The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

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Just curiosity and confusion. I hadn’t expected that. Notafter the Temple. My body sank against Casteel’s, and Irested my head against his chest. The crowd’s emotionscould change once they learned what I’d done, and what Imay or may not be. But right now, I wasn’t going to worryabout that. I started to close my eyes when deep blue fabricsnagged my attention.A white-haired woman stood on a balcony of one of thehigh-rise buildings, the wind tugging at the blue gown shewore. Holding onto a black railing, she slowly loweredherself to one knee and placed her fist over her thin chest.Her head bowed as the wind whipped her snowy hair. Onanother balcony, a man with gray hair in a long, thick braid,did the same. And on the sidewalks…Men and women whose skin and bodies bore the signsof age lowered themselves to their knees, among those whostood.“Liessa!” a man shouted, slamming a hand against thesidewalk, startling me. “MeyaahLiessa!”Setti’s head reared as two children raced out from oneof the buildings—one of them no more than five years old—their long, brown hair streaming out from behind them. Oneof them shifted right there, pitching forward as white-andbrown-streakedfur erupted from the skin. The wolven wasso tiny as it yipped and bounced, ears flopping as the olderchild by only a year or so ran beside the pup.Casteel’s grip on Setti tightened as the child shouted,“Liessa! Liessa!”Liessa. I had heard that before when I’d had thatnightmare in the Skotos Mountains and heard Delano’svoice. He’d said those words. Or I had dreamed him sayingthem, at least.An older child grabbed the younger one and turned,chasing after the one who’d shifted. Younger men andwomen appeared on the sidewalks and above, babies heldto their hips as they lowered to their knees. Shock rolled out
from others in icy waves as the chant of “Liessa” grew involume.“What does that mean?” I asked Casteel as anothersmall child shifted into a fuzzy little thing that was nudgedback onto the sidewalk by one of the larger wolven followingus. The little girl or guy nipped and then promptly startedchasing its tail. “Liessa?”“It’s old Atlantian. The language of the gods,” Casteelsaid, his voice rough. He cleared his throat as he squeezedmy hand again. “MeyaahLiessa. It means: my Queen.”
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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
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“Liar!” I shouted. “Casteel h
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Chapter 5I couldn’t have heard hi
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My stomach hollowed. The idea of be
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marry your great-niece or another f
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“Growing up among the Royals and
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“You?” I laughed. “You want w
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Blessed. The Maiden. And that part
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Numbness swept through my body, dea
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had fallen before Pompay during the
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I forced myself to show no reaction
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“I don’t know. Not that long,
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“A little?” I whispered.“Okay
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hatred. I didn’t try to stop it.
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prepared to deliver a fatal blow. M
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Chapter 7Stunned, I looked up, my e
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“I’m going to fix that. I promi
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“There you are,” he said, his c
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“Then I will deal with what comes
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There was only fire on my skin and
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than all the stars in the sky.”
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There was a warm, damp touch to my
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eyes wouldn’t open again, but the
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“Her eyes,” the other said as t
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his wrist against my mouth. All tha
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Him. I wanted him.Keeping his wrist
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filled that gnawing, painful hollow
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Chapter 9Casteel shuddered as he wh
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flush to his chest, he ground his h
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He drew back enough that his forehe
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I dragged my thumb along his bottom
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“No. Not that.” Well, I could f
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doing. My eyes narrowed on the bare
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very first time in New Haven, I thi
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“Okay, and a little confused,”
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the kiyou were given mortal form. N
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physical changes. It was why Castee
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Kieran patted my shoulder, or rathe
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not steer you wrong, Poppy. It will
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Chapter 11Casteel’s chest rose wi
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I shut down the unnecessary panic s
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I could tell. I don’t know if the
