Burning Sea from Donna Grant is out now!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Desire runs deeper than the ocean…
I was never meant to descend into the world beneath the waves—
never meant to fall into the orbit of a Sea Elf whose power could shatter oceans.
He is danger wrapped in control.
Cold. Commanding. Untouchable.
His city is beauty honed into a weapon. His restraint is legendary. And yet the way his gaze lingers tells me he wants me as much as he fears what I awaken in him.
I don’t belong in his realm of tides and shadows, where ancient magic stirs and secrets are buried deep. But every step closer pulls me under—desire tightening, temptation burning hotter than the sea itself.
The truth I uncover could ignite a war.
Loving him could destroy us both.
Leaving may already be impossible.
Because when the ocean begins to rise and everything he’s sworn to protect is threatened, I understand one dangerous truth—
The sea isn’t the only thing capable of burning.
And I’m done resisting the fire between us.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant weaves a captivating story of forbidden desire, dangerous secrets, and impossible choices in this seductive installment of her acclaimed Elven Kingdoms series.
Read an Excerpt:
Somewhere in the Amrata Ocean
A low hum whispered in the vast quiet of the deep. It stirred Varum’s senses and wrapped soothingly around him. The world narrowed to shades of sapphire and shadows—endless and alive. He hung on to the mareth as its enormous wing-like fins stirred, quickly cutting through the cold ocean waters. As Varum scanned the bottomless blue ahead, he could just make out the faded images of the two Sea Elves he followed.
The mareth drew closer to the surface, and light began to fracture above him, breaking into ribbons of molten blue. The currents flowed in all directions—some swift, others gentle, but all dangerous. Off to his right, a group of nairu rippled past, their silver scales scattering light like shattered glass.
There was no time to enjoy the serene beauty around him. Not when he had the chance to find the rogue elves rumored to be aiding the Masters. He had been urging the High Tide Assembly to take the reports coming to Tarangarh seriously, but they repeatedly dismissed his concerns. They cared not that humans were being taken. The Assembly couldn’t even muster shock at the knowledge that other elven races were also being kidnapped. To most Sea Elves, the land dwellers got what they deserved.
Except Varum knew of at least three Sea Elves who had gone missing from other cities.
His unease grew at the Assembly’s inaction. If they wouldn’t heed the reports making their way to them, then he would bring them proof. Starting with the duo of elves he now trailed. They had left Tarangarh by way of a passage that should have been guarded. That meant someone in the city must have aided these elves. He had no idea how far up the betrayal went, but he intended to find out.
Varum leaned closer to the mareth and telepathically told it to go faster. The colossal beast beat its wide fins quicker in response. He kept the animal in deeper waters to watch everything unfold. It would also allow him to spring into action should the need arise. He wouldn’t allow the Sea Elves to be tainted by the depravities of the Masters and their sycophants.
It was bad enough that the Masters’ influence had grown too fast and spread too far. The first hint of the group had reached Tarangarh a year past. No one had heeded the gossip at the time. That was the way of Sea Elves. Nothing mattered but their world beneath the water. They kept to themselves and rarely interacted with other elves.
Yet Varum worried that his kind’s dismissive behavior could very well be their undoing.
A dark shadow marred the rippling surface as a ship headed in his direction. Varum narrowed his eyes as the two elves headed straight for the vessel. He’d hoped he had been wrong about them, but this clearly wasn’t a chance meeting. Even from his depth, he could hear the cries of fear from those on the ship, mixed with the deep voices of those tormenting them.
He kept his gaze on the pair of Sea Elves as they poked their heads above the water. Try as he might, he was too far away to hear their exchange with the boat. He urged the mareth to head toward a coral outcropping. Varum patted the animal and said his thanks before sliding off to hide. This area of the ocean had treacherous currents that could—and often did—cause ships to lose their way.
His worry doubled when one of the Sea Elves swam to the front of the craft while the second went to the back. He caught flashes of blue magic as they drove the vessel through the roughest currents. Fury coiled tightly inside Varum. He didn’t know how long his kinsfolk had aided the Masters, but it stopped today.
He shoved away from the coral and headed toward the ship. He was halfway there when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Varum did a double-take, his mind refusing to believe what he saw. It wasn’t another Sea Elf coming up from the depths, but a woman. She swam calmly, deliberately. Swiftly. As if the ocean were hers to command.
No human could swim at such depths without drowning. Their fragile bodies weren’t built to sustain a held breath for that long. And yet, this female was doing just that. Long, dark hair billowed behind her like streamers as she swam straight for the vessel.
She didn’t slow as she came up behind the elf at the rear of the ship and whacked him on the back of the head. His hold loosened, and he sank into the abyss, unconscious. Varum’s gaze jerked back to the woman. The craft began to slow, and she used that time to grab a rope floating in the water.
He moved closer for a better look, being sure to stay out of sight of the other Sea Elf. It wasn’t long before he realized that the boat wasn’t a large transport ship as he had thought. It was a sloop, designed for speed and maneuverability. The female pulled herself up and out of the water with ease.
Varum broke the surface to get a clearer view of the action and counted twenty humans shackled together, with five elves manning the boat. Each of the elves had their attention focused on their destination as the sloop glided smoothly through the waves, all while the woman managed to unlock the prisoner’s chains.
One of the humans, a man, slipped soundlessly into the water and beneath the surface. Varum watched him for a moment. He hadn’t gone very deep, and his strokes were sloppy and frantic. He was using too much energy, which meant he wouldn’t get far before his body gave out and he drowned.
The next to go over was a middle-aged woman. Her foot slipped on her way into the water, causing her to splash. That caught the attention of the Wood Elf nearest her. There was a second of silence as the female, unchaining the prisoners, locked eyes with the elf. Then, the Wood Elf bellowed a warning, and chaos erupted as desperate humans fled overboard despite still being restrained. The ship dragged them along in its wake. A few were able to raise themselves up enough to catch a breath, but most succumbed quickly.
