Penelope Barsetti

I was fifteen when the Death King came for us.With a mighty black dragon and the ability to command the dead, he raised an army of our fallen soldiers to fight for him—and conquered us in the night. My father, King Laurier of Scorpion Valley, couldn’t stop him. I tried to flee but came face to face with the man in black armor, the man who looked more like a god than a human. Instead of killing me, he chose to show me mercy…but it didn’t feel like mercy.Not when the next ten years of my life are spent as a slave in the Arid Sands, digging for Black Diamonds from sunrise to sunset. I'm also the personal slave of General Titan—a man who has grown obsessed with me. The work under the hot sun is unbearable—but I prefer it to his company any day. I’ve never tried to escape because there’s nowhere to run in the desert, but all of that changes when I hear the news—that the Death King is coming.I sneak out in the middle of the night to steal his dragon, but that backfires in my face—because you can’t steal a dragon. Khazmuda is no mindless beast. He can speak directly into my mind and hear my thoughts in return. The Death King is about to kill me, but Khazmuda changes his mind—because I have the gift.The ability to speak with dragons.The Death King spares my life once again and takes me back to his castle. He has no idea who I am, has no idea what he did to my family ten years ago. He asks me to fight for his cause—but he won’t tell me exactly what that cause is. And then he tells me he wants more from me…desires me more than any other because, like him, I have the gift.I can’t deny he’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, with eyes black like midnight, a jawline as sharp as his dragon’s talons, the height of a mountain, and shoulders as broad as a stream. But no amount of attraction will ever change the fact that he destroyed my life. The answer is no—and it’ll always be no.But the Death King doesn’t accept that answer.Trigger Contains dark themes including rape and suicide.

He gave me his word—and he broke it. Kingsnake promised me he would let me go once he found the cure, but he’s known this entire time and never once shared it with me. And now that I know the truth, that there is no cure, he still won’t let me go. Now I’m his prisoner once again. He asks to feed from me several times, but I refuse all his advances. If he wants my blood, he’ll have to force it from me. He comes to my bedchambers to speak with me, but I pretend he doesn’t exist. Once his hunger intensifies and the weakness sets in, he’s forced to feed—and it won’t be from me. Viper escorts me from my chambers to the brothel where his prey awaits, and I’m forced to look at a gorgeous and naked woman waiting for him. His betrayal has iced my heart and closed off my feelings, but my jealousy can’t be controlled. I may be angry with him, but I don’t want him to have anyone else but me. So I submit to the vampire king—again.

Ellasara came at me with a blade—and she defeated me. But my eyes open to my bedchambers and I see Kingsnake sitting at my beside with Fang next to my pillow. I expect to feel the horrible pain of my injury, but I already feel healed. When I sit up, the room doesn’t spin and I don’t feel weak. In fact, I feel better than I ever have… Kingsnake takes my face in my hands and pulls me close. The relief in his chest is so palpable it’s like heat from the sun. But our beautiful moment is ruined by the horrible realization that I can’t feel my own heartbeat… Kingsnake was left with an impossible decision, to either let me die, or sacrifice my soul so I could live in the darkness forever. Instead of accepting that decision, I grieve instead. Grieve for the life that I’ll never have. Now everything between us has changed. I told him I didn’t want to be a nightwalker—but he made me one anyway. Kingsnake and I still have to finish what we started, to form an alliance with The Ethereal and share the cure with the humans, but now it’s hard to be in the same room with him. We’ve found our way back to each other before…but I’m not sure how we’ll do it this time.

Kingsnake only wanted my blood—but now he wants all of me. A sickness has claimed the kingdoms of men. Everyone is either sick or dying, weak to a curse that has no cure—except for me. I’m immune to this mysterious illness, and I do my best to heal the sick and ease the pain of the dying. I was supposed to marry the Prince of Raventower, but after his father and elder brother succumbed to the sickness, he’s now king—and can only marry someone of his station. He broke all his promises to me—and broke my heart. Kingsnake, King of Vampires and Lord of Darkness, marches upon our gates and demands a handful of our healthiest citizens. The vampires have always stuck to their lands and never invaded ours, but their lack of food has made them desperate. King Elias not only succumbs to his demands—but he offers me on the condition that Kingsnake never return. The man I loved betrayed me—and will feed me to a monster. I become a prisoner to the vampire king and witness his cruelty and malice first-hand. I knew I would hate him, but I didn’t know how much I would hate him. The feeling is mutual, because I can feel the emotions of those around me, and his emotions burn with rage anytime he’s in my presence. But the second he tastes my blood everything changes… His anger is replaced by an intensity I’ve never felt in my life. It’s so powerful it smothers me until I can’t breathe. His stare is like wildfire, so searing hot it makes my skin melt. I know he wants me—and he wants me more than anyone else ever has. Even the man I loved never wanted me like this… I would never sleep with a vampire…but Kingsnake is no ordinary vampire.

New York Times bestselling author Penelope Sky releases her first sexy fantasy romance under Penelope Barsetti. Readers have said, "It's got everything I love in her contemporary novels. Feisty Heroine. Action. Betrayal. Pretty much everything!" Ivory: I see him watch me. Everywhere I go—he follows. He’s one of my father’s guards at the castle. Goes by the name Mastodon. There’s something about him I don’t like, but my warnings are never taken seriously. But I bet if my brother voiced the same concerns that would be no issue…just because he has balls and I don’t. Well, I have bigger balls than he ever will. When I leave for the Capital, Mastodon escorts me. And just as I feared, he kills my guards and captures me. At least he tries to capture me. There’s a lot of running and chasing. I land an arrow right in his neck, but it does nothing. It’s like he doesn’t even feel it. He takes me into a cavern and we descend deep underground—to the Bottom of the Cliffs. Then he tells me why he’s doing this. Because my family took everything from him—and now he’s about to do the same. Mastodon: Her father murdered mine then raped my mother—and forced me to watch. Then he pushed us over the cliff—to our deaths. But we survived—and now we’re ready for revenge. She’s the key to that. After she helps us get what we need, I’ll hang her by her pretty neck and watch her take her last breath. I steal her from Delacroix—and of course, she fights me the whole way. Not just with her fists, but her mouth too. If she wasn’t my pawn, I might actually like her. When I hand her over to my mother, I realize she has far more sinister plans. She tells me to do exactly what her father did—and force her. That’s not the kind of man I am, so the answer is no. But then she asks Geralt—the most barbaric man I’ve ever met. So I volunteer—because I know she’d rather it be me than anyone else. This book contains dark themes and subject matter that may be difficult for some readers