The Half King by Melissa Landers

Author:Melissa Landers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy romance; new adult fiction; monsters; mythical creatures; dark; epic fantasy; Red Tower; Red Tower Books; explosive; new fantasy releases; adult fantasy; overcoming odds; The Half King; The Half King by Melissa Landers; Melissa Landers; action and adventure; epic; epic fantasy; new fantasy releases; adult fantasy; adult fiction; bestselling author; explosive; new fantasy romance releases; overcoming odds; forbidden love; urban fantasy; BookTok; beach reads; winter releases; bestselling author; enemies to lovers; opposites attract; new york times bestselling author; usa today bestselling author; curses; beauty and the beast retelling;
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2024-06-24T20:22:24+00:00

Sleep didn’t come easily that night. Cerise was plagued by unmet desire and bad dreams, along with a persistent ache in her stomach. When she awoke the next morning, her tent was empty except for Blue. She had hoped to see Kian at sunrise, but she had been so exhausted from a night of tossing and turning that she had slept through breakfast.

Not that she could have eaten. The sight of sand melon, oatcakes, and mutton jerky made her insides harden like a stone. She could barely tolerate feeding Blue. After giving him a few slices of jerky, she had to ask Daerick to finish the job. As for Kian, he was nowhere to be found. She learned that he had gone hunting with General Petros and Nero.

She barely saw Kian during the day’s ride. Instead of leading the caravan, he elected to ride behind the wagon, saying so little to the group that no one noticed when the curse had taken him until his horse wandered off the trail. It was hours later when he reappeared. He said nothing to her then, either, and she didn’t know why. That night, she couldn’t manage a single bite of dinner. Kian continued watching her from the other side of the fire, though with more concern now than longing. There was a distance between them that she didn’t know how to close.

He didn’t offer to escort her to her tent after dinner. By the following day, she began to worry there was something wrong with her. She had never felt like this before, like her stomach belonged in a different body. At times it seemed there was a fish thrashing inside her trying to get out.

“Maybe you have a parasite,” Daerick mused that morning, after she had discreetly called him into her tent to ask for advice. She had considered asking Father Padron for help, but her inner voice warned that if she truly did have fire in her blood, he might be able to detect it. “You’re new to Mortara,” Daerick went on. “So you wouldn’t have developed the same resistance that the rest of us have.” He frowned. “But you’re missing the main symptoms.”

“How do we know for sure?” she asked.

Nero poked his head through the tent flaps. Obviously, he’d been eavesdropping. He handed her a tin cup and said, “Make water in here. I’ll be able to tell.”

She raised a brow. “You want me to urinate…in your drinking cup?”

“I’ll wash it,” he said, shrugging.

Eventually, she gave him a sample, and he took it off to a secret place to do some manner of testing on it. He returned with an empty cup and a wrinkled forehead. He said he couldn’t find anything wrong with her.

She could barely stay in the saddle as they traveled through the day, and when they stopped to make camp, she wanted to do nothing but curl up with Blue inside her tent. The thought of food repulsed her. Even water tasted sour. She refused to drink anything until Father Padron threatened to compel her to do it.

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