Welcome to the Official Nerd Blast for
Roar by Cora Carmack!
Title: Roar
Series: Stormheart #1
Author: Cora Carmack
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: June 13, 2017
In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.
Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.
To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.
Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.
She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.
Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.
“I am typically not a fantasy reader, but Roar convinced me to read more. Cora Carmack created a beautiful world and I felt like I was transported to Pavan with her vivid descriptions of the city. I was left wanting more and I can't to find out what happens with the rest of her characters.”—Chelsea Riela, New York Public Library
“In her electrifying YA debut Roar, Cora Carmack creates a stormy fantasy full of adventure featuring a charismatic ensemble cast. Roar introduces YA readers to Cora’s signature talent for balancing authentic characters and a captivating romance, this time set in a striking new world that will sweep readers away.”—Mary Hinson, Irving Public Library and Mary Had A Little Book Blog
EXCERPT
The Pavanian princess stared at Cassius, her mouth open slightly. When
she first walked into this room, Cassius had thought her stunning in her
savagery, colder than the depths of winter. Her dress seduced and threatened in
equal measure, clinging to her curves and adorned with carved skyfire crystals
that jutted from her shoulders and head like the spikes of a warrior’s armor.
And yet for all that careful pageantry, it had only taken a compliment to
rattle her. She looked very young in that moment, very sweet, which was never a
good thing for a potential ruler to be.
She donned an unreadable expression before his curiosity was satisfied, and her
lilting voice turned sharp. “Flattery is not necessary. The betrothal has
already been set.”
Another blast of that wintery gaze. She had unusual blue-gray eyes—wide and
expressive and lovely enough to bring a lesser man to his knees. Her confident
demeanor would likely have convinced most, but he had sharpened his instincts
in a court little safer than a lion’s den. Tension rode her—something between
unease and fear. He gripped her wrist and had the inexplicable urge to drag her
somewhere else, anywhere other than the betrothal celebration that waited
upstairs with his family. She was a delicate songbird, and his father was a bird
of prey. They all were, Cassius included. And he couldn’t help but wonder how
long it would be before this little bird had her wings clipped.
She tugged her arm out of his grasp, hard. He was tempted to take it back. That
was part of his nature … to take. But she fixed him with a harsh glare, and he
smiled in response. Perhaps his little bird had talons after all.
Enough. She was not his little bird. A jungle cat does not care for
prey, even if he wants it with a hunger stronger than any he has ever known. He
pushed his more ruthless instincts aside. That would be his greatest challenge
here—fighting the need to seize, command, destroy. Those were the things he was
good at. The things he’d been taught since he could walk. With Aurora he would
have to coax and flatter and comfort—that was his path to control.
She said, “We should probably go. They’ll be calling for us soon.”
Cassius offered her his elbow, and her body was tense as she curled her hand
around it. But before they even took a step, it became clear that the
voluminous fabric at the bottom of her dress wouldn’t allow them to easily walk
side by side. Cassius took hold of her hand, sliding it off his arm and lacing
their fingers together instead. Slowly, he lifted her hand until his lips dragged
across her knuckles. The blacks of her eyes expanded, swallowing up that lovely
color and adding just a touch of sin to her sweet. She jerked within his grip,
trying to pull away. Chuckling low, he put some distance between them, but he
did not release her hand.
It took entirely too long to cross the throne room in her elaborate attire. She
had to kick the bottom of her dress out before she stepped so that it wasn’t
underfoot. Cassius was willing to bet that the dress and the headpiece weighed
a third as much as she did or more, but her posture remained rigidly upright
and her steps smooth.
By the time they reached the staircase at the back of the throne room, her lips
were open and her breathing quick. He was beginning to hate this dress, even if
it did cling to her curves rather spectacularly.
“You know,” he said, “I have a knife. I’m tempted to cut off the bottom of that
dress so you can walk like the rest of us.”
A smile flitted across her mouth, small at first, then widening into something
playful and bright. It called to the darkness in him. “You could try. But you’d
likely find that knife at your throat with my mother on the other side of it.”
“Not you?”
“If I had my way, we’d burn it once you cut it off. The headdress too.”
He smiled, and for the first time in a long while it felt almost natural.
“Perhaps we’ll celebrate our wedding with a bonfire.”
Every time he mentioned the wedding, she tensed. It was, of course, already
agreed upon and signed in ink, but he had plans that would not succeed if she
remained reluctant.
