Darvyn. I smile internally, enjoying his wariness. Quite a lot of trouble could be avoided if people were more wary. Though for Darvyn, trouble is inevitable.
He has been through an ordeal these past weeks—one I did not foresee—and there are more tests to come. For I have need of him. Again.
You must go west, I tell him. He clenches his jaw. You will aid the new king and queen, Jaqros and Jasminda. I force myself to numb the sliver of jealousy slicing my heart when I think of them—their love, a living, breathing entity, taunts me. But I cannot begrudge these children their happiness.
No. I need to find her. His thoughts turn to his own tattered heart. To the woman who owns it.
Sympathy and sentimentality are like quicksand. I cannot allow them to pull him under as they did me.
Now is not the time for you and her. I owe the new queen a debt, and it must be paid. Family is all that matters now. And it is high time Jasminda’s family came home.
His eyes bore into me coldly. I call the wind to me and rise into the air. He will help.
I will give him no other option.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the readers who rolled with me the first time around, you have my eternal gratitude! I hope this iteration of Jasminda and Jack’s story makes the waiting more bearable.
This book was conceived after a weeklong writing workshop where my creative mind was torn apart and put back together again. The next year I went back with the opening chapter to have the process repeated. Huge thanks to Junot Díaz, Marjorie Liu, and both my VONA crews—your voices made me a better writer.
Thank you to my editor, Monique Patterson, for bringing me on this amazing journey. You offered me an unexpected detour that terrified me, but you have been the best possible guide. And immense thanks to everyone at St. Martin’s Press for all the hard work that made this possible.
To the BCALA and the librarians who saw something relevant in my fantastical love story, I’m forever grateful.
Thanks to Danielle Poiesz, who first polished my words, and James T. Egan, who designed an amazing package for them to live in. To Quinn Heraty, my fabulous lawyer, thank you for shepherding me through unfamiliar terrain. To Kaia Danielle, the best signal booster ever, and Kara Stevens, who helped keep me accountable: y’all rock. And to everyone at the Muse Writers Center, thank you for lighting the match.
To Ines Johnson for being my favorite human, and Cerece Rennie Murphy for being relentlessly reliable.
To Paul, who’s made of the same star stuff as me, only upside down and backward, thank you for carrying me across the finish line and supplying the missing pieces. To my father, who won’t see this but I know is someplace where he can feel it, and my mother, who sees everything, thank you for always supporting my dreams.
And to Jared, thank you for believing in me and for lifting the heavy stuff to make space for me to write. I love you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L. Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
SONG OF BLOOD & STONE. Copyright © 2018 by L. Penelope. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Illustrations by David Curtis Studio
Cover design by Bookfly Design LLC
Cover photographs: space © Igor Chekalin/Shutterstock.com; city © alamino/Shutterstock.com; buildings © Quality Master/Shutterstock.com; background © Ronald Sumners/Shutterstock.com; texture © Boris Rabtsevich/Shutterstock.com; coat © oksmit/Shutterstock.com; hair © Ollyy/Shutterstock.com; 3D Design © Michael/Shutterstock.com; face © sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.com; waves © EV040/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-14807-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-14808-7 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250148087
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First Edition: May 2018