Free Wielder of Tiren (The Raven Chronicles Book 3) by KateMarie Collins Page B

sister were the only ones alive who knew what happened to the boy. Maybe once they both had what they wanted he could teach those two women a lesson on what it meant to live in fear.
                  It was true, what he told Senyan. Bohrs let his obsession with Arwenna drive him to madness. Having Y’Dürkie shove that flaming sword of hers down his gullet was the end he deserved. And he’d be sure to give her a death worthy of such a warrior. Arwenna, however—she was a different story.
                  Merelle accepted the foundling immediately, never questioning how she was orphaned. Or the small things he’d done to hide her Mark. Above all, he’d insisted that she be raised in the faith Merelle clung to. Never understanding that her husband and son followed another, or that they were grooming Arwenna to do the one thing they couldn’t. Start a war between the Gods themselves.
                  It should’ve worked. With Hauk and Silas at each other’s throats for ‘stealing’ her, Corse should’ve been able to take over the world. Lu’Thare, his Son and Herald, had transformed into Senyan. Become the soulless leader of their cause.
                  But then Arwenna regained her memory. Lexi, that damned cousin of hers, found her and brought Hauk. Silas, instead of insisting she was His, begged for forgiveness and purged the Corrupted from His church. He shuddered involuntarily. The memory of that night haunted him. He and a handful escaped, hid. The numbers of the cult cut down to barely a score of dedicated ones. Lucky ones.
                  “And now Corse is dead. The only path to the power he held is for one of his Sons to die. We cannot share the magic. It belongs to one and one alone.” Senyan’s voice interrupted Curtis’ thoughts.
                  “You seem to read minds well enough,” his voice, filled with distaste, snapped at his companion.
                  Senyan shifted in his chair. “Not really. You’re as easy to read as your son was. At the end of the day, neither of you can stand the idea that a woman has that much power. That much control over her own life. To be honest, I rather admire what she did to Bohrs. She drove him insane simply by telling him no.”
                  Curtis thrust himself from the chair and returned to his post by the window. The storm raged even stronger than before.
                  “Bohrs was a fool. I tried to turn him from that path, knowing well how it would end up for him. But he only saw a prize for the taking.” His breath fogged up the glass, cold from the rain pelting it on the other side. “He didn’t see the one way to turn her into the obedient pet he wanted.”
                  “And you know how?” Senyan’s voice, mocking, carried across the room.
                  “Oh, yes. I know how.”
                  He heard Senyan rise from the chair he’d occupied. “Then I suggest you start working this plan of yours. She’s here.”
                  Curtis swung his head about, looking at Senyan. “How do you know?”
                  The pale-haired man smirked. “That remains my secret. For now.” He bowed slightly at his waist. “I beg your leave, Your Excellency. But it’s past time I depart. It would not be good for me to be found in your company. Not until after your coronation, of course.”
                  Curtis watched the man disappear, his mind trying to decipher why he felt like the title Senyan had used was an insult. Shaking his head, he gave up. Anything that man said was full of half-truths and misinformation.
                  He crossed the room to an ornately carved wooden box. Lifting the lid, his hands reached in to remove the simple coronet inside. Setting the silver circlet on his brow, he imagined the weight of the kingdom crown