A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout EPUB & PDF – eBook Details
- Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Genre: Paranormal Vampire Romance, Fantasy Romance, Romance
- Publish Date: 19 October 2021
- Size: 2.6 MB
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Status: Avail for Download
- Price: Free
Three years later…
The Vodina Isles Lord strutted down the center of the Great Hall of Wayfair
Castle, the soft, steady thud of his polished boots echoing the silent tap of my
fingers against my thigh. He was handsome in a rough-hewn sort of way, skin
baked by the sun and arms honed from wielding the heavy sword at his hip.
The smirk on Lord Claus’s face, the arrogant tilt of his fair head, and the
burlap sack he carried told me all I needed to know about how this would go
—but no one in attendance moved or made a sound.
Not the Royal Guards who stood in a rigid line before the dais, adorned in
their finery. They looked ridiculous. Gold fringe fell from the puffed
shoulders of their plum waistcoats, matching their pantaloons. Their lapeled
coats and thick pants were far too heavy for the hot Carsodonia summer and
didn’t really allow for unrestricted movement like the plain tunic and
breeches the lower-ranking guards and soldiers wore. Their uniform
screamed privilege that hadn’t been earned with the swords sheathed in their
bone and stone-encrusted scabbards.
There was no movement from the dais, where the Queen and King of
Lasania sat upon their diamond-and-citrine-jeweled thrones, watching the
approaching Lord. The golden crowns of leaves atop their heads shone
brightly in the candlelight, and while my stepfather’s eyes held a sheen of
fevered hope, my mother’s showed utterly nothing. Standing stiffly beside
the King, the heir to the kingdom appeared somewhere between half-asleep
and annoyed by the responsibility that required his presence. Knowing
Tavius, he’d likely prefer to be at least three cups deep in ale and between
some woman’s legs by this time of the evening.
Queen Calliphe broke the tense silence, her voice crisp in the warm,
heavy air thick with the scent of roses. “I did not expect you to answer the
offer our Advisor made to your Crown.” Her tone was unmistakable. The
Vodina Isle Lord’s presence was an insult. He was not royalty. And his
actions were clear. He did not care. “Do you speak on behalf of your King
and Queen?”
Lord Claus stopped several feet from the Royal Guard, his unflinching
stare tilted upward. He didn’t answer as his gaze traveled over the dais to the
many columned alcoves. Beside me, Sir Holland, a knight of the Royal
Guard, tensed, his grip on the sword at his waist tightening as the Lord’s
survey glossed over me and snapped back.
I held his stare, an act I’d surely be reprimanded for later, but only a
handful of people in the entire kingdom knew that I was the last of the Mierel
bloodline, a Princess. And even less knew that I had been the Maiden
promised to the Primal of Death. This smug Lord didn’t even know that the
only reason he was standing here was because I had failed Lasania.
Even though I stood in the shadows, Lord Claus’s slow perusal was like a
sweaty caress, lingering on the bare skin of my arms and the cut of my bodice
before reaching my eyes. His lips puckered, blowing me a kiss.
I arched a brow.
His smirk slipped.
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