Jewel of Gazante

Sheltering from a sandstorm, by the light of the candle, the story unfolds…Zalaya is far more than simply a princess of Gazanté. She is trained by the Watch, a speaker of many languages, and a cunning player of games both mundane and political. She is underestimated—and valuable to her father, the king, who would offer her in marriage where he pleases. She is the Jewel of Gazanté, precious, beautiful, and untouchable.But the candle of Nesuet, Goddess of Sandstorms, flickers before the face of Prince Stevas of Salese. A drunken, womanizing lout who she once called friend, long since cast away, and the last person she would like to be alone with. By the laws of Gazanté, no harm may come to any in a shelter. She is trapped, until the storm is done.The goddess tests all who walk the desert, and destroys the unworthy. Zalaya must trust in the goddess, and her mysterious plans. For the storm rages on, and Stevas is not quite the man that he seems to be.THE JEWEL OF GAZANTÉ is a novella about romance and desire, and who will pay the cost of it, as the story of Gazanté—and Zalaya—is told in the light of Nesuet's candle.