With Ophiuchus Flinched published and The Mark of Cain (Tales of Ciel Book 3) coming April 21, we’ve reached a brief lull between major releases. That doesn’t mean the calendar is completely bare. On March 17, we’ll release “The Clouds, from Afar”, the first companion short story set in the world of Ciel. I’ve got a few of these shorter works chambered and ready to go. I’m hoping they help whet your appetites between books while keeping the Tales of Ciel fresh in your mind.
“The Clouds, from Afar” takes place ~30 years before Ardent Wings on Jealous Skies. In a structured reading, it’s best placed between Ophiuchus Flinched and The Mark of Cain for contextual reasons, but it can be read at any point without risking major spoilers.
Not every reader enjoys short fiction, and I can appreciate that as a short fiction skeptic myself. I promise that all of these short stories and novelettes are entirely inessential to enjoy the main narrative unfolding across the book series. The shorts should be approached as add-ons. They’re great for completionists and those eager to explore more of the world. They will add context for series readers, but that’s where I’m drawing the narrative line. I’ll have a lot more to say about the topic as the release date approaches, but for now, I leave you with the first story’s blurb
Decades before the birth of Effie Strait, the people of the Zephyr Isles enjoyed a simple life. But simple doesn’t always mean easy.
Uprooted by economic instability, Kellen Bowker and his family abandon their ancestral home on the island of Nimbion to pursue better fortunes on the wealthy shores of Volturnus. Kellen and his older brother don’t get a vote.
Volturnus embraces the Bowker family, offering schooling, community, food, and–most importantly–work. But stability’s smooth patina covers over a long-simmering discontent. Volturnus Isle is rich with Elementalists, and such abundance only deepens the divisions between the Gifted and the Giftless.
Kellen Bowker doesn’t want any part of it. Unlike his brash older brother, Kellen doesn’t dream of flight. He never expected to manifest a Gift and never wanted one, but when his only friend and the object of his budding affection discovers her own elemental abilities, he’s forced to confront an obstacle he hoped to avoid. Kellen thought he’d carved a place for himself outside the frivolous hierarchy of the archipelago, but old systems of oppression move everyone trapped within them–with or without their consent.
Ciel has always turned about the fulcrum of ineffable powers–meekness and strength; power and subjugation; heartbreak, love, and lust. Will Kellen’s love be enough to overcome these primal forces? Or will he stand by and watch as the winds of fate carry off the woman who holds heart?
The Jokai do love their petty ironies. Even a boy with no interest in flight can be made to suffer for lack of Gift.
Coming March 17.