Child or Woman? — Excerpt from TOURNAMENT OF CHANCE by S.G. Rogers

A muscle in Dane’s jaw rippled. “We must move faster. The longer she’s alone, the more likely it is she’ll encounter something dangerous.”

“She’s done well enough so far, no thanks to you,” Joe muttered.

Dane peered at Joe with narrowed eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve shown your distaste for Heather upon more than one occasion.”

“I would never let my personal feelings interfere with my duty to protect the child,” Dane exploded.

“Really? Then why is she lost?”

Dane hands formed fists at his side. As the two men squared off, Shimmer stepped in between. “Jovander, I’ve known Dane much longer than you have. You accuse him unjustly.”

“That is so,” Manny concurred.

“No, no. Don’t bother to defend me. It won’t make a difference. Jovander Chance has a deep seated resentment toward the royal class and doesn’t believe we could ever act unselfishly,” Dane scoffed.

“Forgive me for saying so, but this whole quest is selfish!” Joe yelled. “If it succeeds, you Ormvalders resume ruling the kingdom. Heather gets nothing except for a pat on the back. She’s the only one of us here who has acted in an unselfish manner.”

“You’ve acted unselfishly too, Joe,” Manny said.

Dane smirked. “No, he hasn’t. Haven’t you noticed? Young Joe is quite taken with the lass.”

Joe flushed bright red. “Don’t act so smug, Your Highness. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

“First you practically accuse me of doing her in, and now you accuse me of having designs on the woman?” Dane thundered. “Make up your mind.”

“First you call her a child, and now a woman?” Joe pointed out. “You should make up your own mind.”

A long, smoldering silence followed in which nobody spoke.

In Tournament of Chance, a hunter’s daughter becomes the spark that ignites a revolution—in time.

When a beautiful commoner enters the Tournament of Chance archery competition, her thwarted victory sparks a revolution in the oppressive kingdom of Destiny. Although Heather never believed the legends about the restoration of Ormaria, after three shape-shifting Ormarian wizards awaken from a long magical slumber, she joins their perilous quest to regain the throne. Heather battles vicious predators and angry trolls to free the wizards’ magic, but at a horrendous cost. She is unexpectedly torn from the arms of the man she loves and hurled back in time to fulfill a prophecy not yet written. The ensuing maelstrom tests Heather’s survival skills, wits, and endurance. Will she become an unwritten footnote in history, or can she trust the magic to lead her back to her one true love?

Now available in all e-formats from Musa Publishing HERE. Also available at Amazon. Coming soon to BN.com and wherever fine e-books are sold.

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