beneaththethirteenmoons

"Wald thought you'd ruin it," muttered Caria.
   "What?" Mahri craned her neck to see over the crowd. Taller than most women, she could almost see over the men's heads.
   "Said the whole village knew there'd be a fight tonight. Either a cat- or fist-fight, they didn't care, although they wagered on that, too. Wald thought you'd spoil their fun."
   Mahri bit her lip. In the swamps they worked rough, and played the same. So she wasn't surprised. She just didn't appreciate that she'd been a part of the wagering.
   Jaja! she mind sent. Her pet scampered up her dress, almost tearing
it in the process. "See how Korl is faring, will you?"
   He nodded briskly and hop-skipped across several shoulders to the innermost circle. Mahri saw him clap his hands with delight, shake a fist and swing it in mock fighting, then bound back to her own shoulder. He nodded, bared pointed teeth in semblance of a human smile, then went back to the action.
   "Has Korl had any zabba?" asked Caria.
   Mahri shook her head. She would've Sensed any power within him.
   "Then it's a fair fight, and they won't kill each other, so let's go get some food."
   Mahri trailed behind the clatter of Caria's shells, glanced back once at a particularly loud thump, and cringed. They fought over something that neither one could have.
   At the mention of food, Jaja had left the pleasure of the fight for that of the table. The little scamp stuffed sweets in his mouth at an alarming rate, and Mahri watched in fascination while she nibbled on farnuts and redshoots.
   Shells clattered and Caria nudged her arm. "The fight's over. And I think Korl won."
   "How do you know?"
   "He's coming to claim his prize."
   Mahri looked up in alarm. Korl strode determinedly towards her, his golden hair in wild disarray, that gorgeous smink vest torn to shreds, the beginnings of a swelling in his right eye, and a line of scarlet running down his full mouth. Every inch the conquering hero.
   He grabbed her arm. "Come with me. Now."
   "I'm not going anywhere with you, you arrogant…" sputtered Mahri.
   The muscles of his face tightened hard as bone and Caria drew in a breath. With a negligent sweep of his arms, he tossed Mahri over his shoulder, and stomped out of the clearing, villagers stumbling over themselves in their haste to get out of his way. The frizzy-haired woman and her friend glared envious daggers at Mahri, and even though she cursed Korl viciously, she paused a moment to give the women a grin of smug satisfaction.
   Then resumed cursing, crying out for some root. If somebody would give her some, she'd show Korl that he couldn't just toss her around like a bag of seed. But the villagers didn't interfere, and she had a feeling Trian couldn't.
   "Put me down!"
   Korl plunged into the forest, the sounds of the village party dwindling behind them. "Not a chance." He paused for a moment, as if getting his bearings, and Mahri heard the unmistakable sound of root being crunched. When he resumed his purposeful stride, she tried to take the power shuddering through his body, but this Bond thing was so new to her. She hadn't yet forced the power from him and wasn't quite sure how to go about it without him Pushing it to her.
   By the time she thought she'd figured it out he'd reached wherever he'd been taking her and dumped her into a carpet of fallen leaves. While the blood drained back out of her head she looked around and gasped at the sight before her.
   In the middle of a road branch grew one of the largest, most beautiful flowers she'd ever seen. Taller than two men's heights, wider than four, it grew from a vine that twirled around the trunk
of the tree and along the branch. At the bottom of the red blossom small petals puffed out like feathers, but the larger, silken ones gathered up to a peak at the top. She'd never seen the like before.
   "What is it?"
   Korl grasped her hand and lifted her to her feet, his grip firm and final, pulling her toward the scarlet flower. "Wald showed me. He said this vine blooms once every thousand moons. It's called a xynth flower."
   His voice had dropped to that deep timbre. Mahri shivered, thinking of the man who'd saved her life, the jealous feelings that those two women had aroused in her, the Bond and the fusing of their souls. And the smell of him that mingled with the spicy scent of that red flower. "What are you doing?"
   Korl had dragged her next to the bloom, reached out and forced an opening through the huge petals, revealing a crack just large enough for a person to squeeze through. "Get in," he commanded.
   "I think not."
   He sighed, picked her up, and tossed her through that curtain. She landed with a bounce and a curse. The spicy scent was stronger inside the flower, it filled her senses as she noted the small
opening above her where the petals reached a peak, allowing the light of the moons into this nest; the soft, powdery surface she lay on, which had a golden glow of its own, and the feathery fronds of stamens that encircled the inner wall of the petals.
