They paused, tilting their heads as the assassins felt their freedom seeping away with every second. The magic was blood magic, binding them, making them unable to get out of Peyton’s throes. The wheels started spinning, and their cool voices bounced off the walls. “Peyton, our servant, will you do what we say, exactly?”
She trembled in pleasure. “I will do anything for you, my masters, anything.”
Their giggles sounded as the wheels spun faster. They had waited this long, and they would continue to wait. Until they would break free and restore their King’s wishes. They would destroy everything this world thought was powerful, leeching it of life, until they were all that remained, building a new world for their king. Their magic flared around them, and they began.
Acknowledgments
First off, thank you to my tribe. My parents, Kathy and Norm, who didn’t think anything of their kid running outside playing out different characters, and acting out scenes for hours on end. Who continue to feed my book addiction, and taught me to appreciate the small things, and to never be afraid to dream. To my brother, Nate, who has always been there for me, no matter the situation or our age. For sharing in some wild adventures, and showing me that coffee is a miraculous thing. To Jess, my warrior, and teleconnected bestie, thank you for our our hours of chats, for believing in me, even when I didn’t. For Matt. You are my rock, thank you for pushing me to finish this book, for cheering me on, even when I didn’t see that the end of this project was a tangible thing. For never once faltering when I started talking about this idea, but instead pushing me to tell you more.
To Link, Lola, and Leonard. You literally are all my writing assitants and thank you for the cuddle breaks (even if Leonard did try to eat the laptop cord, I take that as puppy enthusiasm.)
To Stephanie, and the entire Clean Reads team, thank you for believing in Emory’s story and believing in me. You are breathing life into my dreams, and I am enternally grateful.
To my beta readers, Jess, Matt, Candace, Natalia, Jordan, Holly- thank you for seeing all forms of this story, and for your enthusiasm and friendship.
Thank you to all the awesome friends I have made in the book industry in the last year, I cherish our chats and love networking with you all! Bookstgram, truly, has become one of my favorite things! Lastly, thank you, too, reader, for picking up this story, and showing your enthusiasm for Emory, Brokk, Memphis and Adair(and of course, the rest of the crew ;) ). It means the world. This book was a planned novella, that exploded into a full fledged novel, and that was possible because of you. Look out for Queen to Ashes, coming this winter, and until next time- xo Mal.
About the Author
Mallory McCartney currently lives in Sarnia, Ontario with her husband and their three dachshunds Link, Lola and Leonard. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading, she can be found daydreaming about fantasy worlds and hiking. Other favorite pastimes involve reorganizing perpetually overflowing bookshelves and seeking out new coffee and dessert shops.
