sleeves that tightly gripped Leawyn’s arms before flaring out at her elbows. It was long, covering Leawyn’s dainty feet and brushing the floor with each step she took.
Once Leawyn was done changing, Brees guided her to the stool in the middle of the room. Pushing down on Leawyn’s shoulders, Brees reached around her and grabbed Leawyn’s brush and began combing her long hair.
It was silent between them for a few minutes before Brees spoke. “Leawyn, you do know what tonight is, don’t you?”
Leawyn hesitated, pulling a loose string from her dress before she answered. “I’m sorry, Brees, I truly have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Leawyn turned and looked over her shoulder when Brees suddenly stopped brushing her hair. She grew slightly worried by the way Brees looked at her. It was as if she were about to tell Leawyn a terrible secret.
“No one told you?” Brees breathed out in shocked horror.
“Tell me what?”
“Oh, Leawyn,” Brees said tenderly as she ran the back of her hand down Leawyn’s unblemished cheek. Her eyes misted over as she looked down into the innocent eyes of her mistress.
“Leawyn . . . your father received word this morning. The Izayges Chief grew tired of waiting and sent word that he would be arriving early.” Brees paused again, hesitant. “That was six days ago.”
Leawyn felt herself growing faint at the implications of what Brees was saying.
“No,” Leawyn whispered, her eyes filling with panicked tears as she shook her head in denial. “I’m supposed to have until the winter. We weren’t supposed to meet until the leaves fall!”
“Leawyn, he’s arriving tonight,” Brees informed her gently, as if her heart were breaking at the pain and dread that flashed across Leawyn’s young face.
Leawyn’s world froze, the icy fingers of dread gripped her heart. Tonight, her world would change forever.
Tonight, she would meet Xavier, the chief of the Izayges.
The man who was the most dangerous and fiercest warrior in Samaritan history.