Текст книги "Born of Blood and Ash"
Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout
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Текущая страница: 62 (всего у книги 63 страниц)
Sera immediately sat straighter. She would’ve toppled right out of his lap if he hadn’t tightened his arm around her. She didn’t even notice as her eyes widened with excitement. “Is it finally what I think it is?”
He grinned. “Come.” Taking her hand once more, he helped her stand.
Sera was a ball of anticipation where she walked beside him, their progress slow as they made their way to the chamber in the east wing of the third floor. It had slipped both of their minds over the last several months with all that had come after entombing Kolis. He’d meant to show her before this. Something always came up, though.
But not today.
Nothing would stop Nyktos from showing his wife his paintings.
And perhaps, if his Queen was not too tired afterward, he would have her sit for him, and he would know exactly which paints it took to capture the pink in her cheeks and the green and silver in her eyes.
After all, getting her to blush was easy.
Nyktos knew just how.
The Star
The one we watched was neither alive nor dead. Neither god nor mortal, yet risen from Primal blood.
He was something else.
An abomination.
And yet, it was a miracle of creation that even the most jaded had to admire.
There were no others like him, but the realms had whispered that another would come—neither dead nor alive, god nor mortal. An abomination. A miracle. A cruel twist of fate.
The first daughter, with blood full of fire, fated for the once-promised King.
The first Chosen who would fail. Who would be forgotten, just like the ancestor she would so closely resemble. Her failure would signal the eventual arrival of the second daughter, the one born with blood full of ash and ice, the other half of the future King.
So, we did what we always did. We watched.
And he walked for days, weeks, and years, his face no longer painted in gold.
He always came back to the same place—where it all began.
The Cliffs of Sorrow.
He never stayed long while sitting on the edge, arms wrapped tightly around the brown leather satchel he always carried with him. The one he didn’t open.
He walked as kingdoms fell and new ones rose in their places. He traveled as all the old Primals faded into history, as the one who had created him was forgotten. He continued as new gods rose and their offspring inhabited the mortal realm. He walked the lands east of the Skotos then, staying hidden as the son of Primals helped build the new world. He didn’t return to the east after wolves were given dual lives by the true Primal of Life to guide the offspring of mates of the heart. Like with the draken, he was clever enough to suspect that they would sense something off about him. He walked as the pestilence of the most craven spread across the mortal realm. He traveled as the War of Two Kings ignited, forcing the great kingdom to the east to near ruin. He continued as Nyktos honored the oath he’d made to the true Primal of Life, and, one by one, the gods went to sleep to prevent vengeance against those who had harmed her child.
The one who walked only stopped when he saw her, his hand protectively cradling the leather satchel that had faded from brown to yellow in the centuries that had passed.
We waited.
We waited and watched as he whispered in the new Queen’s ear, told her more than what the son of Primals had even spoken of. We watched as heroes became villains and entire histories were rewritten. We wept when the forgotten symbol of true Death was raised throughout the mortal realm, etched in gold and surrounded by crimson. And we saw the day he brought the Crimson Queen to the cliffs and, for the first time, opened the satchel, now a shade of tan, pulling out The Star. We watched as he gave it to the Queen, and she took possession of it with great care.
And we knew that what the realms had first whispered thousands of years ago, even before a Queen ruled Iliseeum, would not be stopped.
And we saw.
Her birth stirred Death from his slumber. Each year that passed, he grew stronger, and those buried even deeper than him in lands across all the realms began to grow restless. We could not look away when her Ascension, at the hands of her fated mate, released Death and woke our brethren in lands beyond the Primal Veil. We wept again as the tallest mountains erupted, spewing forth flames and clouds that consumed all in their path, boiling the rivers and turning seas into deserts as they clawed their way from the ground. We didn’t look away when they saw what man had done to their precious land and blessed forests. We mourned as they laid waste to sprawling stone kingdoms and toppled great steel cities in their rage, ending the lives of billions of mortals in one cruel sweep of retribution.
For as told by the last oracle, they had risen as the ruin and wrath of the once-great beginning.
And she, the second daughter, with blood full of ash and ice, fated for the future King, summoned the true Primal of Life and then rose as Blood and Bone.
And what we saw then, as old gods rose and the Primal Veils weakened, shocked even the eldest of us. We saw the future that would come, but this end was different.
It would be a beginning soaked in blood. For every choice—from the moment the first viktor sacrificed himself to save the Silver Queen to when Sotoria fell from the cliffs; when Nyktos screamed at the realms and Ascended a mortal to become the Queen of the Gods; the failure of the first daughter and the birth of the second; the desperate love of a mate, to that of a mother’s desperation—and every action had been birthed from the same emotion.
Whether it was unrequited or welcomed. Whether it was felt between siblings who never moved past the loss of the other or for one’s children before they were even born into the realm. Whether it was forged from unending grief, between true mates of the heart, or drove a mother to plunge a dagger into the heart of her true mate instead of her daughter. It was all the same. Some great. Some terrible. And it had driven the realms to the brink of what was to come.
It was the most selfish and altruistic thing in all the realms, more powerful than the Ancients, and the only thing that could snap the threads of fate. It was the only hope the realms had now.
Love.
Visions of Flesh and Blood
A Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire Compendium
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
Click here to purchase.
VISIONS OF FLESH AND BLOOD: a Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire Compendium is a comprehensive companion guide for background, history, reader-favorite information, art, and reference materials. Combined with original short stories and scenes from some of the world’s most beloved characters, as well as never-before-seen visual enticements, it’s a treat for the senses.
