See you next book
Fight it, he willed her, sending the words down the bond—the mating
bond, which perhaps had settled into place that first moment they’d become
carranam, hidden beneath flame and ice and hope for a better future. Fight
her. I am coming for you. Even if it takes me a thousand years. I will find
you, I will find you, I will find you.
Only salt and wind and water answered him.
Rowan rose to his feet. And slowly turned to face them.
But their attention snagged on the ships now sailing out of the west—
from the battle site. His cousins’ ships, with what remained of the fleet
Ansel of Briarcliff had won for them, and Rolfe’s three ships.
But it was not those boats that made him pause.
It was the one that rounded the eastern tip of the land—a longboat. It
swept closer on a phantom wind, too fast to be natural.
Rowan braced himself. The boat’s shape didn’t belong to any of the
fleets assembled. But its style nagged at his memory.
From their own fleet, Ansel of Briarcliff and Enda were soaring over the
waves in a longboat, aiming for this beach.
But Rowan and the others watched in silence as the foreign boat crested
through the surf and slid onto the sand.
Watched the olive-skinned sailors haul it up the beach. A broadshouldered young man nimbly leaped out, his slightly curling dark hair
tossed in the sea breeze.
He did not emit a whiff of fear as he stalked for them—didn’t even go
for the comforting touch of the fine sword at his side.
“Where is Aelin Galathynius?” the stranger asked a bit breathlessly as
he scanned them.
And his accent …
“Who are you,” Rowan ground out.
But the young man was now close enough that Rowan could see the
color of his eyes. Turquoise—with a core of gold.
Aedion breathed as if in a trance, “Galan.”
Dreams
“And what if we end up separated?”
“I will find you, little wife, wherever you go. But when we reach
Kahedin, I need you to enter his mind and force him to agree to the letter I
sent him. Can you do that?”
“I can do that in the dream,” I say, “but I can’t be sure he’ll follow
through in real life when he wakes up. My power usually works only so
long as I maintain connection.”
“It should work,” Talan says. “Dreams are powerful. As long as you
really imprint the notion in his mind that he must do it, he’ll do it when he
wakes up. Trust me.”
I nod. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Good. Take my hand.”
I take his hand in mine, my heart quickening.
“Watch the flames.” Talan’s voice is low and hypnotic. “Imagine your
body becoming lighter. You are drifting into mist, floating along with the
clouds above Lake Avalon.”
I stare at the fire, an ember floating up. I follow it with my eyes, and the
world grows dimmer as Talan’s magic whispers around me, kissing my
skin. Even now, I intuitively try to maintain the veil in my mind, but he
doesn’t try to intrude. Instead, he gently leads me away from my body and
into the dream world.
The world around me swims into focus. I’m in a garden, and warm sun
spreads over my skin. It’s clearly summer here, and enormous roses are in
full bloom around me. Rue and marigolds blossom, and hawthorns and
mulberry trees line the path leading up to a white palace. Fish swim in a
little pond, and the water glitters under the summer sky. Bees hum in the air,
and blackbirds warble in the boughs. A warm breeze whispers over my bare
thighs.
Talan stands next to me, taking in the scene. “I didn’t imagine Kahedin
would dream of beauty like this. He always seems like such a soulless
Hangi tür kitapları seviyorsun?
🔎 Polisiye
💕 Romantik
🚀 Bilim Kurgu
🏰 Fantastik
📖 Klasik
🧠 Kişisel Gelişim
🏛️ Tarih
😱 Gerilim
She did it
Raphael was wrong. Although the dream is in our minds, we have no
control over it. Our fantasy of escape is just that—a fantasy. The Dream
Stalker let us think we were escaping, like a cat toying with a mouse, but
we’re still there. Our bodies are still in the Château des Rêves, enfolded in a
terrible nightmare. Sooner or later, the dark prince and his guards will find
us. Fear crackles through my nerves.
If I know I’m dreaming, can I force myself to wake? I pinch myself, but
that doesn’t help. Pain is real in this nightmare, and it’s not a way out. If we
drown here, I feel disturbingly certain that would mean the end for us.
What does the Dream Stalker want? I’ve heard his thoughts for years.
He craves pleasure and beauty, but he always feels alone. If I’m in the
château right now, as I suspect, could I slip into his mind as I accidentally
did before? Maybe—only then—we can find a way out of this nightmare.
