{"id":62,"date":"2013-09-16T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-16T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/2013\/09\/16\/disciple-part-iii-by-l-blankenship\/"},"modified":"2013-09-16T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-09-16T13:00:00","slug":"disciple-part-iii-by-l-blankenship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/2013\/09\/16\/disciple-part-iii-by-l-blankenship\/","title":{"rendered":"Disciple, Part III by L. Blankenship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today I’m excited to share an excerpt from L. Blankenship’s <\/i>Disciple, Part III\u00a0as part of her blog tour<\/a> for its release. <\/i>Disciple is a gritty fantasy romance that can be a bit gory, so might be best enjoyed by older readers.\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
(Even though the city is preparing for a siege, Kate and Sir Anders manage to find time to eat dinner together and the community potluck.)<\/div>\n
We ate in silence for a stretch, working through potatoes, roasted spring onions, and pastries filled with egg and cheese. The Order\u2019s kitchen offered only herbal teas, now, as they\u2019d run out of small beer.<\/div>\n
Our arms brushed, now and then, and we traded a snippet of smile back and forth. Easy and simple, two friends sharing a meal. It left me warm.<\/div>\n
Anders broke the quiet as his trencher neared bare. \u201cThe Guard in my squad have been asking, since it\u2019s more than odd now \u2014 why I\u2019ve no token on my helm.\u201d He paused, risked a glance at me. \u201cI said I didn\u2019t need one, I was only tending the stable. Not riding escort.\u201d<\/div>\n
He left it there. \u201cBut now you are,\u201d I said. He\u2019d never worn a lady\u2019s token, so I wasn\u2019t sure why he brought it up now.<\/div>\n
\u201cIt needn\u2019t be anything special \u2014 any kerchief would do.\u201d<\/div>\n
He wanted \u2014? My token. His wife, and a lady. Neither title would jump to my mind easily, still. I breathed a chuckle without meaning to. \u201cOne of mine? I never wear a kerchief.\u201d<\/div>\n
I still wrapped my braid in a bun, most days, but sometimes I gathered it up in the crespine that Frida had given me. The close weight of it on my neck, and the band across my head, still felt odd.<\/div>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a physician\u2019s favor, a bandage would be fitting,\u201d he said, and smiled with a twist. \u201cShould I need one, it would be quite convenient.\u201d<\/div>\n
I couldn\u2019t help smiling at that. But our supply of bandages was already walking out of the hospital on wounded men, and rarely returning. \u201cSurely you could buy me a kerchief that would do.\u201d<\/div>\n
Anders\u2019 smile dropped away. My heart dropped with it. He shifted back, then turned to what was left on his trencher. I barely caught his mutter, even so close to him. \u201cIf you don\u2019t wish me luck, then best to do without.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I \u2014\u201d I\u2019d stepped in something, that was clear. \u201cOf course I wish you luck. Not that you need it, but if you think my wishes will help\u2026\u201d That wasn\u2019t what he wanted to hear, though. He didn\u2019t look up until I touched his arm. Such blue eyes, and so quick to retreat from me. \u201cMother gave me a wimple, but it draws so much attention to wear one outside Engl Street. It\u2019s a nice, light green and it\u2019ll look fine on your helm.\u201d<\/div>\n
He pressed his mouth in a line, then asked, \u201cHave you worn it?\u201d<\/div>\n
I\u2019d hardly unfolded it. \u201cMust I have?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s meant to \u2014\u201d Anders put up a hand to fend it all off. \u201cPay it no mind.\u201d He got up from the bench, taking his cup of tea as he went.<\/div>\n
\u201cAnders \u2014\u201d An edge of pleading wormed into my voice. I wanted a chance to mend my mis-step.<\/div>\n
But he wouldn\u2019t look back.<\/div>\n
Disciple, Part III\u00a0back cover<\/div>\n
Kate fought for her place as a healer in the war\u2019s front lines. Serving her homeland has been her goal since her magical gifts earned her a coveted apprenticeship with the kingdom\u2019s greatest healer. She believes she\u2019s prepared.<\/div>\n
But nothing\u2019s simple when defending a besieged capital city \u2014 or her heart.<\/div>\n
She loves the prince, who means to protect her even though his duties as a knight keep him on the battlements, fighting the enemy\u2019s monstrous army.<\/div>\n
Kate\u2019s husband is the one who checks on her, lingers over dinner, and slowly but surely charms her. She\u2019s all too aware that her beloved prince threatened to kill him if he touches her.<\/div>\n
As the enemy thunders against the city walls, the kingdom needs more from Kate than just her healing magic. All disciples must put aside their tangled feelings and stand in the homeland\u2019s defense.<\/div>\n
Kate believed she’s ready for a war. She isn’t.<\/div>\n
On sale now!\u00a0See the list of retailers<\/a><\/div>\n
Read\u00a0a sample of Disciple, Part III<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0sample Part II<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0sample Part I<\/a><\/div>\n
L’s\u00a0book blog<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Google+<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I’m excited to share an excerpt from L. Blankenship’s Disciple, Part III\u00a0as part of her blog tour for its release. Disciple is a gritty fantasy romance that can be a bit gory, so might be best enjoyed by older readers.\u00a0 (Even though the city is preparing for a siege, Kate and Sir Anders manage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,177,434],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-epic-fantasy","category-fantasy","category-romance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}