by Morgan Rice
She kissed him then, and Thanos could taste the sweetness of her lips as she did it. He wished that things could be this easy. Just kiss, and everything would be better. Just pretend that none of it had happened. He wished he could do that. Maybe it would hurt less then.
Finally, Thanos pulled away.
“Do you remember the name of the stable boy you had killed?” Thanos asked. “Do you remember the name of the isle to which you sent Ceres off to live a tortured life?”
Stephania paused, looking stricken. “What? I… Thanos, this is about us.”
Thanos slowly shook his head.
He stepped toward the ship. When Stephania went to follow, he put a hand up to stop her.
His heart broke even as he did it. It was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
“I am sorry, Stephania,” he said. “I have grown to love you. I truly have. And yet…I can’t… I can’t be with you after this. However much I want to.”
“But Thanos, please, you can’t—”
“No,” Thanos said. He tried to keep his voice steady. “It’s not even the fact that you tried to kill me. We could get past that. It’s what you’ve done to everyone else.”
“No one but you matters,” Stephania said.
“Yes, they do,” Thanos countered. “They matter as much as either of us. More sometimes. If you can’t see that …”
Finally, Stephania’s eyes squinted in a slow rage.
“You’re going to find her, aren’t you?” Stephania demanded, and Thanos could hear the anger there, the jealousy. “You’re going to run back to her.”
He hadn’t thought that far ahead, but now, he knew he was.
“I do love you, Stephania,” Thanos said. “But yes, I will find Ceres. I have to. I never left her. I had been told she was dead.”
“They’ll kill me if I stay here,” Stephania said. He could hear the pleading note there. “They’ll execute me. Thanos,” she said, her voice sounding as though it might crack at any moment.
He knew she was right. They would. And that broke his heart most of all. Especially as she had just risked it all to save his life.
And yet, he could not be with her. Not anymore.
Thanos was already making his way onto the smugglers’ vessel. He looked back and watched, with a broken heart, Stephania slump in place there, sobs wracking her body. It took everything Thanos had not to run back to her.
The captain met him on the deck, looking him over. Thanos saw him frown slightly.
“Where to?” the captain asked.
Thanos replied without looking back, his voice cold and hard and determined:
“The Isle of Prisoners.”
The captain’s eyes widened, whether in fear or awe, Thanos did not know.
“Get a move on, you dogs!” the captain called out to his crew. “Soldiers are coming. And I don’t like soldiers! We need to be away from here.”
Thanos stood there as the boat lurched into motion, slipping through the dock smoothly. He looked back at Delos, in what might be his last view of the city. It had been his home for so long, and now it felt like ashes to him. On the docks, getting smaller, he could see Stephania crumpled there.
She looked up and reached out for him, sobbing.
“THANOS!” she shrieked. “NO!”
He closed his eyes and heard her shriek rolling off the rising fog, and he knew it was a sound that would reverberate within him forever.
The only thing that made it bearable was the thought of what he might be sailing toward.
Ceres was alive out there.
And he would find her.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Ceres sat atop her horse, watching the walls of the city as the sun rose. She forced herself to remain still, but her horse was skittish.
Something was wrong.
“Still no news from the other gates?” she asked Lord West.
The nobleman shook his head. “You will know as soon as there is a signal, I promise you.”
“In the Stade, the waiting was always the worst part,” Ceres said. “Listening to the fighting outside.”
“Most of war is waiting,” Lord West said. “Waiting, or camping in the rain, or marching through mud. When I was a young man like Gerant, I used to dream of glorious clashes and charges. No one tells you about the mud.”
“Or the blood,” Ceres said. “Or the death.”
“You’re too young to have seen so much,” Lord West said.
“In Delos, I think there are plenty of people my age who have seen violence,” Ceres pointed out.
“But none with the blood of the Ancient Ones,” Lord West said. “And maybe this will change things.” He looked as though he might say more, but he broke off, pointing. “Look there, below!”
Ceres followed the line of his finger, and she saw a gate opening at the side of the city. Not one of the largest gates, a merchant gate meant for moving goods in, but still more than big enough for what they wanted.
“They’ve done it,” Ceres said. “The rebellion has given us our way in.”
