This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Margaret Izard will be awarding a Stone of Destiny Swag Box to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
When Love Costs Everything: Writing the Hardest Sacrifice in Stone of
Destiny
From the very beginning of the Iona Stones series, I knew the final book
would demand something deeper than a triumphant battle or a sweeping
declaration of love. It would require sacrifice. Not symbolic sacrifice. Not a convenient
sacrifice. Real, aching, heart-splitting sacrifice.
In Stone of Destiny, Kat MacArthur carries a loss that never
softens—her brother remains trapped in another time. While other characters in
the series receive reunions, closure, or long-awaited embraces, Kat must stand
in the same room and watch joy unfold for others while her own remains just out
of reach. That imbalance wasn’t accidental. It became the emotional spine of
her story.
Kat’s journey forced me to confront a difficult question: What does destiny
truly cost?
In the Iona Megaverse, destiny isn’t passive. It doesn’t simply happen to
characters. It presses against them. Tests them. Demands proof of who they are
when comfort disappears. For Kat, love doesn’t arrive as a reward. It arrives
as a risk. Loving Ceallach means stepping into a prophecy that offers no
guarantees. His duty to the Stones stands as firm as his feelings for her. And
sometimes love and duty do not walk the same path.
As a writer, I could have softened that tension. I could have arranged
events to spare her the sharpest edge of longing. But that would have betrayed
the emotional truth of her arc. Kat doesn’t receive easy grace. She must
choose—again and again—whether love still holds its worth.
Writing those scenes required restraint. It required allowing silence to
sit. Letting Kat witness reunions she cannot have. Letting her love a man who
may not promise forever. More than once, I stared at the page and thought,
“Surely I can give her this one mercy.” And more than once, the story answered
no.
The hardest sacrifice in Stone of Destiny wasn’t only Kat’s. It was
mine.
Because when you build a world over seven books—when you love these
characters as fiercely as readers do—you want to protect them. You want to
shield them from pain. But real romance doesn’t grow in safety. It grows in
risk. In uncertainty. In the willingness to love when the outcome remains
unknown.
Sacrifice defines destiny in this series because destiny without choice
holds no power. Kat’s strength lies not in what she gains, but in what she’s
willing to risk.
And in the end, that willingness becomes the truest magic of all.
Bound by destiny, torn by fate—their love stood unbroken, victorious over all.About the Book:
Kat MacArthur still feels the loss of her brother to another time. Seeking solace, she stumbles upon Ceallach, a Fae warrior, she’s had feelings for ever since she met him. The emotion grows stronger whenever they are together. Yet he warns her to stay away from the upcoming gathering for the Iona Stones. Kat refuses—she needs to be there to help her family and Ceallach.
Ceallach is torn between duty, magic, and the ache for mortal love. His Fae soul is sworn to protect the Iona Stones during the Gathering, but his heart is lost to Kat. With the prophecy looming, he cannot promise her forever—no matter how much he longs to. The maiden of the Iona Stones now faces sacrifice, and he fears if his beloved gets too close, he cannot save her.
When dark forces rise to take the Iona Stones along with their powers, Ceallach is forced into an impossible decision—to defy destiny or surrender to love?
Genre:
Read an Excerpt
Still wearing a grin, he strode forward with confidence, and a sensuality Kat had not forgotten. The man still took her breath away with one look. Ceallach arrived before her, a smile playing on his lips. As his eyes swept across her face, the expression faltered. His brows knitted together in a frown, shadowing the sudden tension in his gaze. Reaching with his finger, he lifted a tear from her cheek, gripped his fist hard, and when opened, a small, clear teardrop-shaped gemstone sat in his palm.
“Dry yer tears, sweet Kat. Yer face is much prettier without them.” He took her hand and, with his other placed the gemstone in her palm. “When ye hold the gem, yer tears will fade, and happy thoughts shall fill yer heart.” When the stone touched her skin, her mind cleared, and a sense of ease washed over her.
Ceallach released her hand and strode past her to the doors.
Kat turned, calling after him. “Wait, why are ye here?”
The attractive Fae stopped and turned. “Dagda sent me. I’ve come to meet with the guardian of the stones. All the stones have returned. The gathering and battle of good vs evil is upon us. The gods have called, and we must answer.”
He opened the heavy oak doors without effort and strode through. The doors weight closed them, leaving Kat in the shadows again. She blinked, almost not believing her eyes and the truth before her. Her secret love had just casually strolled back into her life. Gripping the gem, he’d shaped from her tears, warmth washed over her. Ceallach was here. A smile crossed her face.
Ceallach was here.
About the Author
Margaret Izard is an award-winning author of historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels. Her latest awards are 2024 Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention for Stone of Love and 2024 Spring BookFest Silver Award for the same title. She spent her early years through college to adulthood dedicated to dance, theater, and performing. Over the years, she developed a love for great storytelling in different mediums. She does not waste a good story, be it movement, the spoken, or the written word. She discovered historical romance novels in middle school, which combined her desire for romance, drama, and fantasy. She writes exciting plot lines, steamy love scenes and always falls for a strong male with a soft heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and adult triplets.
Website: http://www.margaretizardauthor.com
Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/mizardauthor
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