by Morgan Rice
She heard him groan. His injury looked terrible right then. How long had he been there? Ceres ran to him, ignoring the calls of the others and the threat of the soldiers approaching behind them. She knelt by Akila at the point where the tide met the shore, but she knew there was no time to be gentle about this.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as she wrapped both hands around the hilt of the sword and pulled.
There was a good chance that this would kill him. Ceres had seen enough wounds to know that sometimes a blade or an arrow could be the only thing plugging a gap, staunching the blood that would otherwise flow out. But she couldn’t hope to carry Akila back to the boat with the blade still in him, and it would definitely shift and cut deeper if she tried to drag him.
Akila screamed as Ceres pulled the blade out, and his screams were worse as the salt water washed over him. That was probably a good thing, though, because she’d heard of sailors washing wounds out with sea salt, and it being almost as good as cauterizing for keeping out infections.
She saw the combatlords fighting their way back to her, the soldiers of Felldust following. Ceres stepped forward as they approach, hefting the blade she’d pulled from Akila with two hands.
To her shock, the invaders stopped, staring at her. No, not at her, at the sword. Did they recognize it? They were certainly staring at it as if it were something special. Ceres couldn’t understand much of what they were saying, but she thought she recognized the word “Irrien” and the word for sword.
“Irrien’s sword?” she called out to them, holding it up. “Well, tell him that I’ll give it back to him some time. Tell him that this isn’t over.”
Ceres held it between her and them, ready to strike at the first to approach. It was so heavy that it took all her strength to wield it, but it would be more than enough to smash through the guard of the first to attack.
One did, charging. Ceres ducked under his blow, then spun and cut. The sword’s weight took it through his neck as if it wasn’t there, slicing his head from his body as cleanly as an executioner’s axe might have. Another ran in and Ceres cut across his abdomen.
Thanos was there then, lifting Akila as easily as a child. He kept behind Ceres, trusting in her skills to keep them all safe. That said more than anything about what he felt for her.
Ceres could see the combatlords moving with him, dragging Akila onto the boat, and she started to back toward it. Once again, she felt the water around her ankles. The rest of the soldiers seemed to be hanging back, none willing to be the next to die.
She felt the wood of the boat bump against her back, and passed up the sword. She wasn’t going to let it go, if only because of the symbolic value that came from having it. Her father took the blade from her, and Ceres clambered up into the boat. She barely had the strength to do it. In fact, without Sartes’s and Leyana’s helping hands, Ceres doubted that she’d have made it in at all. It was crowded in the small boat, but there was just about enough room for all of them. It would get them away from the city, at least.
“We’re in!” her father called. “Let’s go!”
Someone put up the sail, and someone else grabbed oars. Ceres was too exhausted to do either. For the first time in days, she wasn’t being tortured, or made to fight, or having to try to endure the worst conditions the city had. She didn’t have the strength to stand right then, and it seemed that Thanos didn’t have much strength left either. He lay in the bow of the boat, breathing heavily, so she crawled over to where Thanos lay, resting her head on his shoulder, looking back at the city as they sailed from it.
Behind them, Delos fell.
Parts of it burned, but only parts, and in a lot of ways that was worse than the alternative. It said that the invaders weren’t there to raid and leave, that they weren’t rushing in their depredations. They weren’t sweeping through like a storm, but closing on the city like a vise, crushing the people there systematically. Ceres felt tears in her eyes at the thought of those people who’d trusted her enough to stay; people who were, even then, dying or being made into slaves.
But she couldn’t do anything to help. All she could do was sail clear of the city, looking after the few people she cared about. She didn’t know where they would go, or what they would do next, but Ceres hoped that wherever they went, she would be able to keep them safe.
Somehow, Ceres suspected that wouldn’t be easy.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
RULER, RIVAL, EXILE
(Of Crowns and Glory—Book 7)
“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)
RULER, RIVAL, EXILE is book #7 in Morgan Rice’s bestselling epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, which begins with SLAVE, WARRIOR, QUEEN (Book #1), a free download.
With Delos in ruins, Ceres, Thanos and the others set sail for the last corner of freedom in the Empire: the isle of Haylon. There, they hope to regroup with the few freedom fighters left, fortify the island, and make a spectacular defense against the hordes of Felldust.
Ceres soon realizes that if they are to have any hope of defending the isle, she will need more than conventional skills: she will have to break the sorcerer’s spell and regain the power of the Ancient Ones. And yet for this she must journey, alone, take the river of blood to the darkest cave in the realm, a place where neither life nor death exists, where she is more likely to come out dead than alive.
The First Stone Irrien, meanwhile, is determined to keep Stephania as his slave and to oppress Delos. But the other Stones of Felldust may have other plans.
RULER, RIVAL, EXILE 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 #8 in OF CROWNS AND GLORY will be released soon!
RULER, RIVAL, EXILE
(Of Crowns and Glory—Book 7)
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)
SOLDIER, BROTHER, SORCERER (Book #5)
HERO, TRAITOR, DAUGHTER (Book #6)
RULER, RIVAL, EXILE (Book #7)
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 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!
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