by K.N. Lee
Copyright © 2019 by K.N. Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical rCailynws and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
www.knlee.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
A Look at The Wizard’s Daughter
A Look at Mark of Chaos
About the Author
Also by K.N. Lee
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About the Publisher
Chapter 1
Crimson blood dripped from his fingers.
Her blood.
At least—Cailyn thought it was her blood. She couldn’t be sure because this was a dream, and what had occurred before this moment hadn’t been revealed.
It’s just a dream.
Still, sheer primal instinct drove Cailyn to clutch her wounded ribs and scramble away. Her mind raced with spells and incantations that could save her life. She attempted a simple light shield, but somehow the words came out like mush.
She growled in frustration.
As in all dreams, letters were jumbled, and words flitted away before they could be understood.
Even if the words had come, she couldn’t speak. It was as if her mouth had been sewn closed.
Some part of her mind knew that Asher was in bed with her, his arms wrapped around her body, breathing softly into her hair.
She screamed inside her head, praying he would wake her up.
Wake me up, Asher. Help me.
She knew her attempts to communicate were useless. In all of her years as a prophet, it had never worked before.
As a result, her body remained paralyzed as she endured the agony of a premonition. No, she would have to wait it out—to truly see what was meant to be seen.
Cailyn gasped for breath as she crawled backward across the cold, unsteady ground of her dreamscape.
The man who stood before her was tall and beautiful—at least—she thought he was. She couldn’t quite make out the features of his face.
But, a dragon tattoo stretched across his chiseled chest, and up his neck.
She’d had this same dream every night since her father died. She just couldn’t tell if he was there to help or harm her.
He didn’t have a knife in his hands, but she knew intrinsically that he didn’t need a knife to be dangerous.
Danger wafted off of his physical being, turning his very energy into an oppressive force.
He simply stood before her, with bloodied hands and his face wrapped in shadows. She caught a glimpse of green eyes, but nothing else. Those eyes were full of beautiful menace, though, and fixed on her face.
She tensed when he knelt down before her, thick, acrid smoke filling the dark basement around them.
Premonitions were a hundred times worse than just dreams. In dreams, things like pleasure were fuzzy. Pain was fuzzy, too. In a premonition like this, pain was real. Cailyn felt the burning throb of the stab wound in her side.
The premonitions had started the day after her father died. Night after night, dream after dream.
Like father, like daughter. Once a prophet, always a prophet. She just hoped she wasn’t seeing her own future death.
Who are you?
Cailyn mouthed the question when her voice still wouldn’t come.
Instead of words, strange, musical cries came from his mouth. He transformed into a creature she’d never seen in real life before, a creature from myths and legends, with wings that outstretched and blotted out all light.
He was more than just a man.
He was a dragon.
Chapter 2
Cailyn breathed a sigh of relief when she woke up to the real world.
She inhaled deeply once more, just to enjoy the sensation of breathing without a stabbing pain. Her dream world was getting more real and more frightening with each dream. She welcomed the day, even if it meant she needed to get up and get ready for class.
Cailyn peeked through her lashes and couldn’t help grinning when she saw Asher looking back at her from his side of the bed.
All was right with the world when he smiled at her like that. Blood, tears, and agony melted into the back of her mind when she was near him.
She covered her mouth and giggled. Who would have ever guessed that Cailyn Alexander had one of the most desired men in town in her bed, madly in love with her?
Perhaps her luck was changing.
She could see it in his eyes. Asher Fox loved her...and she didn’t even have to use any magic.
He kissed her on the forehead. “I caught you,” he said, sitting up. He reached for his shirt on the floor and pulled it over his tousled blond hair.
Oh, why’d you have to do that? Cailyn hated to watch him cover his abs. Like a Greek god, he towered over her. There was so much to love about his body, but his ripped abdomen was one of her favorite parts.
She sat up on her elbow. “Caught me doing what?” She reached over to her antique nightstand and put her black-rimmed glasses on. The world abruptly came into focus.
He smirked. “Watching me sleep.”
Laughing, Cailyn rested her head back on her pillow. “You’re crazy.”
He stood and pulled his pants on. “Am I? You’re the loony one, watching me sleep.”
Cailyn rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re not that hot.” She lied. He reminded her of Thor. He was that hot.
“Liar,” he said and walked over to her floor-to-ceiling window to gaze out into the early morning sky.
“Maybe,” Cailyn said with a smirk.
Asher climbed back into bed and braced himself over her. His eyes glanced down at her exposed breasts and back to her face, a salacious grin on his face as he waggled his eyebrows at her.
