Let’s chat about Ewen, Cadi’s love interest in the medieval fantasy romance – A Voice in the Air.
He’s a good-hearted lad, unhappy with his future as an assistant to his father – the village baker. A life of watching bread bake was not what he dreamed of.
He longed for adventure – fighting dragons, saving damsels, and drinking ale in the local pub with the knights.
Hoping to live his dream, he follows his liege to fight the trolls. The horror of the battle shattered his dreams. Captured and thrown into a deep dark cave, he awaits a hideous death. He thinks of Cadi – the beautiful barmaid who smiled at him when she served him an ale.
He wonders if she thinks about him as he does her. He often hid beneath the bridge and listened to her sing. He wanted to tell her that he liked her, but a squire has nothing to offer.
After nearly – accidentally – killing himself – he is rather accident prone- he is overjoyed to find Cadi, but horrified to learn she – a mere lass – was sent to rescue him.
When given the option to return home with Cadi or continue on with the knights – of course – he goes with the knights. Hs been given a new sword and horse – of course he must go off and face his destiny.
Shortly he realizes his mistake. He abandoned the lass who has his heart.
He turns back to find her and escort her safely home.
And that’s where the chaos begins. He is tricked by a witch, fooled by a beautiful vixen, imprisoned by a tree, nearly freezes to death and… is condemned to death.
Can Ewen outgrow his youthful foibles, save the day and declare his love to Cadi or is he forever condemned to be just a bumbling lad named Ewen?
Little excerpt
He felt the tremble of the ground as the darkness seemed to deepen. A loud grunt filled the cave with the lone word, “Fud.” It was the troll’s attempt to tell him his daily meal had arrived.
Sweeping up a handful of stones, he limped forward through the darkness to the place where the bread was tossed. A feeble bit of light made shapes just visible. Not seeing anything scurry about, he grabbed his meal, then edged back into the darkness.
As he ripped chunks off the loaf, Ewen let his mind wander. It always returned to one topic — Cadi. Did she know he loved her? He wanted to be near her. Being a squire to a knight kept him busy, and often as not, eventide found him asleep on a pile of hay in the stable.
On one joyous day, as he returned from an errand along the path over the river’s bridge, he heard her voice long before he found her hidden beneath the arch near the water. He’d almost jumped down to speak with her, but something inside warned him she wished to be alone. Was it the way she stood? Or her hood covering her face? Or simply because he was too… nervous… unsure? He’d stilled his urge to interrupt her and sat on the low stone edge of the bridge to listen.
Her voice filled him with a sense of peace. He relaxed so much he almost fell back off the bridge.
Blurb and Links
Leading an army of faeries and pixies into battle against mountain trolls was not what Cadi expected when she accepted the task of rescuing Ewen – the son of the Overseer of the Faeries.
Squire Ewen followed his liege into battle with a head full of romantic notions of knights, heroics, and damsels in distress. Being captured by a troll, thrown into a cave, and awaiting a hideous death was not how he had foreseen his adventure to play out.
Can Ewen stay out of trouble long enough for Cadi to rescue him? Will Cadi overcome her doubts and fears and bring her beloved Ewen home to Plucks Ridge?
Or will the petty evilness of The Scorned One defeat all and destroy the magickal realm?
If you love action, humour, quirky characters, and romance, then Daryl Devoré’s latest medieval fantasy romance – A Voice in the Air – is a must read.