From: Z_C_4/23.43.2
To: S_A_5/46.15.33
Subject: Your loyalty is rivaled only by your stupidity
Your devotion to Killian Flynn would be admirable, if he hadn’t made the grave mistake of siding with a Troikan and disgracing his realm. The moment he’s found, he’ll be placed in the Kennels or killed. There are no other options.
Get your priorities straight, Miss Aubuchon, or you’ll join him, whatever his fate.
Now, on to more pleasant news. I’m assigning you a mentor to help steer you in the right direction. His name is Victor Prince, and he’s an exalted son of our Secondking.
Years ago, Victor made covenant with Troika in order to spy for us. Just last night, he managed the impossible. He defected and returned to our midst without having to go to court. Unfortunately, he lost both hands in the process.
Side note: As new as you are, you might not know spirits regenerate limbs. In time.
Until Mr. Prince is whole again, he’ll remain inside a Shell. You’ll remain inside one, as well, since he is now responsible for your training. Yours, and your new partner’s, who is rising through our ranks. His name is Leonard Lockwood, and he is Tenley Lockwood’s father.
I know you’ll treat him with respect, because you know what will happen if you don’t.
Might Equals Right!
Sir Zhi Chen
From: H_S_3/51.3.6
To: Z_C_4/23.43.2
Subject: Javier Diez and Dior Nichols, among other things
Yo! I heard from one of our queens, who heard directly from our Secondking. Ambrosine wants the spirits of Javier Diez and Dior Nichols in Myriad, el pronto. No more waiting. Find someone to do the honors. I’m busy managing a warehouse full of ticking time bombs.
Speaking of, I flagged all messages about this particular topic, and came across one sent by a Laborer under your command. Sloan...something. Abadabado? Whoever she is, send her my way. I’m ensuring Troikans find the warehouse later today. Considering she’s a sympathizer, she’ll make excellent bait.
You might be willing to pardon her for her loyalty to Killian, but I am not. She can no longer be trusted, but she can be used.
Get ready. The war is about to take a drastic turn—for our better!
Might Equals Right!
General Hans Schmidt
“Life isn’t about what you gain; it’s about what you give.”
—Troika
Ten
Present day
I peer up at the indomitable Killian Flynn, my heart thudding against my ribs. Every breath I take fills me with hope, wonder...and dismay.
Our relationship is about to change. Everything is about to change.
Earlier, we snuck out of our realms to meet in the Land of the Harvest. A secret cave in Russia’s Ural Mountains, to be exact. Now we stand face-to-face, hand in hand. Jagged rocks create the perfect frame for Killian’s wild, ravaging beauty and the unwavering strength he wields. Strength forged on the bloodiest of battlefields.
There’s no other warrior I’d rather have at my side.
Our people might be at war, but we are going to usher in peace. One step at a time.
I drink him in, this boy I’m trusting with my present—and my future. His skin is a magnificent shade between bronze and gold while his hair is jet black. His eyebrows are thick, masculine, and his nose sharp as a blade. His mouth is soft and lush. Pure temptation...
A shadow of a beard dusts his triangular jaw. Under his T-shirt and jeans, his deliciously muscled body is covered in tattoos. Skulls, stars, roses and other images, all connected by lines, creating some sort of map. That map appears on both his spirit and his Shell—an outer casing made to resemble a spirit—but he’s never told me where it leads.
One day, he’ll share all. We both will.
But it is his eyes that draw me in and hold me captive. His eyes are a soulful gold with flecks of electric blue. Always those flecks strike a chord inside me, different songs piercing my soul. Some are fast and erratic, eliciting passion, while others are slow and dreamy; always they are haunting.
Today I hear a seductive melody that sets my blood aflame and chills me to the bone. Makes sense. I am fire, he is ice, yet we fit. After all, the warmth of a fire is best enjoyed on a frigid winter’s day.
So many differences. Too many, most would say.
Just enough to rock the entire world.
I am day. He is night.
I strengthen in Light. He is unrivaled in darkness.
I like rules, structure. He thrives in chaos.
I believe our worst emotions should never dictate our actions; we should help, forgive and care for others. Emotions are fleeting, after all, and subject to change. Why let one ruin your life? He believes emotion should drive us every moment of every day, and caring for others is foolish. Those you help now will stab you in the back later.
To me, today’s choices dictate tomorrow’s reality. To him, Fate decides for us.
I’m a Troikan Conduit. He’s a Myriadian Laborer. We are Lifeblood-born enemies, and yet he is the love of my Everlife.
As different as we are, we are also the same. Painful pasts shaped us, made us stronger. We hold on tight whenever something—or someone—threatens the people and things we love. We fight for what we believe is right, no matter the obstacles in our way.
I’m one of only two Conduits responsible for lighting Troika, and I’m supposed to kill Killian, our enemy. I’m going to marry him, instead.
Chemistry doesn’t care about expectations. I love and adore this boy, and I hold on tight, remember?
Even if I despised him, I would say “I do.” There’s more at stake than our hearts.
Once we unite our spirits, we will have the opportunity to unite our realms and facilitate the peace we so desperately crave. Together, we will enter Myriad and slay Ambrosine, Prince of Ravens. The realm’s corrupt Secondking.
A corrupt leader corrupts his people absolutely.
Then Killian will take the crown, and command, and order his armies to stand down. He will accept the truce Troika once offered. A truce Eron, Prince of Doves and the Secondking of Troika, has wanted for centuries.
Finally the war will end.
Once that is accomplished—or maybe before, we haven’t decided on an order yet—we will save the poor souls trapped inside Many Ends, the hellish sub-realm connected to Myriad.
Many Ends is home to the Unsigned who experience Firstdeath, as well as monstrous beings with a single goal: kill everyone. Spirits are hunted and killed in the