The Throne of Broken Bones (Weapon of Fire and Ash Book 3) Read online

  A Weapon of Fire and Ash Novel

  By Brittany Matsen

  The Throne of Broken Bones

  A Weapon of Fire and Ash Novel © Copyright 2020 Brittany Matsen.

  Editor - Mariz C

  Cover by Dean Packwood

  ISBN: 978-0-473-52247-6 All Rights Reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the author.

  For every person who lives in imaginary worlds and falls in love

  v

  Author’s Note

  Welcome back, readers! Since it has been nearly a year since you may have last spent time with Emma, Blaze, Adrianna, Tlahaz, and Levaroth, I’m going to give a quick refresher. This will encompass both The Mark of Fallen Flame as well as The Spellcaster’s Weapon.

  In The Mark of Fallen Flame you meet Emma, a seventeenyear-old high school senior that just wants to graduate and figure out what she wants to do for the rest of her life. Her mother—Laura—who has moved them both around the country nearly two dozen times, is beginning to relax her hold on Emma, realizing she’ll soon be eighteen and no longer under her roof. A few days before school begins, Emma and her best friend, Adrianna are heading to a concert when they’re lured into a dark alley and attacked by creepy Shediem called Nybasses. That’s when Emma discovers she has the power to kill them with her touch.

  Fast forward to her first day of the new school year and we meet handsome, enigmatic Rowek who all the girls fawn over. He tries to get close to Emma and reveals that he is a Spellcaster and tells her she might be part Spellcaster also. They spend time trying to find information on her specific power set while Adrianna keeps going home with “headaches”.

  After school one day, Rowek skips class and Emma comes across two gorgeous men with English accents, one of whom is Blaze Thomas.A two-hundred-year-old Giborim who was hired to keep an eye on her.

  At the homecoming dance that Rowek takes Emma to, Shediem attack, including the sexy, yet terrifying Levaroth who brands Emma. The next day, only a handful of people have any recollection of the events that took place, and Emma makes it her mission to figure out how to return everyone’s memories.

  Levaroth is becoming increasingly obsessed with Emma, showing up wherever she is now that she has his mark. Especially after Seattle is bombed and Blaze picks her up, taking her back to his fortress up on the mountain. The Giborim are hesitant to trust her and Emma learns that her mother is one of them.

  Then Blaze leaves to deal with international Giborim affairs, and Emma’s mum gets abducted. She calls the only other person she can think will help—Rowek—and tells him to meet her at the stated location. Once inside the creepy house, she goes into the basement where Rowek is. He morphs into Levaroth where he spills the beans on his deception, then takes her to Sheol.

  Emma meets her father, Asmodeus, as well as Blaze’s longlost sister Haddie. She is paraded around for all the six princes to ogle. And ogle Amon, the Prince of Lust does, making her dance for him.

  Her father forces Emma to join him in the coming war by using her mother against her. She, Haddie, and her mother all try to escape but Levaroth finds her. There’s also that super creepy room where Asmodeus shows her his breeding program, resulting in a bunch of hybrids like her.

  When Emma rejects Levaroth, he decides to punish her by forcing her to watch Geryon—her father’s guard—murder her mother, Haddie and a bunch of other servants. Emma sacrifices herself in their place, and is whipped, nearly to death for the exchange.

  At last she is given The Mark of Fallen Flame and sent back to Seattle to play spy.

  Starting from the end of TMOFF, we meet Adrianna in The Spellcaster’s Weapon in a new light. Magic is exploding out of her and the freshman girl from book one, Sara, offers to help her learn control.

  After nearly killing Sean, and the entire school regaining their memory of the homecoming dance, Adrianna and Sara flee…to her coven leader’s house. We meet a bunch of powerful Spellcaster’s as well as their familiars.

  vii When Adrianna’s familiar is coaxed from her, a multi-colored wyvern emerges and thus leads to the prophecy which basically states that Adrianna is the most powerful Spellcaster to ever live. During the war, she and her wyvern will fight to bind the ultimate darkness back in Sheol for all eternity.

  On the flip side is Tlahaz, King Nakosh’s Shediem General, who needs a powerful Spellcaster to break into Levaroth’s mind and erase his humanity. He finds Adrianna at the Seattle coven leader’s house and breaks through the wards with an army of insects and carries her out before taking her to Sheol.

  Apparently, all of the Shediem Generals have a thing for kidnapping women.

  Adrianna is immediately thrown into training and despite her multiple escapes gone wrong, she develops feelings for the broody general, as he does for her.

  At the end, Tlahaz sees a vision of the future which tells him she will be his forever. He takes her back to see her family one last time where she erases their memories of her and Tlahaz agrees to keep them protected during the war.

