The Claimed

THE CLAIMED MAGGIE SUNSERI Join Maggie’s Newsletter The Claimed Maggie Sunseri https://maggiesunseri.com Copyright © 2023 Maggie Sunseri eBook Edition This work is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review or article. ALSO BY MAGGIE SUNSERI THE LOST WITCHES OF ARADIA The Discovered The Coveted The Illuminated The Hunted The Scorned The Claimed The Redeemed THE AWAKEN SERIES (Young Adult Series) Awaken Arisen For those who have crawled out of the darkness and relearned how to feel the sun on their skin. 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 Note from Maggie Also by Maggie Sunseri About Maggie Sunseri CHAPTER 1 CYRUS Athena’s spear sunk into Áine’s flesh. Áine’s scream echoed across the beach for an eternity, and the sound was like a punch to my gut. In a burst of magick and gust of wind, Áine and Daelon disappeared into thin air. It took me several long seconds to stand and face my warrior brothers and sisters. As I did, Athena let out a cry of her own, throwing her second spear to the ground in frustration. Her nostrils flared. Fire magick gathered in her palms. All eyes were trained on me. I swallowed against the panic bubbling up in my throat. “There is more to the story,” I began. “What have you done, brother?” Tobias asked, his face contorted with anger and confusion. His dark skin shone with sweat, his imposing, bulky figure still flexed and exuding adrenaline. “Let me explain,” I tried again, taking deep, steadying breaths. I hadn’t fully recovered from either the visceral fear of staring down a tsunami, or from the pure awe and reverence of the divine witch who conjured and then banished the oceanic force. How could my coven refuse to believe in Áine after witnessing power of that magnitude? She was no mere witch. She was capable of magick reserved only for the gods. “You will come with us and explain yourself to the shamans,” Athena ground out. I held up my hands and nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.” Everyone on the beach slowly gathered in a circle, leaving room in the center for the shamans and representatives from the three covens. Áine’s soul father Orion stood with two fellow Sophrosyne witches, Loraine and Rory. Iciera’s High Priest, Jesco, and eldest healer, Wren, as well as several elders from both Aurora Aurea and Iciera completed this inner circle. Some witches in the crowd wept, others shook with fear, but most shot deadly glares my way. Even though it had been mere minutes since Áine left with Daelon, whispers had already spread. I didn’t know how much everyone knew, but it was safe to say they all saw me as a traitor. I held my head high and my face neutral as the crowd parted for me and the other warriors who surrounded me on all sides. This was always going to be the hard part. I promised Áine I would stay behind and convince these covens that she wasn’t sacrificing the world for her true soulmate. She was only pretending to. In reality, she would be stalling and distracting our enemy, convincing him he’d already won the war. She would find a way to destroy his rule from within, and when the time came, she would reunite with us, help our army take back every land in the realm, and free all witches from subjugation. This is what I explained to the elders when the warriors delivered me to the center of the circle. Our voices were magickally amplified here so that the crowd could hear what was going on. As I was finishing my explanation, I locked eyes with my new Icieran friends at the front of the crowd: Ali, Meredith, Skye, and Prairie. Seeing them caused me to falter. Then I saw the crowd part for several of my family members—my parents, my elder sister Violet, her soulmate Desta, and my father’s parents. My nieces and nephews must’ve been taken home by my mother’s parents. Violet’s gaze was sharp. You promised us. You said you would never again hide the truth from those you love most. I tore my eyes away from her and back to the shamans. “Look, I know you all have already drawn your own conclusions, no matter what I say about Áine’s grander plan, divine intuition, and sound mind. But you’ve let a single witch,” I flicked my gaze to Wren, “convince this entire island that the Salvator Mundi—she who holds the overlapping worlds in her palms—is just like the rest of us. But she’s not. She rose from the dead. She was granted access to the Akashic Records. She can conjure and banish powerful natural forces at will. She was chosen for a reason, and Aurora Aurea knows that better than most. In a far less grand way, I was chosen too. My vision of saving her from the castle has not yet come to pass. When I left here months ago, the Great Goddess made it clear that I was too early. Áine was always meant to return.” I didn’t know what else to say. At a certain point, my people