The thought of going anywhere near him, much less his thoughts, scares
the shit out of me. I’ve already come close to losing my sanity by invading
too many people’s thoughts. It would be dumb to risk drowning in a sea of
consciousness again, but do I have a choice? Not if I wish to escape this
nightmare.
Gripping the slippery wooden edge of the boat, I close my eyes and
focus on the magic inside me, the frenetic, high-pitched, violet magic that
allows me to hear another person’s thoughts.
As I summon it, I recall the way the prince’s mind felt as it touched
mine. Dark, brooding. Obsessed with sex.
I channel my telepathic powers at that mind and feel something brush
my thoughts, a shadow of another entity. Dark. Alluring. Seductive. But
right now—above all—furious.
But it’s hard to concentrate with the boat heaving up and down,
threatening to spit me into the void.
loving you
felt like leaving a book out in the wind
the pages turned too fast for me to read
i didn’t get enough time
to adore you
to explore you
to trace your lines with my fingertips
and reread my favorite parts
to live the story i knew we were meant to be
before i knew it
the book was closed
the story was over
~unfinished
She came to her senses
Her chest heaves, and her body is so tense, like she’s a string pulled
too tight. She’s not going to listen to soothing words to get her to come
back to herself. No, what she needs is to snap.
Which is why I lift a hand, gesturing for her to come near. “You want
to fight, so fight me.”
That’s all the invitation she needs.
Auren sweeps her arms out to her sides, and the wave of gold behind
her splits. Then she claps her hands together, the gold moving to mirror her
movements, but I drop to my knees and roll before it can smash into me.
The focus of her fight is good. She’s not depleting herself like she did back
at Ranhold Castle, and her aura is holding steady, although, she’s also not
wholly herself.
But I know a thing or two about dual natures.
“Is that all you got?” I taunt as I leap back up.
She whirls around to face me, eyes blazing. The gold moves with her,
blowing her hair back, tightening in a cocked wave to hold itself in a
predatory stance beside her. With a curl of her fist, she sends it shooting
toward me, trying to squish me to a pulp. I leap away, but not without it
splattering all over me from the force of its crash. I see her eyes glow, her
jaw tighten, and I smirk in return.
She starts sending the waves at me again and again and again. Yet not
only am I fast, but I know her. I can read her every move before she makes
it, giving me time to anticipate exactly what she’s going to do and dodge the
gold before it can slam into me.
Each time she tries to pin me down, I slip away out of her gold’s
grasp, chuckling as I circle her. The gold keeps up with me, sloshing against
the ground, arcing and twisting with my movements. Her irritation is clear
on the pull of her brows, on the way her eyes barely blink. But she is so
attuned, so fucking gorgeous like this,
Okay I will leave you to be
“You have somewhere to be?”
He gives me a sardonic look. “Do you honestly think
I’d leave after you just told me you’re in love with me?”
I blink in shock and rear back. “I didn’t...I’m not in
love with you,” I quickly say. “That’s not what I said.”
He rubs at the black scruff on his chin, regarding me.
“Not exactly that phrase, no. But with you, I have to hear
what you’re not saying in order to read the whole page of
your words.” His voice pitches lower, right along with my
stomach. “I assure you, I’ve heard you loud and clear.”
I shake my head, dashing away his claim with a slash
of my hand. “That’s not...no. Don’t be ridiculous. I said I
wanted you. I don’t love you.”
He cocks his head, looking infuriatingly calm as he
leans against the wall and crosses his arms again. “Are you
sure about that?”
My expression is incredulous. “Yes, I’m sure!” I
exclaim, cheeks gone feverish. “I admit I feel something for
you, but not that, you arrogant ass. Love doesn’t happen
this way.”
His brows hitch up. “Love happens in all kinds of ways.
Fast. Slow. In bits and pieces, or immediate. Filled with
lust, one-sided longing, a snap realization never noticed
before. Deeply. Thoroughly. Love is a whisper we didn’t
hear or a sound that drums in our ears and drowns out
everything else.” Slade edges toward me, though I barely
notice because I’m so hooked on his words that I’ve
forgotten to blink. “You’re incredibly private. Closed-off.
Conditioned to shut out your true feelings and deny
yourself what you want. So you wouldn’t have said all of
