The Twelfth Knight (Guardians of Camelot #1) by Victoria Sue
Published October 1st 2019
Buy Links:
Bitly: bit.ly/TwelfthKnight
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Ginn Hale here today on tour for her latest novel The Twelfth Knight. Ginn has brought along an excerpt as well as a great giveaway. Check out both below!
✒︎
Blurb
To battle an ancient evil, the greatest weapon each hero will have is each other.
Hundreds of years ago, facing defeat, the witch Morgana sent monsters into the future to vanquish a humanity King Arthur wouldn’t be able to save. The King might have won the battle, but now, centuries later, a few chosen men will have to fight the war.
Merlin always hated being named after some mythological wizard. His dad had been obsessed with the magic man of King Arthur’s Court before his untimely death – a loss that had sent Mel reeling in a downward spiral. He is ill-prepared, to say the least, for the outrageous claims of a proper English knight bent on overcoming evil.
Born a commoner, Lancelot was never supposed to be a knight in his own time, never mind now in a modern world he is so woefully untrained to protect. Thrown into a battle centuries in the making, this flawed hero, and a young man too-used to battling monsters of the present day, will have to come together in a last desperate fight to save humanity.
Can Mel and Lance defeat the greatest enemy the world has ever known? Or in the midst of fighting evil, will they discover the real threat has always been a shattered heart?
And what if the one fight they cannot ever hope to win is with themselves?
Excerpt
We know there is something different about you because you can see them. That is an absolute fact,” Gawain said at last.
“You think?”
Mel looked up at the mildly sarcastic tone Ali used, wondering why she sounded irritated.
“Merlin told Lance that he would know when the final battle was nearing. That something would happen to him. A sign.” Gawain stretched out his hands, almost in supplication.
“But I’m not yours, you said so.” Mel stared at Lance, unsure why he still felt the need to point it out. Turn the knife as his gran would say.
Lance bent his head, looking at the floor and frowning in concentration, and Mel felt almost bereft if that was the right word. Like he’d lost something he didn’t know he had in the first place. Am I mad? He barely existed in a crappy apartment and sold his body every night. He’d been originally going to save for something else, to be something else. It had been temporary, he had promised himself. And somehow nearly five years had gone. Would he still be selling sex in another five years, or would some psycho have slit his throat by then? Mel stared at the computer screen. He was protesting the loss of something he didn’t have in the first place.
A change is as good as a rest. His gran said that all the time as well. His earliest memories of his dad were being pulled onto his knee and told stories of knights and dragons and all the heroes his little heart could ever wish for.
And one day it had just stopped. It had seemed like his whole world had been on fire when his dad had woken him frantically and told him to run, as fast and as far as he could, and wait until he came for him.
But he never had. He’d hidden behind some old car and cried until a cop had found him. He’d been reunited with his mom a few hours later, and they’d had to go live in some awful motel. Then the other nightmare started—not worse than losing his dad, but like he’d lost him all over again. He used to lie in that room and have nightmares, some while he was asleep and some while he was awake. His mom was drinking, and it wasn’t long until she had gotten a boyfriend. And more importantly, no one had ever tried to explain what had happened. The sickening realization that his father might have died trying to protect him was a horrible one.
His life became a downward spiral, and his dad had never found them no matter which city Mom dragged him to. As a child he used to sit out at the end of the road and just wait for his dad to show up because he never believed he was dead. And somehow in the years that followed, he had forgotten that.
“What about my dad? I don’t believe with what you have told me his death was accidental, but I would have been easily found if they had looked. And I definitely didn’t meet any mysterious strangers that wanted to look after me.”
He wasn’t that lucky.
“I don’t know,” Lance admitted again. “The only clues we were given were fifteen hundred years ago from a dying man. You may be different because of the name.”
“No,” Mel challenged. “You are clutching at excuses because you refuse to believe Guinevere isn’t coming for you. You have this idea you are going to get her as a reward, but I have news for you, oh mighty knight of the realm or whatever you are. Life isn’t like that. Shit happens. Good guys die and bad guys win.”
