Teaser Tuesday: Ward Against Destruction by Melanie Card

Don’t miss today’s Teaser Tuesday from Ward Against Destruction by Melanie Card, on sale 10/5/15, and the perfect example of Celia Carlyle at her #AlphaHeroine best.

The man who’d grabbed her was big and swarthy. He bristled with sheathed knives strategically placed all over his body, and had wild black braids—hair and beard—adorned with bits of metal and bone, making him look fierce. The man had to be a Gordelian pirate. The longboat on the far side of the dock with its blood red sail only added to her certainty.

Behind him, also on the far side of the dock by the longboat, more pirates—recognizable by their wild braids—fought with villagers. She brushed her hip, reaching for her dagger, but it was gone. Shit. “I’m not involved in your quarrel.” Raid was more like it, but she wasn’t going to be so blunt.

“Darling, you started this fight.”

“I just fell over a waterfall. I hardly think that would start anything.” Goddess, just a peek at the water to check if Ward had gotten out all right, but she wasn’t stupid enough to take her eyes off anyone with so many blades.

“The villagers think the Goddess sent you to be the new sacrifice. I think She sent us an additional one.”

The battling villagers and pirates surged closer. The woman screamed again. A flash of white caught Celia’s eye, drawing her attention to the red sail. The pirates had hoisted a girl on the rigging. She kicked and screamed and writhed.

The pirate in front of Celia growled and leapt at her. She danced to the side, drawing a dagger from his hip. His eyes widened for a heartbeat, as if he hadn’t expected her to move so fast—most men usually didn’t.

“Trust me when I say I want nothing to do with your fight and if you turn away now, I’ll let you live.” He wouldn’t listen to her—most men didn’t do that, either—but she still had to give him a chance, if only so she could continue to look Ward in the eye.

He sneered and drew the long dagger at his other hip. “The captain is going to like you.”

Looked like he’d chosen death.

About Ward Against Destruction:

Ward de’Ath used to the think that nothing could be more terrible than death. Now he realizes there are worse things. Like his never-ending hunger for blood. Even if he conquers the unbearable cravings that drive him headlong toward destruction, he’s a wanted man with a bleak future.

Assassin Celia Carlyle learns she is the only one who can protect Ward from disaster. She loves him–she wants to help him, but no one can tell her how to save him from himself. And the confusing voices in her head scream to let him go.

But Ward’s dark trials keep mounting. A malevolent evil is rising in the land, threatening to unleash horror upon the world. The only way Ward can defeat it, and have the chance to marry Celia, is by accepting his fate and becoming the one thing he swore he would never become…