Ruins of bone, p.1
Ruins of Bone, page 1
Copyright © 2023 by Sarah Chislon
Cover design by Lena Yang
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
www.sarahchislon.com
For Mom and Dad
You’ve given your lives to raising a family and loving us well, and I’m forever thankful! Over the years, you’ve sown so much into my life in time, energy, and prayer. And you passed on your love for literature, which laid the foundation for my life as a writer.
* * *
Mom—thank you for teaching me how to read and for being the first person who said you thought I’d write a book one day. You were right!
* * *
Dad—thanks for giving me the love of fantasy and spending hours reading aloud the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings series to me as a child. Those remain very special memories for me!
Series reading order
For the optimal reading experience, the Blood of the Fae series should be read in sequential order, starting with Whispers in the Waters—although you can start with Tattoo of Crimson, if desired.
* * *
Primary books:
Whispers in the Waters (prequel)
Tattoo of Crimson
Ruins of Bone
Binding of Silver (coming fall 2024)
* * *
Additional works:
Jewel of Blood
Relic of Light (coming January 2024)*
Signs in the Stars (coming February 2024)*
* * *
*Should be read after Ruins of Bone. Exclusive early access to these novelettes will be available in my reader community starting November 2023.
* * *
These shorter works aren’t necessary to enjoy the series, but allow you to dig deeper into the characters and world, if you so choose.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1
How might a lady oppose a high fae in possession of power enough to destroy her family, her city, and quite possibly the kingdom to which she belonged? Through the long night since my encounter with said fae, I’d considered the impossible conundrum and concluded: only by exercising the cunning of a serpent while appearing to possess the innocence of a dove. Perhaps then she might hope to attain some small advantage.
Or perhaps she deluded herself.
One should not attempt the impossible, but I found myself with no choice—I’d need any advantage I could gain to thwart the attempts of Lord West to acquire Kilmere. None of our lore suggested mortals could stand against high fae in any circumstance, and so far, no true plan to deter him had presented itself.
Yet I’d no intention of surrendering the inheritance entrusted me, one that, according to Ibbie, held vital information about the relationship between the Otherworld and my own. It wasn’t a matter of seeking abstract knowledge, but of understanding my own peculiar nature and burgeoning abilities—and the threat represented by the as-yet-hidden incursion of the Otherworld into the mortal one.
My worries drowned out the soft swirl of conversation at the breakfast table. For the protection of my family and the trust, I required time to gather information and mount some sort of defense, which meant persuading Aunt Caris we should not remain at home this afternoon when she knew full well an eligible gentleman had announced his intent to call. At the best of times, I didn’t favor the endless niceties of formal calls, but when the gentleman in question was in fact high fae, the matter became less one of personal preference and more one of surviving the encounter unscathed. Lord West had satisfied himself with the merest hint of compulsion before the Magister yesterday—with the insistence he’d call today to sort the matter. If I continued to resist his efforts to coerce me to sell Kilmere, he’d surely bring more power to bear.
Perhaps I might achieve my escape and collect information all in one endeavor—a trip to Fortham & Co. Certainly if any bookshop in Avons held obscure information on how one might prevent the sale of a property, it would be Fortham’s. If I could find some legal means by which I could temporarily excuse myself from selling, perhaps it would buy enough time to form a true strategy.
I shook myself from my musings and looked up. My sisters had absented the table, leaving me alone with Aunt Caris to present my argument. I set down my cup, the tea swirling in the bottom. “Aunt Caris, may I use the carriage this afternoon? I’d like to visit Fortham & Co.”
“My dear, have you forgotten Lord West means to call?”
“Indeed not, but it isn’t our ordinary at-home day. Why should we give the impression we’re overeager to receive him? He was already bold enough with his advances.”
“I suppose.” A slight frown tugged at her lips. “Yet one does not slight a man of his consequence, particularly one interested enough to call after only a single encounter.”
“His interests lie in the ruins of Kilmere alone.”
“Be that as it may, one must make the most of opportunities that present themselves.”
Just how much encouragement did she intend to give him? A chill swept my body. Lord West would exploit any angle open to him, but if Aunt Caris welcomed him with open arms, he could harm my entire family. Jade, my enormous black cat, leapt into my lap and nuzzled my chin, a reassuring gesture.
“I cannot think he’s taken enough note of our calling days to recognize a change in plan—yet if he did, doubtless he’d be flattered.” Aunt Caris folded her linen napkin and placed it alongside her plate. “Save your errands for the morrow, my dear, and receive him today.”
