Rose in Chains (The Evermore Trilogy, #1)

by Julie Soto

Her brother who was supposed to be the one to end this war. Her brother who had been foretold.

Really is HP fanfic huh

When the sun shines at night, he who will bring an end to war on this land shall be victorious. He shall be an heir, twice over, and a rightful sovereign over the continent.

It ain't Rory is it?

Heartstop was outlawed in Evermore. Of all the heart magic, Heartstop, the crushing of a heart within its owner’s chest, took the heaviest toll on a magician. The first taking of a human life ripped one’s own heart, and every subsequent kill sliced further and further. Rory had had to learn this complex magic from scratch, as only Bomardi used heart magic. Just as only Eversuns used mind magic.

Magic pulled from the mind did not exhaust the body, whereas magic from the heart took a greater physical toll. Heart magicians had always needed to rely on animal familiars to keep their strength for prolonged magic use.

Finn Raquin with his dark skin and darker eyes was half Eversun himself; his parents had been one such convenient marriage.

And then there was someone far harder to decipher. Icy cold most days, only to thaw at the oddest moments. With strong hands and opaque eyes, a wicked mouth and a silver tongue. Who inspired as much fear and uncertainty in her chest as he did yearning.

Draco malfoy

He flung the doors open, and then she was face-to-face with Toven Hearst. The eyes she’d realized years ago weren’t fully gray, but also speckled blue, stared directly into her. She should have cast another spell to soften her heartbeat. He must hear it. His hair fell across his forehead, fine and so pale that the gray was almost silver. The last time she’d seen this man, he’d been hunting her through the woods and killed the people that got in his way.

“Tell me what? Why are we being held here?” Larissa smiled cruelly. “It’s for the auction.”

“Eden Wincet was scarcely more than a child,” she hissed. “And you—you proud and loyal Bomardi—were going to sell her off like livestock.” His brows furrowed in mock concentration. “No, no. I treat my cows far better than I’d treat an Eversun. Mark me.” Briony spat in his face. Orion Hearst didn’t blink.

Finn winked at her, and she glared at him. “I hope you’ll save me a dance tonight, Miss Rosewood.” Briony smiled patronizingly. “I’d rather throw myself from the tallest tower.”

“Absolutely,” Toven said. “I am accustomed to having the finest thing in the room, after all.”

“Don’t try to make a fool of me in front of everyone here,” he said. “You’ll do a fine job of it yourself. Get your hand off me.”

“Twenty-nine five.” And the thought floated through her addled consciousness that there was an auction, and she would belong to someone in a few short minutes. And Toven Hearst was bidding.

Toven Hearst. Of course. He was reclining against the trunk of the willow, a book in his lap and his collar undone. His shoes were off, and his socks were different colors.

A terrible thought slithered down her spine. That’s how I truly know he’s dead, she thought into the darkness. He didn’t try to stop the auction. Even without a plan and without an army, Rory would have been there.

You were outside the boundary for almost a full minute.” She wondered if he would keep his back to her for the entirety of her imprisonment. “Certainly took you long enough,” she said. That did it.

He scoffed. “No? You don’t want me knowing what books you’re reading, Rosewood?” “No. I first plan on looking up ‘How to maim and torture Toven Hearst,’ and I’d hate to tip you off to my methods.”

“Anything to eat?” Ilana asked, long lashes batting slowly at her, her arm lowering to offer Briony the basket of fruit. “Grapes, perhaps?”

Briony blinked. It was so strange to hear Larissa call her “Mrs. Hearst” when Briony had been permitted to call her Serena.

Briony cleared her throat. “Thank you for having us to dinner, Mrs. Hearst,” Briony said, lifting her fork. “I’ve told you to call me Serena, Briony.” Briony paused, her entire body flushing with secondhand embarrassment. Larissa was still as stone next to her.

“High suit is…” Canning turned over the card Jellica chose, and his face split into a smile. His eyes slid to Briony. “Roses.” The men chuckled as Canning flipped the card onto the table. It had an ornate rose in the center. “Wild card is…” Canning took the next card from Jellica’s hand and barked out a laugh. “The Rose in Chains.”

“Sometimes I have to act without your approval to do what’s best for my family! Not just you, all four of us!”

“I would wait millennia for you, Briony Rosewood.” His eyes were clear and his voice soft. And though it was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her, she felt nothing.