Black Words-White Pages: BLOG TOUR: Before Vengeance by Louisa Lo

Before Vengeance by Louisa Lo

(Cosmic Balance #0.5)

Publication date: TBA 2015

Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

What if everything you’ve ever known, down to what you are, was a lie?

Growing up in the enchanted kingdom of Dualsing, seventeen-year-old Lady Serafina has always known she’s different. Her fae power never manifested itself during puberty, and her parents treated her like a tolerated houseguest rather than family. Even her childhood sweetheart, Crown Prince Eldon, distanced himself the moment he was old enough to know the secret about Serafina that everyone in their world seems to know—except her.

Now her upcoming birthday is being treated as a national holiday by the very people who’d neglected her, Eldon is in for a political battle of his life that she’s somehow being dragged into, and Serafina is developing abilities that feel terrifyingly right, but aren’t fae power at all.

As she starts to investigate her origin, Serafina has no idea she would be setting in motion events that would have far-reaching consequences not just for herself, but for all the planes.

Note: BEFORE VENGEANCE is a prequel of VENGEANCE BE MINE.

“I would like to request an audience with the king and queen.” I used the sternest tone I could manage, one I practiced daily with a voice recorder, a human gadget I had smuggled into Duelsing through a planeswalker demon always ready for a quick profit.

The guards remained silent. From the vacant look taking over their eyes, I could tell that they were telepathically checking with the queen. After a moment they bowed, touched the doorknobs, and stood aside as the double doors swung open a lot faster than their weight should’ve allowed.

I crossed the threshold with Trust, noting how shallow the guards’ bows were. Nothing new there.

What was new was the receiving area of the royal chamber. The room had always been elegantly decorated, but now beside priceless paintings and antique furniture, there was a brick fireplace in the corner that radiated flames but not heat, and a cream colored fur rug draped tastefully over a plush stool. A trio of pixies hovered by the crown molding, sprinkling the air with miniature snowflakes that disappeared as soon as they touched the ground without leaving a trace of watermark.

“Do you find it to your liking?” Queen Dulcina asked as she entered, though it was clear she wasn’t really asking for approval. She wore a gown of vibrant green silk, her blond hair pinned in an elaborate bun heavy with pearls and eternal flowers. Her blue eyes were devoid of warmth, but as she glanced up at the falling snowflakes, there was a flicker of tenderness there.

Tenderness, but not for me.

I bowed. “Your Majesty.” She let me kiss her hand.

“Your Highness,” she replied.

I looked around, taking in the winter theme of the room. “You’re getting ready.”

“Yes, I am,” she murmured as she dismissed the pixies with a wave of her hand. They were gone in a flash, taking their baskets of snowflakes with them. “I heard winters on the vengeance plane are a lot colder than here. I want Deirdre to have a good transition.”

Deirdre, my twin sister, intended heir to the throne and apple of my mother’s eye. I didn’t want to talk about her, but the queen had Finny, and I couldn’t afford to not play along.

“At least she didn’t get assigned to the dimension that’s parallel to the vengeance plane. Can you imagine her amongst humans?” I said. “Speaking of transition—“

“You’re here for Lady Serafina, aren’t you? You heard, I assume.”

My surprise at her cutting to the chase must’ve shown on my face, for she laughed softly and gestured to the plush stool. “I’m keeping her under observation. It’s for her own good. Sit down, my son. Your father and I have much to discuss with you.”

And by that, she meant she had something to discuss with me. When Duelsingians spoke of the king and queen, they really meant just the queen. The real ruler of Duelsing was Queen Dulcina. The king had so little power, even his name was forgotten from disuse. There was true power in a name, and without one, a fae, no matter who he or she was, would eventually fade from existence, like my father.

That was what was expected of me, in time.

Over my dead still-got-a-name body.

“Louisa Lo has an exciting new voice to bring to urban fantasy and a fun and breezy writing style that kept the pages quickly turning well into the night! I need more!” –Michelle Rowen, National Bestselling Author

Louisa Lo lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, an aristocratic cat, and more cardboard boxes than she cares to unpack. She decided to write about vigilantes, because it seems like a better life choice than trying to become one and landing herself in jail. She just has that kind of luck.

Please visit www.louisalo.com to learn more about Louisa and her books.