In the
Tower of the Wizard King
Age of
Wizards -Book One
Michelle
Miles
Genre: Epic Fantasy with Romantic
Elements
Publisher: Michelle Miles
Date of Publication: Sept 1, 2016
ISBN: 9781311611086
ASIN: B01GIALHPC
Number of pages: 242
Word Count: 112,000
Cover Artist: Erin Dameron-Hill
Book Description:
In the Age of Wizards, Time is a
commodity more valuable than gold. When Aoife (EE-fa) stumbles upon an antique
trunk in the attic, it calls to her with an ancient magic. Inside she finds a
stairway leading into darkness and cannot resist stepping onto that first
stair. It leads her to dark truths her mother never wanted her to uncover and
love so powerful she walks through time to save it.
Her magic is dormant.
When Aoife Burke rushes home after the
unexpected death of her father, she discovers her mother has vanished amidst
inexplicable circumstances. She returns to her childhood home to search for
clues of her mother’s whereabouts but another shock awaits her. Sean O’Connell,
the object of her girlhood crush, has purchased the family home. She senses
Sean is hiding something from her, refuses to let her inside and does
everything he can to keep her out. A determined Aoife breaks inside and
stumbles upon an antique trunk in the attic. When she opens it, instead of the
normal musty clothes and ancient letters, she finds a stairway leading into
darkness. It calls to her and she cannot resist stepping into the trunk and
onto that first stair where it leads her to magical truths her mother never
wanted her to discover.
His magic is dangerous.
Sean O’Connell has been assigned by the
Inter-dimensional Portal Protection Agency to keep Aoife and her mother out of
Faery. But when she breaks into the house and disappears through the portal in
the trunk—like her mother—he has no choice but to follow her, even though
stepping into Faery will force him to face his past. Keeping her safe and out
of the hands of the Wizard King also becomes a fight to save Aoife’s life from
her own mother, who has discovered a time portal in Faery leading her back in
time to alter her past mistakes, putting Aoife’s life in peril. Sean is willing
to do anything to make sure she’s safe. Even if it means he has to tap into his
dangerous magic to do it.
Excerpt:
She halted mid-reach,
gasping for breath and shoving back against the wall. She couldn’t. She’d been
forbidden her entire life to go into the attic. Her mother made that painfully
clear. She was not allowed and neither was Sunnie.
So why then did she have
the uncontrollable urge to pull down the attic stairs and go up?
Do it, Aoife. Go up into
the attic.
The voice whispered
inside her skull. She had no idea whose voice it was. She didn’t think it was
her own. She was compelled to open the attic and take that first upward step.
So she did. With her
heart pounding in her throat, she ascended and paused in the darkness listening
to her ragged breathing. She stood on forbidden ground.
Now what?
The trunk.
Again that voice. She
scanned the darkened room, only barely able to make out shapes. There were the
holiday decorations on one side. An old desk on another. She headed for the
desk.
The trunk. The trunk.
She pressed her palm
against the side of her head and rubbed. She was hearing things.
The desk was coated in a
thick layer of dust that had been disturbed not so long ago. There were several
cubbies with papers sticking out of them in a chaotic and untidy way and two
books that had finger and handprints left behind in the dust.
“Hidden Dimensions and
Fae Time Travel,” she read aloud.
She picked up the second
book, A Hypothesis of Fae Magic in Other Realms, and flipped through it. She
understood none of it as it was written in a language she couldn’t comprehend.
She dropped the book and reached for one of the scrolls when her fingers
brushed one that felt different than paper. Curious, she pulled it out and
untied the faded red ribbon, letting it roll open. Despite the flawless
handwriting, the words were of a language she couldn’t understand. Except for
the two words in English scrawled across the top.
“Eradication spell?”
