The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

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might have a better chance. Drawing in a breath that felt…oddly heavy, I inched my hand toward the spear andstopped suddenly. It wasn’t the bindings. They hadn’ttightened.I swallowed, and my heart skipped a beat. A strange,sweetness coated the back of my throat and my…my lipstingled. I pressed the tips of my fingers to them and didn’tthink I felt the pressure. I tried to swallow again, but it feltweird—as if the mechanics of my throat had slowed.The food. The gritty taste of the water.Oh, gods.That sweet taste. The sleeping drafts the Healers madein Masadonia had a sugary-sweet aftertaste. There was areason I’d refused the drafts, no matter how little sleep Igot. They were powerful and rendered you completelyunconscious for hours and hours—leaving you entirelyhelpless.They’d drugged me.This was how Alastir planned to move me. How heplanned to deliver me to the Ascended. He’d be able toremove the bindings safely when I was unconscious. Andwhen I came to…There was a good chance I’d be in the Ascended’s handsonce again.And Alastir’s plan would likely come to fruition because Iwould never allow the Ascended to use me for anything.Anger at them—and myself—exploded within me andthen quickly gave way to panic as I staggered to the wall. Ibarely felt the pain of the bindings tightening. Desperate, Ireached for the spear. If I could get that blade, I wouldn’t beweaponless, even with the damn bone and root bindings. Itried to seize it, but my arm wouldn’t lift. It didn’t feel as if itwere a part of me any longer. My legs became heavy, numb.“No, no,” I whispered, fighting the insidious warmthseeping into my muscles, my skin.But it was no use.
Numbness swept through my body, deadening myeyelids. There was no pain when the nothingness came forme this time. I simply fell asleep, knowing I would wake to anightmare.
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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
Page 29 and 30: His father didn’t. “As long as
Page 31 and 32: Chapter 2Alastir Davenwell was Cast
Page 33 and 34: “Wait!” Alastir shouted, his ch
Page 35 and 36: the vibrant golden swirl across my
Page 37 and 38: jerking straight and then bowing. T
Page 39 and 40: Nothing.I felt nothing in him, Kier
Page 41 and 42: arms. Flipping the dagger in my han
Page 43 and 44: Chapter 3What a pretty little flowe
Page 45 and 46: An image of him formed in my mind,
Page 47 and 48: Nyktos himself who bestowed the pow
Page 49 and 50: “But he would’ve been greatly i
Page 51 and 52: skating over the side of a coffin.C
Page 53 and 54: Realization swept through me in a w
Page 55 and 56: “Actually, no,” he replied, sur
Page 57 and 58: Gritting my teeth against the press
Page 59 and 60: Fury burned through my chest and my
Page 61 and 62: not have had anger-management issue
Page 63 and 64: swore an oath to protect Atlantia a
Page 65 and 66: 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: Blessed. The Maiden. And that part
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 and 118: filled that gnawing, painful hollow
Page 119 and 120: Chapter 9Casteel shuddered as he wh
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
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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.
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what Casteel had been about to do,
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I opened my mouth, then closed it,
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scars there. “We have no idea why
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Naill’s brows lifted as he blinke
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you,” I muttered.A dimple appeare
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“They were like that when we arri
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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
Page 515 and 516:
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
Page 525 and 526:
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
Page 531 and 532:
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
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
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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
Page 635 and 636:
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
Page 645 and 646:
“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
Page 653 and 654:
“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
Page 671 and 672:
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
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
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My breath caught, burning my throat
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material, though. Colder weather ha
Page 695 and 696:
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
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
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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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