Текст книги "The wolf and the crown of blood"
Автор книги: Elizabeth May
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 33 (всего у книги 33 страниц)
When my vision finally clears, I find Alexios watching me.
“Welcome back,” he says. “You keep all your insides where they should be?”
“I feel like I got thrown off a cliff, then smashed to a pulp on the way down. How do you bear it?”
He smiles slightly. “Let it fill up your ribcage until you stop choking on it. You’re not going to pass out, are you?”
The gall of this bastard.
I glare at him. “Not likely. What now?”
“I’ll tell the sentries to let you pass. And Severin needs to know you’re claiming Turpori until your brother gets his head out of his ass and takes his share.”
I nod my thanks.
Silence falls between us, broken by the wind whistling over the mountains. I notice a subtle shift in the atmosphere, a prickling at my senses. The pressure in my chest tightens another notch.
“Does it ever stop feeling like this?”
Alexios clenches his jaw. When he finally speaks, his voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it. “No. It’s always too much.” He looks out over the rippling barrier, something weary bleeding through his careful mask. “But you learn to endure it and keep breathing even when it feels like your spine might snap.”
I see him then—really see him. Not the god-king or the monster who hurt my mate, but the Eternal who’s been bearing this responsibility for centuries. Who’s felt it eating away at his sanity.
“This is the price we pay,” he says. “When it’s too much, go to your griefwood. Remember what you’re stopping from happening.”
Thunder rolls in the distance as storm clouds gather, and the heaviness of the Shroud presses harder against my chest. Testing my limits, waiting for me to crack.
But I won’t. I’ll carry this burden for her. For what she needs.
Lightning splits the sky, and then it begins to rain.
OceanofPDF.com
EPILOGUE
EVANDER
SHE’S GOING TO FALL.
I watch Bryony move closer to the cliff, wings pulled too tight against her back. It’s been fifteen days of watching her stumble and curse as she learns this new body. Fifteen days of pure torture. Because there’s nothing worse than seeing your Chosen struggle and knowing you can’t make it easier.
You’re going to let me fall, Wolf. Then you’re going to let me get back up and do it again.
I always keep my promises. So I keep letting her fall.
“You’re thinking too much,” Amara says, nudging Bryony. At the bottom of the cliffs, the waves of the Osbu Sea batter against the rocks. “Flying isn’t about mechanics. It’s instinct.”
Bryony’s wings twitch. “And exactly how long did it take you to master it?”
Amara smiles. “Years. But I wasn’t an adult demigoddess, so you might as well put in some effort. Get your ass over there and jump.”
Bryony inches her feet more. Her jaw’s clenched so damn tight I can practically hear her teeth grinding. All day, she’s been trying to wall up her emotions and pain from me, but her fear is bleeding through the bond.
Well. Can’t have that. There’s only so much I can take.
I rise from my perch on a rock and walk toward her. “You’re too tense. You need to relax.”
She whirls to face me. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is my learning curve not steep enough for you? Should I maybe try harder to overcome thousands of years of human nature telling me that jumping off cliffs equals death?” Her chin lifts in a way that makes me want to bite it. “Please, share your centuries of wisdom if you’re such an expert.”
I arch a brow. “If you’d rather figure it out yourself…” I turn as if to leave, counting down in my head.
Three… two… one…
Bryony lunges and seizes a fistful of my shirt, reeling me in until we’re sharing breaths.
“Don’t you dare,” she hisses.
Without taking my eyes off her, I say to Amara, “Let me have a go, will you? I’ll take over training.”
A snort. “You sure you can keep our girl in one piece? Or are you just looking for an excuse to get handsy?”
“It’s adorable that you think I need an excuse.”
She barks a laugh. Then she’s tipping backward in that effortless way of hers, those powdered dark wings snapping out to catch the updraft. She wheels once over our heads before disappearing beyond the jagged peaks of the mountains.
I let my gaze drag over my Chosen, mapping her hurts. The fresh cuts are already healing over. Good. Each day, her healing is swifter as her immortal body settles into itself.
“You’re staring again,” she murmurs.
“Can’t help it.” I brush my knuckles down her cheek. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And I want to have you flying a tenth of the way to Hellevig next time. Why the hesitation?”
After a long moment, she whispers, “When I’m falling, it’s like dying. I think I’ll wake up, and this will all be a dream. And you’ll be gone.”
Oh, nemesis.
I hold her against me, wrapping my wings around us both. Everything else fades away. All I know is her—warm in my arms where she fits perfectly, her soul brushing mine.
“Feel this?” I breathe against her lips, pressing my palm flat over her chest. “The way your heart matches mine? The heat of my skin?” I graze my mouth across hers, not quite kissing. Just sharing air. “Can you taste me?”
Her lashes flutter. I duck my head and catch her in a proper kiss. As gently as I know how, I explore her soft lips with light grazes and lingering presses. She clutches my shoulders, pulling me closer. I delve deeper, licking into her mouth, swallowing her gasps, tasting how much she wants me.
