QSFer Niranjan has a new queer dark fantasy romance out (bi, non-binary): Memories of Forgotten Waves.
He can choose to forgive, but can he ever trust again?
Aderin is the prince of the merpeople, the pampered only son of his parents and a beacon of hope for all magical creatures of the sea. When a group of humans calling themselves the Brotherhood of Mages starts abducting magical creatures and enslaving them, Aderin tries to investigate. Almost captured by the group, Aderin is rescued by a human mage called Ellwood who seems as determined as Aderin to end the group. As he gets to know Ellwood better, Aderin finds himself falling for his rescuer.
Just as Aderin whispers his words of love, he is captured by Ellwood who enslaves him. Forced into a human form and suffering unimaginable agony, Aderin struggles to understand his newfound status and Ellwood’s goals. Even as other magical creatures are enslaved by Ellwood who uses their powers to defeat and destroy the mages of the Brotherhood, Aderin is unable to hate the man.
Memories of Forgotten Waves is a queer, dark fantasy, enemies to lovers romantic adventure. If you love stories with morally grey characters who are trying to do the right thing, queer normative societies, and magical creatures, with themes of love, forgiveness, trust, and redemption with a heavy dose of angst and magic, you will love this gritty tale.
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Excerpt
The ocean was stormy as Aderin swam to the surface. Excitement curled in his belly. Who would have thought that he would have found such joy in leaving his domain, even if for a moment? He couldn’t help the smile that stretched his face as he came closer to the shore, to reach Ellwood.
Ellwood stood on the shore, the strong wind causing the hooded cloak he wore to flap behind his back. He came towards Aderin, a relieved and happy smile on his face. His blue eyes were full of light, of love as he knelt on the edge of the icy shore appearing unmindful of the chilly wind and the wet that sprayed over them both.
“You’re late,” Ellwood said, leaning forward and grasping Aderin’s forearms. “I half thought you weren’t coming.”
“I’ll never not come,” Aderin said, his heart full. It felt so incredible to be here, so close to Ellwood, to be able to see the warmth of his eyes, the dark skin that Aderin longed to touch, to run his hands over, the lips he would never tire of kissing.
Aderin had had lovers of all sexes, and Ellwood was not the first male he had been attracted to or kissed. Ellwood might have been the first human male he had kissed, but what he felt for the mage went beyond the physical.
He had only dreamt of a love like this, and even now, it seemed like a dream. At times like this it was so easy to forget that Ellwood was only a mortal, a human, and that Aderin belonged to the sea. It felt that they had meant to be, from their first meeting.
Aderin had been trapped by the Brotherhood of Mages who worked to enslave all magical creatures and use their magic for some purpose of their own. Ellwood had saved him, arriving just in time to stop them from harming Aderin. Aderin’s magic had been bound by them by some foul spell, and he had been helpless.
Aderin would never forget that day, or the fury that had seemed to light Ellwood from within, as he fought the mages. After freeing Aderin, Ellwood had tended to his wounds, healing them with his magic, and taking him to the sea.
Aderin had wanted to see him again, and had asked him. They had been meeting in secret since, and though both of them chafed at it, they had no choice for now. Aderin’s parents would never agree to a relationship between him and a human, and while Aderin was reasonably confident that he could make them change their minds, it would take time and patience. In the meantime, he could only keep it a secret and meet Ellwood like this, in stolen moments.
“I love you,” he said, and Ellwood smiled, his blue eyes, exactly the colour of the glaciers they were surrounded by, warming so much that Aderin could see twin flames in them reflecting his own face.
“I love you too,” Ellwood said, leaning forward and Aderin met him halfway, crashing their lips together. Ellwood tasted of frost and salt, but then everything here did. He smelled like land, though, something woody and earthy. There was a fragrance of herbs clinging to him today, and a tinge of his magic.
Wait.
Before his brain could process the thought, pain ripped through Aderin, exploding in his brain in a shower of fiery shards that pierced every part of him. Aderin was nothing but the scream that tore from him, the fire that burned through his veins.
Then nothing.
Darkness.
A cold surface under him.
Oblivion.
Aderin slept.
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