The hint of a smile curved his lips. “Liar.” He held out his hand. “Come, Prisca. Your brother lives. Now it’s time to fulfill your end of the bargain.”
I forced myself to ignore the commotion around me. Forced myself to block out Demos’s cursing, Tibris’s frantic denials, Asinia’s weeping.
Keeping my gaze on Lorian’s face, I made a silent vow to any gods who happened to be listening. I would make the Bloodthirsty Prince pay for his lies. For everything he’d done to my family and my people.
I took a deep, steadying breath.
And put my hand in his.
The End
Thank you for reading a Court This Cruel and Lovely. I hope you enjoyed it! The adventure continues in book two: A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty.
I also have a free bonus scene which is Lorian’s POV of his meeting with Prisca by the river.
I ended up switching to Prisca narrating, as Lorian wouldn’t stop sliding in information I didn’t want readers to know until later ;）
Download your free bonus scene here.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mum: It goes without saying that I wouldn’t be where I am today without your support… only this time I’m actually saying it.
Thank you for being proud of me when my greatest achievement was frolicking around Southeast Asia.
Thank you for not insisting I go to university when I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and giving me the time and space （meaning, my entire twenties） to figure it out instead.
Thank you for reading to me so much when I was little and encouraging a life-long love of words.
And thank you for busting ass as a single mother–and showing me just a hint of what a woman can achieve on her own when properly motivated.
To my editors Dawn, Fay, Lisa, and Kristen– thank you so much for your wise, honest, and helpful feedback throughout this process.
To Petra, who has supported me in this career from day one and continues to cheer me on even from thousands of miles away, I can’t even imagine having started this journey without you.
Deb and Angela: thank you for all your hard work, initiative, and putting up with my shoddy communication followed by a series of desperate emails as I attempt to catch up on the balls I’ve dropped while writing. You’re both amazing and I already have no idea what I’d do without you.
Elli: Thank you so much for our brainstorming sessions and your unwavering support. And for calling me out when I plan spin-offs while still plotting my first book in a series.
To Lou: Thank you once again for your gorgeous formatting.
Thank you to Sarah, who somehow took my geographically and geologically incorrect version of a map from Inkarnate and made my world come to life.
Thank you to Bianca at Moonpress Covers for my gorgeous cover. I’m still obsessed.
Finally, to my incredible readers: There aren’t enough words to express how grateful I am that I get to do this every day–and that you guys love my worlds and characters as much as I do. You keep me writing even on the hard days. Thank you, thank you, thank you.