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Alastir said that he didn’t kill
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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
Page 168 and 169: while. But that sleep hadn’t been
Page 170 and 171: at my cool cheeks as my eyes adjust
Page 172 and 173: landscape, thickening in the distan
Page 174 and 175: One of the Atlantians stepped forwa
Page 176 and 177: friend? Or did he still believe tha
Page 178 and 179: your entire eye that is.” His hea
Page 180 and 181: The King of Atlantia rose slowly, c
Page 182 and 183: everything. There is nothing greate
Page 184 and 185: always a warning of very bad things
Page 186 and 187: “They will only know that you are
Page 188 and 189: Was it my bloodline—the eather in
Page 190 and 191: Casteel couldn’t even communicate
Page 192 and 193: Alastir stared straight ahead. “I
Page 194 and 195: Chapter 14Dawn arrived in vivid str
Page 196 and 197: Chambers of Nyktos from the road. I
Page 198 and 199: After he’d Ascended me into…wha
Page 200 and 201: But how could that happen? If Caste
Page 202 and 203: appeared frozen, and then an older
Page 206 and 207: Chapter 15Jasper’s home sat atop
Page 208 and 209: The male grinned, but I had a feeli
Page 210 and 211: “You’ll get used to it,” Kier
Page 212 and 213: the ones from when we’d first ent
Page 214 and 215: how close I’d come to losing an e
Page 216 and 217: my heart…and I hoped that didn’
Page 218 and 219: “I think these straps are very im
Page 220 and 221: me. It’s okay to not be okay when
Page 222 and 223: get some food in us, and eventually
Page 224 and 225: A deep, rough sound came from the b
Page 226 and 227: deity or a goddess. Not when those
Page 228 and 229: my breast wrung a gasp from me as h
Page 230 and 231: had I been this exposed to him. A f
Page 232 and 233: finger, against his mouth. The sigh
Page 234 and 235: explain it, but it was like his uni
Page 236 and 237: Chapter 17Upon his return, I figure
Page 238 and 239: “Why do you like saying that word
Page 240 and 241: “True.” His arm eased off me, a
Page 242 and 243: My brows knitted. “All of that so
Page 244 and 245: I tipped toward him. “I know that
Page 246 and 247: “I’m sure you are,” I muttere
Page 248 and 249: feed from me, or that I saw you nak
Page 250 and 251: “What?” I didn’t know that.He
Page 252 and 253: 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
Page 459 and 460:
Vonetta arrived shortly after, her
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her. “This stress is the last thi
Page 463 and 464:
“Thank you for explaining,” I s
Page 465 and 466:
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
Page 473 and 474:
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
Page 487 and 488:
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
Page 493 and 494:
by nudging the mare with his nose a
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signified that there were still Uns
Page 497 and 498:
My flesh sparked.Silvery-white embe
Page 499 and 500:
Chapter 35“It could’ve been som
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you looked, strips surrounding the
Page 503 and 504:
Needless to say, I was grateful for
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“For once, that bitch spoke the t
Page 507 and 508:
been. I was surprised to hear that
Page 509 and 510:
coated the inside of my mouth. Perr
Page 511 and 512:
Although this was the Temple, a wic
Page 513 and 514:
golden, shining bone. I hadn’t se
Page 515 and 516:
Chapter 36Eloana unclasped her hand
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A tremor coursed through me. I reac
Page 519 and 520:
throughout Evaemon that their new K
Page 521 and 522:
kindness and strength, and to lead
Page 523 and 524:
manager—or the magician of the pa
Page 525 and 526:
Taking my hand, we walked forward u
Page 527 and 528:
“As you were,” Casteel issued w
Page 529 and 530:
That throaty, smoky voice stopped m
Page 531 and 532:
take seats at the table but took tw
Page 533 and 534:
paid dearly for their sins.” My g
Page 535 and 536:
bay,” Casteel said, making it cle
Page 537 and 538:
my Queen? The plan isn’t set in s
Page 539 and 540:
Chapter 38After Willa’s unsettlin
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shoulder to the door. “And I knew
Page 543 and 544:
Hisa stood at the doors. The Elders
Page 545 and 546:
A laugh bubbled up, but I managed t
Page 547 and 548:
Casteel choked on what sounded an a
Page 549 and 550:
And there were many indecent things
Page 551 and 552:
neither Ian nor I really celebrated
Page 553 and 554:
“Whatever.” I bit down on my li
Page 555 and 556:
brother to me and that there is no
Page 557 and 558:
“Nyktos is protected by guards,
Page 559 and 560:
I shuddered.“Sorry.” Casteel ge
Page 561 and 562:
morning—”“Is that what you tw
Page 563 and 564:
“What is in this book? I have a f
Page 565 and 566:
grasped his sister’s hand, pullin
Page 567 and 568:
I exhaled roughly, looking over my
Page 569 and 570:
“I’m assuming that didn’t hap
Page 571 and 572:
Free from whatever hole it had lite
Page 573 and 574:
surface. Silvery-white light crowde
Page 575 and 576:
back with dirt. The landscape was o
Page 577 and 578:
“You all are staring at diamonds,
Page 579 and 580:
full of intelligence, it awed me. I
Page 581 and 582:
show your gratitude. Should I kill
Page 583 and 584:
Drawing in a shallow breath, I nodd
Page 585 and 586:
decades.”I didn’t touch the gla
Page 587 and 588:
to even process what that could mea
Page 589 and 590:
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
Page 595 and 596:
wanted him to marry would have to b
Page 597 and 598:
“Good.” I met her gaze, smiling
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“I have to agree,” Hisa spoke u
Page 601 and 602:
The way those two words rolled off
Page 603 and 604:
started, “it might help if you st
Page 605 and 606:
faster, pulling the shirt up and ov
Page 607 and 608:
Pulse pounding, I scanned the page.
