Book Description

NO MAN MAY TOUCH ZARIA. NOT EVEN HER OWN FATHER. Envy of the other girls, Zaria was born for the sea. Nobody questions her fate as the chosen braenese to marry Keroe, God of the Sea -- least of all her. And even if she did, she has no choice. When Zaria''s wedding day finally arrives, she''ll become the only islander of her generation permitted to cross into the God Sea. There''s nothing more she could possibly want. UNTIL A CURIOUS BOY WASHES UP ON HER PALM-FRINGED PARADISE AND ZARIA DEFIES SACRED LAW TO HIDE THE UNCONSCIOUS STRANGER. There are only two possibilities with his strange (and strangely handsome) face: he''s either a village anomaly or the Sea God himself, in disguise. The alluring boy-creature couldn''t have come from anywhere else, because there is no other land in all the ocean. BUT WHEN THE SCOUNDREL AWAKENS, HE HAS THE GALL TO AMBUSH ZARIA. As three pageants leading up to her wedding turn unexpectedly deadly, and the enigma of its true purpose looms, Zaria is torn between her long-desired fate as Sea Queen and the infuriating boy who tells her that everything her people know is a lie. _________________________________________________________________________________ "My clan? What is clan?" The boy''s free hand stopped pulling at the neck of my tunic. Instead, he cupped my chin and held my head steady. Those dark green eyes locked on mine, skewering me like a fishing spear. "Who do you fight for? Whose mark do you bear?" His lips were inches from mine. I felt light-headed. Then, cocking his head, he asked, "Why do you say it''s forbidden to touch you?" "Mark? I bear no mark, I fight for no one. The guards protect me," I spat. "I am Braeni, royal!" How many times did I have to say it? "We''ll see about that." He spoke in a clipped voice and then, suddenly, he lifted himself off of me, with a spring in his step. Whatever misfortune caused him to wash ashore, he looked to be in fine health now. For a moment, I was paralyzed with disbelief at being abruptly released. Then I scooted myself along the rough cave floor, crawling backwards from him, like a scuttering crab. I rubbed my wrists where he held them. "Stand up," he said, widening his stance to block any attempt to run past him. Warning bells tolled in my head. Shakily, I rose. "Why?" I was surprised to find my voice a whisper again. "I want to see your mark," he replied. "Turn around and show me your back." "What?" "Show me your back," he repeated, evenly. Hot anger coursed through my veins, setting a tingle to my arms. This boy, this demon - whatever he was - had touched me, had the audacity to attack me. And now he wanted me to... disrobe? Incredulous, a guttural, boorish, half-snort escaped my mouth. More animal, than human. Certainly not regal. I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. Mimicking my mother''s tone, I replied, "I will do nothing of the sort. And if you want to live, you will stand aside, allow me to pass, and throw yourself on the mercy of The Queen. If you do this immediately, I will see to it that your life is spared, though I cannot save you from a hard sentence in the cane fields, where you''ll toil until the day you''re fish food!" The boy-demon frowned. "I don''t know what kind of clan you''ve got here, braenese, was it? Like a princess? But I''m going to find out." _________________________________________________________________________________ BEYOND THE GOD SEA: BETROTHED is the action-packed book I in the Beyond the God Sea Trilogy