The Spirit Heir
Genre: Fantasy
From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis comes the second book in the thrilling A Dance of Dragons series--perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Graceling, and Game of Thrones!Drenched in darkness and surrounded by the echo of screams, Jinji waits deep in the dungeons of Rayfort, haunted by the memory of the knife stabbing Rhen, plagued by a foreign voice whispering through her mind. A few floors above, Rhen rests trapped in a coma, about to wake to a changed world—a world where his best friend is a woman, his nephew is the king, and an enemy army surrounds him on all sides.But human wars are insignificant compared to the darkness gathering unseen. Memories of lives she never lived flash through Jinji's thoughts, hinting at a past that cannot be repeated. A mysterious phantom visits Rhen, carrying cryptic messages of the future. And somewhere out there, the shadow continues to lurk in silence.Uncertain of their relationship and tempted by new feelings, Rhen and Jinji must find a way to work together. The fate of humanity rests on their shoulders and the real battle has only just begun…
So Rhen stood, immediately stumbling, grasping for the chair to keep himself upright. A shooting pain ran down his side, from his wound to the very tip of the toes on his left leg. His body could barely hold his weight, weak from so many days spent still.
Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward, grunting. His body was ablaze, but he pushed on, shuffling as best he could to cross the space that had seemed small, but now felt like an ocean.
Half falling against the wall, Rhen steadied himself, taking deep breaths, gulping them in before he dared open the door.
I'm a mess. He sighed. Weak was not something Rhen's body was used to. Muscles sore from a day spent in the practice yards, yes. But this? This feeling like he reached in vain for strength, this emptiness—this was new. And he did not like it.
But it would not stop him.
So Rhen stood, biting his inner lip until it almost bled to distract his mind from the pain in his torso, and steadied himself before opening the door before him.
There she was.
Smaller than he remembered, but still strong, still defiant.
His heart clenched, tightening, the longer he took her in. Skinny legs and even skinnier arms, eaten away by lack of food, covered in dirt and dust, stained with sweat yet ridged with goose bumps. Torn clothes hung like rags. And her wrists. Rhen could not stop his eyes from widening in horror, his breath from sucking in sharply.
Ghastly cuts shredded her lower arms, caked over with blood that dried only to run fresh and dry again. Layers that looked dark, while others looked like the color of the royal family, bright and fresh. Jin looked like an unnamed Ourthuri, fresh from having her tattoos removed, skin and all, with no regard for human life.
Tearing his eyes away, Rhen's gaze traveled further. An apology tightened his thoughts, but there were no words he could even think to say.
And then he met her eyes.
Warm, like he remembered. Brown but glowing bright, golden highlights reflecting the sun.
Knowing she was a woman had shifted something. Rhen felt it stir, the sense of change, a desire sprouting to life in his veins. Strong, but new and uncertain. Even at her worst, covered in grime, she looked beautiful to him. All because of those eyes, staring at him like he was a dream, a god come to life, the spirits themselves. Eyes that had spent hours in his dreams when he thought her a princess of Ourthuro, suddenly more powerful now that they belonged to someone he knew, someone he trusted, someone he called a friend.
She bit her lip, and Rhen was pulled from his mind. That move, it was one he had seen Jin do a hundred times. Jin the boy, the unsure lad he had come to think of as a brother.
Against his will, Rhen retreated. The lies flooded his thoughts. The mistruths. The times he had opened himself up like a fool to someone who had only been playing him. Like a poison, it washed the warmth from his body, filling his blood with pain.
She took a step forward.
He could not move a muscle, not closer, not farther away. Stuck.
She halted before him, barely a hand's length away from his body, so small, but not delicate. Not fragile. Stronger than him somehow.
Her hand rose, slowly, so Rhen had time to step away if he wanted to. But he didn’t. He couldn’t.
Jin's palm came to stop on his cheek, warm and reassuring. Her eyes were hesitant, gazing at him like he might disappear, like he was not real.
On instinct, Rhen's hand followed, holding hers in place as though she too might disappear. He felt his resolve soften the longer he met her stare. He had seen his friend, this friend, in pain too many times. It had become second nature to want to ease her hurt. Boy or girl, in that moment it hardly mattered—he would do what was needed to erase the ever-present haunt in her gaze.
"You're alive?" she asked, awed.
Rhen smirked, feeling his lip rise on its own, as he spoke the truth to the one person he had always been able to speak the truth to. "Barely."
And with that, his body rebelled, giving out and slipping toward the floor.
As usual, Jin caught him, saved him.
But Rhen felt her arms wobble, her body shake. And before he knew it, they were both on the ground, a mass of arms and legs. Two pairs of pain-filled groans echoed across the sitting room, bouncing around the empty walls, until finally Rhen had no choice but to laugh.
"We make a sorry pair." Rhen sighed, using his elbow as an anchor against the ground to hold his chest up.
He looked over to find Jin smiling. Silent, but still smiling.
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About the AuthorI've always been a writer. I grew up duct taping my novels together, started writing complete manuscripts in high school and studied creative writing at Johns Hopkins University. Upon graduating, I decided it was finally time to actually give my dream career a chance. So, of course, I started writing a young adult paranormal romance series -- and no, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. I've been a true paranormal supporter for my entire life! I blame my obsession almost completely on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my all-time favorite television show. And, before you ask: Yes, I own every season... even the post WB ones! I especially challenge anyone to watch the first three seasons and not fall in love with Angel, securing a lifelong love of vampires! Other culprits of my paranormal obsession are some of my favorite authors: JK Rowling, Raymond Feist, Meg Cabot, Richelle Mead, Lynne Ewing and Tamora Pierce.
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