They ascended the first few steps slowly, the beaded fabric of her dress pulled
taut around her legs. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder and charge the
rest of the way, but he distracted himself with studying his surroundings
instead. The hallway they were leaving behind was filled with paintings and
statues of the Pavan Stormling ancestors. At the hallway’s end a massive,
gold-painted statue of the current queen stood in a decorative alcove. Once
upon a time, there might have been altars to the old gods—places to pray for
good harvest or fertility or even luck—but those days were long past. Too many
years of unbridled destruction and unanswered prayers.
No, Stormlings were the gods now. It was Cassius and the people like him who
either answered prayers or ignored them.
“You said you faced a blizzard on your journey, but you did it without an
affinity.”
He squeezed the hand he still held. “I did.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, scraping at the white paint that
covered her skin. She asked, “Would you tell me about it sometime? The
blizzard?”
He angled his head to smile at her again, and she looked away. Shy. So many
pieces to her puzzle. “On one condition.”
“Which is?” He had expected her to be like most of the well-born ladies of the
court in Locke: sirens with claws and teeth or frightened little mice, made to
be gobbled up by this world. Aurora seemed neither vicious nor weak, but she
was working so carefully to show him a façade that he could not pinpoint
exactly what she was.
He had to know. It was his curse, the reason he thirsted for the thrill of a
storm. He had to know how things worked, had to know why. And the girl in front
of him was no different. In fact, the need to unravel all her secrets was
stronger than he’d ever felt because she would be his. And he had a feeling
that conquering her would prove more exhilarating than any storm he had ever
defeated.
Rather than giving her his condition, he released her hand and wrapped an arm
around the slim circle of her waist. She tried to step back, but her feet
tangled in her dress, and she gripped his tunic to stay upright.
There it was. A thread of fear in those eyes. He could have stopped then, but
he had little self-control when it came to these things. It was not enough to
see a measure of her emotions on her face. He wanted them all. So he pushed a
little more. “You might be patient enough to fight with this dress, but I am
not. Let me get us to the top of these stairs, and I promise to tell you whatever
story you want to hear.”
She jutted her soft chin out and said, “You have a deal.”
The paint had begun to wear away on her lips, revealing rosy skin underneath.
Was the rest of her flushed beneath all that powder? He dragged his fingers
back and forth over her side, feeling hard ridges beneath the heavy,
embellished fabric. “Corset?”
She sucked in a breath, and he knew he had shocked her. Innocent. He collected
each morsel of her identity like a scavenger in the jungle. He saw just a
sliver of panic before she hid it away and met his gaze.
Brave little bird.
“It will have to be like this.” Before she could change her mind or reason
could catch up to his own actions, he bent, winding his arms around her thighs,
and lifted. She was tall but slight, and he held her tight against him so that
her hips pressed against his chest and her stomach hovered in front of his
face. She gasped and braced a hand on his shoulder, reaching up to balance her
headdress with the other. He could not see her face like this, but he imagined
she was scandalized. He chuckled. “I suppose I should have given you some
warning.”
He risked offending her or word getting back to her mother through the guards
that followed them. Both of which paled in comparison to the risk of his father
hearing of his actions. He was a child, poking at a fish with a stick, rather
than reeling it in the way he was supposed to. But he could not seem to help
himself.
With some measure of urgency, he started up the stairs. Her body swayed toward
him, her beaded dress scraping against his chin. This close, he felt her
breathing speed up. The hand on his shoulder migrated to her chest, doing her
best to cover the cleavage that was only just above his line of sight.
His instincts said to push again, but this time he reined them in. He kept his
head down and quickened his feet. Again, the movement made her sway toward him,
harder this time without her hand on his shoulder as a brace. He turned his
face to the side, and her belly pressed against his cheek just for a moment
before her hand was back at his shoulder, righting her position.
He took the last few steps at a pace that was nearly a jog, and when he reached
the top, he looked up at her face. Her mouth was open and soft; he knew by the
rise and fall of her body against him that her breaths were ragged, and in her
eyes was a gleam. Not fear. Not panic. Not even anger.
Want.
He could work with that.
Copyright © 2017 by Cora Carmack
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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| Photo Credit: Matt Tolbert |
Cora Carmack is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult Romance and YA fantasy. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages around the world. Cora splits her time between Austin, TXand New York City, and on any given day you might find her typing away at her computer, flying to various cities around the world, or just watching Netflix with her kitty Katniss. But she can always be found on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and her website. Represented by the fabulous Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary.
GIVEAWAY
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(Everything Pictured, Poster and Coloring Sheet)
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