“What about this?”
Slowly, so slowly, I walk my fingers up her spine, tracing the flex and bunch of new muscle shifting beneath her skin. I skim the downy place where flesh gives way to feathers, and press.
Bryony goes liquid against me, head tipping back on a broken moan. Pleasure pulses through the bond.
“What’s the verdict, nemesis?” I breathe against the hammering pulse in her throat. “Real enough for you?”
She shudders, and I feel it travel the length of her and follow it with my palms. Slowly dragging up the curve of her hips, savoring each ridge and valley.
“Fuck me, please,” she breathes.
“Impress me, and I might.”
She gives me a look. “Since when are you such a tease?”
“Since I need to motivate you to use these wings.” I nip at her lower lip. “Learn to fly, and I’ll show you how immortals fuck in the sky. Agreed?”
“Yes.”
“Very good,” I murmur, satisfaction rumbling in my chest. “Now for your lesson. I know this body still feels foreign, but you have to trust it knows what to do. Let instinct override thought. When the wind shifts, there will be a tug low in your gut. Don’t fight it. Lean into the pull and embrace the fall.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“Simple and easy aren’t the same thing.” I press closer until there is no air between us. Until she has no choice but to breathe me in with each inhale. “Do you understand what being Chosen really means? What we are to each other?”
Bryony shakes her head, wordless.
“It means every cell in your body was crafted to complement mine. We’re two pieces of the same whole.” My lips graze her temple. “Your soul already knows the shape of the sky. Now you just need to close your eyes and fall.”
I don’t give her a chance to respond before I launch us off the cliff with a beat of my wings. She grabs my neck, and I hold her tight as we shoot upward. Up, up, past the Osbu Sea, through the clouds, higher than any human’s ever dreamed of flying.
And it’s glorious—this communion of air and excitement. The heat of her against me. I could drown in it, in the drag of her hair whipping across my skin, the salt-sharp scent of her exhilaration.
I slow our climb and level out until we’re soaring over my new territory. Rivers of starlight dot the ground below, and I intend to build a new palace for us right there, where the red roses grow wild on the banks. A reminder of what it meant to nearly lose her once.
“We’ll start with gliding,” I tell her.
I take Bryony’s hand and gently guide it back until her fingers brush the leading edge of her wing. “Feel that? The way your coverts blend into your scapulars? How the marginal coverts give way to secondary flight feathers?”
She nods.
“Good. Focus on that. Your body knows what to do.” I press a kiss to her jaw, savoring the way she shivers against me. “And trust that I’ll catch you if you need catching.”
“I do. I trust you,” she whispers. “Always.”
Always. Not just for today, but for always. Something swells in my chest—raw and tender and too large for my body.
I let go.
She stops fighting the fall. Surrenders to the wind and…
Spreads her wings.
It happens slowly. A story measured in increments as instinct and new muscle memory war with panic. But inch by agonizing inch, those glorious feathers unfurl and catch the current.
And then she’s soaring, wings spread wide, and a swell of pride and possession bursts through me.
My Chosen.
I pull up beside her and reach for her hand, threading our fingers together. She startles at my touch. I watch her nearly falter, wingtips dipping too low. I’m already lunging, ready to capture her back against me.
Hold, I remind myself. Not yet. Catch her only when she needs catching.
She recovers and rights herself in a beat of white and gilt feathers, throwing me a look of such fierce triumph that I’m breathless with wanting her.
Bryony’s face is incandescent with joy. “I’m flying.”
She is. Gloriously and inelegantly, with no art or artifice. But flying, nonetheless.
“What now?” she calls. Giddy with the thrill of it. “What next?”
I grin at her. “Everything.”
I will never tire of chasing Bryony Devaliant across the sky. Of falling with her and for her, again, and again, and again.
Until the realms are ash and memory.
OceanofPDF.com
GLOSSARY
Accords:
The peace treaty brokered by the Devaliant family three hundred years ago to end the war between gods and humans.
Anchors:
Individuals on both sides of the Shroud who maintain and hold the magical barrier in place. The Devaliants are the Anchors in Hellevig, and one of their bloodline must always remain in the city, or the veil will fall.
Asteria:
Alexios’ territory in Scillari.
Celestials:
The primordial gods who came from the stars and created the realms.
Chosen:
The soulbonded spouse of a god.
Claim:
A visible, physical mark on a human’s body that signifies the protection of an Eternal or demigod. Harming a Claimed individual is a direct challenge to the god who granted the Claim.
demigods/demigoddesses (demis):
Powerful beings ranking below Eternals. They are the subjects of Scillari.
Devaliant:
The ruling family of Luceni, whose bloodline brokered the Accords between gods and humans.
Enforcers:
Assassins sent by Alexios to execute those who break their oaths to him.