   Mahri filled her lungs with that wonderful perfume, and it seemed to flow into every muscle of her body, through the channels of her root-paths, relaxing yet stimulating all of her senses. She sighed. A feathery touch brushed her cheek, then the sides of her arms, the top of her breasts. Yet it didn't startle her, even though it took a few seconds to realize that those gentle caresses came from the flower itself, that the stamens surrounding her swayed with almost sensuous undulations, stroking and releasing even more of that marvelous scent.
   "Korl," she whispered.
   His voice came back at her muffled through the petals. "What?"
   "Come in."
   "I think not."
   Mahri shifted on the cushiony surface, trembling from the feel of the glittering powder that covered this chamber, the constant strokes of the feather-like stamens against her skin, the languid heat that increased every time she breathed in that spicy scent. She stretched out full-length, the silk of her dress sliding across the tiny hairs of her body, the glowing powder filling her pores and making her skin ache with the want of a touch. What was happening to her?
   "Korl," she groaned, and she heard him respond with a grunt, a rip of petals as he plunged into the giant flower, overwhelming her with the sudden heat of his body, the touch of his hands against her sensitized skin. "By-the-moons, what's happening to me?"
   Korl's voice felt hard. "I take what I want."
   "Aya, aya," she agreed. "But why don't I care?"
   His hands slid up her ankles, the powder a smooth catalyst for his motions, catching the hem of her silk dress and scrunching it up to her thighs. His voice when it answered had changed, a distracted sort of throatiness. "The perfume of the flower, and the pollen it exudes, releases your inhibitions.
   There he goes again, thought Mahri, using words I can't understand. Forcing her to remain clueless or display her own ignorance. But it didn't matter. She giggled and lifted her bottom so Korl could slide her dress underneath her. The sweet, sweet feel of cool air against her naked skin made her long to stretch like a treecat and wriggle the rest of her way out of that blasted silk.
   Korl growled when she did just that, his eyes for a moment flashing with root-power, illuminating the planes of his face, the intense longing in his soul. The nightly rain began, drops hitting Mahri's exposed breasts, sudden slaps of gentle pain. The flower responded by closing the petals above them, plunging them into darkness illuminated only by the golden glow of the pollen, that heightened her senses even further, straining to hear his breath, the beat of his heart.
   She jumped at the sudden loud sounds of ripping smink fur. Held her breath, waiting for him to touch her again. Mahri couldn't think of her past, nor of the future. The present was all that mattered.
   Having the man that saved her life quenching the fire that burned between her legs, in her heart, throughout her soul.
   She cursed him when he didn't come to her quickly enough, when he teased her with only the touch of his tongue, licking the drops of rain from her breasts. She could feel him smile when she arched her back, a silent command to touch her that he ignored, letting her writhe shamelessly, until she managed to clutch his hair, bring his mouth over her own, sucking at his tongue until he writhed as well.
   Love is grand, thought Mahri.
   Their bodies entwined, covering them with pollen so thickly that their skin began to glow with a golden light.
   Finally, Mahri had the freedom to touch him anywhere she wished, without the fear and confusion that usually followed. She brushed the hair away from his face and allowed her hands to linger in it; traced a path to that full bottom lip, along his cheekbones and across his brows, down his neck to the swell of his shoulders and the rigid planes of his stomach.
   Korl explored her as well, with a less than gentle hand. He touched her with a fierce possessiveness, pulling her against him so that she felt the hardness of his want for her, and she let him ... let him push against her own wet heat, consumed by a frantic desire that satiated her soul and allowed her heart to soar.
   Yet, in a tiny corner of her mind lay the knowledge that he had manipulated her, using the gifts of Sea Forest to get what he wanted. When he drove into her, she screamed aloud in joy and anger, and as the rain began to pound in earnest against the petals of their shelter, so did Korl pound himself into her, trying to lay a claim, and Mahri fighting it all the way.
   She sensed the undercurrent of violence that lay in this night, and somehow knew that when the rain brought a storm that shook the foundations of their xynth flower, it damaged the root vine and killed the blossom for another thousand moons.

