The Inked
The Inked Series
Book
One
Kristina Streva
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date of Publication: 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5092-4381-5
Number of pages: 306
Cover Artist: Diana Carlile
"She’d been love struck… poisoned by his venomous charm."
Book Description:
Yuri and her sisters, Britt and Tanis, were born with eight long tentacles
instead of beautifully jeweled and sequined fishtails. Banned from Atlantis
because of their deformity, they live hidden away and are forbidden from
entering Merfolk territory.
Britt unknowingly crosses over the
ocean's divide and leads her sisters into a sea of trouble. A flesh-hungry
beast is hunting them while something much more foreboding is hunting the
beast-Kaleb and Neo, the Princes of Atlantis, who are competing for the throne.
Whoever kills the beast first becomes the rightful heir, but fate holds other
plans.
Can the three sisters survive a
torrent of danger, desire, and deceit?
Amazon BN
Excerpt:
Kaleb, the son of
King Oasis, sat on his red and gold chariot. Large black seahorses adorned with
golden paint pulled it forward as his army followed behind, saddled on their
seahorse steeds. With each command from the King’s son, they drummed their
fists on their armor made from reinforced turtle shells, all stunningly painted
and garnished in sequins and gold.
A few days ago,
King Oasis had proudly declared that there would be a competition between him
and his twin brother, Neo. A beast had been terrorizing Atlantis, and whoever
brought him the head of this creature would take the throne and the enormous
bounty that came with it.
“Forward! We can’t
afford to lose the trail of this beast!” Kaleb shouted as he lifted a long golden
horn to his lips and blew.
His army moved
forward in unison. He trailed behind them in his chariot, gripping his
long-pronged golden trident in one hand and horn in the other. Kaleb was on the
hunt, much like the monster who had hunted the occupants of Atlantis. Just last
week, two more children had gone missing, and now that his troop had moved
forward, he could search the area for survivors.
His eyes carefully
scanned side to side, above, and then finally to the bottom of the seabed. To
his left, he spotted a damaged boat flipped upside down with a large, jagged
hole in one side. He tightened his grip on the trident, swimming down toward
the dilapidated rowboat. Silver strands of hair stuck out of the damage in the
boat’s side, looking like kelp waving in the current.
“Hello?” His body
crept forward hesitantly as he cleared his throat. “By order of the King Oasis,
reveal yourself!” Kaleb’s voice bellowed through the water.
The rowboat
stirred as the head of a young girl tentatively made its way out of the hole.
Her pale body followed, embellished in a purple laced corset that ended where
her long black tentacles protruded.
Kaleb’s mouth
dropped open. Now, Yuri swayed before him. His wide eyes traced her body up and
down.
What…what is this
girl doing here? Oh!
“Do you mean to
harm me?” Yuri asked, cutting through the silence, her tone sharp as a blade.
Kaleb’s mouth
curved into an amused smile. She’s bold. He had not seen her kind very
often—they stayed hidden. This was new to him.
It was for a fair
reason they hid away since his people hated hers, after all. Despised them with
great passion. He ran his hands through his light-brown hair and then down to
his chiseled jawline.
What if my father
had found her? He shook his head, refocusing mossy green eyes on Yuri as he
studied her.
Her hair was
beautiful, and much like that of the mermaids he had grown up with, it was long
and flowed behind her in the water as she moved. Yuri’s eyes met his, and he
held her gaze, staring at the stunning icy-blue that looked back at him. He
traced her pale complexion from her face down to her skinny arms, now held bent
and stiff against her hips.
“Do you not know
who I am?” He wore a cocky smile that hollowed into dimples at his cheeks.
Yuri’s brows
furrowed. Her sharp glare stabbed at his ego, causing his dimpled smirk to
retreat from his face like a wounded soldier. “Honestly, I don’t care who you
are. Answer the question.
Are your
intentions to harm me?” Her eyes darted to his pronged trident.
Kaleb’s grip
loosened on his weapon as he stooped toward the seabed, his eyes remaining
focused on Yuri’s icy-blue scowl. He opened his palms, letting the trident roll
out of his hands and onto the sandy seafloor.
Inching back, he
straightened his arms, outstretching his hands high over his head. “No, I don’t
wish to harm you. Do you wish to harm me?” He wiggled the fingers of his empty
hands.
Yuri crossed her
arms over her puffed-out chest.
“That entirely
depends on you,” she sneered. Her nostrils flared.
The once-retreated
smirk returned to Kaleb’s face. How could such a small and petite girl have so
much attitude? This girl is feisty! As his heavy trident sank deeper into the
ocean floor, he lowered his hands and tapped awkwardly at his sides. His armor
clung to his broad, muscular chest as he gestured in a proper bow. I might as well
introduce myself properly.
“I’m Kaleb. My
father is King Oasis of Atlantis. My troops and I came out here to hunt the
beast that terrorizes these waters.” Kaleb paused for a response that didn’t
come. He waited.
His stomach
knotted at Yuri’s silence. It twisted like the ends of a fishing net. Her
deep-blue eyes stared off to the rowboat in which she had emerged. “And you
are…”
About the Author:
Kristina Streva grew up in Rockland County, New York. As a chronic daydreamer,
she took up writing as a hobby and soon realized the magic in creating
fantastical worlds. She loves museums, thrifting, movies, art, crafting, reading,
and all things creative.
https://www.instagram.com/author.kstreva/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22510176.Kristina_Streva
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