  And now dear reader, go forth and experience the penultimate book in the Weapon of Fire and Ash series.

  viii

  Table of Contents Ch. 1: Laura .................................................................................1

  Ch. 2: Levaroth ...........................................................................4

  Ch. 3: Emma ............................................................................ 12

  Ch. 4: Blaze............................................................................... 14

  Ch. 5: Adrianna ....................................................................... 22

  Ch. 6: Emma ............................................................................ 32

  Ch. 7: Emma ............................................................................ 40

  Ch. 8: Blaze............................................................................... 48

  Ch. 9: Levaroth ........................................................................ 59

  Ch. 10: Emma ............................................................................ 66

  Ch. 11: Blaze............................................................................... 88

  Ch. 12: Levaroth ........................................................................ 95

  Ch. 13: Emma .......................................................................... 102

  Ch. 14: Emma .......................................................................... 119

  Ch. 15: Emma .......................................................................... 131

  Ch. 16: Blaze............................................................................. 148

  Ch. 17: Emma .......................................................................... 154

  Ch. 18: Adrianna ..................................................................... 159

  Ch. 19: Emma .......................................................................... 165

  Ch. 20: Levaroth ...................................................................... 169

  Ch. 21: Emma .......................................................................... 171

  Ch. 22: Emma .......................................................................... 173

  Ch. 23: Blaze............................................................................. 182

  Ch. 24: Blaze.................................................................
............ 191

  Ch. 25: Levaroth ...................................................................... 202

  Ch. 26: Blaze............................................................................. 205

  ix

  Ch. 27: Emma .......................................................................... 212

  Ch. 28: Levaroth ...................................................................... 234

  Ch. 29: Emma .......................................................................... 239

  Ch. 30: Emma .......................................................................... 249

  Ch. 31: Emma .......................................................................... 258

  Ch. 32: Blaze............................................................................. 267

  Ch. 33: Emma .......................................................................... 285

  Ch. 34: Blaze............................................................................. 297

  Ch. 35: Emma .......................................................................... 303

  Ch. 36: Blaze............................................................................. 311

  Ch. 37: Adrianna ..................................................................... 320

  Ch. 38: Emma .......................................................................... 324

  Ch. 39: Emma .......................................................................... 336

  Ch. 40: Levaroth ...................................................................... 343

  Ch. 41: Emma .......................................................................... 345

  Ch. 42: Blaze............................................................................. 351

  Ch. 43: Emma .......................................................................... 353

  Ch. 44: Adrianna ..................................................................... 365

  Ch. 45: Blaze............................................................................. 368

  Ch. 46: Emma .......................................................................... 375

  Ch. 47: Levaroth ...................................................................... 379

  Ch. 48: Emma .......................................................................... 384

  Ch. 49: Blaze............................................................................. 389

  Ch. 50: Adrianna ..................................................................... 391

  Ch. 51: Emma .......................................................................... 394

  Ch. 52: Levaroth ...................................................................... 396

  Acknowledgements .................................................................. 401

  x

  1

  Laura

  D uring the days, Asmodeus kept Laura chained at the foot of his throne, ensuring the corpses that comprised it brushed against her. Reached for her.A promise that

  she too would be used as little more than parts to lounge upon. The nights were spent in his private chambers. He didn’t try to touch her at first. Instead, he entertained disposable humans. Still, she remained shackled to the bedpost, forced to sleep on the cold stone floor, trying with all her might to shut out the giggles and moans of his bedmates. And when they inevitably screamed as he fed from them or inflicted pain that went beyond their thresholds, Laura kept her eyes wide open, waiting for the time when she was next.

  He only beat her when she voiced her disgust and horror, or attempted to warn away the young, foolish human girls looking for wealth and other fickle promises that would go unfulfilled. Human women didn’t bed dark princes and survive. They either spent their short, fragile lives forever seeking violent pleasure by any means possible, or the absence of a prince’s touch drove them mad.

  His punishments were not all so easy as a slap across the face or a cut to the flesh. The poisons he fed her were worse, forcing her to drown in the depths of her deepest, darkest memories. Days on end passed with Laura trapped in the horrors of her childhood.

  When the despicable prince came near, she disappeared inside herself, refusing to let his silky, venomous voice poison her further. He was killing her and she knew it. She was too weak, her mind too detached from her body. When had she last eaten?

  Time was no longer measurable, though it felt like months spent as his prisoner. His plaything. Even while her brain forced her to relive the very worst memories, Asmodeus’s touch was inescapable. His sultry caresses were worse than the beatings and the memories. The feel of his mouth on her body was too much to bear. His eyes glowed in those moments, high on her fear. She wouldn’t let him hear her scream, so she retreated into her head, letting it fracture into a million jagged pieces.

