The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

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love, and I didn’t think any Ascended was capable of feelingsuch a miracle. I didn’t understand. Maybe this was somesort of dream? Perhaps I had passed and was in the Vale, aneternity of paradise awaiting me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted toknow if that was the case.I lifted my trembling hand and pressed my fingers to thewarm skin of his cheek. “Casteel.”
Chapter 9Casteel shuddered as he whispered, “Poppy.”“Is this real?” I asked.The golden flecks in his eyes churned fiercely. “There’snothing more real than right now.”I don’t know who moved first. Me. Him. Both of us at thesame time? It didn’t matter. Our mouths met, and there wasnothing gentle about the way we came together. Hegrasped the back of my head, his hand fisting in my hair. Iheld onto him, my fingers digging into the skin of hisshoulders. It was a wrecking sort of kiss, demanding andraw. We claimed each other. Our lips mashed together. Ourteeth clashed. Our arms wrapped fiercely around oneanother, and the kiss, the way we held each other, becamesomething else entirely. His hands slid down my sides to myhips as he pulled me against him, where I felt him hardeningagainst me once more.“I need you,” he groaned against my lips. “I need you,Poppy.”“You have me,” I told him, echoing the words I’d said tohim once before. Now, they felt like an unbreakable vow.“Always.”“Always,” he repeated.Lifting me from his lap, he stood and then turned,placing me on the center of what I realized was a fairlynarrow bed. I got a brief glimpse of the dark walls andfractured sunlight seeping through the cracked boards of adoor in the room, but then all I saw was him.Casteel.
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The Crown of Gilded BonesA Blood an
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A lover and heartmate…But the gre
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Also From Jennifer L. ArmentroutCli
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Standalone NovelsObsessionFrigidSco
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Table of ContentsBook DescriptionAb
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DedicationDedicated to the heroes
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Chapter 1“Lower your swords,” Q
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“My Queen,” he breathed, and th
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Beckett’s broken legs—the same
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“She’s right,” Alastir uttere
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And in an instant, I could see it a
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Temple. Of the wolven, only Jasper,
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“But I didn’t touch them, Caste
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His father didn’t. “As long as
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Chapter 2Alastir Davenwell was Cast
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“Wait!” Alastir shouted, his ch
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the vibrant golden swirl across my
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jerking straight and then bowing. T
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Nothing.I felt nothing in him, Kier
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arms. Flipping the dagger in my han
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Chapter 3What a pretty little flowe
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An image of him formed in my mind,
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Nyktos himself who bestowed the pow
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“But he would’ve been greatly i
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skating over the side of a coffin.C
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Realization swept through me in a w
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“Actually, no,” he replied, sur
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Gritting my teeth against the press
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Fury burned through my chest and my
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not have had anger-management issue
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swore an oath to protect Atlantia a
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inn?”He nodded as the torches fli
Page 67 and 68: “Liar!” I shouted. “Casteel h
Page 69 and 70: Chapter 5I couldn’t have heard hi
Page 71 and 72: My stomach hollowed. The idea of be
Page 73 and 74: marry your great-niece or another f
Page 75 and 76: “Growing up among the Royals and
Page 77 and 78: “You?” I laughed. “You want w
Page 79 and 80: Blessed. The Maiden. And that part
Page 81 and 82: Numbness swept through my body, dea
Page 83 and 84: had fallen before Pompay during the
Page 85 and 86: I forced myself to show no reaction
Page 87 and 88: “I don’t know. Not that long,
Page 89 and 90: “A little?” I whispered.“Okay
Page 91 and 92: hatred. I didn’t try to stop it.
Page 93 and 94: prepared to deliver a fatal blow. M
Page 95 and 96: Chapter 7Stunned, I looked up, my e
Page 97 and 98: “I’m going to fix that. I promi
Page 99 and 100: “There you are,” he said, his c
Page 101 and 102: “Then I will deal with what comes
Page 103 and 104: There was only fire on my skin and
Page 105 and 106: than all the stars in the sky.”
