K.N. Lee's Blog

The palace was quiet—quieter than she’d ever remembered it being. That didn’t stop Rowen from hunting the wizard who nearly destroyed her world down.She stalked the halls, limping from the tingling of her legs, and dizzy from lack of nourishment. She was certain that if she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she wouldn’t recognize herself. A few days longer and she would have withered away from starvation. Despite the aching in her gut, she pressed on, eyes sharp and ears desperate for any tiny sound. The soft rug beneath her feet keep her from the creaking of the wood underneath, and she stuck to taking the carpeted corridors as she continued her search.Fear no longer ruled her world, and all she wanted was for this nightmare to truly end.“What have you done?” Rowen tensed. The deep, male voice came from behind her.Warwick.She closed her eyes, and her shoulders slumped as she tilted her chin upward.“I killed her,” she said, quietly.She could feel his rage pulsating through the air between them. She could also smell the heavy heat of magic, and slowly turned to get a good look at the man who started this whole mess.He was fairly good-looking, tall, with a decent build and attractive face. None of that mattered. All she saw was the darkness of his eyes that was hidden behind the azure that glared at her.“Sent a bolt of light right through her face,” she said, taking a step toward him. “And, watched her fall. It was beautiful. I’d pay to watch it all happen again.”His jaw clenched, as did her fists.“How shall I end your life, Sir Warwick Ludlow?” Rowen asked, standing a foot before him.He was much taller, so she had to look upward, but the authority was all hers in that moment. Even as he raised his wizard’s staff, she could see it in his eyes.He was afraid of her.They stared into each others eyes for a long moment, before he made a move.He reached for her throat, but Rowen anticipated it. Why was it that men always went for the throat first? Her stepfather had shown her many things, and for once, she was grateful for this lesson.Rowen sidestepped him, and used the light from the torches to build a divine, red ball of power. She hovered before him, collecting more fire from each torch that lined the palace walls, until they were in darkness that was only lit by her flames.Warwick stared at her in disbelief.“Remarkable,” he said, lowering his staff. “Such raw, untamed magic. I could show you so many things.”Her brows furrowed. “I’m afraid I’m not interested,” she said, and threw the ball of fire at him.It shot across the hallway, speeding with purpose.He was quick, and cast an air shield in between them that nearly extinguished her flames. The sound of the fire meeting solid air was staggeringly loud, but Rowen wasn’t ready to let go. She would not lose. She held tightly to the energy she’d collected, and fed more to the magic ball of fire before her. Even as she did so, her inner strength threatened to give out.While Warwick’s air shield wavered, and began to melt away, she urged the ball closer to him. Sweat poured from his face, forcing him to his knees. Teeth clenched, he held his staff outward, and the ball at the end crackled and sparked.For a moment, Rowen went dizzy, and saw black before her eyes.No. Not now.The child needed her to fight—to be strong—stronger than the wizard at her feet.It was too late. He sensed her weakness and took it as a chance to gain an edge on her.“Tired, are we?” Warwick asked. “I thought we were just getting started.”That comment gave her renewed energy, and she rose higher in the air, until she nearly touched the vaulted ceiling.Perhaps she should run. To fly out of the palace would be an escape, but she’d leave Withrae at Warwick’s mercy.“Do you know she was all I had left?”Rowen pursed her lips, but the cracking of his voice gave her pause.Why should she care? The woman had tormented her for so long she wasn’t sure exactly how much time had transpired.“It won’t matter once I’m done with you,” she said, and he grinned at her.“You know, Gavin was right about you,” he said, and her brows rose. “You are a strong one.”What did Gavin have to do with any of this?Her question went unanswered as a sharp pain filled her throat, and sent blood gushing from her lips. The pain blinded her, and sent her cascading downward to the ground.
Right into enemy hands.