  And there would be no repairing it this time. His kisses and gentle words dripped with false adoration that seeped into the fissures of her soul and wove into her with its lies.

  When the worst of the poison’s effects would wear off, he was there, taking what was left of her sanity piece by piece. His deep voice rumbled through her, words that her splintered mind couldn’t comprehend.

  In the rare moments of clarity, Laura saw her daughter’s face, bright and smiling, keeping alight the flame within her that told her to stay alive. She felt her love’s—her true love, Sergei’s—breath tickle her cheek, saw his eyes in the darkness of her torture. Sergei! Her heart ached for him.

  A burning sensation danced on her icy skin, causing her eyes to fly open. The light was too bright, her eyes watering as they squeezed shut. But the glimpse she caught of a girl allowed her to relax slightly. The girl’s eyes were sapphire blue, her hair a honey color. But it was her belly, swollen with child, that stopped Laura from fighting. The cloth she pressed to Laura’s brow again and again felt too hot.

  “Burning,” she rasped. She really needed some water.

  When a cup was held to her lips, Laura wondered if she had said that last part out loud. She sipped the liquid inside, but it felt hot too. So why was she shivering?

  “Your fever is out of control. I had some medicines put into the water. You’re going to be okay, Nadia, just hold on a little longer.” The girl’s voice was melodic, and Laura felt her limbs grow heavy.

  “Emma’s coming,” the girl whispered.“Just hang on.”

  Laura smiled to the strange, beautiful girl.

  Emma. Her daughter.

  She’s coming.

  She’s coming.

  She’s—

  2

  Levaroth

  I ce invaded his every cell, freezing every molecule of his being. It coated his skin with a million tiny glittering crystals, giving it a bluish tint. The chill wracked his body in violent

  tremors. Ice picks drove under his brittle flesh, peeling it off over and over until his ears could no longer hear his screams. He was a master of torture; it was used to strengthen him and make him less susceptible to cracking should his enemies ever capture him. There was one who knew his weaknesses best, the one that trained him: his prince, Asmodeus. But without his healing abilities or raw power to fight back, his limits had never been pushed so far. This was his very own hell.

  He was blinded and bound by magic—incredibly strong magic. How long had it been since he’d seen anyone’s face? Days? Weeks? Months? Too long without light. He was a creature born of darkness, yet he heard himself beg for sunlight at one point. A rumbling chorus of booms that might have been a laugh was his only reply before the pain split him apart again. He’d lost appendages, had his skin ripped off, burned off. A boiling bitter liquid ate away at his vocal cords, cutting off his roars.

  He hadn’t made a sound at first. His fingers and toes had been sawed off but he’d remained silent, his jaw locked tight. The first grunt he’d made had been coaxed from him by a grav
elly voice that said,“Once she has served her purpose, she’ll be Amon’s plaything.” It was his reaction that had brought on the gruesome description of her defilement. He had fought against his chains then, tried to smash his head into Tlahaz’s smug face. But his weakness had cost him.

  Prince Amon had visited him next. Just the sound of his voice, his lust-thick accent raking talons down Levaroth’s resolve, brought forth a harsh growl. He didn’t remember Amon’s words, just the snap of the magic’s hold on him and his fists connecting with the prince.

  Then came the pain. Pain beyond any he had ever known. Perhaps it was his broken focus. The place of dead, emotionless control was inaccessible—invisible bars forced him to feel every ounce of pain and hear every word of his torture. Because of her.

  Emma Duvall.

  The images of her that flashed in his mind made every strike, every drop of poison that flowed through his veins sear white-hot. He was living flame with a heart made of stone. But something about her had cracked the surface. Levaroth was not human, but emotions swirled through him like a maelstrom of toxins, each more lethal than the last.

  Asmodeus was burning them out of him. His torture sessions all ended with the words,“You are not a man. You are a soldier. Forget Emma Duvall; Nakosh is your king. The darkness is your master. You serve corruption. In darkness the king was made. So shall I serve the darkness and my king.” Even when his ears roared with his frenzied blood, he knew the words. He repeated them to himself when Asmodeus was present, but in the privacy of his mind, he changed them: Emma Duvall will be queen and I her king. Together we will build a new Sheol and all living things will bow to us.

  In the brief reprieve of his agony, exhaustion consumed him, and he sagged in his manacles. Unable to keep his eyelids open any longer, he let them flutter closed.

  When Levaroth awoke yet again, his entire body ached but every wound was stitched back together. Not healed, no.Torture here was meant to last as long as it was willed. No, he was literally stitched together like Frankenstein’s monster. He felt them, the stitches. Their itch, their tug when his muscles tightened. Not that he could have healed on his own regardless. He was drained, weak. He couldn’t recall when he had last fed.