When smuggler Mahri Zin kidnaps a Healer to cure her family and he turns out to be the Prince of Sea Forest, she must use too much of the magical zabbaroot to escape his enemies. From her root-induced coma she learns that the natives of this planet plan for her to Bond with him, a joining so final that to tear it asunder would mean the death of them both.
Mahri only wants her freedom, but as they plunge through the dangerous waters of the swamps she finds it hard to resist the physical lure of Prince Korl.
And the Prince must change the entire world of Sea Forest in order to gain her heart, and ultimately determine mankind's survival on this landless planet.

Click on the PURCHASE link to buy this First Edition library quality hardcover book at the lowest price with Best Book Deal.

"BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS is a beautifully drawn story filled with lush scenery and an engaging plot...It's a story you'll enjoy reading again and again."
Kathy Samuels-Reviewer-Romance Reviews Today

'BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS is a terrific science fiction romance that will appeal to fans of Anne McCaffrey and Catherine Asaro...If this is an indicator of her output, Kathryne Kennedy is destined to be one of the sub-genre's superstars."
Harriet Klausner #1 Reviewer-Midwest Book Review Bookwatch & The Best Reviews

"What an absolutely wonderful story...For a wonderful escape to a new world and a good love story too, be sure to pick up BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS."
Sarah Sproha-Reviewer-The Romance Reader's Connection

"In BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS, Kennedy has created a very original plot, nothing like I have ever read...an incredibly romantic novel and Kennedy has written touching and powerful scenes...an amazing debut, and Kathryne Kennedy promises to be a top fantasy romance writer."
Nathalie-Reviewer-Fantasy Romance Writers-A Romance Designs Community Website

"Building a fascinating, complex world of a landless planet, Ms. Kennedy brings readers into a fantasy tale that is more than just a romance."
Top Reviewer-Editor- Kari@Loveromances

"In a single word, "Wow!" I mean W-O-W-! I have never read such a wonderful tale as this. Kathryne Kennedy's computer must smolder from the power she creates in her stories! I simply cannot describe how awesome or how thrilling I found this novel to be."
Detra Fitch-Reviewer-Huntress' Book Reviews

"...the imagery is excellent and the characters engaging. It will be interesting to see whether KK develops further as an author in science-fantasy with the planet she has described so well for us, or if she branches out and describes another world in another genre, either way, there is great scope for the future."
Chrissi-Reviewer-BookLore UK

REVIEWS

"Beneath the Thirteen Moons" was acquired by Editor Russell Davis for Five Star Publishing, a division of Thomson Gale, who primarily provides books to libraries. You can ask for it at your local library; if they don't stock it, they can order it for you. Otherwise, it can only be purchased at on-line bookstores (there's a link below).
It's an unusual novel, in that it combines two genres (and my two passions); that of fantasy and romance. Although sometimes referred to as science fiction, it really falls under the realm of science fantasy. Since the planet is advanced to the level of the middle ages, you won't find any robots or high-tech stuff. And it is primarily a romance.
One of the most common questions I'm asked of readers is, "How did you come up with this world?", so I'll try to answer that here. Like most writers, there isn't one thing that sets off your imagination, it's usually a combination of many things that eventually gel together and give you your inspiration. I wanted a world that would be unlikely to develop any technology, at least in our sense of the word. Therefore, no land or metals. I was Inspired by U.S. swamplands, bayous and rivers; the movie "African Queen"; Venice and the idea of water-roads. So giant trees grew up from the ocean floor, providing a place for the inhabitants of Sea Forest to live without any land. Fresh water was a consideration, and on such a wet planet it would rain frequently, but I went even further, and the tops of the ocean trees developed deep cavities that held fresh water, which provided for the humans as well. Thirteen moons provided the tidal pull for the waterways between the trees to have currents in many directions; and the magical zabbaroot provided my humans with special abilities that allowed them to love in new ways, and to survive on this beautiful, deadly planet.
Welcome to the world of Sea Forest...

"If this reviewer had to pick one word to describe BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS it would have to be...Wow! Author Kathryne Kennedy has created a lush planet described so well that I could actually see it in my mind. Intriguing, intricately written, and superbly designed, the tale of Mahri and Korl is one that readers will return to more than once...The author has evenly distributed the plot and characters so that it will delight the fan of science fiction as well as the romantic at heart."
Rho-Reviewer-A Romance Review

"BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS is a highly original fantasy tale. Kathryne Kennedy has done an excellent job with world building...I really loved this world..."
Chere-Reviewer-Romance Junkies

"A phenomenal futuristic fantasy...I felt he (Korl) was the epitome of a good alpha hero. Jaja (is) Mahri's part monkey-part fish, as well as telepathic. In my mind I had such a visual of all his facial expressions that between his actions and his personality I laughed out loud. BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS is such an awesome story! I only hope Ms Kennedy has plans for future novels as I highly recommend this novel."
Cynthia Lovett-Reviewer-ParaNormal Romance Reviews

ISBN 0-7862-5336-3

"BENEATH THE THIRTEEN MOONS was a greatly entertaining science fiction romance, which took place in a vibrant and intruguing world. I found myself drawn into Mahri and Korl's beautiful, but deadly, world. Kudos to Ms. Kennedy on her great world-building ability. If you are looking for an extraordinary science fiction romance with a blow-you-away world, give BTTM a try."
Marlene Breakfield-Reviewer-Escape To Romance

4 stars (Compelling-Page Turner)"...the curious liquid land in which they live is a unique and captivating setting. The plot also unfolds in a compelling manner, and Mahri, with all her strength and tenacity, is an endearing heroine."
Avery MacKibben-Reviewer-Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine

BENEATH

THE THIRTEEN

MOONS

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