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An Exclusive Excerpt from Curse of the Dragons
The darkness was stifling—unbearable. Heat and pressure weighed on Rowen as she opened her eyes for the first time in weeks.It took a moment for her sight to adjust, but Priscilla was there, waiting. Just like in the hauntings that had plagued her since she and Warwick came to Withrae Palace.Rage bubbled within Rowen’s belly, and she fought to rise from the bed. It was fruitless. Priscilla straddled her, sitting on her pelvis, with her hands on the small mound stretched above Rowen’s abdomen.“So,” the sorceress whispered. “It’s true. A little baby dragon grows inside of the half-blood?”Tears burned Rowen’s eyes, as she tried to lift her arms. To be so helpless and without hope was unbearable. She wanted to rip Priscilla’s mask off her deformed face and shove it down her throat.Big eyes looked to Rowen. If she hadn’t been tormenting her for weeks, Rowen might have thought the beautiful woman before her looked innocent, like a child.“Warwick will be pleased. The Red Dragon from the prophecies isn’t what we believed at all,” Priscilla said. “It is a child.”Rowen squeezed her eyes shut as Priscilla stepped onto the floor and placed her hands on either side of her face.“A very powerful child,” she said. “A weapon.”Her eyes popped open, and in a fit of adrenaline, she snapped her hand around Priscilla’s throat and brought her down to her face.Stunned, Priscilla gasped for breath and stared into Rowen’s eyes with absolute disbelief.“You—touch—” Rowen began, fighting for the strength to continue, even as the darkness threatened to consume her once more. “And, I will pluck your eyes from your face.”Priscilla wrenched herself free, and scrambled onto the floor, backing away from Rowen.“Aye,” she said, snarling. “I wouldn’t want to touch you for all of the riches and glory in the world. But, I’ll do whatever it takes to end the reign of dragons and their tainted magic.”She stood then, and stormed from the room, leaving Rowen in complete darkness.Her life was one of constant agony, and she now wished she’d never agreed to come to Withrae Palace at all. She wished she’d stayed in Harrow, and far from the princes of Withrae and their charms. She’d be free now, if she’d have done so.The tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the pillow. Free and miserable.The Duke of Harrow—her stepfather—would have never have given her a moment’s peace if she didn’t do everything he commanded. Her life had always been one of constant duty, and the pleasing of others.At least as queen of Withrae, wife to the man she’d grown to love, she had purpose—at least she had an innocent child growing in her belly.The child.She had to protect him, at all costs.The sound of the door opening made her tense. She flickered a frantic glance toward the door and watched with dread as Priscilla re-entered the room.The soft thuds of her feet were all too well-known to Rowen, and each one made her cringe.The clanging of shackles was a reminder of her time in Withrae Prison, and the glinting of the steel was confirmation that was what the sorceress had in mind.“What are you doing?” Rowen asked through a sharp pain in her throat.Priscilla grinned in the darkness, and Rowen could see the evil in her eyes.“Nothing,” she said, staring at the shackles. “Just come to make sure our investment isn’t getting too strong for her own good.”That was it.Rowen refused to be held against her will for a moment longer.The rage that bubbled from her belly was enough to fuel her entire body with heat and power. The sensation was unlike anything she’d felt in a long time. It was more than the agony she’d suffered and the brief memories of better times when she was queen. This—it was new territory.Her body rose from the bed, and before she could restrain the power that rippled though her blood in quick shocks, she outstretched her right arm and opened her balled fist.What she released was a bright red light that shot through the darkness like a lightning bolt.As it seared through the center of Priscilla’s face, tears fell from Rowen’s eyes, and a slow grin came to her lips.The look of completed bewilderment on Priscilla’s eyes would forever remain in Rowen’s mind, and as her body fell backward onto the floor, she whispered a quiet thank you to the gift she’d just received.
Her chest heaved, her body hovered, and all she could think was; now, time to end this—time to end Sir Warwick Ludlow.

