The Storm Descends by Valerie Storm

The Catalyst is quiet.

Welcome to the December 27th stop on the blog tour for The Storm Descends by Valerie Storm by Valerie Storm with Bewitching Book Tours (schedule linked.) Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, guests posts & interviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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About the Book

The Storm Descends
Demon Storm Book 7
by Valerie Storm

Published 13 December 2024
Shadow Spark Publishing
Cover Artist: @Ginkahederling

Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Count: 433
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

The Catalyst is quiet.

Kari struggles with the damage she did when she lost control. Her loved ones suffered at her hands, leaving Ari scarred in ways she will never be able to ignore.

How he survived? Only the Seraph of Nalmi knows.

Then a request arrives, a simple task compared to everything else she has been through: travel as Freehaven’s emissary and meet with Brianna, a now-ancient half demon who destroyed the first demon city across the sea – and who may have some information on defeating the Catalyst for good.  Kari, Ari, and Guine prepare to cross the Demon Sea… But the shadows await them.

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Excerpt

Kari knelt in a field of dark grass beneath a dark cloud pouring dark rain. Ari lay limp in her arms, dead to the world. She bowed her head over his prone body, colder than death even without the rain to drench them. It pattered, loud against her flicking ears—the only sound all around.

“Wake up, Ari, please,” she whispered to his chest, clutching him tighter. “Please.” Her voice broke, and a wail wrenched free.

“Love makes you weak.”
Kari’s head shot up at the whisper, but there was no one around. There was only the rain, hissing now, each drop harder and sharper.

“You are a plague.”

The whispers came from the rain, now searing pinpricks rather than drops of frozen water. Gritting her teeth, Kari lifted Ari, held him close to her chest, and ran.

“One day, you will wish for the power you forsake!”

Kari’s feet sloshed through thick, black puddles. She slipped and barely managed to roll onto her back before she and Ari fell. She grunted, struggled to get back up with his weight.

A beam of light broke the murky sky. Kari squinted at it; the sight filled her with an unexplainable, instinctual hope. She pushed off from the muddy ground—harder now with her and Ari both sopping wet—and ran for the light.

“PLEASE!” she screamed to the sky. “SAVE HIM!”

It was all she wanted; she would give anything—anything.

“You have a destiny.” This whisper was deeper, ancient—a voice so full of raw power, it grabbed Kari’s spine and forced her to straighten. “Vessels do not earn worldly attachments.”

Velthas. His pull was strong even now, even though she had not seen the Tree in weeks—months. Forced rigid, Kari dragged her eyes to the beam of light.

“Holy light,” she managed through a jaw clenched shut. She curled her fingers around Ari. “I forsake everything else to you.”

A ripple—the jarring snap of something breaking in her mind. Kari gasped and fell forward, barely catching herself on one hand before she collapsed on top of Ari.

The rain slowed, she thought; at least, she felt the pattering on her back less. She closed her eyes, hoping, wishing, praying.

Fingers touched her cheek. Her eyes flew open and found Ari’s eyes—green as the deepest forest. He lifted one corner of his mouth tiredly. “You’ll carry my faith, won’t you?” he whispered. “My light?”

About the Author

Valerie Storm was raised in Tucson, Arizona. Growing up, she fell in love with everything fantasy. When she wasn’t playing video games, she was writing. By age ten, she began to write her own stories as a way to escape reality. When these stories became a full-length series, she considered the path to sharing with other children & children-at-heart looking for a place to call home.

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