Book 2 of Sons of Destiny
Eight brothers, born in four sets of twins, two years apart to the day-they fulfill the Curse of Eight Prophecy. To avoid tempting their destiny, the brothers are exiled to Nightfall Island, where women are forbidden. When a childhood friend seeks refuge among the brothers, it triggers a confrontation with their mysterious enemy.
Alys arrives desperate and afraid, but welcomed by Wolfer, the second-born brother who harbors deep feelings for Alys. But she harbors a secret: her own uncle is tormenting the exiled brothers, and seeks to kill them to secure their ancestral inheritance for himself.
Confessing her uncle’s plan to the brothers puts them at even greater risk, for their resistance against the evil mage has stirred his wrath. Alys fears her uncle is determined this time to exterminate the brothers once and for all-destroying the star-crossed lovers as well.
“When had she grown up? When did she become a woman? Why the hell didn’t I notice all those years ago?”
Name: Wolfer of Corvis
Age: 29
Height: 6’1.5″ (187cm)
Weight: 215 lbs (97.6kg)
Eyes: Golden
Hair: Medium Brown, Thick/Bushy, Chest Length
Build: Very Muscular (intimidatingly so, the most muscular of all the brothers)
Lineage: Second-born son of Count Saveno and Countess Annia of Corvis. Stripped of his noble rank and exiled to Nightfall Isle at the age of 26.
Twin: Saber, elder
Speciality: Shapechanging magics, including the forms of a wolf and a horse as his two favorite, some martial magics, hunting, leatherworking, furrier skills. He makes sword-cleaning and –sharpening scabbards for his twin’s swords, enchanted satchels and pouches, defensively enspelled bracers, and other such special orders.
Personality: Wolfer had a quick temper for much of his childhood, though he could also be kind and thoughful, to the point where even at a mere eight years old, he comforted a young child who had skinned her knee. His ongoing friendship with that child taught him how to be gentler in nature, calm his temper, and be aware of how his physical appearance can intimidate others. Despite his affinity for shapechanging magics, Wolfer is afraid of heights higher than whatever he can personally stand upon or climb (castle walls, towers, trees), and has not had much success at spellshifting into bird-shapes for very long.
“I think I loved you even before I was three, and skinned by knee.”
Name: Alys of Devries
Age: 24
Height: 5’6″ (167.6cm)
Weight: 135 lbs (31.3kg)
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Dark Blonde, Curly, Waist-Length
Build: Curvy, Fit
Lineage: Only child of Tangor of Devries (deceased) and Glyssa of Malvador (deceased). On her mother Glyssa’s side, Alys is distantly related by blood to the current Queen of Katan, Samille; on her father’s side, Alys is related by marriage to the Corvis family. Her father was the youngest of three brothers, being Broger, Donnock, and Tangor; Broger of Devries married Sylvia of Traxon, whose sister Annia had married Count Saveno of Corvis. When Alys was very young, her family settled near the Corvis lands, allowing her to interact with the eight brothers; she later lost her parents to a flash flood at the age of fourteen and eventually had to move back to Devries lands.
Speciality: Tending animals, performing household chores, minor household and animal-husbandry magics, and basically working like a servant for her uncle. Alys has also worked on attempting to master the art of shapeshifting, but has never had consistent, thorough training in her magics.
Personality: Alys vacillates between three states: an almost painful shyness, a breathless boldness, and an unflinching neutrality. Shyness is her normal state; her boldness came about as a result of playing with the Corvis brothers when she was young–one doesn’t spend time playing with eight rambunctious boys without plucking up a little courage now and again, after all. Her neutrality developed out of the need to deal with her uncle…and anything else unpleasant in her life. The only hope she has been able to cling to while under her uncle’s strict thumb for the last nine-plus years is that the Corvis brothers–and Wolfer in particular–were always kind to her, always welcomed her visits with open arms. She can only hope that they are willing to do so one more time…