Spotlight: Revelations(Includes Excerpt, and GIVEAWAY!)

This cover was made by Léia herself, and she is accepting orders from other authors who would also like a cover!

About Revelations:

Elizabeth Monterey, or Beth, was known inside the archery world as the youngest athlete to win the National Championship in all categories at the age of fifteen and then, repeating the feat the next year. Before completing seventeen, she was the gold hope for the World Championship.
But fate intervened and her life was thrown upside down when a plane crashed, killing her parents and putting her twin brother in a coma.
The book begins with her struggle to maintain her brother in the hospital, where he can receive the best treatments, while trying to solve some other problems.
Not only is her family’s fortune gone, replaced by a debt she had no idea how to pay, but also she was dealing with night terrors and the weird after effects of those, which included uncontrollable anger and blowing lamps. To make things worse, Edgar Sanders, her legal guardian and lawyer, rented the guesthouse of the Monterey’s mansion to an annoying guy, called Leon Greese.
When Leon arrives, Elizabeth had already decided that she didn’t like him. But then her life is blown apart again. After almost dying, a tattoo appears in her wrist and she discovers that she was being poisoned by a creature from another dimension, which was also keeping her brother’s soul as a hostage in order to torture her. She learns that she is a Warrior, awakened by Thera, their Goddess, destined to protect their world from the invasion of strange beings.
Leon and her brother, Jake, are also Warriors, and like Elizabeth, they have a tattoo on their wrists too, but while Beth’s and Jake’s are identical, Leon’s is different and he can manipulate fire, thing the twins can’t do.
Together, they have to find out what means to be a Warrior, which abilities they possess and how to control them. There is no one to help them and the only clue they have is what Leon remembers from an old journal that was destroyed when he was a little kid.
There are three other Warriors to be found, an unknown enemy that is manipulating them all, a portal to another dimension that has to be closed and a lot of weird creatures (they called them demons, for lack of a better word).
The story also talks about the value of friendship, the strong connection between the twins and the discovery of true love.

About Léia Kiuska:
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Léia’s real name is Valéria Kwiatkowski, she lives in Brazil in a secluded area about 30 miles from the capital Brasília. Passionate about books since childhood, nothing delights her more than to get lost in a good story, no matter if reading or writing,and she prefers to do so during the silent hours of the night while the called ‘normal people’ are usually sleeping soundly. 

Giveaway Time! 
I'm so excited to be able to host this giveaway for Léia, enter below to be one of two lucky winners to receive a Kindle copy of Revelations, book one in the Thera's Eyes series! Remember, even if you don't have a Kindle there are apps in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, not to mention the Cloud Reader or PC/Mac app. So, enter for your chance to win!

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Excerpt:

Beth woke up with a startled jump, still hearing the echoes of her own screams vibrating through the hallways of the empty house. Her shirt was soaked with sweat, and her hands were trembling. These were the results of a nightmare that had already vanished from her memory. 

For two consecutive months, those terrible dreams had been making her life like hell, rendering it impossible to have an undisturbed night’s sleep. There was no way to know if they were always the same or if a new ordeal visited her every single night. If Beth remembered, then maybe she could fight against them, or who knows, as someone told her before, take control of the situation, be aware that it was just a dream and change it. But when she woke up screaming, all that remained were the symptoms: racing heart, cold sweat, dry throat, fear, anger and the damn shaking hands.

Well, at least she didn’t have to be a genius to figure about what they were. Her night terrors had begun shortly after the accident that changed her life forever… the same accident that killed her parents and placed her twin brother, Jake, in a deep coma.

Beth had not witnessed the accident. She wasn’t there in the small airplane with them when it crashed; in fact, she had been far away, inside that same house. Was it possible that, deep down, she felt guilt for what happened?

No, blame had no part on the kaleidoscope of feelings that always made her heart crumble, when she allowed herself to think about her family: fear, helplessness, loneliness, anger, anguish and pain… Those were the usual ones. Most off all that pain, so deep it threatened to tear her apart. But never blame. 

Beth was not too stupid to believe that she could have done something to prevent the accident if she had been there, neither selfish enough to think she should have died along with them. If she had, then who would take care of Jake?