Lord West nodded, then yelled to his men. “Form up!”
Horns sounded, and the horsemen of the North Coast gathered together in a great wedge, their horses whickering as they held in place, obviously sensing some of what might come next.
“When you’re ready, my lady,” Lord West said, “just give the order.”
Ceres paused, but not for long. She could only guess at the fighting that had to be taking place below as the rebellion struggled to hold the gate. Even if they’d managed to open it by stealth, there would still be guards coming to investigate soon. They had to act.
“For Delos,” she called out. “Charge!”
She heeled her horse forward, and the riders of the North Coast went forward. Their wedge felt like an arrowhead now, fired by some great invisible bow toward the waiting roundel of the city. There were so many of them there, but even so, they felt like one coordinated thing in that moment. One entity, following behind Ceres, matching her stride for stride.
She saw Gerant there, his spear flying his uncle’s pennant. Around him were other young men, other pennants reflecting other nobles, but they were all following Ceres because of what she represented and what she wanted to achieve. Together, they thundered down toward the city, the sound of their hooves so loud that Ceres imagined the king being able to hear them in the castle.
Good, she thought, let him know what was coming for him.
They reached the open gates of the city, powering in through the wide space left there for goods and carts. Ceres had her sword in her hand then, fully expecting to find herself in the middle of a fight between the rebellion and the army. Yet as far as she could see, the streets beyond the gates were empty.
Something felt wrong again, but Ceres couldn’t simply bring her horse to a halt. Not with so many men piling into the city behind her. Instead, she had to raise her hand to get them to slow, trying to call out over the sound of horseshoes on cobbles.
“Stop! Everybody stop! There’s something wrong.”
Lord West’s men were well trained, but even so, it took them time to come to a halt. They swirled around in a great open space intended for merchants and their teams of oxen. Ceres knew it well. She’d been to it plenty of times with her father, and normally by this hour it was bustling with the sounds of people haggling and arguing, straining and trying to get animals to go the way they wanted.
Instead, it was so silent that Ceres could make out the cawing of the crows that had settled on one nearby rooftop.
“This is wrong,” Ceres said, looking around. “There should be people here.”
“Perhaps they fled indoors when the rebellion took the gates?” Gerant suggested.
“Then where are the rebels?” Ceres demanded. “They should be here.”
“I agree,” Lord West said, riding up beside her. “But we cannot let this chance pass for a feeling.” He called out to his men. “Be on your guard
.”
They rode forward, and still, everything was too quiet. Unnaturally so. There had been more noise in some of the woodland they’d passed through on the way there. This had the carefully still silence of too many people making no sound.
Then they passed a side street, and Ceres saw the carts that had been brought up there, blocking the way. She heard the crows again, and this time they took to the air, scattering as someone moved near them.
“Back!” she yelled. “Back! It’s an ambush!”
They’d been betrayed. That much was obvious, although Ceres didn’t want to guess who had done it. The Empire had known they were coming though. More than that, they’d known enough of their plan to emulate it, and draw them into a trap that they couldn’t resist.
“We need to get away!” Ceres called again. “Scatter. All of you, scatter!”
There were too many men, though, and too many horses. They crowded the square beyond the merchants’ gate, filling it until it seemed impossible that they might be able to turn around. With the side streets blocked, they couldn’t even flee that way, and half of the men seemed not to understand what was going on in any case.
Ceres leaned over to Gerant to order him to sound the retreat on his horn. To shout it if he couldn’t do that. Anything that might get them out of the killing ground of the square. Even as she did it, though, she heard another horn sound, in a note that was deep and harsh, different from anything Lord West’s men carried.
There was metallic crash as a portcullis came down across the merchants’ gate. Above them, figures appeared in the armor of the Empire, armed with bows, slings, and javelins.
Feathers seemed to sprout from Gerant’s open visor. For a moment, Ceres stared at him, unable to comprehend the oddity of it. Then she saw the rest of the arrow’s haft, and she watched as the young nobleman tumbled slowly from the saddle.
She barely had time to look up as arrows darkened the sky, hundreds of them, thousands, as the Empire’s men opened fire.
