Crown of Blood and Stars

CROWN OF BLOOD AND STARSThe Starling SeriesDana LeeAnn Content WarningsThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.Copyright © 2023 Dana LeeAnnISBN: 979-8-9875602-0-4All rights reserved.First Edition March 2023Edited by Rocky CalvoEdited by Christana TremblayCover by Giulia WillePublished by Dana LeeAnn TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains (but not limited to) content depicting sexual assault, death, violence, strong language, and explicit sex scenes. This book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. Read with caution. Your mental health matters.This book is not for everyone. This book contains heavy sexual content that may make some readers uncomfortable. For those wishing to find the sweet escape from reality between the pages of a filthy romance.I see you,I am you. Chapter 1Time stood still in the woods.Expiring leaves parted ancient trees, swaying in a downward descent. The forest floor was littered with brittle foliage, not exactly ideal for hunting. The rehabilitating silence of nature was fractured by the deafening crunch of my boot. Winter approached faster than ever, and I was determined to secure enough venison to last us through the harsh season.Deer roamed the dense woods outside my poverty-stricken village. The breeding season rut began when autumn leaves crisped, ending when night extended longer than day. On occasion, I was lucky enough to encounter a heavy-set buck with fire in his eyes, driven mad by high levels of testosterone raging through his body. My family depended on the success of my hunts to survive the grueling winters of Tartarus.This year was tougher than most. Mother left her position at the school to be my brother’s primary caregiver after he lost his leg in a hunting accident. Deep in the woods with four friends, Arden was met by a gruesome and unforgiving faerie. The faerie tore into them without warning. It was a game. Tortured and toyed with, some were left for dead to rot into the ground while others were left to struggle their way back to Astrari with what limbs they still had intact. Healing was difficult as he battled not only infection, but the lack of will to live. He was left with more emotional damage than physical. Some of his longest and closest friends were with him that day. Images of his friends’ lifeless bodies strung out before him haunted his dreams on a nightly basis. Mother tried to comfort him through self-induced isolation, but I didn’t think he’d ever recover.Father provided what income he could, but it was scanty. He worked as a landscaper throughout the kingdom, but there was little use of him after King Demir manipulated how he invested tax back into Tartarus. Human villages suffered greatly while faerie villages thrived with luxurious mountains of gold. Countless jobs were lost to economic collapse, and we were left to fend for ourselves. Father took on small jobs for the wealthy, but they were few and far between.Astrari villagers stuck together in the beginning but quickly fell apart when we realized King Demir turned his back on humans. Not only did the king abandon us, but so did the wealthy. Friends from the prosperous side of town no longer spoke to me. Courting balls I once attended no longer extended an invitation.My close-knit family unraveled following Arden’s accident. I did everything I could to keep our stomachs full. Hunting and trading became essential roles in my life. After each hunt, I brought meat back to my small family home, then headed to the market in search of a trade. Most days I exchanged pelts for vegetables or mediocre spices to make stew. On the rare occurrence I had a black fox hide, I managed to scrounge up a few gold coins. Today I was determined to bring home a deer.My vantage point was the overhang of a steep cliff. Below me was a lush meadow of clover. My secret honey hole in the woods. No one else knew about my little meadow; it was deep in the woods, farther than most dared to venture. The fear of faeries kept most villagers close to home following Arden’s attack.A ghostly feeling crept over me, tugging at the stars branded across my skin. A twig snapped to my right. Cautious to not alert the creature to my presence, I shifted toward the sound. My eyes were met by a petite deer grazing along the meadow’s edge. She was younger than what I normally liked to take, but hard times were here, and harder were coming. Her meat would be tender and fill the stomachs of my family.For a short time, I watched the doe move through the clover, peacefully unaware of the swift death waiting for her a few steps ahead.Something caught her attention, drawing her gaze into the forest. Her eyes were focused elsewhere whilst I nocked an arrow, drawing back the string of my bow. Unbeknownst to her, a razor sharp broadhead would soon split her feeble heart.My arms shook under the weight of my bow, weakened by missing too many meals in recent months. Begging my body to still, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Shallow and steady, I exhaled. I was ready to let my arrow fly.Distant screams tore through the air before I could send the arrow. Hearing them clearer than I had, she sprinted toward the safety of the forest.I threw my bow over my shoulder as fast as I could and shoved my belongings into my bag. Scream after scream clawed at my ears as I frantically stuffed the bag. The cries for help echoed from the direction of my village. My home. My family.I cursed under my breath as I ran; my legs weren’t carrying me fast enough. Fallen trees that once provided cover during routine hunts became relentless obstacles keeping me from Astrari.Shrieks became deafening as I neared the edge of the woods. My family