The Affiliate (Ascension Book 1)
Page 32
The door creaked open, and Jardana hurried into the house, locking the door behind her. She tipped back the hood on her cloak and surveyed the room. It was completely empty, not a single piece of artwork on the walls, not a single chair in the room, not even a scrap of rug to break up the stone floor. It was dismal.
Why would he propose here?
“Jardana, is that you?” Kael called.
She turned toward a narrow corridor and followed his voice. “Yes, it’s me.”
“Good. You came.”
“Of course.”
She walked down the corridor, into the open room, and stopped in her tracks. Candlelight flooded the bare room. A wooden table was in the center, and on top of it was a small book. When Kael turned to stare down at the pages, the air in the room seemed to shift with him. She had an eerie feeling that she couldn’t exactly place.
“You wanted to see me?” she said, losing some of her bravado.
“Yes. Shut the door behind you.”
Jardana swallowed but closed the door and strode to his side. “What are you reading?”
“A book my father left me.”
“I didn’t know King Maltrier had bequeathed you anything,” Jardana said. “What does it contain?”
“A great deal of things that are very important to the country.”
“Has King Edric seen it?”
It was the wrong thing to ask. Kael’s head snapped up to meet her, and his eyes were storm clouds. His pupils dilated, and he looked furious. She should have known better. She knew how much Kael despised his brother. He was the chosen one, born for greatness, given everything on a silver platter while Kael had to wait in the background, was looked down upon by his peers, and struggled to attain such greatness as his brother had already achieved.
“Edric was not always the golden son,” Kael growled. “Once, my father chose me above everyone…above Edric. He left me the most precious thing in his possession, and today, we will see his plans begin to come to fruition.”
Jardana smiled cruelly. She loved when he spoke like this. “Yes,” she told him, “together, we will take over the world.”
“We most certainly will,” he said with that charming smile she knew all too well.
He reached out and dragged her flush against him. “You trust me?”
“Implicitly,” she told him.
They were going to rule the world together. She would be his queen, seated at his side, second only to the Queen. Her ambition had never been higher than at that moment. She could practically taste it. She would sit atop the golden throne, looking down upon all the worthless citizens. She would have full command of the Affiliates, and they would do her bidding and her bidding alone. It was what she had been born for. Her mother had always said that she would be supreme.
“Then, we must be made as one,” he breathed against her neck.
She couldn’t hold back the gasp. Finally. “Yes. Oh, Kael, yes.”
The knife plunged into her back so fast that she never saw it coming. It struck her so precisely that she hadn’t even had the chance to cry out, just as he had planned it. Blood poured from the wound, soaking Kael’s hands and falling onto the stone floor.
“For you, Father,” he said. Then, he chanted the words that his forefathers had chanted before him, which translated from the ancient tongue to, “Life freely given. Power freely taken. Drawn from you. Give thus to me. Cast off the light and plunge into darkness. I surrender.”
As the life drained out of Jardana’s once vibrant body, Kael claimed the life force for his own. There was no greater force on earth than the power he was claiming from flesh and blood. Their connection, so deeply entrenched over the years, only intensified the white-hot power now at his disposal.
It was in that moment, as the power flooded his body, that he finally understood why his father had murdered his mother.
THE
BOUND
(ASCENSION SERIES, #2)
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As a book several years in the making, the number of people who have helped this become a reality are numerous. This all started as a random idea right after I graduated with my master’s with a small moleskin of notes, a long list of potential names, and a hastily sketched map. The iterations have been numerous, and I’m proud of the final project. Mostly, I’m thankful for all the people who stuck it out with me to this point. You guys are awesome!
First, of course, I have to thank my family. They have all read The Affiliate in some form or draft and helped make it a better book—from Brittany sending me names in the middle of the night, Shea reading up to the procession five-plus times because I kept changing things, Anmar reading for the guy’s perspective on the fantasy bend, to Mom and Dad always believing in me. And, of course my husband, Joel, who knew Cyrene’s story would be out in the world one day and encouraged me not to change her feistiness. Plus, Riker and Lucy who stayed up with me on countless nights while I was revising.
This book wouldn’t be possible without a few people who helped bring a few characters to life. So, thank you, Meera and Kiran Bhardwaj, for acting like twins and letting me watch you together for months. Thank you to Brian Alvarez and Haven for your unique personalities and epic debates about who is more important.
My betas, early readers, and emotional support team! I know you have been on a long journey with me for this book. Thank you for sticking it out with me! Jessica Carnes, Bridget Peoples, Rebecca Kimmerling, Katie Miller, Tammi Ahmed, Shannon Stephens, and Christine Estevez.
A big thank you to Bethany Hagen and Susan Dennard for the amazing blurbs for this book. I cherish them! Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations for the stunning artwork on the cover. You took my vision and made it a thousand times better than I could have ever imagined. Nicole Zoltack for exceptional content editing on this baby when it was in its infancy. Jovana Shirley at Unforeseen Editing for the most amazing editing and formatting imaginable. You cleaned this book right up. Christy Peckham, who proofread this book for me and hopefully caught all the little errors I missed after reading it a million times! InkSlinger, especially Nazarea Andrews and KP Simmon, for the promotional support and all the incredible things you do to help books find their homes! Special shout-out to Donna from Book Passion for Life for helping me in every way you could to make this release a success!
Since this book sprang up out of my personal love for fantasy and young adult fantasy, I thought I would thank the authors who inspire me to keep writing every day—Robert Jordan, Philippa Gregory, Sarah J. Maas, Eleanor Herman, Leigh Bardugo, Cassandra Clare, Alexandra Bracken, Marie Lu, and many, many more!
Most of all, I want to thank YOU! Thanks for giving this book a chance. It may not be your normal read, or it may be right up your alley. Either way, I appreciate you taking a chance on the book! And finally, my FictionPress loves! This book originated there, and many of you have been waiting a LONG time for its conclusion. Thanks for waiting it out, and I hope everyone enjoyed it! Look for the sequel, The Bound, out in 2016!
K.A. Linde grew up as a military brat, traveling the United States and even landing for a brief stint in Australia. She created fantastical stories based off of her love for Disney movies, fairy tales, and Star Wars. A former political campaign worker, K.A. is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding Series. She now lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband and two super adorable puppies. In her spare time, she is an avid traveler, and she loves cruising, reading young adult novels, and bargain-hunting.
Additionally, K.A. has written thirteen adult novels and does not encourage anyone younger than eighteen to pick those up.
K.A. Linde loves to hear from her readers!
You can contact her at kalinde45@gmail.com or visit her online at one of the following sites:
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