Okay, that was a terrible time to think about Jake. Doing so would not help her to feel any better, unless she wished to spend the next hour or so drowning in a sea of unbearable pain… No! This will not happen. I can’t break now; all I need to do is get up and keep my mind occupied. She thought, angry with her own weakness.

After breathing deeply for almost a minute to calm down her heart, Beth got up and went to the adjoined bathroom to take a shower. She took a quick glance back at the clock, which stood beside her bed, just to confirm what she already knew. It was Saturday, September 12th, three minutes past four. 

“Perfect!  Happy Birthday Elizabeth Monterey, today you are completing your long-awaited 17 years, congratulations!”

She said this aloud, hoping to chase away some of the loneliness threatening to crush her… only the effect was quite the opposite, since there was no one around to answer. Refusing to continue lamenting her fate, she took a hot shower to soothe her nerves and dressed quickly. 

It could still be summer, but in Silver Blade dawns were always cold, no matter the season. Actually, the inhabitants of the area barely noticed them, the change of seasons, unless it was fall, and that was just because the leaves changed colors regardless of the strange temperatures. They had also a rainy and a dry season, but generally the temperature ranged from too hot to pleasant during the day, becoming something between too cold and freezing at night.

There had been an extensive study in the area, according to Beth’s father, and the specialists had explained that the sudden change in temperature between day time and night time occurred ‘probably’ because the forest was too close to the town. Well, close certainly was an understatement, indeed the forest and the city were thoroughly mixed, to the tourists’ enjoyment and the despair of residents, who often had problems with the local fauna and also struggled to keep the stubborn vegetation outside their houses.

Beth didn’t mind it though; she even liked the wildness of her birth town. Silver Blade was located right on the edge of Tamohane National Forest, which was the natural habitat of bears, mountain lions, raccoons, wolves and many more. It wasn’t a big city, had just slightly more than fifty thousand inhabitants at present, but in its old golden days, about fifty years ago, when the mine was still running at full steam, the population reached nearly two hundred thousand. 

Silver Blade was extended over a vast area; the properties were large and a lot of them had been abandoned many years ago, including several factories in the Industrial District. But the people were friendly, and nobody was too busy to give a “good day” or to change a few words, when they were there because a lot of them worked at some nearby town, spending only the weekends in their little paradise.

The twins grew up playing in the forest, enjoying and respecting the nature, and from a remarkably young age, they learned archery as a sport. Unlike her brother, Beth didn’t like to hunt. She always preferred the fixed targets and the championships above the innocent animals and Jake had always teased her because of this, calling her ‘Jelly Girl’ for being too soft, which often irritated her.

She was as talented as he, if not more; she just did not see any sense at killing to prove it, even if they were going to eat the animal’s meat and use their skins. She was an environmentalist, and believed that every life was sacred. Jake thought she was a hypocrite, and maybe he was right since she loved to eat all kinds of meat, a habit she never could manage to avoid. There was nothing better than a good BBQ.

 “And now that’s enough, no more nostalgia!” Beth scolded her own image reflected in the mirror attached to the wall in her room, and just for a second, she thought there was something different in her eyes. She blinked hard and looked again. It was gone. “The nightmares are messing with my mind.”

She checked her reflection again, taking some time to study it, a thing she had been avoiding, focusing only on her hair and clothes. Normally she considered herself a beautiful girl, standing by 5.6 feet tall, with mischievous green eyes and long eyelashes. Her skin was clear but not pale like most redheads; it usually showed a healthy tan thanks to long hours spent outdoors. Her hair had an outstanding shade of red, almost like burgundy, falling in lovely curls until her waist. She had a strong but at the same time curvy body, the kind that actually messed with the heads of the guys. It was the result of constant physical activity plus her favorable genes.

But right now, Beth only saw the face of a ghost. A shadow of the girl that once had been happy and carefree. She was pale, with enormous dark circles under her eyes and had lost weight… she seemed to be ill.

Shaking her head, she quickly left the room, going to the small kitchen near the stairs. There she made a real strong coffee and went to the balcony, to enjoy the sunrise. 

At least her hands had stopped to shake and the concerns caused by the nightmares were gone, completely forgotten. When the sun made its glorious entrance with all colors in the sky, Beth sighed and amazed herself with that little private show. It was one of the few enjoyable moments she could still be sure to have on her present days.

