THE PRINCES OF STONE AND STEEL
Roshambo Rising, Book 1
by Sarah Zolton Arthur
YA Fantasy Romance
She must remember the past to save the future.
What starts as the abduction of Millie Merchant turns into an awakening of bitter truth. Her life is a lie. Her family a fake. It’s all been part of an elaborate hoax to keep her from her destiny. A destiny that lies in the land of Roshambo.
The lines between fantasy & reality blur as she’s transported to a fantastical realm boarding on extinction. Struggling to make sense of it all, Millie is presented with two princes determined to win her hand. One has her best interest at heart, the other seeks control of the realm. But who can she trust in a world full of strangers?
War is looming. Nightmarish beasts prowl the lands. It falls to Millie to be the salvation of Roshambo. For she alone is the ruler the Outliers have been searching for. The origins of rock, paper, scissors come alive in a tale far more twisted than a simple child’s game.
SNEAK PEEK
“Shh…” Mármaro put a finger to his lips.
“What?” she mouthed without actually letting any sound escape her throat.
“We aren’t alone.”
Birch bark ripped like sandpaper against her exposed back as he pressed
them both flat against a tree to avoid being seen. Content to wait for
his cue, Millicent dug her fingernails deeply into the tree bark, scraping
pulp deep under the quick as he set her down.
Rumblings of angry groans rippled out across the forest floor, like a pebble
thrown into the center of a lake. The world around her appeared to change.
Once vibrant colors dulled to muted tones in response to whatever lurked
about around them. Millicent froze as terror gripped her feet, seizing them
captive, unable to move forward. “What is that?”
“Stay close.” Mármaro ordered.
She held on, squeezing his hand tightly. They both strived to remain silent,
but her heart beat so wildly, it felt impossible to imagine that it wouldn’t
betray their position. They crept from tree to tree trying to avoid
the loudest ripples.
“Ailuranthrope.” Mármaro barely whispered, almost as a thought not
meant to be spoken. Millie squeezed his stone hand so tightly color left
her own. He shook his head as if remembering she was with him.
“Werecat,” he continued. “But why? They never stray this far south.
Even still, they never travel alone.”
The pair started to turn back toward his home when a second monstrous
cry echoed from the trees ahead of them. The leaves rustled. The sound of
claws clicked along the hardened ground.
A creature emerged slowly from the thick, as if stalking its prey—nose tilted
upward to welcome their scent dancing over the wind. As Millicent and
Mármaro kept their undivided attention on the creature before them, hot
breath tickled the back of Millicent’s neck. A small whimper escaped her.
Mármaro whipped his head around to see part of the werecat’s massive
frame. It smelled them but hadn’t seen them yet, evident, as they were
still alive. But one wrong move would surely prove fatal.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. They were about to die; she felt it in her
soul. That was, until a hole opened up behind her legs. A hole just wide
enough for a girl her frame to pass through appeared at the base of the birch.
She gasped, startling Mármaro. He looked down and nudged her
backward a shuffling step
Sarah Zolton Arthur is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of Adult Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Rom-Com, LBGTQ+, and PNR author who recently decided to dip her toes in the world of YA Fantasy. She spends her days embracing the weirdly wonderful parts of life with her two kooky sons while pretending to be a responsible adult. And there is plenty of the weird and wonderful to go around with her older son being autistic and the younger being a plain ol' wisecracker.
She resides in Michigan, where the winters bring cold, and the summers bring construction. The roads might have potholes, but the beaches are amazing.
Above all else, she lives by these rules. Call them Sarah's life edicts: In Sarah's world all books have kissing and end in some form of HEA. Because really, what more do you need in life?
$25 Amazon Giftcard, a Princes of Stone and Steel notebook and a premium 22oz. insulated water bottle with logo
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