Cailyn kept to herself just how much she adored his blue eyes, hooded with thick dark lashes. His lips were perfectly smooth and full for kissing. As if he could read her mind, Asher leaned down and kissed her on the lips.
She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was glad that she had been able to push the fact that they had been best friends since childhood away long enough to see Asher as a man—a smoking hot man that she couldn’t seem to get enough of.
He was her first and only lover, and she prayed that they would remain together forever.
The thought of losing him frightened her.
The people of Haven Cove called the Alexander family cursed. Cailyn couldn’t disagree. She and her older brother, Hunt, were the last of the Alexander legacy, and they were both cursed in ways most could never imag
ine.
One more year, though, and she could have the inheritance she needed to escape. She just hoped and prayed she could stay alive that long.
While Asher’s tongue caressed hers, Cailyn ran her hands through his dark blond hair.
He slid his fingers into her panties and she stopped him.
Smiling, she shook her head. “As much as I’d like to go again, I need to get to class.”
“I know. Me too. I have one at nine.” He kissed her again. “Tonight then?”
“Mother will be back by then.”
“Oh yes. I almost forgot. Your mother still treats you like a fifteen-year-old.”
“She just doesn’t want anything to happen to me.”
Cailyn almost felt like a prisoner at times, or worse, a pre-teen prisoner. After her father had died, her mother went off the deep end with her overprotectiveness. She didn’t blame her. Their family had seen more than their fair share of violence over the years. Cailyn’s grandmother had been the last person in the family to die peacefully in bed.
At least, she had her brother, Hunt. He had always watched over and protected her. She pushed away the small, secret voices whispering that his shadow was growing and questioned what his decision would be if it ever came down to her or Olivia.
“I wish you didn’t have to follow her rules. You’re not a little girl anymore.”
“I don’t have to. It just makes it easier for me. Well, most of the time. Plus, she’s still my mother. I think I’ll always at least consider her wishes no matter how old I get,” Cailyn said.
“I think you should move out. Your father left Alexander Hall to Hunt. Where does that leave you?”
“I don’t want to live here forever. I’m just waiting for my inheritance. You know that.”
Asher climbed off of her and picked up his shoes from the floor. “Well, you could come to my place. You could move in with me.”
Cailyn sat up and stretched. Her arms were still sore from the workout Asher put her through the day before, and that was before the workout in bed he had put her through last night. Being trained by a boxer was brutal, but he was determined to make her capable of protecting herself.
If he only knew.
She winced at the pain in her biceps. “All the way in the city?”
He raised a brow. “What’s wrong with the city?”
Cailyn took off her panties and headed for her shower. “You grew up out here in the country.”
“Yeah, and now I live in the twenty-first century.”
He was right. She did love his loft apartment. It made her almost feel as though they were finally escaping from small town life.
“Okay.” She turned on the water and grabbed her toothbrush while the shower heated up. “Let’s meet tomorrow at the bookstore when my shift is over. We can talk then.”
“Fine. Won’t you let me take you to dinner after? Show you off a little.”
“You want to show me off?” Cailyn stared at her reflection.
Gray eyes with flecks of hazel looked back at her from beneath her glasses. She shared much of her looks with her father.
Cailyn sighed at her reflection, missing her father at that moment. A lock of white hair stood out against her black hair. No matter what, she’d never been able to dye that lock to match the rest of her head. Instead, it had stood out for as long as she could remember. There were pictures of her as a baby with that white lock.
The taunts of ignorant children had followed her from elementary school to college.
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re beautiful.”
Hearing those words washed away all of her bad memories about her self-image. Cailyn hid her grin and started brushing her teeth.
“You sure you aren’t embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“Now that’s possibly the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me. Of course not. I love you.”
Cailyn’s heart soared at hearing those words. She’d never get tired of hearing them come from his lips.
“I love you more,” she said in a soft voice.
“Not possible.”
She giggled, loving how open he was about his feelings. “Good reply.”
He made her feel safe even though he didn’t have any magic in his blood. He made her feel normal when she was far from it.
Asher came into the bathroom and stood behind her. He grabbed her by her waist and pressed her naked bottom to the front of his pants. He groaned.
“Come on, Cailyn. One more time.”
She rinsed her mouth of toothpaste and grinned at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He kissed her throat, and her eyes fluttered closed. Every touch sent hot tingles along her skin. She began to calculate how long it would take her to drive to the University if she left just a little later.
She’d make it. If she sped. Which was totally, totally fine.
She enjoyed the feel of his mouth on her neck. He sucked her earlobe.
