The Ascended (The Aesymarean Duet, #1)

by Bree Grenwich

An imposing black castle rose from dark sand, its spires reaching toward a sky the color of fresh blood. Sharp rocks jutted from the shoreline like the teeth of some massive beast, and between them, waves rolled onto a beach in a steady, hypnotic dance, shimmering foam dragging along the sand at their retreat.

Servants appeared from nowhere to collect the discarded clothing, their movements so practiced it was clearly a regular occurrence. I was dealing with a new level of prick.

"I simply couldn't care less."

The water stung with a bone-deep coldness. It tasted of salt and metal and what might have been magic itself. I embraced the shock of it, the way it drove the breath from my lungs and made my heart race. I dove under the next wave and let the silence underwater soothe the raw edges of my fury.

Instead, I stood there and let him look. Let him see exactly what he'd chosen—not some biddable girl who would bow and scrape and beg for his attention, but someone who would meet his gaze without flinching.

I was Thais Morvaren, wielder of stars, and I had come here to learn how to kill a god.

"The Lord of Death and the King of Order have clashed since the beginning of time."

I would master this power. I would learn Bellarium's secrets. I would discover Olinthar's vulnerabilities. For Thais. For Sulien. For the family we'd lost and the vengeance we'd pledged. Worth dying for. Let them teach me. Let them train me. Let them believe I served their purposes. They would discover, far too late, exactly what they had created.

"I see someone decided to put clothing on today," Xül purred.

"The problem is that you held a blade of pure starfire and used it as a shield. The problem is that when the choice came down to kill or die, you hesitated." That golden eye pinned me like a butterfly to glass. "All the power in the world means nothing if you lack the spine to wield it when it counts."

You still think you're the hero of this story." He leaned forward. "Heroes die screaming. Only killers ascend."

"Then teach me to be a killer,"

"Your mortal mind can't begin to fathom what awaits you if you truly want my guidance."

"You have a problem with boundaries." Velvet over steel, that voice. "Perhaps you need a lesson in consequences."

"You're quite observant for someone who claims to have no interest in me,"

"You enjoy playing with fire, don't you? Seeing how close you can get before you burn." His thumb brushed the corner of m...

"Yes, starling," Xül said. "Where mortality burns away, and

"I'm the Warden of the Damned," he corrected. "Souls are elegant. Refined. Corpses are... messy. I only raise the dead when absolutely necessary. When the situation is truly dire."

"Now there's my killer,"

“I simply don’t care who

"You're not what I expected, Thais Morvaren."

My body learned the deadly dance of combat.

It’s not that I wanted to die. But living by the grace of Xül’s mercy wasn’t exactly enticing either.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden shift in tone. "You sound almost optimistic." "Don't mistake pragmatism for optimism, starling." He sighed.

Xül’s eyes met mine. A subtle smile curved his lips. "Do enjoy yourselves," he said, rising from the table. "Try not to get eaten."

“I suppose that’s a fair point. And I will admit, it’s refreshing seeing him unnerved by your boldness.” “He loathes me.” I sighed, kicking a loose rock. “And the feeling is mutual.”

"More than was probably healthy." A shadow crossed his face. "But books don't share the judgement of the living."

"Right. Do you practice being this insufferable, or does it come naturally?" "Natural talent." He moved closer, ostensibly to check my measurements. "And it serves me well. I find you far more entertaining when you're irritated."

"You're drawn to the darkness, starling." His gaze swept down, then back up. "Your body always reacts when I get too close."

"That's quite an imagination of yours, princeling."

"So, tell me, starling," he said slowly, savoring each word like fine wine. "Which one of your parents is divine?"

"It means, starling," he said slowly, the words crashing into the silent room, "that we make absolutely certain you don't die in the Trials. It means we make sure you not only survive—but that you ascend."

Xül's hands moved to frame my face. "You're stronger than the others. Faster. Deadlier."

"Don't go soft on me now, starling."

Xül leaned close one last time, and I hated how my body responded to his proximity. "Survive, starling," he breathed against my hair before shoving me toward destiny.

"We’re no longer the hunters. We’re⁠—" The abomination turned those burning eyes toward us. "We’re the prey."

ache that meant I'd danced too closely with death. My skull felt as if someone had taken

than I'd imagined. He'd been a person. Someone with a life before this nightmare. The trial had trapped him just as surely as it had trapped me—volunteer or

strategic placement." He let out a laugh. "Though I won't deny enjoying the process." "You—" I spluttered, torn between gratitude and mortification. "You could have just told me!" "Where's the fun in that?" He tossed the coin in the air, catching it with unnatural ease. "Oh, I see. So my near-death experience

wouldn't have woken up at all." The weight of that settled over me. I'd come that close to dying. If Xül hadn't slipped that ward into my pocket… "Thank you." The words came out quiet and hoarse. Xül's eyebrows climbed. "Don't get sentimental on me now, starling. I have a reputation to maintain." "Right. Can't have people thinking the Prince of Draknavor

you've served your purpose." But his eyes suggested his reasons weren't quite so clinical. "We'll have quite the show to put on at the end of all this." "You sound a little too pleased about that." "I'm pleased you survived." He leaned

swept over

demand I come immediately." She knelt beside the bed,

Beyond the glass, Draknavor stretched in all its terrible beauty—black sand beaches meeting the sea, obsidian cliffs rising against the scarlet sky.

I stood in borrowed clothes, remade by divine magic, questioning which version of myself was real—the villager who had laughed with friends by firelight, or the killer who now wore her skin.

"He's arrogant, controlling, and being around him makes me want to commit violence." "Sounds like foreplay to me."

"They want a monster? I'll give them one. But on my terms."

I looked dangerous. Beautiful, yes, but in the way of finely honed blades—something to admire from a distance, never to touch.

"You clean up well, starling. Though perhaps I preferred you covered in blood and victory after the Hunt." "You would," I muttered.

but I sensed his presence like a shadow at my heels, his momentary discomposure a small revenge.