Spotlight: A Kingdom of Air and Duty by Liz Cain
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Genre: Urban Fantasy Adventure Romance
A scientist’s assistant. A portal to a new world. A strange male she never should have met.
Venture into the unknown with Rebecca, the brilliant assistant to renowned physicist Howard Bristol, as they open a portal to the fae realm. When the portal explodes and leaves behind a mystery creature, Rebecca must shelter this unusual being, known as Kaval.
In a race against time, Kaval and Rebecca desperately seek a way to send him back before he attracts dangerous attention. As a malevolent presence hunts the newcomer, threatening their every move, Rebecca finds herself entangled in a battle not only against their adversaries but also against the irresistible pull of this enigmatic stranger. Journey through a spellbinding urban fantasy where the lines between science and magic blur, and the power of friendship and love become the ultimate weapons against the encroaching darkness.
Prepare to be swept away by an epic tale of two beings who should never have met.
Excerpt
Howard just smiled at me. “Honestly, you’ll see. Once each component stabilizes, a portal will be created on the focal point, and my equipment can take some readings. I’m hoping we will get a glimpse of the world through the portal, but even if I can only open it for a second, the data we obtain will be invaluable. Ready? Let’s open a portal.”
“Wait. What?” I raised my hand. “Are there safety precautions in place?”
My whole body went rigid as Howard reached out and pressed enter on the keyboard.
Time seemed to slow as the whirring noises increased and my ears started to ring. Pressure built up around us, and I could hear nothing but the whirring. The hairs started to stand on the back of my neck. The pressure in my ears continued to increase, and I reached my hands up over them. Pain started to radiate behind my eyes and I turned to Howard. His hands were over his ears, but his eyes sparkled as he watched the equipment. He mouthed something I couldn’t make out, giving me an eager nod.
The sound and pressure around us seemed to build further, and I cringed as my whole body started to tingle. I opened my mouth to say something, but light started to flicker around the room drawing my gaze to the stands circled around what Howard had called the focal point. My eyes widened when a small, bright ball appeared in between the equipment with swirls of different colors coming off it like a rainbow. Tendrils of light started to slowly spread from the ball as it grew in size.
“Howard!” I shouted. “Is this meant to happen?” I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the dancing display.
“What?” I barely heard his muffled reply. I turned to see his mouth move, but the sound was muted. He grinned at the sphere, and I noticed it started to fade. I almost cried out when the pressure on my ears increased further until a loud crack rent the air. I jolted, my ears ringing and popping when sound came back to me. It sounded like a thousand flies buzzing around the whole room. My hair whipped around my face as a fierce wind tore through the room, picking up speed. I could hear crashes as objects flew backward, away from what I assumed was the portal Howard had been trying to create, and the wind whipped them around the room.
“Howard!” I shouted again and tried to reach for him to make sure he was okay. With the flashing lights, I could barely see, as the now very large ball of light at the center of the equipment turned bright white. A large shadow caught my attention at its center where the sphere of light still grew, and spots appeared in my vision. I blinked, trying to clear the burned images on my retina as the image of another world appeared in front of me.
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About the Author
Liz Cain is an urban fantasy writer and NHS frontline staff. She was born in East Yorkshire in the UK and grew up near the sea with her parents and two sisters. She moved to the midlands, which was much too far south for her, graduating from Leicester University with a degree in Physics and going on to complete an MSc in Medical and Radiation Physics. She has worked in the NHS since 2008 as a Nuclear Medicine Clinical Scientist, helping with cancer treatment and diagnosis.
She has traveled at every opportunity from Thailand and Australia to touring national parks in North America. Liz has done lots of crazy things for charity, including skydiving, running, swimming, and even cutting off her hair. While out on adventures she finds herself weaving intricate tales in her head which one day she had to write down.
Liz has loved reading her whole life, growing up with Anne McCaffrey, Mary Stewart, and Terry Goodkind. Becoming an author happened by chance when she jumped at the opportunity to help a friend tell a story that deserved to be told. It inspired her to follow her lifelong dream and now she has published books with her coauthor Anne K. Whelan in the fantasy romance and paranormal romance genre, finally taking that last step and publishing by herself in 2023.
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