The Queen's Rising (The Queen’s Rising, #1)

by Rebecca Ross

“If you offend a Valenian, you lose your reputation,” Sibylle chirped, picking dirt from beneath her nails. “But if you offend a Maevan . . . then you lose your head.”

“She walks with grace upon the clouds, and the stars know her by name.”

And I smiled, for I was accustomed to feeling two conflicting desires at once.

“I hope it is not a party,” I said warily, letting him draw me to my feet. “Who said anything about a party?” Luc scoffed, leading me down the stairs. It was a party.

“There are many secret doors around us, in plain sight. We just don’t take the time to find and open them.”

But I will say this: no matter which path you choose, I will follow you, even unto darkness.”

This is how we prepare for war, I thought as a dark peace wove between the queen and me. This is how we face the unexpected—not by our swords and our shields and our armor. Not even by the woad we paint upon our skin. We are ready because of sisterhood, because our bonds go deeper than blood. We rise for the queens of our past, and for the queens to come.

He had never seemed so fierce and wild, and I had never wanted him more.

“Heed this, Tristan Allenach, lord of the shrewd: you have bought my House to ashes. You have taken the life of the queen. And you will steal the Stone of Eventide. But know that one day, a daughter will rise from your line, a daughter who shall be two in one, passion and stone. And she will bring down your House from within and undo all your crimes. But perhaps the greatest wonder of all? She shall steal your memories to do it.”

I had descended from selfish, ambitious blood. And I was Norah Kavanagh’s vengeance. I would redeem myself.

He had chosen Aviana for me, the constellation that accompanied his own. They were stars that, like his Verene, bespoke of bravery in darkness, of triumph. Of steadfastness. “Yes,” he said. “And we both know that Verene would have no hope of light without Aviana.”

“I will take and love all of you, Brienna MacQuinn, your shadows and your light, for you have challenged me; you have captivated me. And I desire no other but you,”