As she fell with the men all around her, one final thought ran through her mind:
So this is what death looks like.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
REBEL, PAWN, KING
(Of Crowns and Glory—Book 4)
“Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
REBEL, PAWN, KING is book #4 in Morgan Rice’s bestselling epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, which begins with SLAVE, WARRIOR, QUEEN (Book #1).
17 year old Ceres, a beautiful, poor girl from the Empire city of Delos, wakes to find herself imprisoned. Her army destroyed, her people captured, the rebellion quashed, she has to somehow pick up the pieces after being betrayed. Can her people ever rise again?
Thanos sails for the Isle of Prisoners, thinking Ceres is alive, and finds himself in a trap of his own. In his dangerous voyage he remains tormented by the idea of Stephania, alone, with his child, and feels torn over his life’s path. Yet as he struggles to return to Delos, to find both of his loves, he encounters a betrayal so great, his life can never be the same again.
Stephania, a woman scorned, does not sit idly back. She turns all the power of her fury on the ones she loves the most—and her treachery, the most dangerous of all, may be what finally brings the kingdom down for good.
REBEL, PAWN, KING tells an epic tale of tragic love, vengeance, betrayal, ambition, and destiny. Filled with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding action, it transports us into a world we will never forget, and makes us fall in love with fantasy all over again.
“An action packed fantasy sure to please fans of Morgan Rice’s previous novels, along with fans of works such as The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini…. Fans of Young Adult Fiction will devour this latest work by Rice and beg for more.”
--The Wanderer, A Literary Journal (regarding Rise of the Dragons)
Book #5 in OF CROWNS AND GLORY will be released soon!
REBEL, PAWN, KING
(Of Crowns and Glory—Book 4)
Listen to THE SORCERER’S RING series in audio book format!
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Books by Morgan Rice
THE WAY OF STEEL
ONLY THE WORTHY (Book #1)
OF CROWNS AND GLORY
SLAVE, WARRIOR, QUEEN (Book #1)
ROGUE, PRISONER, PRINCESS (Book #2)
KNIGHT, HEIR, PRINCE (Book #3)
REBEL, PAWN, KING (Book #4)
KINGS AND SORCERERS
RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Book #1)
RISE OF THE VALIANT (Book #2)
THE WEIGHT OF HONOR (Book #3)
A FORGE OF VALOR (Book #4)
A REALM OF SHADOWS (Book #5)
NIGHT OF THE BOLD (Book #6)
THE SORCERER’S RING
A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1)
A MARCH OF KINGS (Book #2)
A FATE OF DRAGONS (Book #3)
A CRY OF HONOR (Book #4)
A VOW OF GLORY (Book #5)
A CHARGE OF VALOR (Book #6)
A RITE OF SWORDS (Book #7)
A GRANT OF ARMS (Book #8)
A SKY OF SPELLS (Book #9)
A SEA OF SHIELDS (Book #10)
A REIGN OF STEEL (Book #11)
A LAND OF FIRE (Book #12)
A RULE OF QUEENS (Book #13)
AN OATH OF BROTHERS (Book #14)
A DREAM OF MORTALS (Book #15)
A JOUST OF KNIGHTS (Book #16)
THE GIFT OF BATTLE (Book #17)
THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY
ARENA ONE: SLAVERSUNNERS (Book #1)
ARENA TWO (Book #2)
ARENA THREE (Book #3)
VAMPIRE, FALLEN
BEFORE DAWN (Book #1)
THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS
TURNED (Book #1)
LOVED (Book #2)
BETRAYED (Book #3)
DESTINED (Book #4)
DESIRED (Book #5)
BETROTHED (Book #6)
VOWED (Book #7)
FOUND (Book #8)
RESURRECTED (Book #9)
CRAVED (Book #10)
FATED (Book #11)
OBSESSED (Book #12)
About Morgan Rice
Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising twelve books; of the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising three books; of the epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS, comprising six books; and of the new epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY. Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations are available in over 25 languages.
TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals), ARENA 1 (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy), A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring) and RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Kings and Sorcerers—Book #1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!
Morgan loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.morganricebooks.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, download the free app, get the latest exclusive news, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!
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