Page 609 and 610:
I drew his blood into me, struck fi
Page 611 and 612:
‘Cas.’ Or my mother calling me
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His gaze swept over me, lingering o
Page 615 and 616:
Atlantia. The group that had travel
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crates are loaded, you will take th
Page 619 and 620:
“I suppose I was sleeping,” Cas
Page 621 and 622:
Casteel chuckled. “That won’t b
Page 623 and 624:
station guards in these tunnels jus
Page 625 and 626:
to his lower half. The sharp defini
Page 627 and 628:
She was no servant. If the clothing
Page 629 and 630:
“You’re going to let me go?”
Page 631 and 632:
stationed in front of each one. Sev
Page 633 and 634:
thick, cold slush. I looked past th
Page 635 and 636:
Chapter 45“What a happy reunion,
Page 637 and 638:
Ian said nothing.Queen Ileana tugge
Page 639 and 640:
“But I suppose it could be consid
Page 641 and 642:
if you thought that any of us would
Page 643 and 644:
smiled as she drew a thumb across t
Page 645 and 646:
“What about their heads?” Caste
Page 647 and 648:
podium. It was then when I realized
Page 649 and 650:
this entire time that Queen Ileana
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that I was the same.” Her eyes we
Page 653 and 654:
“All of this for revenge?” I wh
Page 655 and 656:
“I’m not making you do anything
Page 657 and 658:
Her dark eyes glistened with tears
Page 659 and 660:
I dug at my throat, panic blossomin
Page 661 and 662:
darkness staining the rose color of
Page 663 and 664:
colliding with the world around me.
Page 665 and 666:
Innocent.Behind her, people scatter
Page 667 and 668:
“You’re wrong. I stopped,” I
Page 669 and 670:
My gaze lowered to my hand. I turne
Page 671 and 672:
I looked down at my hands—at the
Page 673 and 674:
Chapter 48I stalked through the pal
Page 675 and 676:
before Nyktos and told him that he
Page 677 and 678:
Eloana rose, collapsing onto the se
Page 679 and 680:
I lifted my left hand, showing her
Page 681 and 682:
“I know.” I curled my fingers a
Page 683 and 684:
they send had better be fit to rece
Page 685 and 686:
their parents were en route to Evae
Page 687 and 688:
“And?” he queried quietly. “Y
Page 689 and 690:
Casteel…he had been right.Nektas
Page 691 and 692:
My breath caught, burning my throat
Page 693 and 694:
material, though. Colder weather ha
Page 695 and 696:
Led by Valyn and the Guardians, the
Page 697 and 698:
mortal form. If things went the way
Page 699 and 700:
Slowly, the King turned his head to
Page 701 and 702:
on to his arm, not letting him get
Page 703 and 704:
now. And if she kills Casteel? If a
Page 705 and 706:
the one thing he wants more than an
Page 707 and 708:
Sign up for the Blue Box Press/1001
Page 709 and 710:
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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