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    Beyond the King's Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2)
    Beyond the King's Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2)
    Beyond the King's Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2)
    Ebook123 pages1 hour

    Beyond the King's Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2)

    By Lila Leigh Hunter

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    About this ebook

    As the youngest son of the forsaken king, Tristan of Mernovia’s life changed abruptly when their kingdom was cursed by his father. Centuries later, he will learn that a close friendship will bring the happiness he searched for.

    Tiberius Lir longed to be reunited with his family. Only a merman kept him sane under the Devil’s Triangle waters. He will do anything to regain what was rightfully his and to protect the numen who stole his heart.

    Everything changed for the friends during a trip to the Bermuda reefs; between assassination attempts, worlds been exposed, and new kingdoms’ allegiances, the mers will find true love Beyond the King’s Curse.

    ***All stories in this series run parallel. Therefore, each one can be read as a stand-alone novella.***

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLila Leigh Hunter
    Release dateSep 29, 2015
    ISBN9781310005152
    Beyond the King's Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2)
    Author

    Lila Leigh Hunter

    Lila Leigh Hunter lives in the Lone Star State and considers herself lucky for the love and support of her husband and four kids, even when they think she doesn’t do anything around the house. Lila’s number one fan is her mother, who listens to all her crazy ideas and pretends to agree with her. Lila Leigh is an architectural designer by trade and a writer by heart. Her love for writing is only surpassed by her devotion to reading. When outside of her cave, she likes to observe men and try to guess their stories. Sometimes she wishes the voices in her head were real; going out with the boys in her books sounds like a plan made in heaven.

    Read more from Lila Leigh Hunter

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      Book preview

      Beyond the King's Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2) - Lila Leigh Hunter

      BEYOND THE KING’S CURSE (Gate to the Worlds, #2)

      By Lila Leigh Hunter

      Beyond the King’s Curse (Gate to the Worlds, #2)

      Copyright @2015 Lila Leigh Hunter

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

      Cover Art by Hunter Hues

      Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted is a model.

      Published by Hunter Hues

      Distributed by Smashwords

      This is a work of fiction. names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

      Thank you for downloading this e-book. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

      Second Edition September 2015

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Blurb

      Story Inspiration

      Acknowledgements

      Beyond the King’s Curse

      Prologue

      Chapter I

      Chapter II

      Chapter III

      Chapter IV

      Chapter V

      Chapter VI

      Chapter VII

      Chapter VIII

      Chapter IX

      Chapter X

      Epilogue

      Glossary

      Author Bio

      Contact & Media Info

      BLURB

      As the youngest son of the forsaken king, Tristan of Mernovia’s life changed abruptly when their kingdom was cursed by his father. Centuries later, he will learn that a close friendship will bring the happiness he searched for.

      Tiberius Lir longed to be reunited with his family. Only a merman kept him sane under the Devil’s Triangle waters. He will do anything to regain what was rightfully his and to protect the numen who stole his heart. 

      Everything changed for the friends during a trip to the Bermuda reefs; between assassination attempts, worlds been exposed, and new kingdoms’ allegiances, the mers will find true love Beyond the King’s Curse.

      ***All stories in this series run parallel. Therefore, each one can be read as a stand-alone novella. ***

      STORY INSPIRATION

      This story was written as part of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's Love is an Open Road event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. 

      Photo Description:

      A young merman seems to be floating calmly underwater— arms extended, eyes closed. His aquamarine tail is curved towards a golden coral formation. Sunlight is coming through the surface, shining on him like a spotlight.

      Story Letter:

      Dear Author,

      Doesn’t this merman look sad and lonely? Can you put a smile on his face?

      Matthew Arnold’s 1849 poem The Forsaken Merman tells the story of a merman whose human wife leaves him and their children to return to life on the surface. The haunting final lines of the poem are:

      There dwells a loved one,

      But cruel is she.

      She left lonely for ever

      The kings of the sea.