I looked into the dark depths of my cup. I could not fail Ibbie in this, and if I did not have time to marshal my defenses, I’d no hope of success. My throat tightened. However little I wished to expose my pain, Aunt Caris would understand that at least, and her concern for my well-being took precedence even over her deep desire to see me wed. “I cannot receive him, not yet. If I must speak to him about Ibbie, about the plans she had for Kilmere . . . I’m not ready.”
“Of course, all this must be a painful reminder.” Her deep green eyes darkened, as if with remembered losses of her own, then she reached over and patted my hand. “Perhaps you’re right. It shan’t hurt Lord West to wait, and Holden can inform him of our next at-home day. I’ll come with you to Fortham’s, then we’ll go calling afterward.”
“Thank you, Aunt Caris.” I pressed to my feet. Despite the concession I must make to social rounds afterward, I’d won my escape from Lord West.
In the early afternoon, I descended from the carriage onto the footwalk outside the bookshop with a light step, the sun sylph Asrina fluttering by my shoulder, concealed either by her innate glamour or some working imparted by Riven when he’d left her with me. Large arched windows separated by fluted sovstone columns formed a pleasing facade, and the gold-scripted Fortham & Co. above the door promised treasure within.
Jade emerged just behind me, her dark pupils slitted and the white starflower patch on her chest gleaming in the bright afternoon light. She kept pace with Aunt Caris and me as we stepped over the threshold.
I breathed in the familiar mineral scents of ink and aged parchment. They mingled with the soft orange fragrance of the shelf polish Fortham’s favored to form a heady perfume. The flicker from Asrina brightened—evidently, it pleased her also.
The well-lit front chamber, which stretched the full length of the building, offered a wide selection of popular titles and drew the interest of ladies and gentlemen alike, who often did as much visiting as book selecting, a fact which doubtless helped reconcile Aunt Caris to our visit. Fortham’s encouraged browsers to linger and become buyers by placing spindled chairs at intervals around low ta bles where patrons could rest and read or converse.
Yet it was the warren of rooms hidden beyond this one that held the true wealth of the bookshop. I looked askance at Aunt Caris. “Do you mind?”
The fine lines at the corners of her eyes crinkled, and her full lips curved into a smile. “Of course not, my dear. I knew what I was getting into when I allowed you to wheedle me here, and it will be my turn soon enough.”
When she pressed me into hours of calls. Still, it was a small price to pay to avoid Lord West, even if only for a day. I wove between stacks of books and towering shelves to where the oldest volumes were kept. As an avid antiquarian, Ibbie had regularly patronized Fortham’s, and she’d introduced me to the hidden gems within.
A now-familiar ache sank bone-deep. I’d give anything to have her exploring the stacks alongside me again. Jade pressed against my ankle, her presence a comfort—and her nudge a reminder of the fact that I’d little time to waste. Aunt Caris wouldn’t wait forever.
I skimmed my fingers across the embossed leather spines of a range of obscure titles, none of which appeared to have any bearing on my current situation, while Jade leapt onto one shelf, then another. She worked her way to the topmost ledge, which was well above my head—not a difficult feat, given my stature.
She perched there and gave a soft mrow.
Hmm.
I rolled the wheeled ladder over and climbed up to examine the books surrounding her. She pawed at the end of the row, and I pulled down the books she’d nudged, but she ignored them all, burrowing her nose into the dark crevice they’d left. I pulled down several more tomes, and in the gap they left, I found a short, squat volume hidden behind the others. It was titled Alchemickal Workings: A Treatise.
I tilted my head to regard Jade. This wasn’t the first time she’d unearthed something of import, yet I couldn’t afford to consider it in greater detail now, not when Aunt Caris might fetch me away at any moment.
Instead, I flipped the book open. A dry must smell tingled my nose. The title page contained no date for the work, so I examined it as Ibbie might have. It wasn’t what I’d sought, but it was old; that much was clear from the antiquated spelling of alchemical, and the use of a simple walnut dye on the leather, a long-outdated practice. The alchemists of our day held their secrets close. Might this book provide insight into their practices? Some believed the stronger alchemists of old could stand against fae, so perhaps it could even suggest a means of resisting Lord West.
I clutched the book beneath one arm and started to descend the ladder. Before I reached the floor, a prickling sense of Other swept over me, pebbling the skin along my arms.
