by Morgan Rice
Kate was a little surprised by how much that meant to her.
They ate slowly, and as with her time in the forge, Kate found herself thinking about how wonderful it would be to have this forever. It was simple, peaceful, and quiet in a way that so much else in her life wasn’t. Would this be how things would have been if she hadn’t gone to the forest to learn to fight? If she hadn’t gone back to the House of the Unclaimed for her revenge?
Winifred and Thomas didn’t ask her about that part of things. She could see from their thoughts that the watchmen had visited them to find out where she was, but neither of them seemed to have the horror that Kate might have expected from people who had heard about what she’d done. Maybe they understood what the orphanage did, too.
“We should probably start to move the steel into the forge,” Thomas said eventually. “If I start to get the forge up to temperature, can the two of you sort through it all to find the pieces that can be salvaged and the ones that are there to melt?”
Kate nodded, and Will practically jumped up to help.
They worked together, sorting through the salvaged weapons and armor, picking out the obviously broken ones first, then trying to assess the dented pieces to see which could be salvaged and which would forever be weakened by the damage.
“Thanks for telling them I played a part in the battle,” Will said with a smile.
“You did,” Kate assured him, reaching out to squeeze his hand. That contact sent a thrill through her, the simple touch seeming like far more than that. “Do you think I would have gone down there and fought all of them without you and everyone else there to back me up?”
“You seemed to do a pretty good job alone when the mist came,” Will said. He paused for a moment. “I was terrified for you when I saw what you were doing. I thought I was going to lose you.”
“Ah, so you have me?” Kate asked.
“No, that isn’t what I… I meant that…”
Kate grinned at that. “It’s okay, Will. I was worried for you too. I wanted you to be safe, and… yes, I didn’t want to lose you.”
She moved closer to him, her hands resting gently on his arms. From there, it just seemed natural to lean up and kiss him. She hadn’t kissed him since she’d gone to the free company. She’d barely had any time alone with him, when Lord Cranston’s disapproval of any romantic distraction was so obvious.
Now, though, Kate wanted to be distracted. She wanted to hold to Will and remind herself that there was more to life than violence, killing, and revenge. She wanted to remember that there was love too, even if that did make her sound more like her sister.
“We could wander off,” she suggested. “Find somewhere quiet?”
She wanted to do that almost more than anything. She wanted to make the most of the time she had with Will, and not waste a moment of it. She wanted to kiss him then, and not stop kissing him.
“How is that steel coming?” Thomas’s voice from the forge reminded her that the rest of the world was still out there, and there were things that they needed to do in it.
Perhaps he’d seen them and decided to interrupt as politely as he could. Perhaps the forge was simply getting close to the temperature he wanted it. Either way, the effect was the same. Will and Kate pulled back from one another, and Kate caught Will’s slightly sheepish expression.
“We should probably finish this,” he said.
Kate nodded, reluctantly. “But later…”
“Later,” Will agreed.
Later had the same kind of sound to it Kate might once have associated with a magical land or a dream. She sat on the edge of the wagon while Will took in the ruined steel, ostensibly checking for further faults, but actually just thinking about Will and what might happen with him. Those thoughts were delicious, drifting into daydreams.
Kate felt the moment when daydreams shifted over into visions, the familiar images of ochre-clad foes appearing. They were still stalking through Ashton’s streets, the House of the Unclaimed burning in the background. Kate didn’t know if it was a combination of elements that had already passed now, or a warning about the future, or something else.
She walked the streets, and now the streets of Ashton opened onto locations that had never been there. The beach was somehow off one of the alleys there, wreathed in mist, with the dead shambling out of it. Burning corridors that she remembered from her childhood stood in place of winding streets. Somehow, a giant sundial stood in place of the palace, the shadow it cast moving around slowly, people dying wherever that darkness touched them.
Kate shook her head, and she was back at the forge, sitting on the edge of the wagon. She hopped off, hoping that walking would clear her head. She walked around the side of the forge, trying to get some fresh air in its small garden.
She was startled to find Siobhan there, standing in the middle of it.
Siobhan smiled in a long silence.
“Things are progressing faster than I anticipated,” Siobhan said.
“What things?” Kate asked. “I’m supposed to be your apprentice, but you haven’t told me half of what’s happening.”
Siobhan took a step back, into a patch of earth. Vines sprang up and seemed to flow over her in rivulets.
Siobhan stared at her for a long time, too long, her eyes piercing through her.
Finally, she grinned. An evil grin.
“It’s time,” she said.
It was all she said, and yet her words pierced Kate’s heart like a dagger. Those two words, she knew, would change the course of her life forever.
It was time, she knew.
It was time for Siobhan to ask her favor.
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A SONG FOR ORPHANS
(A Throne for Sisters—Book Three)
“Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless. In another series that promises to be as entertaining as the previous ones, A THRONE OF SISTERS presents us with the tale of two sisters (Sophia and Kate), orphans, fighting to survive in a cruel and demanding world of an orphanage. An instant success. I can hardly wait to put my hands on the second and third books!”
--Books and Movie Reviews (Roberto Mattos)
From #1 Bestseller Morgan Rice comes an unforgettable new fantasy series.
In A SONG FOR ORPHANS (A Throne for Sisters—Book Three), Sophia, 17, journeys in search of her parents. Her quest takes her to foreign and strange lands—and to a shocking secret she could never imagine.
Kate, 15, is summoned by the witch, as her time has come to repay the favor. But Kate is changing, coming of age, become ever more powerful—and what will become of Kate if she makes a deal with darkness?
Sebastian, a romantic, follows his heart, throwing it all away to reject his family and find Sophia. But Lady D’Angelica is still bent on killing her—and may have other plans.
A SONG FOR ORPHANS (A Throne for Sisters—Book Three) is the third book in a dazzling new fantasy series rife with love, heartbreak, tragedy, action, adventure, magic, swords, sorcery, dragons, fate and heart-pounding suspense. A page turner, it is filled with characters that will make you fall in love, and a world you will never forget.
Book #4 in the series will be released soon.
“[A THRONE FOR SISTERS is a] powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.”
--Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan)
A SONG FOR ORPHANS
(A Throne for Sisters—Book Three)
Did you know that I've written multiple series? If you haven't read all my series, click the image below to download a series starter!
Books by Morgan Rice
THE WAY OF STEEL
ONLY THE WORTHY (Book #1)
A THRONE FOR SISTERS
A THRONE FOR SISTERS (Book #1)
A COURT FOR THIEVES (Book #2)
A SONG FOR ORPHANS (Book #3)
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)
VICTOR, VANQUISHED, SON (Book #8)
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; of the epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, comprising 8 books; and of the new epic fantasy series A THRONE FOR SISTERS. 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!
Table of Contents
A COURT FOR THIEVES
MORGAN RICE
CONTENTS
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
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