      Perhaps the merman in your story is the same one from the poem; perhaps he is a different merman altogether. One thing is for certain: if mermaids keep falling in love with human men, as they do in fairy tales and princess movies, there are going to be a whole lot of single, lonely (and horny?) mermen left in the ocean.

      What’s a merman to do?

      What will you write? My favorite would be a GFY, First-Time or Friends-to-Lovers type of story. But it’s up to you! Sweet romance, kinky merman sex, ménage, MPREG, shifters, tentacle porn— all fine. My only requirement is that one MC be a merman and the other MC(s) be, if not mermen, at least non-human. And of course, a happy ending!

      Sincerely,

      Jane Harper

      Story Info:

      Genre: 19th-Century alternate history, fantasy

      Tags: curse, family, first time, friends to lovers, HEA, merman, mershark, m-preg, royalty, soulmates/bonded

      Word Count: 26843

      Content warning: this book contains material that may be offensive to some people— including graphic language, death, explicit sex between males, and violence.

      A glossary of terms may be found at the end of the story.

      Acknowledgements

      During the month of April, I had the opportunity to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo with nine other authors. I want to thank my cabin mates for their encouragement during this process; especially Leah & Eric for their ever present support and feedback. Hope to see you all back in the cabin this July.

      Also, I want to thank every volunteer making the DRitC event possible. From my beta, Samantha, to my editors (Averin & Astrid), proofreaders, QA, and formatters; your input and support made this experience worth it. And to all the authors/readers who took the time to offer their comments and suggestions in the event’s threads, thank you.

      "Yet, taught by time, my heart has learn’d to glow

      For others’ good, and melt at others’ woe."

      —Homer (8th Century B.C.)

      Prologue

      New London, Bermuda

      17th Century

      THE MIDDAY SUN shined brightly over the vast ocean when Tristan surfaced at the cove. The pink sand was crisp under his feet, and the soft breeze dried the last drops of water from his bare, pale skin. Tristan took a deep breath to clear his lungs before he looked around for his mother, but she was nowhere in sight. He entered the family villa he grew up in, stopping first at the kitchen for a treat. His mother always indulged him because at only eight in human years, he was still considered a merbabe. He found a loaf of freshly baked bread and a jar of spread sitting on the table along with a piece of candy wrapped in parchment. He loved sugary confections, especially because it helped remove the salty remnants of the ocean water from his mouth.

      Tristan had been living with his father and six siblings in Mernovia for the last year, but he still missed his life above water. The underwater city had everything a young merbabe could ever need, and his royal status afforded him anything he could dream of, but he longed for his mother’s love the most. He was the youngest son of the King of the Sea and his bride— Taithja. The king had been keeping watch over the new vessels arriving at the nearby coastal islands when he saw her reflection in the water. As soon as he surfaced and saw her beauty, his heart became hers forever.

      Like every Sunday, Tristan swam many sea miles alone to see his mother and to attend afternoon church service. His siblings did not see the need to join as she was only their stepmother and a human, worshiping only one god. The new settlers had built St. George’s Church under the Anglican faith, promising an afterlife in Heaven to those who believed. His parents’ relationship had suffered since she joined the congregation, and his father had moved the family back to his kingdom to prevent any friction. The king loved her with all his heart and was willing to give their union his best, even when living apart.

      The couple had married a month after Taithja’s arrival to Bermuda, and then they had moved into the villa by the cove. Tristan had heard many stories about how her quick pregnancy had brought joy to the kingdom. It was common for merfolk to have children with humans, blessing the newborns with a soul. In his case, Tristan was a numen— the possessor not only of a soul, but of the ability to feel, absorb, and redirect energy. His mother saw his unique abilities as an aberration capable of corrupting him. Even when she spent less and less time with him, Taithja was adamant in her desire to use her new faith to save his soul.

      This day was a special day for Tristan. He was going to sing a solo during the service. He had been coming ashore to practice for the past weeks but had seen his mother only

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