Teaser Thursday: Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Carnival of Souls

Author: Melissa Marr

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Synopsis: In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable.While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and Graveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

Sneak Peek

"I should have kissed you sooner, Mallory." Kaleb put his hands on her shoulders, slid them down her arms, and then settles them on her hips. "So many answers are clear now."

"Answers to what?" She breathed more than spoke the question.

"I'll go wherever you go," he promised.

"Because of one kiss?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "And because of what that kiss means. We belong together. You know it. Somewhere inside, you know it. Even though the words sound crazy, you know they're true."

She didn't reply, but she melted into his embrace. It was an answer without words, but he needed the words. They were pack. She was meant to be in his life, and now that he knew it, there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. It was different, not more, but unique from the bond he shared with Zevi, and he wondered briefly if every packmate would feel different to him.

"MALLORY?" KALEB PROMTED.

She looked into his eyes, wishing she could tell him something, anything that would make this be something more than one fabulous--but--fleeting--surprise. She couldn't. Any words she had were ones she couldn't speak. My father is a witch. Daimons are real. I can't be with a normal guy because it's too dangerous for both of us. She couldn't admit those sorts of secrets--even to someone who made her feel like her blood had just become liquid fire. All she knew was that the thought of him leaving her life made her feel panic. It was just a kiss, she told herself. But the way he looked at her made her believe that it was more than that--for both of them.

"Kiss me again," she said.

He didn't build from tentative to feverish; he started with the sort of kiss that asked questions she didn't know how to answer, the sort of kiss that reminded her how little she knew about him and quickly made her forget everything she knew about caution. If the boys she'd kissed before had been like him, she wouldn't still be a virgin, but no one else made her feel like she could be happy spending the rest of eternity kissing. It was perfect.

It was also exceedingly stupid. They barely knew each other, and no amount of physical connection would bridge the gulf of secrets that she had to keep between them.

She pulled away and put a hand on his chest to keep him at a distance. What do I really know about him? They'd run into each other a number of times over the past month, when he'd said he was home from school, but a few casual conversations and a soul--searing kiss or two weren't reason enough to ignore all common sense. Hours of defense training had made her feel confident that she could handle anything boys tried, but in all of what she'd learned, there weren't any lessons on how to avoid feeling like a skeeze because you reacted to a boy's kisses like a cat discovering catnip.

"I think you need to go," she said as steadily as she was able.

"I will go wherever you tell me. I want to see you again. I need to see you." There was something desperate in his eyes and in his voice, and she wondered if it was the same urgency she felt.

Kaleb lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. "Please?"

"I'm moving tonight," she said.

"I'll come to you anywhere," he promised.

"You hardly even know me."

"I want to know you though. Are you going to punish me for just now finding you?" he asked.

"No, but . . ." She vacillated between wanting to believe him and doubting ever word.

"Do you kiss everyone that way? Or did that feel like . . . magic? Like something unusual? If it didn't, tell me to go but if it did"--he shook his head and stared straight into her eyes--"admit that. I swear to you, Mallory, I've never felt like that because of a kiss." (pgs. 76 & 77)