Page 107 and 108: There was a warm, damp touch to my
Page 109 and 110: eyes wouldn’t open again, but the
Page 111 and 112: “Her eyes,” the other said as t
Page 113 and 114: his wrist against my mouth. All tha
Page 115 and 116: Him. I wanted him.Keeping his wrist
Page 117: filled that gnawing, painful hollow
Page 121 and 122: flush to his chest, he ground his h
Page 123 and 124: He drew back enough that his forehe
Page 125 and 126: I dragged my thumb along his bottom
Page 127 and 128: “No. Not that.” Well, I could f
Page 129 and 130: doing. My eyes narrowed on the bare
Page 131: very first time in New Haven, I thi
Page 134 and 135: “Okay, and a little confused,”
Page 136 and 137: the kiyou were given mortal form. N
Page 138 and 139: physical changes. It was why Castee
Page 140 and 141: Kieran patted my shoulder, or rathe
Page 142 and 143: not steer you wrong, Poppy. It will
Page 144 and 145: Chapter 11Casteel’s chest rose wi
Page 146 and 147: I shut down the unnecessary panic s
Page 148 and 149: I could tell. I don’t know if the
Page 150 and 151: Alastir said that he didn’t kill
Page 152 and 153: what his father or Alastir wanted.
Page 154 and 155: what Casteel had been about to do,
Page 156 and 157: I opened my mouth, then closed it,
Page 158 and 159: scars there. “We have no idea why
Page 160 and 161: Naill’s brows lifted as he blinke
Page 162 and 163: you,” I muttered.A dimple appeare
Page 164 and 165: “They were like that when we arri
Page 166 and 167: Chapter 12Under a canopy of glitter
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while. But that sleep hadn’t been
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at my cool cheeks as my eyes adjust
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landscape, thickening in the distan
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One of the Atlantians stepped forwa
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friend? Or did he still believe tha
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your entire eye that is.” His hea
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The King of Atlantia rose slowly, c
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everything. There is nothing greate
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always a warning of very bad things
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“They will only know that you are
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Was it my bloodline—the eather in
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Casteel couldn’t even communicate
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Alastir stared straight ahead. “I
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Chapter 14Dawn arrived in vivid str
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Chambers of Nyktos from the road. I
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After he’d Ascended me into…wha
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But how could that happen? If Caste
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appeared frozen, and then an older
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Just curiosity and confusion. I had
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Chapter 15Jasper’s home sat atop
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The male grinned, but I had a feeli
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“You’ll get used to it,” Kier
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the ones from when we’d first ent
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how close I’d come to losing an e
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my heart…and I hoped that didn’
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“I think these straps are very im
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me. It’s okay to not be okay when
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get some food in us, and eventually
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A deep, rough sound came from the b
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deity or a goddess. Not when those
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my breast wrung a gasp from me as h
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had I been this exposed to him. A f
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finger, against his mouth. The sigh
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explain it, but it was like his uni
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Chapter 17Upon his return, I figure
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“Why do you like saying that word
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“True.” His arm eased off me, a
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My brows knitted. “All of that so
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I tipped toward him. “I know that
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“I’m sure you are,” I muttere
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feed from me, or that I saw you nak
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“What?” I didn’t know that.He
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Atlantians. “And things that have
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“And you think there’s somethin
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about to ask that. “It may have h
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Chapter 18My stomach tumbled as I s
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concern. It was a new experience to
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I swallowed hard as instinct demand
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As the other creature started to re
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then brought the dagger down, a dir
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Where my parents died. Alastir obvi
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The King turned to us—to me. “W
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them to be seen and heard, they wor
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“I think it is,” I said. “It
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“I wouldn’t.” Casteel came to
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“No one has spoken the name of th
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Crown—knew that one of your paren
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Other than his mother, as unlikely
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sealed his lips over the tingling s
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“Shocker,” I murmured.While Cas
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there wasn’t much for this artist
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There was that word again. It tugge
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crypt and remove the bones of the d
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“That’s because you’re both i
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“Very few who are still alive.”
