Crown of Blood and Glass

CROWN OF BLOOD & GLASS AWAKENED FATES BOOK ONE LUCINDA DARK REBECCA GREY CONTENTS Prologue 1. Devonry 2. Devonry 3. Devonry 4. Devonry 5. Solomon 6. Devonry 7. Solomon 8. Devonry 9. Solomon 10. Devonry 11. Solomon 12. Solomon 13. Devonry 14. Solomon 15. Devonry 16. Devonry 17. Solomon 18. Solomon 19. Devonry 20. Solomon 21. Devonry 22. Solomon 23. Devonry 24. Devonry 25. Solomon 26. Solomon 27. Devonry 28. Devonry 29. Solomon 30. Solomon 31. Devonry 32. Devonry 33. Devonry 34. Devonry 35. Solomon 36. Devonry 37. Devonry 38. Solomon 39. Devonry Epilogue Thank you for reading! About the Author Also by Lucinda Dark About the Author Also by Rebecca Grey To our amazing team. Angie, Kristen, and Elizabeth. Without whom, we would have probably lost our minds over this book. Copyright © 2023 by Lucinda Dark (Lucy Smoke LLC) and Rebecca Grey (Nikki Hunter) 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. PROLOGUE DEVONRY Somewhere in the near future… There is no fire, but there is warmth—a heat so wicked that it threatens to burn me down to my very core. It sends sweat down my spine, and at the same time, it calls to me like an old friend. Like a memory … one I should know but can’t recall. It escapes me, slipping from between my fingers like smoke. Fingertips trace the shape of my face, making my whole body jerk in surprise. Through the shadows, I sense him. His breath is hot and damp in my face. I can taste his need. His torment. It’s violent, like the man himself. Solomon’s nails, usually filed down, are sharp and vicious. His true awakening has peaked. The monster within is as close to the surface as I’ve ever felt it, leaving him balancing on the thin line of control. Something hot and hard presses insistently against my inner thighs. That warmth from earlier steals up and over my face as my own response softens my insides. My teeth rake against my lower lip as I try to catch my breath. The Gods are cruel creatures. Of all the men they could bring so low, why did it have to be him? And why—oh why—do I have to care? Solomon tries to be gentle, but it's almost as if he can’t help himself. His grip is punishingly tight, so much so that he threatens to break me into a million pieces. I almost hope he does. Then I would be freed from these emotions, these physical reactions to him. He turns his hand until just the tip of his sharpened claw touches my jawline. “So soft,” he mutters. “You’re always soft, and you smell like the realm of the Gods. You smell like divinity itself.” The sound of his raspy voice, heavy with lust and something deeper … darker, makes me shiver in his arms. As if to prove his point, he leans closer, skimming his nose over my throat in a way that makes my heart jump straight to a gallop inside my veins. He inhales deeply, a harsh groan rumbling up his naked chest as it presses against my front. I close my eyes, squeezing them shut against the never-ending darkness that surrounds us. I’ve seen Solomon naked before but never this intimately. Even then he wasn’t the massive creature that now cradles me in his arms. The stone walls surrounding us invade us with their frosty coldness, but here, in the space where his skin brushes mine, it’s like being licked by fire. The sounds of bugs chirping, the feel of soil under our bodies, and hard rock at our backs and sides sweeps all around us. None of it is enough of a distraction for what lies before me, for the man—the monster that lies before me. I didn’t know how a woman should feel when a man presses between her legs. A part of me hates that he’s the one to introduce me to the sensation. In days past ... weeks, months? ... I would not be doing this. A Princess’ virtue is a bargaining tool. It is proof of sacrifice. Whereas other women are allowed to take lovers at their discretion, a Princess—a future Queen—is held to a much higher standard. But what use is virtue to a Kingdomless Princess? What use is it when there is no one to follow, no one to rule, no one to protect? My heart pounds inside of my chest, a wild, untamed thing. My lashes are wet with unshed tears and so much emotion, it clogs inside my throat. I’ve known Solomon since we were children—angry, resentful, bitter children who took out our frustrations on each other. He’s not my friend. I hate him. Or so I thought… “Are you frightened?” His question has me arching my head back to look down into his darkened face. Shadows dance around his features. The cavern echoes back his words to me, but I don’t know how to answer. Am I frightened? It would be wrong to say I’m not at least a little scared of him. He’s so … big. His muscles are swollen with power, bulging his arms to the size of small tree trunks as they wrap around me, keeping me securely locked against his chest. His Awakened form is almost that of a monstrous creature with only a hint of the human man left behind. I should fear him, I think, yet somehow … I can’t bring myself to. Of all the men in the world, Solomon is the one I can trust. The only one that I know with a certainty that is centuries old and soul deep would never harm me. My earlier hatred—childish and comfortable as it was—is gone. I shake my head. “No.” My