Perilous Bliss: Book Three
About Perilous Bliss
“Rahima Warren brings her daring, passionate, and compassionate trilogy, to a most satisfying close in Perilous Bliss. … [an] excellent fantasy set in a masterfully-built and richly detailed world. …let yourself experience the fiercely potent, healing magic of The Star-Seer’s Prophecy.”
—Jodie Forrest, author of The Rhymer and the Ravens and The Ascendant
“Perilous Bliss is a wonderful book about survival and love, with all the trials and hardships it takes to achieve both. Rahima Warren was able to tell this story which exemplified that forgiveness, as difficult as it can be at times, is a choice which frees us as much as being forgiven, if not more. It is a great read and has given me much to think about with my own life.”
—Virginia Burrell, RN; Author, Dismantling the War Machine
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As his horse picks its way down the stony path into Ravenvale, Kyr marvels at the beauty of this hidden valley that spreads out below him, emanating serenity, protection, and peace. Maybe here, I will be safe for a while, he thinks hopefully. But then the curse-scars Gauday inflicted on him pulse vilely, and he groans to himself, Gods, I hope the cleansing ritual the Warrior-Mage promised me works—and soon!
Shockingly, this very ritual triggers the third hell of the Prophecy. Kyr confronts horrific revelations about his origins and heart-wrenching betrayals by his trusted friends. Alienated from everyone, even Zhovanya, the Goddess who saved his soul, he flees to a mysterious island tower for the solitude that is all he can bear.
But the time has come, at last: the stars are moving into the pattern foreseen long ago by the Star-Seer. The healing of the web of life, the fate of the Goddess Herself, and the renewal of the Sacred Balance all depend on Kyr’s ultimate choice.
Will he succumb to rage and despair— or keep to the hard path of forgiveness and compassion?
And will the Goddess keep Her Promise to him?
“If the chosen surrenders all yet never yields,
the sacred balance shall be renewed,
and passion, peace, and love
will fill his days.”
Zhovanya’s Promise
Fierce Blessings, Book Two of The Star Seer’s Prophecy
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Excerpt
The Quarter-Moon’s light shimmered on the glassy black water of the lake, and Kyr could see stars swimming in its depths. Frogs were croaking in a steady, hypnotic rhythm, and wavelets splashed sleepily against the shore. It was so peaceful and beautiful that he felt as if he had gotten lost in some little god’s heaven. Yawning, he went inside to bed.
As he drifted off, a kaleidoscope of images filled his mind; but this time, they were gentle and peaceful: scenes of Ravenvale’s beauty, and his friends’ welcoming faces. Feeling more hopeful than he had since he had walked out of the Sanctuary into Gauday’s hands, he fell asleep.
Deep in the night, he woke with a shudder, his scars pulsing from a lurid nightmare. “Gods, no!” he whispered, fearing that he was back in Gauday’s clutches. But then Friend’s warm body and the frogs’ steady croaking told him where he was. Gods, I hope this isn’t another false haven, he thought, remembering being ripped away from the Sanctuary, and before that from the Circle’s cabin in the woods, and before that from their safe-house in the City. With soul-deep fatigue, he begged, Goddess, don’t take this away from me, this refuge, these friends. Please, Zhovanya, have mercy.
