Rose in Chains (The Evermore Trilogy, #1)

by Julie Soto

BRIONY THOUGHT IT WAS STRANGE that she didn’t feel it when her brother died. The crack of the boundary evaporating rattled her ribs, and the rock scraped under her fingertips as she gripped the ledge looking out over what was left of the country of Evermore—but she felt nothing in her soul when Rory died.

Cordelia whispered. Briony looked to her right and found her friend’s

Anna gazed back, and Briony watched her guard’s mind twirl through her plans and strategies. Anna was supposed to stay by her side; she had held her as a baby and promised her father to give her life for Briony’s.

Didion wants to say goodbye. Wants to probably say more than goodbye—”

proposed to Cordelia,

“You have to kill her,” Briony said softly. “It has to end. Completely.”

Mallow’s

Claremore

Heartstop was outlawed in Evermore.

only Bomardi used heart magic. Just as only Eversuns used mind magic.

Veronika Mallow

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.

Under Mallow’s influence, some Bomardi had taken it all a step further. Why use an animal when you could use a person. Another magician’s heart could give you much more power than an animal’s, and creating a bond—a heartspring bond—would ensure that your own heart wasn’t being exhausted.

There were times Briony didn’t blame the Bomardi for following Mallow. She, too, might have put her faith in the mage able to bond with the last dragon.

The Dragon Lord, as he was called in the history books, had lived more than one hundred and fifty years.

Mallow had with the dragon bond. It was widely known that with the dragon’s magic, Mallow could read thoughts,

Finn Raquin with his dark skin and darker eyes was half Eversun himself;

The Raquin patriarch was fourteenth in line for the highest position of power in Bomard—the Seat.

evil had a face with Can...

Canning was terrible to look at, with a soul that w...

His mother was third in line for the Seat, and his father’s family owned the entire mountain that the Bomardi school grounds were carved into.

cruel only when it was convenient for them, like Lorne Vult and Liam Quill,

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.

General Billium Meers spoke softly to Anna Wevin, Briony’s personal guard.

The general’s son, on the other hand, could not have been more opposite from his father. Sammy Meers with his russet-brown hair, rosy skin, and cheery blue eyes came to a stop in front of Briony.

When it was time for the troops to leave, Rory approached her for a hug. “No,” she said. “No need.”

He dropped his arms and frowned at her. “Briony.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours,” she said firmly. “Anything else we say to each...

He touched his forehead to hers. “See you...

Rory’s protection boundary.

Reighven. One of Mallow’s most vicious soldiers, who had taken a personal interest in Briony

Briony had—at one time—yearned for the man who would hold her captive and drain her of her magic every day for the rest of her life. A familiar boiling in her gut rose up and choked her—the same feeling she used to have in school whenever she’d have to tear her eyes off him. It was disgusting really. To want someone who thought so little of you.

Why hadn’t she hugged him goodbye? Tears fell down her cheeks, and she tossed the bread back on the plate. There was an emptiness inside of her that had gnawed wider and wider since her father’s death. Helping Rory and setting him up for success had been her only goal for the past four years, and now he was gone. Where was his body? Had Mallow truly burned it? Briony’s eyes scrunched in pain: There was nowhere even to mourn him. He wouldn’t be placed in the Rosewood mausoleum with their father and mother.

Sammy, Finola, Didion, and Velicity… Her throat clicked on hope as she swallowed it down. With Sammy’s wily scheming, Finola’s connections and skills, Didion’s loyal bravery, and Velicity’s tenacious fight, Briony would put money on that team in a heartbeat.

“She’s… a jealous creature. We both can be.” Briony watched his throat bob as he swallowed. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to call his attention away from her body. She’d felt his gaze on her body before, but never when she was so exposed, so undressed. The way Toven’s arms held her, the way his palm was inches from the swell of her breast, the way his eyes lingered in all the places she’d dreamed of his mouth kissing… Did he want to touch her? Would he touch her? All he had to do was shift his hand and he’d be cupping her breast. Did he know she was aching for it?

Lorne’s gaze dropped over Briony’s neck and chest. “And no other kinds of marks, either. You must not be having that much fun.”

Canning

Quick as lightning, there was a glint of metal, and then Lorne was a breath away, his knife between her skin and the green strap of her dress. He tugged on it.

“She’s an Eversun, Toven. She only needs to lie on her back.” His crisp white teeth flashed at her, his breath hot on her face. “Besides, I always heal them afterward.”

She froze in horror as the knife cut through the strap, her heart fluttering wildly and her eyes wide—her...

Her strap repaired itself, and she turned to see Toven’s hand outstretched, hot rage simmering beneath his cool facade.

“I’m not sure how many more times I need to say it,” he whispered, and the room was barely breathing. “That heartspring is mine. Her mouth is mine, her magic is mine, her skin is mine.” His teeth bit through the words, and he met eyes with every person at the table before saying, “You will not touch her, under any circumstances. I purchased her. I do what I please with her.”

An arm snaked out around her waist, and she was suddenly tugged into Toven’s lap. She stifled a gasp and righted herself, sitting sideways across his thighs. His left arm slipped around her back, steadying her with his palm against her left hip.

His body pressed up against her, pinning her in place. Her eyes widened to feel the long lines of him as he towered over her. “If you insist on forgetting your manners, Rosewood, then maybe I’ll be tempted to forget mine,”

“What manners?” she said weakly. “You’re no gentleman, Toven Hearst.”

He hummed. “If you wanted a gentleman, you’d already be betrothed to Winchester.”

“Tell me, Princess,” he said, sliding his knee between hers, just as she’d seen him do to Larissa when they were being intimate in the corridors.

She gasped, shock and thrill and longing singing in her blood.

Briony’s hands braced on his waist, ready to push him away or pull him clos...

“Do you want a gentleman?”