Welcome to the Blog Tour of

Prince of Secrets and Shadows

by C.S. Johnson

This tour was organized by R&R Book Tours.

Check out this gorgeous historical fiction Fantasy, Book II of THE ORDER OF THE CHRYSTAL DAGGERS series, and the amazing tour wide giveaway!

Prince of Secrets and Shadows

Author: C.S. Johnson

Publication Date: December 4th, 2018

Genre: YA/ Historical Fiction/ Adventure/ Romance

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him, but if I did not find a way to break free of him, I would risk doing even more harm. Ferdy met my gaze with his. “I promise you this, Ella, that as of now, I will never lie to you again.” He leaned forward and kissed me again, and I stood there, letting him, desperately debating whether I could trust him or not. His promise burned through me, his words scorched into my being. It was so tempting to believe him, more tempting than anything else I had ever faced in all my life. Freedom was only freedom if I could trust it to be true.

PRAGUE, 1870

After joining the Order of the Crystal Daggers, led by her dauntless grandmother, Lady Penelope, Eleanora Svobodová set out to save her kingdom from oncoming devastation.

And she failed.

Following the attack on Prague Castle, Eleanora is determined to redeem herself. She sets out to win Karl’s trust while distancing herself from Ferdy, whose secrets and lies have done nothing to stop her from falling in love with him. As she struggles to let him go, questions about the mission and her mother’s past cause a rift between Amir and Lady Penelope and add to the growing discord between Eleanora and her brother.

But when a cunning provocateur arrives in Prague, Eleanora discovers there is an even more deadly game afoot, one that reaches into Amir’s past and threatens Lady Penelope’s future. Now, the members of the Order must work together if they are to uncover the true enemy hiding in Bohemia. Can they work together despite their divisions? Or will their division lead to even more destruction?

With spies, secrets, and suspense, Prince of Secrets and Shadows is the second book in The Order of the Crystal Daggers, a spy adventure series from C. S. Johnson.

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Excerpt

Eleanora wakes up in Prague Castle. Lady Penelope will be upset with me when I see her again.

I decided I would welcome her ire, if it meant Ben was alive and the Order would allow me a chance to redeem myself. And then Lord Maximillian would pay, I vowed, gripping my fingers into fists as my failure tormented me. “Please,” Philip said, stepping forward as I began to pull on my boots. “You are not well.” “I’m fine,” I insisted. It was at that moment I realized my dagger, the one that marked me as a member of the Order of the Crystal Daggers, was missing. “Where is my dagger?” Philip hesitated again. “Please, just rest for now, my lady. His Highness only wishes for you to recover.” “I am feeling fine,” I repeated angrily, shooting him a threatening glance. “Give me back my things. I need to be on my way, and I won’t let you—or him—stop me.”

Philip did not seem to be very brave—or at least, he was not willing to anger me. As displaced and determined as I was, I supposed I could not fault him for that. He gulped and nodded slowly. “As you wish, my lady. I shall return.” He paused briefly when he opened the door. “I know I should not tell you this,” he said quietly, “but His Highness wishes for you to stay here. You are safe, and so are your secrets. We are indebted to you for what you have done.”

Heat poured through me. As Philip left, relocking the doors, I finally caught sight of myself in the mirror. My cheeks burned bright crimson as my heart began to beat faster inside my chest. He wants me to stay. But a long moment later, I forced myself to move. I could not stay. I had my family to find, my work to finish. My dignity to salvage, my honor to restore. I grabbed at the dress left out for me and tugged it over my head. With the stays laced loosely, I could easily wear it over my stealth habit. I hurried to secure it, grateful it would be a suitable disguise. Just as I was contemplating how to get home, even if it meant walking the whole way there, the lock clicked again.

The door opened as I pulled my hair free and tucked my hood down beneath a line of ruffles. “You can put my dagger down on the table, Philip.” I tugged the sleeves down off my shoulders, grimacing as the lower neckline brushed over the small cut. “I’ll get it in a moment.” “I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that you hardly pay attention to me when we meet like this.”

