Tarnished Crown (Gravestone Elite #2) by Caitlyn Dare (books like beach read TXT) 📕

couch, I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling bookcase and begin looking for something, anything, that might shed some more light on this fucking nightmare.

I have no idea how much time has passed as I flick through one of the old books I found on the top shelf which contains some of the old traditions and rituals of Quinctus.

It's a beautifully ornate book with the most stunning penmanship on the inside. Part of me didn't want to touch the pages for fear of damaging them when I first opened it, but the second I discovered what it was, I pushed all that aside and sat down at the desk with it, running my fingers over the script until I found a word that made me pause.

Coglio. 

It describes the ceremony we sat through only hours ago before moving onto what happens after. My stomach turns as I think about what Mia might be doing right now.

My brows pull together as I read about how the union used to happen outside, under the new moon. It must be one of the ceremonies they’ve updated, given how many people have been working at the Electi house, getting everything ready for tonight.

But my mind can’t help drifting back to only a few days ago when I took Mia in the woods behind Gravestone U. It was so intimate, so dirty and forbidden. My stomach drops, thinking that we’ll never get that again.

My cell pings again, and I rush to pull it out, hoping that it's an update from Channing that everything is okay.

I fumble with it, in too much of a hurry to read what might be there, and it tumbles to the floor. Swiping it up, I have to do a double take when I find Mouse on the screen.

I rush to open it, my hands trembling and my heart pounding. Please tell me that you're okay. Please tell me you found a way out, I silently beg, even though I know it's useless.

Mouse: I need you. Please come to my parents’. 

I'm up and at the door in a flash. The entryway is still full of people as I push my way through while calling for a car to come and get me. I don't give a fuck if anyone sees me leave; the only thought in my head is getting to her.

If she's at her parents’ already, then something is very, very wrong.

"Fuck. FUCK," I roar as I run down the long-ass driveway so I can get to the car quicker. I’m just through the gates when a black car pulls to a stop beside me.

I bark the address at him and sit with my knee bouncing and my fists clenching as he makes his way to the other side of town.

"Can't you go any faster? This is kind of an emergency."

"I'm on it," the driver says, stepping on the gas a little.

It still takes longer than I'm happy with, but not too long later, he's pulling down the street that Mia's parents live on. I've got the door open before the car's even come to a stop. My feet hit the sidewalk and I take off running.

Channing's car is out the front, next to her parents’ car, and I breathe a small sigh of relief that he's with her.

A weird noise makes my steps falter, and the second I look up to see what's going on, I'm thrown back as the house explodes before me.

I land on the sidewalk with a thud. My head ricochets off the ground, making my eyes fill with water as my heart pounds. It takes a second for my head to clear before I can scramble up to see what’s happening.

"Noooo," I cry, stumbling forward and running toward the red-hot flames. My face burns as I draw closer to the fire that’s already getting out of control, completely engulfing the building. "Mia," I scream, trying to find a way into the house, but it’s hopeless. There’s no way in.

"MIA," I scream again, looking around, hoping she's going to appear from somewhere.

"No. NO. NOOOOO."

I fall to my knees, the asphalt cutting into my skin as the scent of burning fills my nose. The air around me becomes hazy with smoke as I watch in horror while her house begins to fall in on itself with her, her family, and Channing inside.

Mia and Bexley’s story continues in Fractured Reign.

Two angsty romance lovers writing dark heroes and the feisty girls who bring them to their knees.

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Also by Caitlyn Dare

Rebels at Sterling Prep

Taunt Her

Tame Him

Taint Her

Trust Him

Torment Her

Temper Him

Gravestone Elite

Shattered Legacy

Tarnished Crown

Fractured Reign