Father Sebastian has found a home in St. Augusta College.
But when that home is threatened by a student, questions arise in his own
beliefs.
Sacred Salvation
Part of Sins of the Sacred
by Casia Pickering
Genre: Dark Priest Romance
St. Augusta College is known for weaving the Arts with
Theology. Within its iron gates lies a prestigious education that can drive a
person mad.
Father Sebastian Hardwicke is new to the position. Not once has his religious
fervor been tested until he is sent to the cathedral on St. Augusta's campus.
The school is not what he expected. Hymns and prayers echo within the
cathedral, and the faculty are pious and helpful. Even the students held a
reverence he had only experienced in seminary. On the outside, it is perfect.
But a mask is still a mask, no matter how enticing.
Emilia Trent has two goals in life: to convey true emotion into her art and to
quiet the voices. But the voices have gotten louder, screaming and demanding
that she keep painting. There is no freedom in her expression. With the new
priest coming to campus, her urges grow to a point where she no longer knows
who she is. There is an almost paranormal force growing inside her.
There is only one person capable of holding the demon at bay- Father Sebastian
Hardwicke. But will he choose to face the evil head-on or fall into the deep
embrace of temptation?
Part of Sins of the Sacred, a
dark priest romance shared world series featuring eleven amazing authors.
“I don't think there is a demon
inside you,” Sebastian sighed, “that wasn't my intention-”
“My father died when I was
starting high school,” Emilia said. "He used to drive freight trucks at
night. During one night, a nasty storm happened, and, well, it crashed. He was
in the hospital for weeks until we couldn't keep him on life support.”
“I'm so sorry,” Sebastian said. He
looked off into the distance, as if heweres lost in his own thoughts.
Emilia shrugged. “I've had
depression ever since. My painting helps with it and so did a therapist when I
had one, but it isn't because of my depression that I struggle.”
“What is?” Sebastian asked.
Emilia thought quietly. She
glanced at Sebastian. Without the white collar pinned into his polo shirt, he'd
look like any other well-dressed man. It was that and the type of shirt that
seemed out of place with his jeans and glasses that he was constantly pushing
back up the bridge of his nose. She wondered what made him choose the life he
chose.
Was he a believer, or was it
pushed onto him by people around him? She remembered an argument she had with
her mother about maybe joining the military to help pay for college. That was
before the art contest and scholarship that got her into St. Augusta. As much
as she stressed about being at the school, she wouldn't change her choices if
she had the chance. But her knowledge about Father Arthur, Sister Rebecca, and
Miranda would be for Sebastian. It may not be her responsibility, but it was
something Emilia didn't want on her conscience.
“I'd rather not talk about it,”
she finally decided, shaking her head, “no offense, but I doubt you'd take my
life experiences into consideration if I told you.”
“What do you mean?” Sebastian's
eyes furrowed in confusion.
“Imagine being abused or having a
bad relationship with a friend or something,” Emilia said, “can you do that?”
Sebastian’s expression went still.
It was as if he were seeing something from his past. A pang of guilt hit
Emilia’s chest. If she had known he might’ve experienced something like what
she was suggesting, she might not have said that.
“Okay,” Sebastian whispered, “go
on.”
Emilia nodded. “Let’s say you told
someone about that experience, but that person you told didn’t believe you
because the person who abused you or the friend who was awful hasn’t shown that
side of themselves to that person. Can you imagine how that feels?”
“I can.” Sebastian’s voice was
raspy and hard. He worked his jaw and rolled his head from side to side.
A squirrel jumped from headstone
to headstone as birds twittered. His cheeks were bulging from the collection of
nuts. The leaves rustled as another autumn breeze brushed past. Emilia looked
around at the quiet beauty of it all.
Even the voices weren’t around.
Emilia looked around, this time paying attention to every small detail. There
was no fog or shadows. The only brightness that held her attention, aside from
the slowly dying sun, was Sebastian. It was as if the cemetery was an oasis
away from whatever plagued the campus.
“That’s why I’m not ready to say
anything,” Emilia said. "I don’t know if you’d believe me or not, but it’s
not worth saying if we end up arguing.”
