Nosing at the air, he could barely feel the strait’s presence. It was so young. He sensed the very edge of it and seized it, then adjusted his grip. When he had it firmly in his mind’s teeth, he touched his vast strength and worked the marrow of being, sending a filament of space spooling out through the silence between worlds, connecting the place he stood to somewhere on the other side.

Where it went, he didn’t know, but it smelled of trees and horses and dusty roads and fat, stupid deer. And of incompletion, tears. Sunlight, serpents. Vast sky.

He cocked his head and listened again to the voice of the wind. Then he stepped through.

Solatium, sequel to Nolander, is available for purchase from ebook retailers worldwide. You can connect to your retailer of choice here: the-active-voice.com/beccas-books/

About the Author

Becca Mills teaches writing at a university in California. She has loved fantasy since, at age seven, she listened to her father read Tolkien aloud. She has published two novels in the Emanations urban fantasy series: Nolander and Solatium. “Theriac,” a free short story set after Solatium, is also available.

Becca loves to hear from readers. You can find her on Facebook or through her website. If you’d like to be alerted when she publishes new works of fiction, you can add yourself to her mailing list, which is super-duper 100%-guaranteed spam-free (honest!). You’ll only hear from her when she releases new work.

Want to read an excerpt from Solatium, sequel to Nolander? Just turn the page!

Excerpt from Solatium, Book 2 of Emanations

Chapter 2

I was dreaming that he was with me.

I was in Callie’s king-size bed, back in Dorf. Everything looked different — different colors, different shapes — yet the place was unmistakable.

Callie was out in the kitchen, making tea for me. She would come in and find me with him. That couldn’t happen.

Under the covers, a hand touched my stomach, just beneath the ribs. Fingers traced down to my navel, circled, and then moved to my hip, pausing for a long moment where the skin was thin over the bone.

I became aware of the bed sheet lying across my breasts, scraping softly as I breathed.

It’s just a dream.

The hand found the furrow where my thigh met my body. A single finger slid slowly inward.

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes welling. In the kitchen, the water had boiled. My tea was ready. Callie would open the door. She would see.

I took a deep, shuddering breath and turned my head, meeting brown-and-golden eyes intent with desire.

I came awake with a gasp, heart racing, body humming. After a few seconds of shocked paralysis, I sat up in bed and looked around.

I was in my suite. The gray light of very early morning showed around the edges of the drapes. Everything was just as I’d left it the night before.