A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle (41 page)

Rhen's bones chilled.

It wasn't the lightning. It wasn't the
gruesome curve of Jin's body. It was his silence.

Racked by pure elemental power brought down
by the sky, yet Jin was quiet. Unmoving. Not a single sound escaped
his body. It was eerie, and it made Rhen's skin crawl with
unease.

The entire banquet hall stilled, enraptured
by the scene. No one moved. No one stirred. The only sound was the
sizzle of heat.

And then it was gone.

The lights relented, disappeared, and zipped
back up into the sky. Jin fell to the ground. The entire room
paused…then dove into action.

Rhen inched his way forward, using his one
free hand to pull himself closer to Jin, wincing at the pain it
caused in his gut.

When Jin's hand was in reach, Rhen grabbed
it and latched on. Waiting, praying, he felt for a pulse.

There
.

It was there. Ticking, thrumming rapidly, as
though the boy were running instead of lying still.

Rhen tugged.

Jin flipped over, falling onto his back,
head rolling to face Rhen…

He sucked in sharply.

It couldn’t be. It wasn't possible.

But his eyes met full lips, wide and defined
cheeks, long closed lashes framing elegantly angular eyes.

A woman.

It was undoubtedly the face of a woman.

Yet as he looked closer, Jin was in there
too, like one face altered just enough to become something, someone
entirely new.

Reaching out his hand, Rhen ran his
fingertips over her soft skin, thumb brushing the curve of her jaw
until it reached the bottom edge of her lip. A memory came
unbidden, one of a golden-veiled face looming over him, worriedly
caressing his brow. He recognized her now. It was never the
princess. It had been Jin all along.

Since the day they had met, Rhen had known
Jin was hiding something. And now he knew. Jin could change his
skin, could appear to be someone else. It was impossible—but some
would say no more impossible than a prince who could walk through
fire unscathed. Minutes ago, she had appeared as a royal guard, but
somehow touching the shadow had caused her true self to be
revealed.

A pain sharpened in his chest.

At first, Rhen thought it was his wound, but
then he realized it was something entirely different. The white-hot
sting of betrayal.

He had shared everything with the boy. Had
opened up, revealed secrets he had never told anyone before. Rhen
thought he had finally found a confidant, a true companion, a real
brother.

But it had all been a lie.

All of it.

False.

Jin was a woman, and that changed
everything.

Hands slipped into view, grasped Jin under
the shoulders, pulling her roughly off the ground. She didn't stir.
The only movement on her person was the constant flick of her eyes
behind their lids.

"Take the girl to the dungeons with the
others," Rhen heard Whyllem command, saw his brother step into
view, and kneel down over him.

The guards pulled Jin away, her boots
scraped along the floor as they dragged her by the arms. Rhen
remained silent. Not one protest stirred on his lips as he watched
them take her away.

"Rhen," Whyllem swallowed, voice catching as
he lifted Rhen onto his lap.

For his part, Rhen tried to answer, tried to
respond, to ease the worry in his brother's face. But it came out
as a gurgle. His tongue felt heavy and fat. His lips would not
obey.

Whyllem reached down, pressing his hands
against Rhen's stomach. But Rhen found he couldn't feel them.
Couldn’t feel anything, not even his own fingers. Panic made his
heart race, but his muscles would not respond—they felt
disconnected from his brain.

"I will not let you die, brother," Whyllem
said, voice thick. "You cannot leave us." He looked up at the sky,
back down at Rhen. His eyes were moist, darkening over and growing
wilder by the second. "I," his voice cracked, "Rhen, I cannot do it
alone. Without father. Without Tarin. I need you."

Whyllem's head bent down. He started shaking
against Rhen's chest. Silent cries racked his body.

More than anything, Rhen wished he could
lift his arm, wrap it around his brother's shoulder, and assure him
it would be okay. But the harder he tried, the weaker he seemed to
feel.

Vision spotting, his eyelids felt heavy.
Drowsiness muddled his mind.

