A Throne for Sisters

Cloth came down over Sophia’s face, shutting out the little light that there was, making it hard to breathe. Hands clamped down, and now Sophia couldn’t breathe. She continued to fight, but she could feel the strength fading out of her, and blackness that had nothing to do with the cloth started to creep in around the edge of her vision.

A voice came to her, seemingly from a long way away.

“Did you really think you could escape the Masked Goddess?”

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Kate climbed and climbed, and this time, the steps seemed endless. She had the feeling she was being punished, tested. Perhaps she was just being reminded that she was something different from Siobhan, something less.

She kept going in spite of it, forcing herself upward.

By the time she reached the top, she felt ready to collapse. She approached the fountain, and right then, she found herself wishing that it was full, so that she could drink cool water from it.

Siobhan was standing beside it, looking elegant and untouched by the rain. She smiled, and there was cruelty there.

She stood there, staring at Kate in silence, her eyes burning through her.

Clearly, she would wait for Kate to speak first.

“I… I have nowhere else to go,” Kate finally said, bowing her head, shame filling her.

Still, Siobhan waited, clearly wanting more.

Kate took a deep breath.

“I killed someone,” she added. “They were going to take me back to the orphanage, and I killed them.”

She saw the other woman nod with understanding.

“Lessons learned in blood are always the hardest ones,” she finally said. “But they are the strongest too.”

Siobhan reached out a hand.

The touch of her skin was as soft as moss or the brush of silk.

“You’ve learned what they will do to you out in the world. You have learned why you need to be strong.”

Kate found herself nodding. She did need to be strong. She needed to be so strong that no one could hurt her again, and none of those hunting her could touch her. So that she could protect her sister. So that she could get her revenge on a childhood beaten out of her.

She needed more than that, though. She needed a place where she could be safe.

Siobhan walked to the far side of the fountain. The scene flickered, and Kate was looking at flowing water.

The fountain was alive again.

Kate was impressed by the woman’s power. Yet she feared the waters before her, knowing the price they entailed.

Siobhan reached down with a small, silver ladle, and filled it with a steady hand.

She then turned to Kate, holding it out.

“Are you ready, Kate?”

Kate reached out with a trembling hand and took the ladle. It felt incredibly heavy in her hand, ancient, a thing in itself of great power.

She looked down at the shimmering waters inside it, and was surprised at how little water it held. Less than a small bowl.

Yet enough to change her life forever.

Enough to make her the strongest warrior that ever lived.

And enough to put her into this witch’s debt forever.

It was not a pact she’d wanted to make.

Yet this was a hard, cruel world, and Kate, she realized, could rely on no one but herself.

She wanted that power. She wanted that strength.

She wanted to destroy that orphanage.

And she wanted to become the greatest warrior that ever lived.

So with a shaking hand, she raised the ladle to her lips, the metal cool, the water cooler.

And she closed her eyes.

And drank.

NOW AVAILABLE!

A COURT FOR THIEVES (http://www.morganricebooks.com/book/a-throne-for-sisters-book-one-2/)

(A Throne for Sisters – Book Two)

“Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy.”

–Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)

From #1 Bestseller Morgan Rice comes an unforgettable new fantasy series.

In A COURT FOR THIEVES (A Throne for Sisters – Book Two), Sophia, 17, finds her world upside down as she is cast from the romantic world of aristocracy and back to the horrors of the orphanage. This time the nuns seem intent on killing her. Yet that doesn’t pain her as much as her broken heart. Will Sebastian realize his mistake and come back for her?

Her younger sister Kate, 15, embarks on her training with the witch, coming of age under her auspices, mastering the sword, gaining more power than she ever imagined possible – and determined to embark on a quest to save her sister. She finds herself immersed in a world of violence and combat, of a magic she craves – and yet one that may consume her.

A secret is revealed about Sophia and Kate’s lost parents, and all may not be what it seems for the sisters. Fate, indeed, may be turned on its head.

A COURT FOR THIEVES (A Throne for Sisters – Book Two) is the second book in a dazzling new fantasy series rife with love, heartbreak, tragedy, action, adventure, magic, sorcery, dragons, fate and heart-pounding suspense. A page turner, it is filled with characters that will make you fall in love, and a world you will never forget.