Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Read Online Books/Novels: | (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1) A Ruin of Roses |
|---|---|
Author/Writer of Book/Novel: | K.F. Breene |
| Language: | English |
| ISBN/ ASIN: | B09CN4DNCP |
| Book Information: | |
A spicy new twist on an old classic - a deliciously dark Beauty and the Beast reimagining. I could save him, but he would ruin me. The beast. The creature that stalks the forbidden wood. The dragon prince. He has suffered a fate worse than death. We all have. A curse put upon us by the mad king. We are a kingdom locked in time. Shifters unable to feel our animals. Stuck here by a deal between the late king and a demon who seeks our destruction. The only one keeping this kingdom alive is Nyfain, the golden prince to a stolen throne. The last dragon shifter. He’s our hope. He’s my nightmare. When he catches me trespassing in the forbidden wood, he doesn’t punish me with death, as he’s entitled. He takes me, instead. Forces me back to the castle as his prisoner. Seeks to use me. Apparently, I can save him. I can save the whole forgotten kingdom, locked away by the demon king’s power. But it would mean taming the monster beneath his skin. It would mean giving myself to him. It would mean my ruin. _ _ _ _ _ _ This is a dark and sexy Beauty and the Beast retelling, featuring a strong heroine, a dangerous anti-hero, and a humorous supporting cast. It is a full-length novel at 80k words and suitable for 18+. This is the beginning of a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Buckle up. The author was let off her leash. | |
| Books in Series: | Deliciously Dark Fairytales Series by K.F. Breene |
| Books by Author: | K.F. Breene |
Prologue
A low growl rumbled through the Forbidden Wood. My heart jumped into my throat.
The beast!
I darted behind the nearest tree and flattened my back against the rough bark. My tweed bag hung across my torso, filled with the precious cargo I’d stolen from the everlass field. If the beast found me with this—if it found me in the Forbidden Wood at all—I was done for. It would kill me as it had done countless others, regardless of the fact I was only fourteen.
It didn’t matter that I was too young to shift, if shifting were still possible for us after the curse. If I was old enough to steal, I was old enough to die for my sins.
A tree branch cracked. What sounded like a large foot crunched brittle grass. Another touched down, the creature slowing. It either sensed someone close or had caught my scent.
I sucked in a breath and squeezed my eyes shut, my hands shaking. Loud snuffling filled the silence. The beast sniffing out its prey.
My parents didn’t even know I’d come. Nana had fallen ill, the effects of the curse that had damned our kingdom. Everyone said there was no cure. But I’d found a way. I could slow the effects, at least. I needed the everlass plant, though, and we hardly had any. I was still learning how to properly grow it. No one else in the village could do much with it at all. Something about it spoke to me, though. I would figure it out eventually, I knew I could—but right now, I was out of time.
My lungs burned. I was afraid to breathe.
More grass crunched under the beast’s enormous feet. It was moving in my direction!
A whimper escaped my lips. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late. The footsteps ceased. It had heard.
The darkness lay thick around me. Silence.
The beast roared, making me jump half out of my skin. Fear doused me in adrenaline, and then I was running. Sprinting as fast as I could go. I crashed through the brush. Rounded a tree.
Its footsteps gained. It was coming so fast! How could I possibly escape?
Loud grunts sounded way above me, its breath puffing out as it moved. If its head was that high off the ground, it was much bigger than the rumors had said.
A wall of brush waited up ahead. Two trees crossed within it, creating a narrow opening between the thorns. I took a chance and dashed between them.
Sliding sounded behind me, and I glanced back to see two enormous feet ending in long, sharp claws churn the dirt. They stopped just before the opening.
Crying now, unable to help it, I kept going, getting onto my hands and knees and crawling. Dense foliage covered me overhead. Thorns ripped at my flesh. I continued to crawl, now on elbows and knees.
Breath blew out behind me. It was tracking my scent.
The dark hollow up ahead announced the end of this natural tunnel. Blood trickled down my cheek from where a thorn had ripped through. The bag of everlass crunched under my body. I knew that would be bad for the elixir, but I didn’t have much choice.
I needed to get it out of here. Nana’s life depended on it. Her cough was really bad, and her breathing was shallow. She needed help.
Summoning my courage, I pushed up to a crouch in the darkness, looking out at the starless night. Trees rose all around, and the ground was a tangle of weeds and brambles. Nothing moved. Could the beast have moved on?
In my heart of hearts, I knew the answer, but my fear was out of control.
I thought about staying put, but it could wait me out. Or come in after me. It had an armored face, everyone said. A few vines and thorns wouldn’t trouble it.
I sprinted forward, sobs choking me.
Its roar followed me, ever closer. My breathing came in harried, haggard gasps. I pumped at the air with my fists and rounded a tree. The edge of the wood was just up ahead. Although other horrors could cross that line, the beast, the guardian of the Forbidden Wood, could not.
Lights in the village jiggled in the wet haze of my vision. Candles in windows. Fires in yards. They awaited me. They were right up ahead!
The roar rattled my bones, much too close.
The end was near.
1
Glowing golden eyes tore me out of sleep. I sucked in a terrified breath and sat up in a rush. My hair was plastered to my face with sweat. My shirt clung to my back. A nightmare.
No, worse than a nightmare. A memory.
I still remembered busting through that tree line at fourteen and catching my foot on a rock. Falling and skidding on my face. When I’d stopped rolling, I lay sprawled out, facing the wood.