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My mind was…well, it couldn’t e
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It could’ve been last night, when
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And I didn’t need to hide my scar
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His brows lifted. “At the time, n
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I took a shallow breath. “If the
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I kind of was, but I wasn’t confi
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The line of his jaw hardened. “If
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I sat back, weighed down by the tru
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Chapter 22“Why not?” I pitched
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“I imagine. I don’t know for su
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lied to you. That because of those
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never see Ian as anything but a vam
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He nodded. “Do you think I don’
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asked as Casteel looked over his sh
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one look, he picked up his pace, en
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“But the child, Your Highness. He
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while Kieran had gone still, all ex
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echoed around me as a faint silver
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My heart tripped over itself as I s
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hedge around hundreds and hundreds
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moments of wild abandon. That littl
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for free. Our hands were sticky fro
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“Remember what I told you about h
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“You sounded like anyone saying h
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“Not sure,” Kieran said. “Not
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celebration of a wedding,” he exp
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because I wanted to live. And I fou
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skinned man also danced alone, his
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“What?” he asked as he led me a
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propriety there was, demanded that
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as he trailed those fingers up the
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our relationship was never one of r
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He choked out a rough laugh. “You
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Chapter 25Casteel and I had spent t
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“Neither do I.” He tapped his f
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pit. The gray stone patio led strai
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My stomach dropped so fast I almost
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your parents?”Casteel nodded. “
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Casteel joined me, folding an arm a
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The driver’s wide-brimmed hat obs
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“It’s not my fault my thoughts
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couldn’t help but notice how diff
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grown angrier after their shock fad
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Standing by a large window overlook
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“I couldn’t let her die,” Cas
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“That is correct,” he answered.
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respectfully off your tongue. But w
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quickly. “I should’ve said this
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“My wife is far humbler than I am
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deity and an Atlantian had abilitie
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imagined him being able to accompli
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I focused on taking deep, even brea
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fault either. You were trying to fi
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“That was some four hundred years
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“I…” My stomach tumbled some
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“It is possible,” Kieran began,
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flesh-eating butterflies were in my
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“There was supposedly another bef
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several centuries ago, around the t
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Penellaphe. He was a deity—the mo
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I nodded. “He planned to use me a
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eyes as I glanced at her. Her lips
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Telling her that I hoped so probabl
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will go after every Ascended. There
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“I would say that doesn’t sound
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“And millions could die,” she a
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“It’s not that I don’t want t
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morning and could then take as many
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Chapter 30I was moving before I rea
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Skotos Mountains and descend upon S
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protected in case any in Spessa’s
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Atlantia, but my brother was more i
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things, I gave him a quick rundown.
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Chapter 31As we left Saion’s Cove
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wave of awareness. None of us was s
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ago, when Casteel and I had finally
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“You know I will never stop you f
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being a trap. Like I said, they kno
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A dimple appeared in his right chee
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intensity, stealing my breath. My e
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Vonetta arrived shortly after, her
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her. “This stress is the last thi
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“Thank you for explaining,” I s
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Lifting my chin, I heard myself spe
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storm brewing beside me. “Alone.
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he’d barely spoken of his wife, a
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Relief warred with disappointment s
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Nova frowned from where she stood b
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I nodded in agreement. “Are you f
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We stopped on the edge of the midni
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good Queen, but I want to make thin
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“Are you going to cry?”“I don
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Heart pounding, I stared into the d
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slumbered and that my blood would h
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Sitting in between Casteel and Kier
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“No.” Surprisingly, I wasn’t.
