The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk (Crowns of Nyaxia #4)

by Carissa Broadbent

“Get up,” the voice said. I tore my eyes away from the sky, away from my hand, to the angular face of the man who leaned over me. He swept a strand of long, fair hair behind his ear and gave me an appraising stare. We had never met—not directly. But of course I recognized him. I’d seen him in countless paintings. I’d seen his visage illuminated over the skyline of Sivrinaj, the capital of the House of Night. And I’d seen his likeness torn down by Rishan soldiers, after Raihn had killed him. Vincent—dead vampire king of the House of Night—held out a hand to me. “Get up,” he said. “I hear we have some work to do.”

“You are telling me,” I said, “that I will need to ascend to divinity.” A faint smile twitched at her mouth. “Yes, Asar Voldari. You will need to become a god.”

Vincent grabbed my chin and wrenched my face toward him. “You chose this battle. You chose it when you took your first steps into Morthryn, and you choose it again now. You set out to change the world. You set out to create a god. So do it. This is the time for conquering, Mische Iliae. Go.”

“Now stop arguing with me and drink, so I can keep watching you bring the world to its knees.” Sun take me. This man.