Song of Blood and Stone

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by L. Penelope


  Darvyn. I smile internally, enjoying his wariness. Quite a lot of trouble could be avoided if people were more wary. Though for Darvyn, trouble is inevitable.

  He has been through an ordeal these past weeks—one I did not foresee—and there are more tests to come. For I have need of him. Again.

  You must go west, I tell him. He clenches his jaw. You will aid the new king and queen, Jaqros and Jasminda. I force myself to numb the sliver of jealousy slicing my heart when I think of them—their love, a living, breathing entity, taunts me. But I cannot begrudge these children their happiness.

  No. I need to find her. His thoughts turn to his own tattered heart. To the woman who owns it.

  Sympathy and sentimentality are like quicksand. I cannot allow them to pull him under as they did me.

  Now is not the time for you and her. I owe the new queen a debt, and it must be paid. Family is all that matters now. And it is high time Jasminda’s family came home.

  His eyes bore into me coldly. I call the wind to me and rise into the air. He will help.

  I will give him no other option.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To the readers who rolled with me the first time around, you have my eternal gratitude! I hope this iteration of Jasminda and Jack’s story makes the waiting more bearable.

  This book was conceived after a weeklong writing workshop where my creative mind was torn apart and put back together again. The next year I went back with the opening chapter to have the process repeated. Huge thanks to Junot Díaz, Marjorie Liu, and both my VONA crews—your voices made me a better writer.

  Thank you to my editor, Monique Patterson, for bringing me on this amazing journey. You offered me an unexpected detour that terrified me, but you have been the best possible guide. And immense thanks to everyone at St. Martin’s Press for all the hard work that made this possible.

  To the BCALA and the librarians who saw something relevant in my fantastical love story, I’m forever grateful.

  Thanks to Danielle Poiesz, who first polished my words, and James T. Egan, who designed an amazing package for them to live in. To Quinn Heraty, my fabulous lawyer, thank you for shepherding me through unfamiliar terrain. To Kaia Danielle, the best signal booster ever, and Kara Stevens, who helped keep me accountable: y’all rock. And to everyone at the Muse Writers Center, thank you for lighting the match.

  To Ines Johnson for being my favorite human, and Cerece Rennie Murphy for being relentlessly reliable.

  To Paul, who’s made of the same star stuff as me, only upside down and backward, thank you for carrying me across the finish line and supplying the missing pieces. To my father, who won’t see this but I know is someplace where he can feel it, and my mother, who sees everything, thank you for always supporting my dreams.

  And to Jared, thank you for believing in me and for lifting the heavy stuff to make space for me to write. I love you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  L. Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Map

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  SONG OF BLOOD & STONE. Copyright © 2018 by L. Penelope. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Illustrations by David Curtis Studio

  Cover design by Bookfly Design LLC

  Cover photographs: space © Igor Chekalin/Shutterstock.com; city © alamino/Shutterstock.com; buildings © Quality Master/Shutterstock.com; background © Ronald Sumners/Shutterstock.com; texture © Boris Rabtsevich/Shutterstock.com; coat © oksmit/Shutterstock.com; hair © Ollyy/Shutterstock.com; 3D Design © Michael/Shutterstock.com; face © sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.com; waves © EV040/Shutterstock.com

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-1-250-14807-0 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-250-14808-7 (ebook)

  eISBN 9781250148087

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

  First Edition: May 2018

 

 

 


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