Loving a god has its advantages
Lleu, the radiant sun god, crosses between worlds to the
Silures village for the fierce and stunning druidess, Wendolyn —a woman worth
battling for. He longs to celebrate Lughnasa, the festival that honors him, with her.
Wendolyn is captivated by the striking stranger the moment he wanders into her
village. Furthermore, she wants him with a fervor, burning her from within.
However, he’s hiding his true identity. When he vows to save her tribe from the
Romans marching toward them, everyone, including her dead father in a dream,
says he is a coward who has run off.
Lleu is determined to win the love of druidess Wendolyn even if it means fighting
the Roman army singled handed—by shapeshifting into in his lynx body.
Will her tribe survive the Romans? And, can Wendolyn and Lleu’s relationship
survive her tribe’s mistrust of him?
Excerpt:
With her heart hammering, Wyndolen stared with wonder at Lleu’s luscious nude
body. She only glanced away long enough to pull a white robe, speckled with gold, out of
the chest in the corner. She tugged it on, then fastened a plaid cloak over it with a round
silver broach and latched her gaze onto Lleu again while he slipped his clothes back on.
They left the roundhouse and walked hand in hand to Cynfor’s home.
She called out to the woodmaker, “It is time.”
Cynfor stepped out, clutching an iron rod and the wheel of the year coated with
gooey tar. As the three walked together to the center of the village, men, women, and
children gathered around the druidess, muttering, “Lleu,” and “coward.”
Scanning the angry faces in the crowd, Wyndolen sighed. If only they knew the
truth about him. But she couldn’t blame them, she was as guilty as they were. She hadn’t
recognized he was a god, even after he’d told her. No, he had to show her his magic spear
and reveal his dazzling aura. Now the others needed to learn the truth. Tonight, at his
festival, she would announce who he really was. But first she had to prepare her
tribesmen for the news, to lessen their shock.
She held her palm upward toward the crowd and cleared her throat. “Hear me, I
have a surprise for all of you. The presence of the god Lleu is here. You do not see him as
he is in the guise of one of us. So, take care of how you treat each other, lest you offend
the deity.”
Their expressions shifted from anger to shame as they were now all on their best
behavior.
Taking graceful steps, she led all her tribesmen, chief, and Lleu to a cliff. Their
chief proudly carried a blazing firebrand, and Cynfor held the sacred wheel with reverent
hands. Everyone grew quiet and gazed down the mountain slope.
Wyndolen announced, “We have gathered this Lughnasa to observe the Wheel of
the Year as it turns.” She raised her arms to the sky and smiled at Lleu as she chanted,
“The sun burns, yet winter nears. The season turns. Summer comes to an end. Sun and
earth, life to death the wheel turns, Lughnasa, Lughnasa.”
She took the torqueh from Corio, handed it to Lleu, and he lit the wheel of year
aflame. Cynfor handed Wyndolen the iron rod. Then, the sun god, Lleu, ran beside her,
on the other side of the flaming wheel, as she used the rod to roll it down that part of the
mountain slope.
She chanted, “God of the sun, the wheel has turned, the yearly end of your reign
has come.”
Smoke rose, as flames ate the wood. The wheel reached its end at the foot of the
slope and crumbled into ash and burning fragments. The crowd stopped in their tracks
and circled the symbol of the dying Lleu.
Along with The Lynx and the Druidess I have released an ebook box set of the entire series, Druidry and the Beast.
Blurb:
Five hot, shapeshifter gods and five passionate druidesses save the tribes of Ancient Britain.
Can these couples overcome the surmountable odds of a romance between mortals and immortals being anything more than a Celtic fire festival tryst? As the wheel of the year, flaming like searing desire both on Earth and the Otherworld, turns with the seasons from:
Samhain with God Gwydion, a wolf shapeshifter, and druidess Seren, as the sensual magic brewing between them could be destroyed by a warning of danger from beyond the grave.
Beltane with God Dewey, a dragon shapeshifter, and druidess Nona, dealing with whatever evil the jealous chief might unleash on them.
The Winter Solstice with God Artaois, a bear shapeshifter, and Druidess Bronwen, fighting to save her tribe from starvation.
The Summer Solstice with Epon, a unicorn shapeshifter and druidess Maelona, as he battles the Romans to save her tribe.
Lughnasa, with God Lleu, a lynx shapeshifter and Druidess Wendolen as he tries to overcome the Romans and she tries to overcome her tribes’ mistrust of Lleu.
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