House of Pounding Hearts (The Kingdom of Crows #2)(140)

“I meant—”

“I know who you meant.” He raises his eyes to mine, and although his do not fill with prophecies like his mate’s, I see Bronwen’s words scroll across his dark irises: Fallon will kill Dante.

The sky calms, as though holding its breath. Is that why Fallon hushed our bond, stole through the hidden staircase, and took off on horseback toward the valley? To fulfill a fucking prophecy?

How did she even know how to mute our mating link? Did Lazarus brew her an elixir? If he aided her, may Mórrígan take pity on his soul.

“Daya.” Cathal’s skin has become so bleak beneath the drips of charcoal that I press out of my mind and land at his side.

“What about Daya?” Cian asks.

“I forgot to ask if she was in the tunnels. I forgot to ask—” He rubs at his iron breastplate. “I forgot to ask if she was alive.”

Pity extracts a lie from my lips. “She is.”

Where Cian’s brows bend, Cathal’s arch high.

“The Faerie told me before you rid him of his ability to speak.” Does deceiving my most loyal friend make me more of a monster?

Does it matter? The fact remains that I am a creature of nightmares. One whose heart lies deadened in a cage of bones and feathers.

“You mustn’t have heard him over my storm.” I claimed to understand Cathal’s agony, but as I stand in a field of corpses, mind bare of Fallon’s voice, skin bare of her touch, I realize that I understood nothing of it before tonight.

“We underestimated the princeling,” Cian says, clipping the heavy silence. “Not only did he manage to dispose of the soldiers Roy left behind to ‘aid’ in the running of Luce, but he also managed to make us their executioners.”

I roll my shoulders back, then stretch my neck. “It was only a matter of time before Nebba declared war.”

I’m prepared for war. What I’m not prepared for is a life without my mate. If I must level this entire island to find her, then so be it.

Fight for us, Behach ?an. Your monster is coming.





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What to Read Next





Forbidden romance with soulmates? Head over to Paris with my misbehaving angels.





In a witchy, slow-burn romance mood with dual POVs? Travel to the coldest and mistiest town in France with a ragtag crew tasked with bringing magic back to the world in Of Wicked Blood.





If you crave an enemies-to-lovers paranormal adventure with a love triangle and an age-gap romance, try my shifter series >> A Pack of Blood and Lies.





Discover my completed Lost Clan series that readers have compared to The Vampire Diaries, but with faeries.

Start the adventure with Rose Petal Graves (now with brand-new content)





Read as I write…





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Acknowledgments





I expect that many of you want to hand me over to Dante and let him have his murderous way with me for the way I ended this book. I apologize for the cliffhanger. I would’ve preferred concluding this novel elsewhere, but I have so much planned for Fallon in these tunnels. Too much to fit into this sequel.

What an adventure my witches, Fae, and Crows have taken me on. Yes, me. I wrote an outline for this series last year, and let me tell you, nothing is going according to plan. My characters are making their own decisions and steering their own fate.

This is usually the case with my stories, so I’m not alarmed in any way. In truth, I’m excited to see where Fallon and the gang lead me.

Next up, the final chapter: House of Striking Oaths. Expect more magic, more romance, more banter, more surprises, more world-building (I’m taking you to Shabbe in this one).

Off I go. Meet me there, dear reader?

Before leaving, I’d like to thank my extraordinary street team for all the early love and praise, and typo catches (looking at you, Aimie, Kat, Julie, Traci, Jordan, Christina, and Steff).

Every time I publish a new story, I worry about disappointing my readers—especially those who’ve been with me since the beginning; every time I manage to enchant you anew, it fills me with the greatest joy.

Maria, my first reader, thank you for keeping me and my characters real. House of Pounding Hearts owes much of its pounding (heart) to you. ?

Laetitia and Rachel, thank you for smoothing out all the rough edges of my manuscript and for being flexible about my chaotic deadlines. ?

To my family, thank you for loving me unconditionally.