The fur on Jade’s back rose, and Asrina’s presence dimmed to a near-imperceptible shimmer.
Something—or someone—Other had entered Fortham’s, and I’d left Aunt Caris vulnerable. Forgetting propriety, I raced back to the front of the store, rounding the corner just in time to see Lord West bending over Aunt Caris’s hand.
She beamed at him, and why not? Thanks to his glamour, he appeared every inch the perfect gentleman, dripping with charm and innate appeal.
If not for the as-yet-unknown fae influence that allowed me to peer through his glamour and perceive the power, the Otherness, seething within, doubtless I’d have fallen into his snare also. Whatever his true age, he appeared no more than thirty, a man in his prime. Nothing in his elegant attire, fine-sculpted features, or close-cropped hair suggested fae. Only what he concealed beneath it all . . . a far wilder beauty and near-boundless might.
“Ah, there you are, my dear!” Aunt Caris brightened. “Lord West was just inquiring after you.”
With Aunt Caris at his side, he strode toward me, the sharp scent of something as cold and ancient as mountain stone wafting round him.
Asrina abandoned her post at my shoulder and fluttered down into the crevice between two books on the shelf just behind.
That didn’t bode well.
Lord West stopped just an arm’s length away and offered a small, perfectly correct bow. “I feel most fortunate to have stumbled upon you here after missing you at your home.”
Stumbled upon us, indeed. I’d no doubt he’d tracked us here, using whatever arcane methods fae possessed. Though I’d hoped those had been unique to Riven, it appeared otherwise.
Jade interposed herself between us, her tail twitching as she fixed her gaze upon Lord West.
Aunt Caris gave me a speaking look, a not-so-subtle reminder that ladies should always encourage the attentions of eligible gentlemen. His glamour had evidently driven all my reservations about this encounter from her mind. “We’re delighted that you did.”
I forced a smile, feigning the pleasure that came naturally to Aunt Caris. If I hadn’t already betrayed myself when I resisted his compulsion in the Magister’s chambers, no sense doing so now.
Aunt Caris gestured toward the nearest cluster of chairs, her soft red-gold curls gleaming in the afternoon sunlight that poured through the bank of windows into the room. “Won’t you join us a moment?”
“Nothing would delight me more.” His wolf-sharp smile flashed, bright and gleaming and hungry.
On unsteady limbs, I moved to the farthest chair and perched upon its edge. I must find a way to bring this encounter to an end—and soon.
Lord West chose the seat nearest mine. Many gentlemen would have appeared awkward perched in the spindled chair, yet he occupied it as if it were a throne, with regal grace. The skin-pricking sensation of Other intensified when he gave me a nod. “Miss Jessa, I must beg pardon for addressing you in court yesterday and not considering the strain such an unaccustomed task must have placed upon you. You will forgive me, I trust?”
A compulsion laced the words, an order to forgive and forget, a suggestion that we welcome him into our good graces.
Aunt Caris softened further. “Of course. You need think no more about it, my lord.”
“Ah, but I must. My eagerness to acquire Kilmere led me to forget my manners.” The sun illumined his face, but shadows pooled behind him—a touch darker than they should be, perhaps. “It’s of both sentimental and academic interest to me, so I’d hoped—but there, I’ve started again.”
His words were so very polite, so inane that he might have been any society gentleman observing the required pleasantries. And yet, when he turned his obsidian gaze upon me, something seized within my chest, as though a shadow-fist gripped it.
Jade gave a low growl and glared at him through slitted eyes, as though contemplating the manner of his demise.
I stroked her, seeking her calm as well as my own. If she struck out at a high fae, the outcome might well be disaster. “Lord West, about Kilmere, I’m afraid—”
“Don’t spoil the moment with business. We’ve only just begun to get acquainted. There’ll be time enough for that later. For now, I wish to know all about you.” He held my gaze, and his voice dropped low, weighty with glamour. “When I sought Kilmere, I did not expect to find its keeper so intriguing.”
If he meant to pretend interest in me, then he’d succeeded, at least as far as Aunt Caris was concerned. She practically glowed, becoming as radiant as the sunbloom she’d always reminded me of. Dear Aunt Caris needed no glamour to imagine I might catch the eye of the finest gentlemen. She might have shared Aunt Melisina’s fears that my eccentricities would drive them away, but the first hint otherwise brought hope to full blossom.