She dropped the scroll
and shoved it away as something dark gripped her. Like she’d touched something
forbidden or evil. With her heart
pattering a quick beat, she reached for another scroll. The parchment fell open
on the desk revealing a drawing of an ancient map. The ink had faded. When she
peered at it closer she couldn’t make out the words, which were in the same
language as the book. Something flowery with lots of squiggles and she had no
idea what it said. A small compass was drawn in the lower left hand corner with
north pointing to the right.
Aoife reached for a
second piece of paper. It had been folded and looked as though it was a page
that had been ripped out of a book. Again, the language was strange. Like
nothing she’d ever seen before. As she stared at the faded ink, the words and
letters re-arranged and morphed into words she could read.
A wizard of both Fae and
Wizard blood will come into power and rule from a silver throne.
“A wizard of both Fae
and Wizard blood…?” Her voice was quiet in the darkness.
Something behind her
glowed. She dropped the paper and turned to see a symbol on the top of the
trunk had lit up, like a beacon in the darkness.
The trunk. The trunk.
The trunk.
It called to her. She
was certain she had heard her name coming from it. In a fog, she walked toward
it and dropped to her knees. It was an old steamer trunk. She had never seen it
before in the house. Where did it come from? Was it her mother’s?
The glowing symbol on the
top was an intricate Celtic knotwork circle with a sword through it. The light
pulsed, beckoning her.
The trunk, Aoife.
“Yes,” she heard herself
say. “The trunk. Of course.”
Her fingers brushed over
the Celtic knotwork and suddenly the interior illuminated. Light pushed out
around the lid. She gasped and opened it. When the blinding light faded, there
in the trunk was a stone staircase leading down into darkness.
“What the heck…?”
Downstairs, she heard a
door slam and then Sean’s voice. “Aoife? Are you here?”
Step into the trunk,
Aoife.
“Yes, I must.”
She stood and stepped
onto the first stone step. Her racing heart thumped a wild beat and the next
thing she knew she was on the second step. Then the third.
“Aoife, wait!”
Glancing up, Sean appeared
at the top of the attic stairs. She sucked in a sharp breath, grasped the lid
and slammed it closed above her head. She was instantly plunged into total
darkness and hunched down on the step, waiting for Sean to open the lid and
come after her. She heard nothing. No sounds above.
Panic seized her. She
reached above and her hand brushed against smooth, cool stone. She pushed and
pushed and pushed but the stone would not give. She flattened her trembling
hands against where she thought the lid was but again met cold stone instead of
smooth wood. The lid had disappeared. Where did it go?
A cold tingling
sensation went through her as she realized she was trapped. Gasping for air,
she banged the side of her hand against the stone until it hurt, shouting Sean’s
name as hot tears stung her eyes. Her voice bounced off the stone walls around
her, echoing through the shadows. It was useless. He couldn’t hear her. Sean
didn’t follow her because Sean couldn’t follow her. She was trapped.
There was no going back
and there was no way she could get out. Her only option was to go down. With
her pulse racing, she descended into the shadows.
About the Author:
Michelle Miles grew up in North Central
Texas in a rodeo town but was far more interested in nerdy things like Star
Trek and Star Wars. She started writing fan fiction in high school. When being
an archeologist like Indiana Jones or a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader didn't work
out, she decided writing was her gig and has wanted to write her own stories
ever since.
Her love of romance started when she
picked up Victoria Holt and Daphne du Maurier and was immediately smitten with
the genre. But she also found another love in the fantasies of Patricia A.
McKillip and Anne McCaffrey. Since she couldn’t decide which genre to pick—and
because she’s a true Gemini—she decided it would be super fun to write
contemporary and fantasy romance. She is a member of Romance Writers of America
and has served on the board of several chapters as president and treasurer.
In her spare time, she enjoys listening
to music, reading, cross-stitching and watching movies. A Native Texan, she
loves castles, dragons, fairies and elves and is an avid Game of Thrones fan.
She can be found online at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.
Website and Blog: http://www.michellemiles.net
Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/MMRomNews
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MichelleMiles
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MichelleMilesAuthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/MilesOfRomance/
Plotting Princesses: http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com/
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