Zacry is so much fun as a character. I like to joke that he desperately wants to be the main character, but never is.

He’s twenty-six in “The Magic Council: The Fight for Home” and has become something of a scholar of magic history. When a letter comes in chapter one from the king telling him his sons have been kidnapped, Zac has to make plans to go help him.

So here is an excerpt I hope you’ll enjoy. You get to meet Zac’s family!

Zacry took Vane home, where they found Joslyn in the small, unexpectedly clean kitchen. She had straightened up in his absence, Zac suspected out of nerves. He took up his cooing eight-month-old and announced that Vane would travel with him. Neither Joslyn’s brown face nor her deep, dark eyes, both typical of people from Traigland, revealed emotion; she’d expected Vane would join Zacry as soon as she’d seen the king’s letter. She had even made them sandwiches of salted beef to take for a midnight snack. “No use dallying,” she said.

Vane took Joslyn in a goodbye hug that brought a teary smile to her face before he slipped off to pack some necessary items. Once his door down the hall closed—the kitchen was open to the rest of the house—Joslyn asked, “What is it about your homeland? Why is there always turmoil?”

Zacry tossed his daughter in the air. She had Joslyn’s complexion but Zacry’s dimples and strong chin. The baby laughed as he caught her. “Vee!” she shrieked.

Zacry grinned. “She’s almost saying her name.” He tickled the baby’s stomach.

“Viola starts with Vye. And you’re ignoring my question,” Joslyn accused. “Why is there such violence?”

“Be fair, now. It’s been fifteen years since the last real threat.”

“You were in the thick of that, too.” Joslyn laid a hand on Zac’s arm. “You and your family, why must you tangle yourselves in these horrors?”

“Jos, the king saved Kora’s life.”

“I know he’s a friend.” Joslyn wrung her hands. “He needs your help. If you refused him, you wouldn’t be a man I’d want anything to do with. Still, the thought of Viola losing you … I won’t have her lacking what I did. I can’t.”

“Take her,” said Zac.

Joslyn scooped the baby from him, and he wrapped his arms around them from behind, whispering in Joslyn’s ear. “I spent time in an orphanage too, and not like yours. We didn’t study four hours a day or have apprenticeships. I thought I’d never see my family again. I may have known my father, but I lost him young. I know what that does to a child. I promise I’ll be here for Viola.”

“You don’t know that.” Joslyn’s voice was steady, but the rate at which her words tumbled forth betrayed her fear. “You don’t know anything—not who has the princes, not how many the foe number, not what powers they have. Don’t give empty promises you can only keep by chance.”

“What should I promise, then?”

Joslyn soaked up his presence. “Promise to faithfully aid your king. Swear to me that whatever may come, Herezoth and I, I especially, will be able to honor you without shame.”

“That I can promise,” he whispered. “I swear.”

“And protect Vane. You know what he means to me as a fellow orphan.”

“I’ll watch over him.”

She turned her head to kiss Zacry. He was all she had in life—no family but his, no training beyond moderate skill with a needle and thread that had allowed her to eke out a living before her marriage.

He began, “As far as promises go …”

“What do you need from me?”

“I need you to keep busy, so you won’t worry. Go to Kora if you need help with the baby, need anything at all.”

“I will,” she said. “I have plenty of clothes to mend, and I’ll be fine with Viola.”

Zacry turned Joslyn to face him and kissed her one last time. The baby wrapped her fist around Joslyn’s finger.

“You remember your promises,” said Zac.
“And you yours, love. Watch your every step.” Joslyn teared up. “I don’t think I could live if you never made it back to me.”

“You could, if you had to. For Viola.” He rubbed her arm. “Jos, I’m coming back.”

“You take your time,” she said. “Don’t get yourself killed rushing the operation. You rush everything.”

He kissed her yet again, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. Without conviction she fussed, “Take your sandwiches and stop that.” He reached for her, and she slapped his hand away. “Stop it, you! You’ll never leave if we keep this up.”

One of my favorite things in the whole Herezoth trilogy has been seeing Zac grow up and come into his own. He’s so much fun as a kid in book one, and has so much potential. I’ve really loved seeing that come to fruition.

(Note: To the extent that there is “romance” in my books, this is about as explicit as it gets. I keep things clean.)

May 30 is the day! I am so excited!!!