His ears screamed with how loud the silence was.
Then Lance jumped up so quickly his chair toppled back, but he was out of the room before it hit the floor.
And Mel deflated. That wasn’t fair. He was sick of never being good enough, but that wasn’t Lance’s fault. “Should I go after him?”
“It depends if you are staying, I guess,” Ali said bluntly and righted the chair.
Mel stared at all of them, their expressions equal with hope and worry. He chewed at his bottom lip. He didn’t feel special, and he wasn’t sure even if Thor decided Mel was his he wanted to belong to him anyway.
Liar. He glanced around the room and weighed up the possibilities before him. Gawain? He wasn’t into the tortured-genius vibe really and had a feeling—even unintentionally—being around Gawain might make him feel a little inadequate.
Kay? On the surface Kay seemed to be as capable as Lance. He was certainly as hot—maybe even better-looking—but there was something about Kay that hinted at a great hurt and hidden vulnerability. He had a feeling it was going to take a strong man or woman to unravel him, and Mel wasn’t sure he was in the right headspace at the moment to be fair to either of them.
Ali? She was a badass, and he had a feeling they could become great friends, but the other half of her soul? Maybe not.
Lucan? Appearance-wise, Lucan was exactly what Mel would go for. Large, brooding, probably dominating in the bedroom, and muscles in exactly the right places…but.
But? Mel nearly screamed the frustrated thought. What was it about Mel that always made him want the very thing he could never have? Stability, honesty. Love?
He pushed the little voice away. “Is it safe here?”
Kay nodded to the computer screen. “More of Gawain’s genius.”
But Thor was still in his head no matter how much he wanted to push him away. How his gray eyes lit with determination. The strong lines of his face that screamed dependability. Mel could imagine him on a horse—would have to be a stallion. Full armor, arm brandishing the huge sword as he yelled his battle cry.
“Show me what to do.”
It was a decision. He lowered his eyes, not wanting to see either triumph or gratitude in theirs. Their enemy might be something unspeakably evil, but becoming dependent on Lance especially was just as dangerous. Someone who—despite his less than definite denials—was in love with someone else, a dead woman. It would be too easy to get carried away and imagine this knight belonged to him.
Giveaway
Victoria Sue is generously offering a $5 Amazon US gift card and an eBook of choice from her backlist to one lucky reader. Please leave a comment and your email address where you can be reached if picked. Must be 18 years or older to enter.
About the Author
Victoria Sue
Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.
@vickysuewrites
https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182647028418709/
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/VictoriaSueNewsletter
Master of Restless Shadows, Book One by Ginn Hale
One hundred years ago, a sheriff’s posse killed dark warlock Rhyfel Gremory, but his witch-disciples escaped, and their magic made them nearly immortal. To keep their power, each year one of the witch-disciples kills a descendant of one of the men in the posse, a twelve-year cycle that has cost dozens of lives, including that of Seth Tanner’s brother, Jesse.
Twelve years ago, Daniel McCafferty walked away from the man he loved without a backward glance. He threw himself into his father’s business as heir apparent of their vicious criminal empire in Manchester. Forced to deny who he was, who he loved, he buried himself in work and drink.
Edward Peach is a fourteen-year-old wizard who receives a letter that he has been accepted into the prestigious Prymoutekhny Wizards Academy for Boys, in the faraway land of Aradia. His parents are overjoyed, but he feels reluctant to leave his family, friends, and his comfy cottage in the English coastal village of Manley. As term begins, Edward adjusts to life in his new school, dealing with bullies, strict teachers, and challenging wizardry classes. He is almost ready to give up when he falls in love with a charismatic, privileged boy-and talented wizard-named Mr. Andreas. Prymoutekhny is a school that has still not opened up to same-sex attraction, so he must keep his feelings secret. Soon, Edward and the impressive boy realize their deep attraction for each other. This causes immediate controversy in the school, as they are the first two boys from feuding houses to come together-especially in a school where house rivalry can end in murder.He is then put to the ultimate test as he must risk being with the boy he loves even at the cost of his own life!
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 