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I looked down, running my finger ov
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by nudging the mare with his nose a
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signified that there were still Uns
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My flesh sparked.Silvery-white embe
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Chapter 35“It could’ve been som
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you looked, strips surrounding the
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Needless to say, I was grateful for
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“For once, that bitch spoke the t
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been. I was surprised to hear that
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coated the inside of my mouth. Perr
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Although this was the Temple, a wic
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golden, shining bone. I hadn’t se
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Chapter 36Eloana unclasped her hand
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A tremor coursed through me. I reac
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throughout Evaemon that their new K
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kindness and strength, and to lead
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manager—or the magician of the pa
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Taking my hand, we walked forward u
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“As you were,” Casteel issued w
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That throaty, smoky voice stopped m
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take seats at the table but took tw
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paid dearly for their sins.” My g
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bay,” Casteel said, making it cle
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my Queen? The plan isn’t set in s
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Chapter 38After Willa’s unsettlin
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shoulder to the door. “And I knew
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Hisa stood at the doors. The Elders
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A laugh bubbled up, but I managed t
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Casteel choked on what sounded an a
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And there were many indecent things
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neither Ian nor I really celebrated
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“Whatever.” I bit down on my li
Page 555 and 556:
brother to me and that there is no
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“Nyktos is protected by guards,
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I shuddered.“Sorry.” Casteel ge
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morning—”“Is that what you tw
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“What is in this book? I have a f
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grasped his sister’s hand, pullin
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I exhaled roughly, looking over my
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“I’m assuming that didn’t hap
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Free from whatever hole it had lite
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surface. Silvery-white light crowde
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back with dirt. The landscape was o
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“You all are staring at diamonds,
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full of intelligence, it awed me. I
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show your gratitude. Should I kill
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Drawing in a shallow breath, I nodd
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decades.”I didn’t touch the gla
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to even process what that could mea
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Chapter 42You always had the power
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for me to learn how to lead an army
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day in the halls as I’d left to e
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wanted him to marry would have to b
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“Good.” I met her gaze, smiling
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“I have to agree,” Hisa spoke u
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The way those two words rolled off
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started, “it might help if you st
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faster, pulling the shirt up and ov
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Pulse pounding, I scanned the page.
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I drew his blood into me, struck fi
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‘Cas.’ Or my mother calling me
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His gaze swept over me, lingering o
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Atlantia. The group that had travel
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crates are loaded, you will take th
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“I suppose I was sleeping,” Cas
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Casteel chuckled. “That won’t b
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station guards in these tunnels jus
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to his lower half. The sharp defini
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She was no servant. If the clothing
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“You’re going to let me go?”
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stationed in front of each one. Sev
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thick, cold slush. I looked past th
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Chapter 45“What a happy reunion,
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Ian said nothing.Queen Ileana tugge
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“But I suppose it could be consid
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if you thought that any of us would
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smiled as she drew a thumb across t
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“What about their heads?” Caste
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podium. It was then when I realized
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this entire time that Queen Ileana
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that I was the same.” Her eyes we
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“All of this for revenge?” I wh
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“I’m not making you do anything
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Her dark eyes glistened with tears
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I dug at my throat, panic blossomin
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darkness staining the rose color of
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colliding with the world around me.
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Innocent.Behind her, people scatter
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“You’re wrong. I stopped,” I
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My gaze lowered to my hand. I turne
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I looked down at my hands—at the
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Chapter 48I stalked through the pal
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before Nyktos and told him that he
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Eloana rose, collapsing onto the se
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I lifted my left hand, showing her
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“I know.” I curled my fingers a
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they send had better be fit to rece
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their parents were en route to Evae
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“And?” he queried quietly. “Y
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Casteel…he had been right.Nektas
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My breath caught, burning my throat
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material, though. Colder weather ha
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Led by Valyn and the Guardians, the
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mortal form. If things went the way
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Slowly, the King turned his head to
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on to his arm, not letting him get
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now. And if she kills Casteel? If a
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the one thing he wants more than an
Page 707 and 708:
Sign up for the Blue Box Press/1001
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TREASURED by Lexi BlakeA Masters an
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On Behalf of Blue Box Press,Liz Ber
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Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapt
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