Renna’s Sacrifice was my 2005 Amber Heat Wave winner. My first contest entry, I had no delusions that it could possible win in a competition against so many other excellent erotic romance writers. The story is short, and I think the narrative has a lyric, almost historical quality to it, even though the genre is science fiction.
Renna’s Sacrifice is a delightful story, well paced, and beautifully written. Its romantic charm intertwines delicately with the steamy sex, and will leave you feeling quite satisfied as a reader. - Laura Davis, Coffee Time
Blurb:
Longing for freedom, Renna roams the moonlit hillsides where she meets Benar, an acolyte from the Temple of the Sun God. When her destiny is revealed, she is faced with a terrible choice: Defy the ancient rites and plunge her ordered world into chaos, or give up the man she loves and sacrifice herself to another.
RENNA’S SACRIFICE
One evening, by the silvery moonlight, she followed the tall, shadowy figure through the trees and came upon a place she had never known existed.
A pond with a flat surface mirrored the brilliant sky. On the far shore he sat on a rock watching her. That night be became more than a shadow.
Renna saw his masculine form, all sinewy muscle and long legs. His hair was blacker than the sky and his eyes were dark. Around his head he wore a golden circlet that marked him as a disciple of the Sun God.
Renna had been taught by the Sisters that the men who worshiped the Sun God had often warred with the Sisters. She had been told they lived on the far side of the valley and would not dare venture near the Refuge, as an age-old treaty forbade it.
She had wondered, as she stared at him across the calm surface of the pond, if he would do penance for his nightly jaunts, just as she did for hers.
They watched each other across the water until moonset. Then Renna hurried back to her room on legs that were sore from exertion. The Sisters wondered in the morning why she walked so slowly to the breakfast table. They worried that she might be ill.
On the next night when Renna arrived at the pond, he was not perched on his rock. She feared he'd gone already. Perhaps he'd grown bored with their wordless exchange. But when she turned to leave, she found him standing before her.
A strange feeling shot through her at the sight of him up close. His skin glistened with droplets of water and there was humor in his eyes.
He shook his head. "You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you."
He smirked at her quick response. "What brings you out here each night?" he asked.
"At first it was to escape the rules of the Refuge for a while. Now, I come to look for you."
"It's the same with me," he said. "Are you a Priestess?"
"No. A ward. They took me in as a child and I live their life, but I'm not one of them. Are you a disciple of the Sun God?"
He nodded.
"What is this place? I never knew it was here."
"This is a sacred pool," he said. "On certain nights, if you stare into the reflection in the water, you may see visions."
Renna's eyes widened. She'd never known someone who saw visions. "What visions have you seen?"
"You."
Renna gasped. His voice sent shivers down her spine. Beneath her shift, her flesh pebbled at his revelation. She let her cautious glance skim down his body and back up to his handsome face.
"You saw me?"
"Many times, even before you found this place. I've wondered when I would meet you."
Renna crossed her arms over her breasts to combat the ache she felt there when he looked at her. "Why would I be in your visions?" She cocked one eyebrow at him and grinned.
"I don't know. I suppose over time, I will find out."
* * *
To find out more about Renna’s Sacrifice visit: http://www.amberquill.com/RennasSacrifice.html
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