"Get him to the apothecary, immediately." A
voice commanded, but Rhen could no longer recognize it. He seemed
to be floating, drifting through darkness, dreaming of endless
night.

He was gone.

Hovering.

Sinking closer and closer to a world not of
the living.

21

Jinji

~ Rayfort ~

Jinji woke with a start, gasping for air, eyes
opening wide as her entire body came alive in one single
second.

She blinked. But the scene remained the
same. Eyes open, eyes closed—she was drenched in ebony, drowning in
it.

"Rhen!" She called. There was no answer
except for the echo of her own scratchy voice. Jinji tried to
stand, but she couldn’t—she was restrained.

Heavy iron weighed down her hands, encircled
her feet. Every time she moved, the clank of metal on stone scraped
her ears. Shivering from the wet cold air, Jinji pulled her legs
into her chest. Gradually her eyes began to adjust, to faintly make
out bars lining the walls around her, bars and stone.

"Rhen," she whispered. But no one would
hear. That much she knew. The last Jinji remembered, she was
leaping for the queen, touching the shadow, falling into her
nightmare. And then nothing. Blank. Until waking up here.

Cold.

Hungry.

Helpless.

But not alone.

Someone else had woken up with her, inside
of her. Even now, Jinji could feel it crawling through her
thoughts, exploring her senses, stretching out as though awakening
from a long sleep.

New memories were blossoming like flowers in
the back of her mind, growing, spreading, taking up space. But hard
as she tried, she could not access them. Could not touch them.
Could not remember them.

You will
.

A voice that was not her own whispered
across her mind.

You will
.

###

Don't
miss The Spirit Heir (A Dance of Dragons #2) – Out now!

From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis comes the
second book in the thrilling A Dance of Dragons series--perfect for
fans of Throne of Glass, Graceling, and Game of Thrones!

Drenched in darkness and surrounded by the echo of
screams, Jinji waits deep in the dungeons of Rayfort, haunted by
the memory of the knife stabbing Rhen, plagued by a foreign voice
whispering through her mind. A few floors above, Rhen rests trapped
in a coma, about to wake to a changed world—a world where his best
friend is a woman, his nephew is the king, and an enemy army
surrounds him on all sides.

But human wars are insignificant compared to the
darkness gathering unseen. Memories of lives she never lived flash
through Jinji's thoughts, hinting at a past that cannot be
repeated. A mysterious phantom visits Rhen, carrying cryptic
messages of the future. And somewhere out there, the shadow
continues to lurk in silence.

Uncertain of their relationship and tempted by new
feelings, Rhen and Jinji must find a way to work together. The fate
of humanity rests on their shoulders and the real battle has only
just begun…

Don't miss The Silver Key (A Dance of Dragons #1.5) –
Out now!

From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis comes the
second companion novella to the thrilling A Dance of Dragons
series—perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Graceling, and Game of
Thrones!

Weeks have passed since King Razzaq discovered
Princess Leena’s affair and banished her lover from the kingdom. So
when Mikza suddenly appears in the golden palace, chained and
bound, Leena is floored. Even more mysterious is the man he travels
with—a redheaded prince of Whylkin. Unable to control her
curiosity, Leena follows the strange convoy, hiding in the shadows
as they meet with her father. But what she witnesses will the
change the course of her life, and the world, forever.

Taking place parallel to the events in THE SHADOW
SOUL, read Leena’s side of the story as she teams up with Jinji to
save Rhen’s life and seeks to escape her father’s hold once and for
all.

Don’t miss any of Kaitlyn’s new
releases!

Sign up for her New Release Newsletter at the link
below to receive an email notification every time a new book goes
on-sale!

Tinyletter.com/KaitlynDavisBooks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kaitlyn Davis graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns
Hopkins University with a B.A. in Writing Seminars. She's been
writing ever since she picked up her first crayon and is overjoyed
to share her work with the world. She currently lives in New York
City and dreams of having a puppy of her own.

Connect with the Author Online:

Website
:

KaitlynDavisBooks.com

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:

Facebook.com/KaitlynDavisBooks

Twitter
:

@DavisKaitlyn