Ismena flinches, scrambling away from me with her head bowed.
And despite myself, I can’t quite summon complete hatred for her.
If Ruhle speaks the truth, then she’s only trying to save her own skin.
He’s our father’s favorite child for a reason, after all.
She’s just another victim of these vicious creatures.
Just like my mother. Just like me. Like Soraya. I curse and yank at the sunlit bracelet around my wrist, but all it does is burn my fingers.
I turn all my rage, all my focus upon Ruhle. “I will kill you,” I whisper. “You won’t hurt him. You won’t.” Maybe it’s a declaration of my feelings, but they’ve already got me bent over the altar with the knife to my ribs. There’s no point in keeping my silence now. “I swear I will stop you. Somehow. I’m going to burn your entire kingdom down.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “Where you’re going, you won’t have a chance. Prepare her for the trap.”
Hands grab me, dragging me away from the throne.
“Stop!” I scream, kicking at the floor. “Stop! Don’t do this!” I turn my attention to Father. “I’ll bring you the cauldron. I’ll break the curse. I swear!”
But there’s no hint of mercy in his expression.
There never is.
“I don’t need the cauldron,” Father says, waving a hand dismissively, “when I have the dragon’s heart right in front of me. Throw her in the cage and ready the horses. But don’t harm her. Keir will want to see her before we spring the trap.”
“No!” I scream as they drag me across the throne room floors.
I can’t Sift. I can’t warn him.
I don’t have a single ally in this place.
But I swear I will stop them.
Somehow.
To find out what happens next, Zemira and Keir’s story will reach its epic conclusion in Thief of Hearts.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Thief of Souls. I hope you enjoyed it.
To find out what happens next, Zemira and Keir’s story will reach its epic conclusion in Thief of Hearts.
Books in series:
Thief of Dreams
Thief of Souls
Thief of Hearts
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I hope we meet again between the pages of another book!
Cheers,
Bec McMaster
P.S While waiting for THIEF OF HEARTS, why not try PROMISE BY DARKNESS? Turn the page to find out more….
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Princess. Tribute. Sacrifice. Is she the one prophesied to unite two warring Fae courts? Or the one bound to destroy them?
In a realm ruled by magic, the ruthless Queen of Thorns is determined to destroy her nemesis, the cursed Prince of Evernight.
With war brewing between the bitter enemies, the prince forces Queen Adaia to uphold an ancient treaty: she will send one of her daughters to his court as a political hostage for three months.
The queen insists it’s the perfect opportunity for Princess Iskvien to end the war before it begins. But one look into Thiago’s smouldering eyes and Vi knows she’s no assassin.
The more secrets she uncovers about the prince and his court, the more she begins to question her mother’s motives.
Who is the true enemy? The dark prince who threatens her heart? Or the ruthless queen who will stop at nothing to destroy him?
And when the curse threatens to shatter both courts, is she strong enough to break it?
A fairytale twist inspired by the Hades and Persephone myth.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Promise of Darkness….
Chapter 1
Kill the beast.
And don’t disappoint me this time….
My mother’s words play in my head in time to the drumming hoofbeats of my gelding. It’s a song that’s been repeating itself for years, though the verses often change depending on her latest critique. Disappointing my mother seems to be my greatest ability these days.
Golden leaves drip from the trees in a steady tumble as autumn starts its slow, seductive slide into winter. I ease Jaeger to a halt, and he snorts, no doubt catching scent of the rank musk I too can smell.
“I know, boy.” I pat his neck as I slip from the saddle, landing lightly on the leaf mulch. Smells like a troll’s breath the morning after a feast of decayed corpse.
Late afternoon sunlight ripples over the ground, the wind whispering through silent trees. The forest itself seems to be holding its breath.
Watching.
Waiting.
Drawing my sword, I tie Jaeger to a tree and then creep toward the ruins.
There are eyes upon me.
I can feel them.
“That’s right, you ugly bastard. I’m here.”
The trail of blood leads directly toward the ruins ahead. Where it fell, the leaves have shriveled into brittle shreds, as if the blood itself is tainted.
The news came from the borders three days ago. An empty hamlet discovered on the edges of Vervain Forest, the woodcutters within vanished. Instead, there’d been claw marks in the door and a bloodied fingernail on the floor inside, as if someone had been dragged out by the ankles.
Other empty cabins were slowly discovered. Tales of a beast stalking the edges of Vervain and whispers of hunters not returning from relatively easy hunts began to grow in strength. Chickens slaughtered in their coops over the summer months, though nobody had mentioned it until it was too late.
It always starts with the chickens.
Banes are violent, magic-twisted beasts, cursed to live in a half-animal, half-human shape. It takes a powerful witch or spell to create them; and to break the curse is both dangerous and difficult. True love’s kiss. Eating the heart of the witch. Sometimes another spell will gift them with the ability to remain a