About the Sins of
the Sacred series
The Sins of the Sacred dark romance shared world series
brings together standalone stories by multiple authors, each exploring the
collision of faith and forbidden desire within religious settings. From
medieval abbeys and dissolution-era monasteries to modern churches and
theological colleges, priests, nuns, exorcists, and other religious figures
face temptations that challenge their sacred vows. The series spans various
time periods, incorporating paranormal elements including demon possession,
angelic intervention, and exorcism that intensify conflicts between duty and
desire.
With diverse pairings including M/F, MM, F/F/F, and MFM
configurations, each book delivers explicit romantic content while exploring
themes of religious trauma, repression, and the struggle between devotion and
forbidden longing. The series features omegaverse dynamics, second chance
romance, and enemies-to-lovers tropes alongside darker explorations of
possession, crisis of faith, and the psychological impact of religious
structures. Designed for readers seeking taboo romance that examines the
tension between sacred vows and human desire in emotionally complex narratives.
Find them on Amazon!
Even though she claims she can write anything, the biography
remains to be Casia’s arch-nemesis. Despite this, Casia has used her Writing
degree to craft stories in over ten anthologies, maintained a book blog for
more than a decade, and has begun to write novels. A multi-genre author, Casia
Pickering, is incapable of keeping to one thing. Every story has a piece of her
personality that she treasures and shares with her readers. She currently lives
in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with her biggest supporter and helper,
her son, affectionately known as Bug. Previous works are under the name, Casia
Courtier.
Website * Facebook * Instagram * Bluesky * TikTok * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
GUEST POST
If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
So, I actually could spend a day with either Emilia or Sebastian. Emilia would be a fun time. She is smart, sassy, and artistic. It would be easy to enjoy a day with her talking about deep topics over coffee and painting. I would want to know what she sees around me and what she thinks I could fix or expand.
Sebastian is a cinnamon roll who needs therapy badly. I'd want to take him to therapy, have a spa day, and then go to an expo on religious art or religious studies. He loves learning new things and I think it'd be fun to expand his belief system and learn something new with him.
It's actually interesting to see how much the two of them are similar but very different.
How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
I was originally going to go BIG. Like, drugs and demonic possession. But, my characters had other plans. I knew I wanted a priest who was devoted to his position and faith and I knew the love interest would be a tortured artist of sorts. But, Emilia had other plans. She didn't like losing her autonomy to addiction and possession. She wanted her voice to be loud and clear.
Once I changed Emilia, everything settled to what Sacred Salvation is today. Sebastian became a sweet guy with a lot of emotional and physical baggage twisted into religious abuse. Emilia had her own emotional and mental baggage, but kept pushing back against the abuse she was experiencing in St. Augusta.
Honestly, it felt as if they made who they were more than me.
What inspired you to write this book?
Honestly, it was the influx of Christian Nationalists and the spiritual abuse that comes with it. It was a hefty subject and I have no doubt I only briefly touched that, but my main story was inspired by that. I would like to one day do more on that subject but I love Sacred Salvation for what it is and wouldn't change it.
What can we expect from you in the future?
There are a lot of projects I want to get done in the future. I want to bridge out into horror and add more dark romance under my belt. I also want to do some urban fantasy, but I actually have a few things coming out this year too.
In October, I'm working alongside other authors for a series of monster erotica novellas. I have two coming out that month and both will be set in the same dystopian world where the climate has changed so much that the old gods have returned to reclaim Earth, and with it, take human lovers. My first novella is The Kraken's Consort where a woman is chosen as a sacrificial bride to a Kraken. If you know the Eros and Psyche mythos, think of a dystopian retelling of that only with spice, tentacles, and an Eldritch sea god.
The second novella is titled The Serpent's Blessing where a person is chosen by a Naga to join its ranks. I'm still working on that novella, so I don't have specifics narrowed out, but it will be spicy as well. The novellas are part of a series called Kinktober Reloaded where there is a new novella released every day in October. The novellas are not in the same world as the other, just my two are connected.
I am also working on a cozy mystery titled Death at Gracie Manor. It is about Katrina Webster who has renovated a Queen Anne Victorian manor into an inn. Days before the opening, her only employee (and friend) is found dead. The town is gossiping saying the ghost of Gracie Manor has taken another victim, but Katrina knows there's something more going on. After all, the lavender she smells doesn't seem like it's from an evil ghost.
There is also a charity anthology I'm part of in December for LGBTQ+. It is a Christmas romance anthology. But, aside from all that, everything else is in the air. I'm still debating on what I'm going to do next.