Told from the point of view of Miss Willa herself, the compendium acts like research material but reads like a journal and cache of personal notes, allowing the reader to revisit the characters and history they so love yet view things in a different way.
VISIONS OF FLESH AND BLOOD by Jennifer L. Armentrout with Rayvn Salvador is a must-add addition to the series that any Blood and Ash/Flesh and Fire fan will enjoy.
Discover More Jennifer L. Armentrout
From Blood and Ash
Blood and Ash Series, Book One
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
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Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.
A Maiden…
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.
A Duty…
The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.
A Kingdom…
Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
Blood and Ash Series, Book Two
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
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Is Love Stronger Than Vengeance?
A Betrayal…
Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.
A Choice…
Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.
A Secret…
But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.
The Crown of Gilded Bones
Blood and Ash Series, Book Three
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
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Bow Before Your Queen Or Bleed Before Her…
She’s been the victim and the survivor…
Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.
The enemy and the warrior…
Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.
A lover and heartmate…
But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans, ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each other.
And now she will become Queen…
The War of Two Queens
Blood and Ash Series, Book Four
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
Click here to purchase.
War is only the beginning…
From the desperation of golden crowns…
Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable.
And born of mortal flesh…
Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace.
A great primal power rises…
Together, Poppy and Casteel must embrace traditions old and new to safeguard those they hold dear—to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But war is only the beginning. Ancient primal powers have already stirred, revealing the horror of what began eons ago. To end what the Blood Queen has begun, Poppy might have to become what she has been prophesied to be—what she fears the most.
As the Harbinger of Death and Destruction.
A Soul of Ash and Blood
Blood and Ash Series, Book Five
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
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Only his memories can save her…
A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone—the true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come.
But when Poppy falls into stasis, Cas faces the very real possibility that the dire, unexpected consequences of what she is becoming could take her away from him. Cas is given some advice, though—something he plans to cling to as he waits to see her beautiful eyes open once more: Talk to her.
And so, he does. He reminds Poppy how their journey began, revealing things about himself that only Kieran knows in the process. But it’s anybody’s guess what she’ll wake to or exactly how much of the realm and Cas will have changed when she does.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout revisits Poppy and Casteel’s epic love story in the next installment of the Blood and Ash series. But this time, Hawke gets to tell the tale.
A Shadow in the Ember
Flesh and Fire Series, Book One
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns with book one of the all-new, compelling Flesh and Fire series—set in the beloved Blood and Ash world.
Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort.
However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.
Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him. Until the Primal of Death’s unexpected words and deeds chase away the darkness gathering inside her. And his seductive touch ignites a passion she’s never allowed herself to feel and cannot feel for him. But Sera has never had a choice. Either way, her life is forfeit—it always has been, as she has been forever touched by Life and Death.
A Light in the Flame
Flesh and Fire Series, Book Two
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
Click here to purchase.
The only one who can save Sera now is the one she spent her life planning to kill.
The truth about Sera’s plan is out, shattering the fragile trust forged between her and Nyktos. Surrounded by those distrustful of her, all Sera has is her duty. She will do anything to end Kolis, the false King of Gods, and his tyrannical rule of Iliseeum, thus stopping the threat he poses to the mortal realm.
Nyktos has a plan, though, and as they work together, the last thing they need is the undeniable, scorching passion that continues to ignite between them. Sera cannot afford to fall for the tortured Primal, not when a life no longer bound to a destiny she never wanted is more attainable than ever. But memories of their shared pleasure and unrivaled desire are a siren’s call impossible to resist.
And as Sera begins to realize that she wants to be more than a Consort in name only, the danger surrounding them intensifies. The attacks on the Shadowlands are increasing, and when Kolis summons them to Court, a whole new risk becomes apparent. The Primal power of Life is growing inside her, pushing her closer to the end of her Culling. And without Nyktos’s love—an emotion he’s incapable of feeling—she won’t survive her Ascension. That is if she even makes it to her Ascension and Kolis doesn’t get to her first. Because time is running out. For both her and the realms.
A Fire in the Flesh
A Flesh and Fire Novel, Book Three
Available in hardcover, e-book, and trade paperback.
Click here to purchase.
The only thing that can save the realms now is the one thing more powerful than the Fates.
After a startling betrayal ends with both Sera and the dangerously seductive ruler of the Shadowlands she has fallen madly in love with being held captive by the false King of the Gods, there is only one thing that can free Nyktos and prevent the forces of the Shadowlands from invading Dalos and igniting a War of Primals.
Convincing Kolis won’t be easy, though – not even with a lifetime of training. While his most favored Revenant is insistent that she is nothing more than a lie, Kolis’s erratic nature and twisted sense of honor leave her shaken to the core, and nothing could’ve prepared her for the cruelty of his Court or the shocking truths revealed. The revelations not only upend what she has understood about her duty and the very creation of the realms but also draw into question exactly what the true threat is. However, surviving Kolis is only one part of the battle. The Ascension is upon her, and Sera is out of time.
But Nyktos will do anything to keep Sera alive and give her the life she deserves. He’ll even risk the utter destruction of the realms, and that’s exactly what will happen if he doesn’t Ascend as the Primal of Life. Yet despite his desperate determination, their destinies may be out of their hands.
But there is that foreseen unexpected thread—the unpredictable, unknown, and unwritten. The only thing more powerful than the Fates…
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Eleven
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