Spooky Legends & Giveaway: Inara Scott’s Kaia on The Black Ladies “RADIANT DESIRE”

Today marks the release of the first book in Inara Scott’s new Handmaiden’s Seduction paranormal romance from Entangled Publishing, RADIANT DESIRE.  For her Spooky Legends post, Inara is letting her protagonist take us directly to Faeria and the terrifying Black Ladies.  Hopefully, you’ll be left feeling just and spooked and intrigued as I am.  And thanks to Entangled Publishing, one of you will win an ecopy of RADIANT DESIRE.  See details below

Click to see the Spooky Legends Master List with links to all the previous posts and giveaways

Kaia on The Black Ladies
by
Inara Scott

When you live, as I do, among creatures that shape-shift, it is difficult to take appearances seriously. Harder still to muster up fear of monsters, simply because they are outsized, or have sharp teeth or claws.  After all, few creatures look as intimidating as the red-eyed boggle, a massive dog-like creature with a body shaped vaguely like a hyena, glowing crimson eyes, and pointed canines the length of a human hand. Yet all of the Fey know the boggle is little more than a mindless spy, easily intimidated by the voice of authority or the exercise of true power.

The banshees, I will admit, are unpleasant. These creatures seem to lack the energy, or perhaps the will, to shape-shift, as they are usually seen in the same form. They have long, tangled white hair and are emaciated, probably because they inhabit a plane somewhere between life and death.  Banshees can see glimpses into the future-always awful stuff-but they can't tell anyone what they see.  So they wander around Faeria wailing and crying.

Depressing stuff, but hardly frightening.

But there is one creature-or is it creatures?-that I find truly terrifying. The Black Ladies.  You humans probably don't want to know this, but the Black ladies are just as comfortable using their magic in the human world as they are in Faeria. Those missing persons you all wonder about? Sorry. I only wish we could have warned you earlier.

Some say The Black Ladies are part demon, and that explains their power, but I know humans aren't really comfortable talking about demons, either. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you that demons aren't what you think.  Don't worry about some man-shaped creature approaching you in a dark parking lot this Halloween. They're far more interesting, and unpredictable, than that.

But back to the Black Ladies.  They are always together. Three bodies, three forms, three voices, though they move and speak as one. They wear black cloaks.  I have never seen what lies beneath, but I fear there is no flesh on their skeletal bodies.

They revel in pain.  This is their calling card. They have no emotion or weakness.  Their greatest joy is the fear and pain they spread in the name of Zafira, Queen of the Fey. Some say Zafira holds something over them, and that is why they remain in her service.  I think they stay because they enjoy their work. She sends them after recalcitrant brownies, errant sirens, and even the occasional faerie. None live to tell the tale.

You cannot hide from the Black Ladies. Their eerie, discordant voices appear at night and early in the morning. Their magic is undefinable, their power unlimited. I think they grow strength from the creatures they destroy.  I imagine them as a sort of vampire, sucking the magic from the Fey and leaving behind a lifeless hulk.

(Shudder.)

Like all of the Fey, I just pray I never cross them. As long as I do what Zafira says, she'll never has any reason to use them against me.

At least, I hope so.

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About the author:

I grew up in winter wonderland of Buffalo, NY. Consequently, I spent much of my childhood complaining about being cold. To spare the world my whining, I fled the cold climate and eventually wound up in the Pacific NW. I love it here — we get occasional snow, tons of rain in the winter, and lots of sun in the summer. The forests are huge, and the old Douglas Fir trees and thick ferns make you think you’ve wandered into a fairy tale. I would be surprised if there weren’t fairies and elves living here. Seriously. I love to hike, canoe, and play outside. I am addicted to yoga. I have a deep affinity for water (I used to believe I could learn to breathe underwater, if I stayed down there long enough). I’m a geek through and through. I fear deep, intellectual books and love romance and fantasies. I listen to cheesy, happy music. When I was in high school, my friends considered having a clothing intervention for me because I insisted on making my own clothes and shopping at thrift stores. Somehow, I survived.

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Giveaway provided by Entangled Publishing

One eCopy of RADIANT DESIRE by Inara Scott

 

Available today from Entangled Publishing

Description:

The object of every man’s fantasy just lost her wings…

Kaia Verde is one of the four Faerie Handmaids of Zafira, Queen of the Fey. To redress an ancient wrong done to Zafira by a human king, the Handmaids make sport of mortal men, seducing and humiliating them. When Kaia sets out to seduce Garrett Jameson, but ends up being the one surrendering to pleasure, Zafira is furious. Kaia’s punishment is simple: make Garrett fall in love with her by the summer solstice, then break his heart, or face eternity without her wings—or her soul. To make the task harder, Zafira tells Kaia she cannot use her faerie magic or charm to lure Garrett into her bed.

…and now she’s losing her heart…

Kaia thinks her task will be relatively easy—as a faerie, she understands lust, and can love be much different? But once she is living among the humans, Kaia discovers the race she once disparaged is far more complex and beautiful than she imagined. She learns before she can break Garrett’s heart, she must find a way to heal it. And eventually, discovers that losing her wings may be a far easier price to pay than losing her heart.

Read an excerpt

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**Don’t forget to visit Dark Faerie Tales today for her Spooky Legends guest blog with Christine Cody and a chance to win BLOOD RULES & IN BLOOD WE TRUST **