Sneak Peek 1 of Baptism by Fire, Book 2 of the Stillwind Series by Mia Smantz
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Hello all!
Welcome to the sneak peeks countdown. With the second book of the new series, Baptism by Fire, soon to be released on July 1st, I'll be posting some snippets from the story to whet your whistles :)
This book has been a long time in the making, so if you're still here, thanks for sticking through.
Some notes before we get to the good stuff... my first series, The Cardinal Series is all completed and available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for free. It's also available for purchase. If you're interested in purchasing a hardcopy set of the first two books, The Cardinal Bird and Cardinal Caged, you can buy the first volume here. This volume is also available in the Kindle Unlimited store if you want to purchase or add to your ten-book Unlimited list to help free up a slot for another great book. I know I always have a hard time trying to cull my ten-book limit. Get the Kindle version here. Soon, I'll be bundling the second volume of the series to include Cardinal of Hope and The Cardinal Sin as well as Cardinal Rose and The Red Cardinal. I'll make sure to announce it on social media.
One more thing before the preview, I will be creating the preorder for the next book soon, so keep an eye out for it. I'll be doing a cover reveal on social media, but if you're here reading this, you get the early bird view:
Baptism by Fire, Book 2
SNEAK PEEK
My eyes landed exactly where Rossi’s men had intended, and I felt a sickening wave of dizziness steal my balance and vision for half a second before it cleared the path for anger.
Of course they’d left everything as it was.
In such a run-down area, the shining, stainless steel cart glared like a beacon, luring focus to the middle of the cavernous space. The tools that Luca had so carefully displayed as a rather effective intimidation tactic had been left behind and arranged just so, as if he’d used them so many times there was a psychotic organization to the arrangement that I didn’t wish to guess at.
In a daze, my hand rose halfway to one of the precise, silver scars running along my jawline before I switched the motion into scratching my ear. I’d been staring at the razor-sharp scalpel responsible for the matching twin marks.
Without my notice, I’d crossed the floor, drawn in like a bespelled reptile to a snake charmer, but when I realized that I was close enough to make out the dried flecks of blood on that small, deadly edge, I startled, cleared my throat, and looked away.
Of course, my eyes went to the next big attraction on the stage of Luca’s game—the chair. The rickety armchair was on its last leg, but it was sturdier than it appeared. It’d held me only too well for the hours I’d spent thrashing and throwing my weight around in it. The only things that hinted at its sinister nature were the leather restraints. Its placement also insinuated its darker purposes.
They had bolted it down next to the wall, and above it... the showerhead—recently custom installed, as indicated by its shiny, new appearance. In my nightmares, my mind had twisted it into a rusty deathtrap, but the reality seemed worse.
Hadn’t I suffered enough?
Flint’s hand, by the feel and weight of it, found my shoulder once more, and when I met his silver eyes, they lacked their usual mischievous sparkle and shone a more serious gray.
And I had my answer to my question.