“Fine,” she breathed. “One more time.”
Chapter 3
Cecilia Alexander hummed as she walked down the winding staircase to the landing.
Cailyn winced, realizing she and Asher were caught.
She glanced up at her mother, still dressed in the deep black of mourning, even though her pale gold hair was almost decadently styled in long, glossy waves.
Was it normal to envy your mother? Why didn’t she get those beautiful Nordic looks?
Asher’s eyes went from Cailyn to Mother, and back.
Busted, his eyes said to her.
He cleared his throat.
“Good morning, Mrs. Alexander,” he said.
Cecilia nodded at him, a tight smile on her lips as she looked him up and down.
“Good morning, Asher. You’re here early. Quite...early.”
Cailyn cringed, but Asher gave her mother a charming smile. It was just like him to deploy his charm when they were caught breaking the rules. Unfortunately, what worked at age ten didn’t really work at age twenty.
“I hope that’s not a problem? Cailyn and I had some studying to do.”
Cailyn hid her grin.
Studying the art of anatomy.
“I am not fond of visitors without my permission.”
Cailyn couldn’t stay silent at that. "I am an adult, and I live here too. What is it you need?"
Her mother’s cold gaze moved to her. "And hello to you too, sweet daughter of mine. Have a good day, Asher. I need to borrow Cailyn for a moment.”
Sighing, Cailyn turned to Asher. “Come get me from the library before lunch.” She stretched up to kiss him on the lips, only partly to piss her mother off. “Be safe, baby.”
“You too,” he said and he nodded to her mother before leaving.
Cailyn stood in the doorway, deliberately waiting and watching him drive down the long driveway in his black Dodge Challenger before she turned back to her mother.
“I haven't seen you in what feels like forever. Where have you been hiding?"
"You know where I’ve been."
Cecilia nodded. "You’re right. I do. You’ve been shacking up with that Fox boy at his house...and ours apparently."
"What do you need?"
"I sense some attitude. Aren’t things going well with you and the Fox boy?"
She uncrossed her arms. "Stop that. You know Asher isn't a boy. And yes. He's fine."
Cecilia walked to stand before her. She opened her arms, expecting Cailyn to embrace her.
Cailyn caught the hint and hugged her briefly. She loved her mother but the woman could drive her crazy like no other. She’d always been overly protective and nosy, but stingy with any show of affection unless it suited her purpose.
It drove her crazy. During family vacations, she made Cailyn call her by her name and pretend that they were sisters.
"You two have been close since the day you met in kindergarten.” Cecilia looked off for a moment. “I should have put you in private school like Huntley.”
Cailyn pursed
her lips, annoyed. “Huntterly Pond Grammar School was just fine.”
“I suppose it was sufficient,” Cecilia said, pushing a strand of hair from Cailyn’s face. “He's a handsome boy. I’ll give him that. Do you think he is the one?”
There. She did it again. Cailyn almost shouted at her that Asher wasn't a boy.
She shrugged, keeping her face unreadable. "I don't know."
Liar.
Asher had always been the one.
One day she would marry him, but there was no way she could tell her mother that. Not now.
"Tell me the truth, Cailyn.”
"Why do you care? Hunt and Olivia will give you grandchildren soon."
"You’re my daughter. I love you. I want to make sure you don’t make a mistake."
"I'm an adult. Do I have to tell you everything going on in my life?"
Cecilia's smile faded. Her blue eyes held Cailyn's, making her suddenly wish she hadn’t just said that.
"Yes. You do," she said. "Shame on me for caring about your safety."
"What are you talking about?" She'd never heard her mother talk like that.
My safety?
What did she know? She never told anyone about her premonition nightmares. She almost shivered as they stood there in the darkness of the foyer.
Why did Cecilia always want it so dark in the house? Now she seemed to be waiting in the shadows to catch her disobeying her rules.
Moving in with Asher was sounding better each moment she stood there under her mother’s judging eyes.
“Well?”
Cecilia stepped past her, brushing Cailyn’s cheek with a warm thumb before passing her to step outside into the cool morning.
"Come with me, Cailyn."
Cecilia stood on the front porch that wrapped around both sides of Alexander Hall. She looked like a model in a painting just then. A thick forest and mountain range stood before them in the distance.
“I’m waiting.” Cecilia’s voice was hard.
Cailyn fell into step alongside Cecilia.
“It’s time you know the truth of your heritage, what your father tried to shield you from as long as possible.”
Cecilia tilted her chin up so that she could look her in the eye.
She swallowed. Her mother’s blue eyes looked especially bright and eerie at that moment.
