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Sneak Peek 4 of Cardinal Rose, Book 5 of the Cardinal Series by Mia Smantz

Updated: Mar 29, 2021






Hello all!

Welcome to the sneak peeks countdown. With the 5th book, Cardinal Rose, soon to be released at the end of December, I'll be posting some snippets from the story to whet your whistles :)


I'm sure everyone has a lot going on right now with the upcoming holidays, so if you've made it this far, then I thank you for being here and tuning in.


Now, if you're here, then you are getting excited for the release of Cardinal Rose, book 5 of the Cardinal Series! With a late December release, hopefully it'll be the perfect atmosphere to read cuddled up in front of a fire with busy holdiay plans winding down.


Also, as a reminder--if you're interested in purchasing a new 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-books. Get the Kindle version here. Both versions save you some money by bundling :) Plus, it has an amazing new cover design. Soon, I'll be bundling the second volume of the series to include Cardinal of Hope and The Cardinal Sin. I'll make sure to announce it on social media.


Just some old business to bring up, I created the pre-order for the next book so that I could include the link within the current book, but I haven't been promoting it. But, here it is:





We're almost through the series now. People have asked if I'll be making another series with these characters in it, and my answer for now is undecided. With the finish of each book in my first ever series, the feeling has gone from to relief to bittersweet. I know some of you feel the same way. Which is why I can't completely close the lid on further series with Callie and her boys. I've been laying small Easter eggs that would pave the way for further plot, but not be so pressing as to leave us hanging when we reach the end of book 6.


For now, enjoy it while it lasts :)





Cardinal Rose, book 5


SNEAK PEEK


With several days of peaceful rest, I woke up energetic and bouncing on my toes as we waited for our first day back at Delta to begin.


Jace took a tired glance at me over the rim of his coffee from Miss Maggie’s and groaned in disgust. “You’re way too awake to be human right now. I just can’t.”


“Agreed,” CJ whined, closing his bloodshot eyes and drooping his head on my shoulder.


He must’ve stayed up late again working in his room because we’d said our goodbyes on our way up the stairs at a nice respectable bedtime of ten o’clock after a long, difficult day in the cyberworld. His golden skin had been looking sallower as time passed without word on Ivanov.


“I third that,” Corbin added, his sky blues alighting on me mischievously. “Callie-Cat is a shameless, disgustingly cheery morning person. Who else would want to take the stairs from the fourth floor to the eighth unless there was some disaster?”


I averted my gaze, glancing around the room. The false cityscape remained for our continued training. We would have started running through different scenarios and exercises with the Henley Team to supervise, but Karl said he’d meet us here to debrief after our week-long hiatus.


Speaking of which, the elevator doors dinged, opening up to show a bloodbath of mutilated bodies lying in messy, gory cubes on the floor. I flinched back with a gasp, a scream on the tip of my tongue. Karl’s voice gave me pause.


I blinked.


The bloody mess disappeared, showing Karl stepping off the spotless elevator.


Its doors slid shut, but the awful sight never returned.


“Dušo?” Brock called, a hand on my shoulder.


I didn’t jump, thankfully, but I also couldn’t mask all the disappointment on my face either.


“What’s wrong?” he demanded, turning me to face him.


After not having any episodes or nightmares for a week, I thought I’d been getting better, that it wasn’t that serious, that I was just sleep-deprived.


After getting a square eight hours of sleep every night, I no longer had that crutch to lean on as an excuse. Chernobyl had damaged me far more than I’d wanted to admit. I licked my dry lips to respond, but Karl started talking.


Brock sent a glare in Karl’s direction, but I put my hand on his forearm to stop him from killing the hapless man with just a look. “I’ll tell you later, okay?”


His rain cloud eyes bounced between mine before he assented with great reluctance. “I’m holding you to that promise.”



END EXCERPT







Sorry it was so short this time! I was running out of places to pull from without giving away too much plot or all of the funny parts. I still hope you enjoyed!

This is the last post before the release date at the end of December!







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