My spine tingled with sudden awareness, and my heart began to race at the sound of his voice. It was not Philip who had come.

It was Ferdy.

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About the Author

C. S. Johnson is the award-winning, genre-hopping author of several novels, including young adult sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles series, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more:

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Surprise Cover Reveal and teaser!

Isn’t this gorgeous?

Heart of hope and fear

Book III of THE ORDER OF THE CHRYSTAL DAGGERS series.

Absolutely stunning!

3 Heart of Hope and Fear cover reveal.jpg

Teaser

“What about the Order?” I hesitated to ask, knowing Amir had painful memories of his own. “I wanted to be free before. Lady Penelope pointed out that this is the opposite of what I wanted. I can’t help but feel she is right.” “Wanting to be free is not a sin in itself,” Amir told me softly. “Only when that is everything and held to the highest priority is it so. We are loyal to the truth, Eleanora, but the truth is complicated, and freedom can be painful.”

PRAGUE, 1871

In the battle between the past and the present, one girl must stand and fight for the future. Following Lord Maximillian’s escape and Karl’s disappearance, Eleanora Svobodová and the other members of the Order of the Crystal Daggers have plenty to keep them preoccupied. Just as the Emperor calls for a tripartite council to determine the sovereignty of Bohemia, war breaks out in France, and Lady Penelope prepares the Order to come face to face with their true foe at last.

But then Eleanora discovers the startling truth about her mother’s last mission in Prague.

Can she rescue the prince, save the Emperor, and still protect her friends and family?

Excerpt

Ferdy’s mother narrowed her eyes at me. “I am relieved to hear that you have made such a study of both my sons of late, Lady Eleanora. I confess, I was surprised to hear of your engagement to Karl through the papers.” “I regret to inform you, Your Highness, that Karl made the arrangements with the papers. I did not agree to an engagement.” I did not need a mirror to know my face had flushed over in red. “Well, that’s not entirely true,” Ferdy interjected. “Ella has agreed to marry me.” “What?” Lady Penelope, Empress Maria Anna, and Amir all turned to look at me. The heat in my cheeks exponentially increased. “I love her, and she loves me,” Ferdy continued, clearly indifferent to how uncomfortable he was making me. It was scandalous that he would love me at all, but the way in which he presented his claim on my heart was more than inappropriate—especially given that we had to find his brother, who was, in the eyes of Society, the one who was rightfully engaged to me. “We would like to speak with the archbishop while we are here.” “Today?” The empress gaped at him. “Yes.” Ferdy stepped down from before the throne to stand beside me. He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. “Ferdinand … ” Empress Maria Anna looked from Ferdy to me, and then back at her son. She seemed aghast at the idea, and I did not know what to do to calm her fears—if I could do such a thing at all.

My own stomach was turning and twisting into knots. “I have fallen deeply under her spell, Mother, and I would hate to fall even further into scandal and temptation,” Ferdy continued, watching his mother carefully. “It would be such a stain on our family’s virtuous history.” The former empress blushed as she looked at me, and I was too shocked to assure her Ferdy and I were not engaged in an affair; even if I had, I worried Ferdy would divulge more of our stolen moments together, just vague enough to let everyone assume the worst. I only felt some measure of relief when Amir gave me a small smile. From where he stood behind Lady Penelope, I could see the somberness as well as the sincerity of his approval. Suddenly, I did not want to know what Lady Penelope was thinking; I deliberately kept my face turned away from hers. “It was only a few days ago that my life was endangered as I made my way back to Silesia,” Ferdy said, so smoothly I did not even call him on his lie. “Life is so fragile, Mother, and I have been waiting for Ella for so long.” He looked back up at his mother, resolved and proud, but still pleading for her approval. Ferdy had told me once before that I was the one who was more determined between us, but as his fingers curled into mine, in a manner that was both so seductive and yet so innocent, I wondered if he had been lying.