Born Free

BORN FREE BLOOD ROSE NIGHTS BOOK FIVE KEARY TAYLOR CONTENTS Also by Keary Taylor 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 Also by Keary Taylor About the Author Copyright © 2023 Keary Taylor All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author. First Edition: June 2023 Cover art by Trif Book Design The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Taylor, Keary, 1987- Born Free (Blood Rose Nights): a novel / by Keary Taylor. – 1st ed. ALSO BY KEARY TAYLOR THE BLOOD DESCENDANTS UNIVERSE House of Royals Saga House of Royals House of Pawns House of Kings House of Judges House of Ravens Garden of Thorns Trilogy Garden of Thorns Garden of Snakes Garden of Graves Crown of Death Saga Crown of Death Crown of Blood Crown of Ruin Crown of Bones Blood Rose Nights Born Reckless Born Savage Born Chaos Born Wicked Born Free PARALLEL VERSE GUARDIANS A Shadow in the Light A Glimmer in the Night A Spark in the Ash RESURRECTING MAGIC SERIES Rise of the Mage Keeper of the Lost Shadow of the Locked Academy of the Found THE FALL OF ANGELS TRILOGY Branded Forsaken Vindicated Afterlife (the novelette companion to Vindicated) Returned (ten year anniversary follow up) THE EDEN TRILOGY The Raid (An Eden Short Story) The Bane The Human The Ashes (an Eden Short Story) The Eve THE NERON RISING SAGA Neron Rising Neron Skies Nero Awakening Nero Blood Nero Nights Neron Wars Nero Kingdom THREE HEART ECHO TO LOVE A McCAIN Ever After Drake Moments of Julian Depths of Lake Playing it Kale WHAT I DIDN’T SAY Also by T.L. Keary (thriller/suspense pen name) OUR LAST CONFESSION SKIN AND BONE CHAPTER ONE Brother. That word slams against my brain with the force of a full freight train bound for the west coast at top speed. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. I look into the face of the man standing at the base of the stairs to the Nocturne. Sharp features. Wild black hair. Vivid blue eyes. Shit. Shit. Shit. “I could count the number of times I’ve seen you speechless on one hand,” the man says. There’s a coy smile on his lips. Something dangerous and conniving. But there’s also surprise and confusion. “Twenty-four years apart, and you don’t have a single word for me?” The audience, which is the entire vampire and gifted population of Chicago, several hundred people, wait with bated breath at the entry to the Nocturne. I know each of their eyes is fixed on that crown in the man’s hand, and every one of them is terrified of what it means. “Sounds like we need to talk,” Roman says. His poker face is a lot better than mine would be. He’s not giving anything away, not the fact that he has no damn idea who this man is that just called him brother, not the fact that he doesn’t know why the man just tried to offer him a crown. “But not here.” The man steps forward without hesitating, his entire crew of seven moving with him. Up the stairs, I see Elena and Mason step forward. Something big is about to happen, and as council members, surely, they should be involved. But subtly, Roman shakes his head no. It’s a clear message to stay. When Roman’s eyes slide over to me, I see it there. He wants me to stay, too. To leave whatever mess this is to him. But like the stubborn pain in the ass I am, I take his hand, and there’s not a chance on this earth anyone would be able to pry us apart, human or vampire. I’m not letting Roman go anywhere with these people alone. He squeezes my hand. And it’s not a reassuring squeeze. It’s a why are you so damn stubborn squeeze. We all turn from the scene at the Nocturne. The night has taken some insane twists and turns. Just half an hour ago, I was being introduced to the population as the newest council member, Roman singing my praises as the one who saved them all. Then Elena was telling me I was in love with Roman. In a confused panic, I’d fled the building. Roman had come after me and things got deep, heavy. Until a stranger said “Orlando” needed a word. The man ended up dead. Oops. And then, holy shit, Roman was confessing his feelings, and then I don’t even know who started it, but suddenly our lips and hands were all over each other. It was the most earth-shaking kiss I’d ever had in my life. And now, we have a pack of vampires following a few paces behind us, and one of them is calling Roman brother. Only, Roman doesn’t remember who he was before he Resurrected. He woke up in a landfill, brutally murdered, stabbed in the back. He couldn’t remember where he was from. Who his family was. He doesn’t even know his real name. “Where?” I whisper as quietly as I can. “Can we go to your apartment?” he asks in barely audible words. I nod. It seems odd for half a second, but I realize almost immediately that there’s nowhere else that would be safe. The entire goal of being here in Chicago is to keep this place a secret. To keep it safe. It’s a mecca for the gifted and those who want to stay out of the Royal system.