Guys, please don't kill me. I swear this is an old story I wrote eons ago, and it hasn't kept me from working on Curse of the Dragons. Lol. Curse of the Dragons is still coming in a few days. Like...super soon. I just wanted to surprise you all with two releases. XOXOI was supposed to be sleeping. �Gwynn and Mckenna snored softly on the pile of blankets the creaky wooden floor of our living room fireplace, while I sat up staring out the window at the odd, red sky.In all of my seventeen years, I’d never seen the sky that shade before; crimson, with trails of white that resembled lightning. But, there wasn’t a storm, or thunder, and the moon was brighter than ever.�Frowning at it, my stomach grumbled so loudly that I feared it would awaken them. I drank some water, hoping it would quench the ever-nagging hunger that plagued me every single day of the five miserable years since the gods had returned left the world absent of every great invention it had once developed. I remembered great power; electricity, cars, airplanes, cell phones, and every possible luxury and convenience. I also remembered the weapons, and those who owned them—how their hate and greed nearly destroyed the entire world.Perhaps the gods were right in sending us back to the Dark Ages.�I knew I should sleep, and drown out the hunger with dreams of Chinese buffets and cute pizza delivery guys bringing hot pies to my front door. It had been so long since our table had been filled with food. After Darren and our parents died, I was left as the protector of my small family. As farmers, we were better off than most after the lights went out, and grocery stores became looted graveyards of past memories.I was only a child back then, but a smart one—a resilient one. In the beginning of the aftermath, I sold everything we could afford to lose for the essentials we needed to survive, but it was never enough and there were still a few weeks of winter left before the land would grant us with fresh food again.“Skylar, where are you going?” Mckenna asked, big blue eyes staring at me from the darkness. Stark white hair shone from over her pale shoulders in waves—hair like mine. The three of us could have been twins, if I hadn’t been born two years earlier than them. It was the most recognizable traits of our muddled line of extraterrestrial blood.Starseed was the title humans gave to those who had bloodlines from distant planets and galaxies. We were rare, and feared. Perhaps that’s why my sisters and I hadn’t been bothered at all by the full-blooded humans, even when we were here all alone on a rural farm.“Out,” I said, simply, and she narrowed her eyes.As she began to stand, I sighed.“I’m coming with you,” she said.I crossed the room and took her narrow face into my hands. How I hated to see the effects of near-starvation on my sister’s face and frame. With a broken heart, I kissed her on the forehead and let my lips linger on her dry skin for a moment as I fought tears.“No, you must stay here with Gwynn. I’ll be fine. I’ll even call Orion to join me,” I said, hoping to soothe her worries.“Okay,” she said, nodding. “As long as you take Orion with you.”As a fifteen-year old, she acted as though she was the oldest—like she was the mother of the three of us.I loved them both fiercely.That’s why I ventured out that fateful night.I smoothed her hair, forcing a smile. “Of course. He’s always a call away. Just like the old days.”She returned the smile, and settled back onto the makeshift bed where we all felt safe and secure by the crackling fire.“I’ll be back before you awaken. Hopefully, with fresh meat for breakfast.”That made Mckenna’s smile widen. “Be safe, Skylar,” she said, and closed her eyes.I breathed in a heavy sigh and turned to leave the house. I tensed as the sound of branches breaking in the distance outside our window. Stifling a startled gasp that would surely frighten Mckenna, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I shot a frightened look in its direction.Slowly standing, I slipped on my boots and tugged on a heavy coat.Food.Whatever animal made that noise and those tracks in the snow would feed us for days.I tip-toed over the sleeping bodies of what was left of my family and grabbed my father’s old crossbow. He’d taught me how to use it when I was as young as eight, and I’d become quite good at it. Now that he was gone, it seemed I was the only one brave enough to take chances and do what needed to be done for survival. War had destroyed our lives and the world around us. It had taken my father, mother, and brother, but that didn’t mean we should stop trying.That’s not what they would have wanted.Armed with only a crossbow and the ancient powers passed down from a galaxy far away, I slipped out the door and into the frigid air.See you tomorrow XOXO

Hello, guys! Unfortunately, I am pushing Daughter of the Sea to the summer. While working on it, the plot changed and it is going to need more development and work. So, I’m focusing on finishing up the series you already love in the meantime. In other news, I probably won’t be doing preorders anymore. The creative process sometimes needs more time than what’s allowed. 
Thanks for understanding! Xoxo
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