Eternal:
When the most powerful demigods ascend and gain their full power, they become Eternals. Most were killed during the god-human war. Every ascended begins as a
demigod, but few become Eternals. “Eternal” is also a title for Scillari’s rulers.
fleshtrade:
The illegal trade of divine body parts and blood in Vartena. In the past, this was used to temporarily grant humans god powers in battle.
gods:
A collective term referring to both ascended gods (Eternals) and demigods.
Hellevig:
The capital city of Luceni and the seat of the Devaliants.
Luceni:
The largest empire in Vartena, ruled by the Devaliants.
Lybräian
:
The formal dialect spoken by the Lucinian royal court and nobility.
Nyholm:
The territory in Scillari ruled by the Dark King.
oathbreakers:
Humans bearing the mark of Alexios’ revoked Claim. They are marked for death and killed by Enforcers, existing on the lowest rung of society.
Oracles:
The rare offspring of gods and humans, who reside in temples and act as the communication channel between Alexios and his Claimed. They collect blood tithes in temples all over Vartena.
Scillari:
The realm of the gods.
the Shroud:
The magical barrier that separates the realms of gods and humans. It was created as part of the truce to end the god-human war.
tithes:
Blood offerings from Claimed humans to maintain Alexios’ protection. Vartenans prick their fingers over the collection channels to shore up the Shroud’s foundations. Devaliants alone give their lives for the tithe and are resurrected in the act of “anchoring”.
Turpori weapons:
Blades created by Bastien for demigod soldiers to enhance their abilities in battle. These godkilling weapons are contraband in Vartena.
Unclaimed:
Humans without the protection of a god.
Vartena:
The human realm.
OceanofPDF.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood has had such a wild journey. When I first started working on this book in 2022, fantasy romance was a little quieter in traditional publishing, so I wrote with the intention of self-publishing it. In hindsight, I was grateful for that process, which I think led me to write more fearlessly. And with fearlessness came an immense love for the manuscript, the characters, and the world.
I mentioned this book to Rosie de Courcy, my (now former) editor at Head of Zeus for my Katrina Kendrick romances. Rosie took it, and to my delight, Head of Zeus wanted it. So I am eternally grateful to Rosie for finding this book its US home, and to the team at Head of Zeus/Bloomsbury for their support and enthusiasm for my work, especially Aubrie Artiano, who is an absolute joy to work with.
This book’s home in the UK is with the brilliant Daphne Press team, which I’m so thankful to continue collaborating with. I owe so much to Daphne Tonge, more than words can say. Many thanks to Davi Lancett and Cat Aquino, whose brilliant notes helped guide this manuscript in directions that made it so much richer and deeper.
All my love to my agent, Russell Galen, who has been so supportive of my pivot into romance. And, of course, Danny Baror, who has been such an incredible advocate for my work and doesn’t blink when I surprise him with completed manuscripts.
I’m always so thankful for my husband, who does lovely things like making me coffee and bringing me chocolate when I’m in manuscript hyperfocus. I love you so much, and I’m the luckiest lady alive. And my readers, I love and adore each and every one of you. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
OceanofPDF.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ELIZABETH MAY is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of To Cage A God, the Seven Devils duology (co-written with L. R. Lam), The Falconer series, and romance novels under the pseudonym Katrina Kendrick. Originally from California, Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. from the University of St Andrews. She currently resides in the Scottish countryside with her husband, three cats, and a lively hive of honeybees.
OceanofPDF.com
TO CAGE A GOD
By Elizabeth May
Join the rebellion to burn down a cruel tyrant in this heart-racing new fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone and The Wolf and the Woodsman.
To cage a god is divine. To be divine is to rule. To rule is to destroy.
Using ancient secrets, Galina and Sera’s mother grafted gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no commoner has held in a thousand years, the sisters have been raised as living weapons. Now, the time has come for them to overthrow an empire—no matter the cost.
With their mother gone and their country on the brink of war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash, common folk burn.
Forced into a desperate plan, Sera reunites with her estranged lover who now leads the rebellion, while Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess whose whip-smart tongue and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galina’s secret. Torn between desire and duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the empire—or bring it all down.
OceanofPDF.com
BRIDE OF THE
SHADOW KING
By Sylvia Mercedes
For fans of The Bridge Kingdom and A Deal with the Elf King , this sweeping tale of love and betrayal is equal blends sweet and spice.
A SHUNNED PRINCESS.
A RELUCTANT KING.
A MARRIAGE THAT COULD SAVE BOTH
THEIR KINGDOMS . . .
BUT DESTROY THEIR HEARTS.
Though she is the eldest daughter, Princess Faraine lives in the background, shunned from court and kept out of sight. Her chronic illness makes her a liability to the crown, and she has learned to give place to her beautiful, favored younger sister in all things.
When the handsome and enigmatic Shadow King comes seeking a bride, Faraine is not surprised that her sister is his choice.
Though not eager to take a human bride, King Vor is willing to do what is necessary for the sake of his people. When he meets the lively Princess Ilsevel, he quickly agrees to a marriage arrangement.
So why can’t he get the haunting eyes of her older sister out of his head?
OceanofPDF.com