Beth truly loved her birth town, but for some unclear reason, most part of the big hospital in the center was out of commission. It did have doctors and ambulances and all the equipment, but it only handled with emergencies and some mundane diseases. Any more complicated case had to be transferred to Earth Valley, one of the neighboring towns. 

Jake was there, so she finished her coffee and went back to her room to set up for the short trip she made almost every day over the past couple of months.

It was still extremely early in the morning when Beth arrived at Earth Valley. At this point, the road between the two cities was well known to her and the drive had taken just over an hour to be done, giving Beth enough time to take another coffee and to choose a pretty gift for her brother. After all, it was also his birthday, and a perfect day for him to wake up. 

Suddenly feeling full of hope and excitement, Beth decided to turn around, even if she was already entering the hospital, and ran to the bakery that was just a couple of blocks away. The thought that the two of them actually could celebrate their birthday together stole her breath and made her feel a bit lightheaded. A silly thing to do when you have to cross over a high traffic avenue…

“Watch out!!!”

She was shoved out of the way at the same time the tires of a car locked, making it squeak on the asphalt. The strength behind the impact was enough to throw her out of the street and onto the sidewalk. Oh, hell, this will hurt… 

At the last second, her body changed angles, and she felt her back hit against something much softer than cement, and she rolled down the sidewalk with more arms and legs than she actually had.

It took her several seconds to understand that the car didn’t touch her; someone had just taken her out of the way and also softened her fall. And it took her a few more seconds to realize that this someone was still on top of her.

Opening her eyes, Beth saw a face – a decidedly manly one - just inches from hers. She had the impression to see a green light behind the eyes staring at her, but no, it must have been the sun because those eyes were gray… an amazing shade of gray she had never seen before, and they were surrounded by dark, dense lashes. His eyebrows were straight and thick. There was a thin, white scar descending between the temple and his right eye, a nose that would look like almost delicate if it wasn’t a bit crooked as if it had been broken and carefully fixed. The face staring at her also had high cheekbones, a strong chin, deep black hair falling over the sides of his face, making her own cheeks tickle, and a mouth that she only could describe as being too sexy to be so close to hers, especially since he seemed to be more or less her age.

He stared at her for several seconds, with a funny look on his face. “Are you okay?” The guy seemed to be short of breath, and his husky yet gentle voice was barely audible, making it difficult for Beth to understand his question. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was scorching hot and had his body pressing against hers.

“What?” 

“I asked if you are okay. Did you hurt something?” He repeated after clearing his throat.

“Uh… No, at least I don’t think so… but… I can’t breathe very well…”

He gave her a half smile, spun around releasing her of his weight and knelt beside her.

“Ok, try again now. Do you think you can stand up?” There was an unmistakable tone of irony in the guy’s voice, and the sarcastic manner annoyed her. 

“Now it’s much better, and of course I can get up. Thanks anyway.”

He stood on his feet and held out his hand to help her, but she ignored his gesture and got up by herself. He was tall, maybe even taller than her brother, about six feet two she calculated. And he was strong, not too strong as the people who spend all their lives shaping muscles, but he certainly worked on that, or maybe he was a football player.

“For…?” 

“For… you know… preventing me for being hit by the car.”

 “Ah, for that… and?” His eyebrow was raised, waiting for her to elaborate.

“And… for cushioning my fall…” 

“Humm… now, that was the best part… don’t you think?” His smile opened fully now while his gaze lowered to her body, lingering a little too long over her legs. “For both of us, I mean.”

Damn, she had forgotten she was wearing tight white shorts that covered only half of hers thighs, and inevitably his gaze made her blush and get even angrier.

“Speak only for yourself! I already thanked, so you don’t have to act like a jerk because of it.”

“Okay, okay! I was just teasing.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I would like to say that I’m at your service, but actually I’m just passing by, so it would be wise if you paid more attention from now on. Anyway, you better take care of that knee; it would be a shame to get a scar on it.” He made a sloppy salute, turned around and walked away with a mocking half-smile twisting his lips.

What an asshole! Beth thought and only stopped to assess the damage on her knee after she was inside the bakery. It was just skinned and probably would be fully healed after two days.

