First Hishmal was wiped off the map, and now my clan Ro’Hale. Massara clings to the fabric of existence by a thread but I cannot go back. King Arias has forbidden me to leave and to hunt for my lost lover on bare feet across a cursed land. I will fulfill my promise to Keres. The King of Gryphons bids me stay with her. The fearsome General Vyra, leader of the people of Lydany.
“I’ll make a warrior out of you,” she laughs, her blue eyes delighted by the threat that is also a promise — a dare.
Epona, a native warrior of the Moldorn and the General’s right hand, watches my every move with distrust I’ve done nothing to earn.
King Arias has warned me that the Sunderlands has fallen into ruin, and the Moldorn is the only safe place for me. That if I wish to live, to see Keres again, I must remain. I pray my parents have fled Massara, that they find refuge elsewhere. I curse the Human scum that have taken everything from us. I wish to fight.
Something old as the Sunderlands Forest itself stirs in my blood. I try to ignore it, but can’t. My hands ache for my blade, and my skin crawls knowing that bastard, sick-fuck King has my woman.
Hayes visits me in my dreams, warning me not to give in to the hypnotic lull of our blood. The power lying dormant within me. I need only to answer its call and I would be strong enough utterly destroy any who tried to keep me from Keres.
But I trust Hayes. Even in dreams, even beyond his death, I trust my brother with my life. So, I cling to my blade with white knuckles. Awaiting the day I can draw it and soak it in blood once more.
The people of the Moldorn talk of the Sunderlands, of Queen Hero. Saying she was crazy before, but now her mind has shattered and she’s never coming back. All this talk of destruction. An ending of a time.
I cannot listen. Fuck this news, fuck these humans. It’s taking everything I am to sit and wait. All I want is to hold Keres in my arms again.
General Vyra urges me to fight alongside her but I refuse. This is not my battle. My fight lies with the Humans of the Baore. Not the refuse of Illyn. Although theirs is a danger none can ignore.
I push aside this battle and fight only with my desires and regret. I’m barely coping with my losses. My thoughts lie only with Keres. When I am alone on my cot, in this borrowed tent among strangers, I close my eyes and I see hers. I hear those soft noises she makes. I remember the way it feels to be inside her. I allow my mind to relive the time I had with her, stopping and rewinding before she can tell me to leave.
When I wake, I’m here. She’s gone and I’m lost. A stranger. Once a warrior, once a lover. Now a man with nowhere to belong.
On the horizon they say they see war. I see nothing except her.
*************NOW THE FUN BEGINS***********
Kings of Stone and Shadow
Book Two in the World of Aureum Series
BY ANASTASIA KING
Release to be announced
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my sisters, my forever beta readers, for listening to me drawl about this novel for over a decade. Thank you for reading it enthusiastically and cheering me on always.
Thank you to my parents for what you taught me about reading and writing.
Thank you to Dmitriy for seeing both the light and darkness in me and loving me all the same.
Thank you to all my friends, online & offline, for supporting me throughout my self-publishing journey.
Thank you to the professionals who collaborated with me on this novel’s production. You made the journey that much sweeter.
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