Varum had thought the female would jump into the water to escape. Instead, she charged the kidnapper. She went low, aiming for the Wood Elf’s knees, letting out a battle yell that made his brows rise in surprise. The elf aimed his hand, ready to launch a round of magic, when the human twisted and fell onto her back, taking the elf with her. He toppled over, his head slamming into the side of the vessel.
When Varum spotted a Moon Elf rushing toward her, he nearly called out a warning. He stopped himself in time. He might sympathize with what was happening to them, but he also knew there wasn’t anything he could do to help the ones here. His focus was on ending whatever connection the Masters had to the Sea Elves. He certainly didn’t care about a woman, no matter how heroic—or perhaps idiotic—her efforts.
A strangled yell cut off mid-cry and caught Varum’s attention. He turned to see the large fin of a vorash before it vanished beneath the waves, and the blood pooling in the water. With a flick of his wrists, Varum slipped beneath the surface and turned in a slow circle. The torso of a young man floated lifelessly in a cloud of bloodied water, but it was the sight of the Sea Elf surging fast from the deep, his face mottled in fury, that drew his gaze.
Varum rushed toward the elf with two kicks of his feet, intercepting his quarry before the elf could reach the boat. He rammed a shoulder into his kinsman and knocked him off course. The younger male turned silvery white eyes to Varum and peeled back his lips in a sneer. The elf attacked in a burst of magic and bubbles, but Varum had expected such an assault and easily moved to the side, hitting the elf in the back as he passed.
The younger elf tumbled head over heels before catching himself and hurriedly swimming back into the dark depths of the ocean instead of continuing the fight. Varum glanced back at the sloop. The remaining Sea Elf was farther away now, and he’d have to fight the other elves to get him. It would be easier to go after the one trying to escape. He flipped down and started swimming.
The sleek body of a vorash glided below him. Suddenly, the animal spun, flicking its tail as it hurried away. Varum looked over his shoulder to see the woman sinking quickly. She kicked her feet, but there was a chain locked around her arms, preventing her from moving them. And billowing in her wake was a cloud of blood from a wound.
He almost felt sorry for her becoming the vorash’s next meal, but it was the way of the sea. Just as he started to swim away, something made him hesitate. He watched her sink deeper and deeper. Behind her, the vorash gained ground quickly. Yet Varum still held back, unsure why he couldn’t seem to do anything. He tried to look away when the animal opened its huge mouth, but his eyes wouldn’t obey. Just before the vorashslammed its jaws closed around her, it suddenly jerked away, swimming off into the blue.
Varum’s gaze swung back to the human. She continued to fight against the chains binding her, even as blood continued to darken the water around her. One vorash might have left, but others would soon come to feast. They couldn’t resist the smell of blood, and there was a lot of it in the water.
She plummeted toward the reef without realizing it. Finally, she twisted so she was facing downward and just managed to shift to the side to prevent striking the coral. But by doing that, she set herself on a course toward a rockier area. She attempted to rotate again, but it was too late. Her knees struck a section, causing her to spin. Within moments, her head hit another. Then, there was no more movement as she tumbled to the bottom.
Varum looked toward the fleeing Sea Elf, finding him long gone, then looked back at the vessel. It, too, was gone, leaving dozens of dead floating in its wake. If the rumors about what happened to those kidnapped were true, death was a blessing. He searched the water for any sign of the second Sea Elf, but he was nowhere to be seen. The only link to any of what had occurred was the human.
He sighed as he descended to her. His gaze locked on her chest, watching it rise and fall steadily. Surely, his eyes were deceiving him. A human couldn’t breathe underwater. They had never been able to. Never would.
The light was dim this far down, but Sea Elves were made to see in such murky depths. Once he touched the sandy bottom beside her, he held her close and unwound the chain. She floated back and forth with the current, her dark hair moving like seaweed about her head. He watched as several strands clung to his arm.
He had only heard humans described. This was his first time seeing one up close. Her face might be what her kind called pretty. Her features were symmetrical and pleasant to look upon. As her head lolled to the side, he caught sight of something. Gently, he gripped her chin and turned her head away. He moved aside her hair and saw three small slits—gills—behind her ear.
Varum jerked back in shock. How was this possible? He needed to know more—about her and her knowledge of the Masters. The blood bloom around them was swelling and getting larger. He glanced up to see dozens of vorash feasting on the dead above. He could hold them off if he had to, but it would be better to get away while they were occupied. Her wounds needed tending. The cut along her hairline from striking the coral bled profusely, but it was the injury to her side that threatened her life.
He couldn’t tend to her here, but he couldn’t take her back to Tarangarh. It was forbidden for anyone other than Sea Elves to enter the city—not even the other elven races were permitted. Regardless, she had answers that he needed to keep his people safe.
There was nowhere he felt comfortable taking her, though. He couldn’t chance any other Sea Elf city, and going ashore was out of the question. There was only one answer. Tarangarh.
Defying the oldest law of Sea Elf civilization would mean death for him and her if they were caught, but if he could prove to the High Tide Assembly about the Masters, then maybe the punishment wouldn’t be as harsh. For him, at least. They wouldn’t be lenient with a human. He looked down at her floating before him.
She had answers he needed. If her life saved tens of thousands of elves, then he would find a way to deal with it. That was if they got caught. He would just have to make sure that didn’t happen.
SERIES INFO
Want to catch up on the entire Dark Universe? You can find the reading order by visiting MotherofDragonsBooks.com.
Get to know all the elves!
The Elven Races
The Elves
The Humans
The Villains
The Dark Universe series
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