The Iron Knight Excerpt; Julie Kagawa's Livestream Announcements!

The Livestream was yesterday July 13th at 3:00 pm, I forgot to post about it, sorry guys, but I got some exciting news to share with you now!! If you still want to watch the whole show you can click here and watch the recorded version, which is just as good ^^

First things first, The Iron Knight excerpt!! I should warn you, if you haven't read The Iron Queen, then this will be full of spoilers!

My name, my full, True name, is Ashallayn’darkmyr Tallyn, and I am the last son of the Unseelie Court. 

There were three of us at one time, all princes of Winter, myself and my brothers, Sage and Rowan. I never knew my sire, never cared to know him, nor did my siblings ever speak of him. I wasn’t even positive we shared the same sire, but it didn’t matter. In the Unseelie Court, Mab was the sole ruler, the one and only queen. Handsome fey and even wayward mortals she might take to her bed, but Mab shared her throne with no one. 

We were never close, my brothers and I. As princes of Winter, we grew up in a world of violence and dark politics. Our queen only encouraged this, favoring the son who earned her good graces while punishing the others. We used each other, played vicious games against one another, but we were all loyal to our court and our queen. Or so I’d thought. 

There is a reason the Winter Court freezes out their emotions, why feelings are considered a weakness and a folly among the Unseelie fey. Emotion corrupts the senses, makes them weak, makes them disloyal to kith and court. Jealousy was a dark, dangerous passion that ate at my brother Rowan until he did the unthinkable and turned on his court, betraying us to our enemies. Sage, my eldest sibling, fell to Rowan’s treachery, and he was only the first. In a bid for power, Rowan sided with our greatest enemies, the Iron fey, helping their king nearly destroy the Nevernever. I killed Rowan in the end, avenging Sage and the rest of my kin, but retribution cannot bring either of them back. It’s only me, now. I am the last, the only remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. 

And I’m already dead to her. 

Rowan was not the only one to succumb to emotion and passion. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl. A girl named Meghan Chase, the half-human daughter of our ancient rival, the Summer King. Fate brought us together, and despite everything I did to shield my emotions, despite the laws of our people and the war with the Iron Fey and the threat of eternal banishment from my home, I still found myself falling for her. Our paths were woven together, our fates intertwined, and before the last battle I swore I would follow her to the end of the world, to protect her from all threats, including my own kin, and to die for her if called to do so. I became her knight, and would have gladly served this girl, this mortal who had captured my heart, until the last breath left my body. 

But Fate is a cruel mistress, and in the end, our paths were forced apart, as I feared they would. Meghan became the Iron Queen, as was her destiny, and took the throne in the kingdom of the Iron fey. A place I could not follow, not as I am—a faery creature whose essence weakens and burns at the touch of iron. Meghan herself exiled me from the lands of the Iron fey, knowing that staying would kill me, knowing I would try anyway. But before I left, I swore an oath that I would find a way to return, that someday we would be together, and nothing would separate us again. Mab tried to convince me to return to the Winter Court—I was her only prince now, and it was my duty to come home—but I bluntly stated that I was no longer part of the Unseelie Court, that my service to her and Winter was at an end. 

There is nothing more terrible than a spurned faery queen, particularly if that was the second time you’d defied her. I escaped the Winter Court with my life intact, but just barely, and I won’t be returning any time soon. Regardless, I feel little regret at turning my back on my queen, my kith, and my home. That part of my life is done. My loyalty, and my heart, belongs to another queen now. 

I promised I’d find a way for us to be together. I intend to keep that promise. Even if it means trekking through a sprawling, deadly marsh in search of a rumor. Even if it means putting up with my fiercest and most annoying rival, Robin Goodfellow who—despite all his attempts to hide it—is in love with my queen as well. I don’t know why I haven’t killed him yet. Maybe because Puck is Meghan’s closest friend, and she would mourn him terribly if he were gone (though I can’t understand why). Or, maybe, deep down, I’m tired of being alone. 

In any case, it matters little. With every ruin we search, every dragon we slay or every rumor we unearth, I’m one step closer to my goal. Even if it takes a hundred years, I will be with her in the end. Another piece of the puzzle lurks somewhere in this dreary swampland. The only difficulty lies in finding it.

Now I know how my future son is going to be named. This piece is so full of emotion, the whole time Julie was reading it everybody at the chat was saying how sad it was and how we wanted to take Ash and give him a bear hug.

Also the synopsis of the novel is up at Goodreads if anybody wants to read it. Go go go!

Now for the announcements:

1. Come August, Julie is going to have Teaser Tuesdays at her blog!! She is going to be posting teasers on The Iron Knight till October, so visit her blog because you don't want to miss that!!
   
2. Julie is writing a new series... a vampire series. Vampire + Julie Kagawa = Awesomeness!!! It's a post apocalyptic vampire series called Blood of Eden; the first book is titled The Immortal Rules. I cannot wait for this!! Julie is one of my Top 5 authors!
   
3. Last but not least... Julie has a double work load. She is going to be writing 2 series at the same time O.o There will be a second Iron Fey Trilogy only this time the main character is going to be Ethan Chase, Meghan's younger brother. The series is set several years after the event of the first, with an older Ethan. What the series is going to be about, or how it's going to go down it's still a mystery.

I love Julie Kagawa's writing, and I have faith that anything she writes will be awesome. So I am on the lookout for her vampire series, her second Iron Fey adventure, and of course The Iron Knight.

Side Note: Please check out Bloody Bookaholic's Facebook Page where you will find all the latest news on the YA book blog world, plus, if not the most important thing, all the latest and most fabulous covers. "Like" it and be my new best friend.

Side Note #2: Click here for my Iron Knight cast, I think you are going to appreciate it.