Once inside her brother’s room, she went straight to the bed and kissed his forehead. She stayed there for a long time watching him closely while brushing his hair with her fingers. 

Jake looked much like her physically, being her twin and all. The same hair color - cut in a short and messy way which gave him a look of a sturdy boy - same eyes, but his chin was squarer, his muscles were more obvious, and he was about four inches taller. He also was four minutes older, and loved to tease and annoy her, but always ended making things her way. They were extremely close to each other.

Unfortunately, the time spent with Jake did nothing to improve her mood. He, obviously, didn’t wake up, and the nurses attending that floor were clearly feeling grateful with their share of the cake Beth had bought.

Still, she stayed at his bed side, talking and reading all the news about archery championships that she could find on the internet. She didn’t mention her almost accident, it only would have made him mad because of her stupidity, and some of the doctors believed that people in a coma were able to hear and have feelings even if they weren’t able to show it.

In the middle of the afternoon, Chloe Morano showed up. She was one of Beth’s best friends. A really sweet girl, pretty and delicate, petite like a pixie as everyone liked to say. She had short black hair, big dark brown eyes and was Jake’s girlfriend. Along with Bernard Beautox and Amelie Callahara, they formed an inseparable quintet; all attended Broken Arrow High School – BAHS as they usually referred to it.

“Beth…” Chloe called softly from the door.

“Hi Chloe, I was getting worried.”

“Sorry, I’m late… my mom didn’t let me go until that horrible meeting was finished.” The petite girl explained while entering and sitting down on the only other chair in the room, right beside Beth.

“No problem. How did it go?”

“As well as it could be expected from a bunch of old nuns. I swear my mom is getting crazier and crazier.”

“I still don’t understand why she invited them in the first place, you two are not religious.”

“Yeah, but she still thinks that I would be better in a convent than at your house. Even if she believes that Jake is like a brother to me, he is still a guy, and after my dad left her she labeled all human males as evil.”

“She didn’t change her mind about sending you to live with me, did she?”

“Since the nuns refused to be my caretaker you still are her only choice, unless she decides not to go in search of her inner-self.” 

“I’m sorry she is such a selfish person, but you know that she loves you.”

“I know… and sorry about my poor mood, I just wanted to come earlier, so that we could’ve had lunch together and…”

Her voice broke and the girl stopped before finishing the sentence about celebrating Beth’s birthday. The two of them understood each other too well, and Chloe was unable to make a comment that could cause any kind of discomfort to her friends. 

Instead, both shared a loving and silent hug; staying like that for some time. When Beth felt that her friend was going to start getting all sentimental, she broke apart and stepped back.

“Do you mind if I leave you alone with Jake for a little while? I need to go to Edgar’s office.”

“Of course I don’t mind Beth, it has been two days since I last saw Jake, and after today…” Chloe stopped herself again, embarrassed.

“Chloe, it will not hurt me if you state the obvious! Our senior year will begin in two days, and we will only be able to see Jake on Saturdays. I know it will be difficult for both of us, but we will support each other. Plus Bern and Amie will be back tomorrow from their vacation trip, and they will help us too. We will make it through all of this, ok?”

“Sure we will, Beth.”

They hugged again, and Beth hurried out of the room, sensing that her friend wasn’t going to keep the tears away for much longer. Not that she thought it was wrong to show how one was feeling; it just wasn’t her thing.

According to the law, Beth and her twin would only be considered capable of taking care of themselves when they completed eighteen. Until then, both needed to be tutored and were forced to follow the advice and decisions of a lawful guardian; and that was the role of Edgar Sanders, their parents’ old friend and lawyer. At least he had been too busy to mess with Beth’s life… that task he gratefully handed over to the employees at the house. The lawyer only bothered her to talk about financial matters.

He had an office in an impressive building at the center of Earth Valley, but when Beth arrived there, she found out he’d had some kind of unexpected meeting elsewhere and couldn’t attend to their appointment. Instead, he just left an enormous envelope addressed to her with his secretary. Beth signed the receipt and decided only to open it at her home. This way, she would be able to read with all her attention whatever was inside it, and went back to the hospital where she spent the rest of the afternoon with Chloe and Jake.