It’s Wednesday and time for the MFRW Book Hooks Blog Hop!
The Warrior Priest $0.99 sale ends on June 30th, so here’s one last excerpt from it for this month. In this scene, Jade has just arrived at Selena’s commune. It’s time for dinner, and unfortunately, some members of the commune aren’t as hospitable to the warrior priests as the priests were to Selena and Elspeth when they visited their planet.
Thank you for stopping by, and don’t forget to check out excerpts from authors in the MFRW Book Hooks Blog Hop!
Kate
“Since when is voicing an opinion disrespectful?” Gabe demanded.
Elspeth raised an eyebrow. “You call this voicing an opinion? You put on this same show when Tobias arrived. You even call him and his Order beasts of war. These so called beasts have sat here calmly and endured your critique about a subject with which you have no experience.”
“Since when does a person need to be faced with a weapon to know that violence only begets violence. The only way to end it is through self-sacrifice.”
“We agree,” Tobias said. He glanced at Jade. “Tell them, brother, so that they may understand.”
How did he and Jade remain so calm and collected, keeping their tempers while being attacked like this? Selena was trained to be passive, but at the moment she felt anything but peaceful.
“Sacrifices must be made to keep people safe. It’s in our holy book,” Jade said, his deep voice soft and steady, like he’d sounded while conducting the ritual on Redwing Island. “Long ago, the people of Covenant lived in peace. Strangers came to our world. We offered them friendship. They chose to conquer instead. People were tortured and slaughtered—men, women, children. It is said that peace is the ultimate happiness, but at times it must be earned. From the ancient religion rose a sect of warrior priests who drove off the oppressors and restored peace to Covenant. God gave us the will to protect the weak—we are Shields of Heaven. We accept the scars to body and soul that come from it.”
No one spoke for a moment, and then Gabe said, “Well that’s barbaric.”
“Gabe, I think instead of finishing dinner, you should use this time to meditate,” Amber said. “You’re dismissed.”
Gabe looked momentarily furious, but collected himself. He rose from the table, glared at Jade and Tobias, and strode out of the dining room.
Clearing his throat, Ned stared at Jade over the rim of his glasses again. “I’m sorry about that. Please know that Gabe doesn’t speak for all of us.”
“Definitely not,” Rayne said. “For all his preaching about non violence, he can cause an uproar in seconds, and he never fails to do so.”
Blurb:
What happens when a warrior priest from a strict religion meets a free-spirited priestess from a new age commune?
Jade and Selena are as different as two people can be, but to facilitate an alliance between their worlds, they engage in a cultural exchange. With their galaxy in danger from a planet that wants to conquer or destroy all others, they realize the importance of their assignment, but it is difficult for a warrior priest and a nonviolent priestess to understand each other.
Selena is both attracted and appalled by his old school masculinity, and Jade is tempted to break his vow of celibacy until marriage due to his powerful desire for her. Will this unlikely pair not only find common ground, but unconditional love?
Warrior Priest is on sale for $0.99 until June 30th at Amazon / Smashwords.
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Hi, Kate,
I STILL haven’t started your book — apologies — but when I’m done I will definitely review it.
This is another great scene.
I enjoyed the book
“Since when is voicing an opinion disrespectful?” I guess they found out. I loved this line. Thanks for sharing!
Tense scene! Tweeted.