Betrayer

Betrayer THE CURSED BLOODSTONE BOOK ONE LIANNE KAY Copyright © 2023 by LiAnne Kay All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For Kara. Thank you for being such a great inspiration and for believing in me. Never stop reaching for the stars. Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Afterword Also by LiAnne Kay Acknowledgments Chapter One Fire blazes in the far corners of my heart, fire so fierce it threatens to sear through my veins and erupt around me. I seize control, ordering it to stay locked away. My captor, this Bloodstone barbarian, must never see my hatred, feel my hatred, burn in my hatred. I can harbor it, though. Oh, how I harbor it. I present a meek shell. Eyes lowered. Shoulders hunched. Everything about my appearance looks like a woman ready to submit. Thankfully, my captor doesn’t touch me. He doesn’t feel the flames hidden beneath the calm. Flickering torchlight casts shadows Chapter Two A humid summer night wraps around me in a thick blanket of darkness as we leave the small tent and head toward the center of the camp, where a roaring fire lights our way. The flames lick greedily at the warm air as my captor guides me down a long pathway where tall square-shaped tents line both sides—enough to contain at least five hundred warriors. My steps falter at that realization. I’m in a camp full of Bloodstone barbarians. The warriors on night patrol are the only men moving around the camp. They wear the same type of