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Layla must sacrifice everything she has to save everyone she loves.
Layla’s lost everything. Her home is gone, her men could all be dead, and Conquest has her. Everything’s gone to hell, literally. The Horseman’s broken down the barrier keeping the demons from breaking into the world. It’ll only be a matter of days before the rest of the universe goes with it.
If, somehow, Layla can escape from the clutches of the personification of Conquest, she’ll have to sacrifice herself to save the world. Whoever cuts off magic from Earth will have to die—that’s what Death told her. But what happens if she does? Will witches become normal women, or will they die? What about all the other creatures touched by magic? Those who’ve been banished to Earth and created new lives could lose if she succeeds.
Yet, she knows if she fails, billions will perish.
She’s been beaten, betrayed, but not broken. Even trapped in a dollhouse of her greatest enemy, Layla refuses to give in. She knows her guys are alive, and if she can escape from Conquest, she’ll give them hell for making her worry.
General Release Date: 5th November 2024
“…Ink!” My mind tried to fling me to my feet, but my body oozed to the floor. I landed nose first on cold tile. Sunlight blazed across the gold accents in the white marble. “Damn it,” I mumbled, my lips sealing around the cold, pristine, unforgiving ground.
Well, I’m pretty sure I’m alive. Dead people can’t feel this much pain. I zeroed in on my fingers, willing them to move. They jerked like startled squirrels but couldn’t put any pressure on the floor. My stomach churned worse than it had on Ink’s version of taco night. Laying on it only increased the queasy need to paint this marble colosseum in vomit brown.
Summoning the last of my strength, I laid my hands flat and whispered a spell. I didn’t think it would work. No doubt he’d stolen my magic just like the werewolves and witch hunters.
As my lips formed the last of the syllables, I didn’t brace myself. I certainly didn’t expect for the floor to buckle and the force to fling me upward to my feet. Too bad my legs were still numb from my waist down. I got a heel down, then promptly fell onto a marble bench.
By pure luck, my head missed entirely and hung off the edge. Upside down, I stared at floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Every book had that bound in leather and about to fall apart look. I bet if I opened one, moths would fly at my face.
The air smelled strange. I’d almost call it clean, but clean always had a slight ozone and watery sensation. This was empty, as if all life had been stolen. My back ached and I reached to cup it. Halfway there, I realized I could move my arms. Both of them ached. The left from the tattoo—the right had a piece of pink tape wrapped around my elbow. I must have hurt myself in the fight. Pain meant nothing as long as I got out of here.
It was a struggle and took a few goes before I was finally able to sit up. I’d fallen out of a bed so tall it came with a tiny ladder. The blankets were all bleach white and the pillows numbered in the dozens. What shocked me was my purse lying on an end table next to a glass of water.
He can’t be stupid enough to leave me with my…
My spell book fell into my hands. A wave of calm washed over me. At least I didn’t have to worry about going mad. If he had forgotten about that, then surely he missed my phone. I rooted through my bag, tossing old protein bars from Raul, Whooseit candy for Cal and a coupon for a free ice cream cone for Garavel. Band-Aids, Kleenex, a mess of safety pins, and my Sharpies all tumbled over the not-so-white sheets.
“Are you missing this?”
Fuck. I slammed my bag closed and spun around. Conquest held my phone in his hand, the broken screen reflecting my bruised face back in seven dimensions. “That’s mine,” I insisted.
“You can have it back, with good behavior,” he said then pocketed the phone.
“Oh yeah? Well…” I dug right back to fire and launched it at him. “Fuck your good behavior.”
A piddly puff of sparks caught on the tips of my fingers. “What did you do to me?”
“A mere dampening spell.” He rose from the chair I know he hadn’t been sitting in before. Dragging his finger over the books, he said, “I wouldn’t wish you to accidentally destroy centuries of academia.”
“Why am I here?” I asked, bunching up my fists. I wanted to slam one into his face. But if he was anything like Ink, all it would do was break my hand.
Ink…
Even trapped here in Conquest’s playroom, I couldn’t believe he’d done it. That he had turned on me.
“Come now, child, I see no point in responding to a question you already know the answer to.”
Damn, he was exhausting. “Fine. Then why am I not dead? That seemed to be your intent the last time I kicked your ass.”
His laugh caused my knees to buckle. I slammed my palm to the bed to keep upright. If Conquest noticed, he didn’t give a hint. Instead, he pulled a book from the shelf and began to read it by a soft glow. “Because, sometimes sacrifices must be made in order for my plans to come to fruition. You would know all about sacrifices.” He snapped the book shut and smiled at me. “Wouldn’t you, child?”
I slammed my jaw shut and narrowed my eyes, refusing to give him anything.
“That petulant silent treatment is pointless. Of course I know of the spell to slice this world from all magic. And the cost required to cast it.”
Had he known the whole time? Were we running in circles while Conquest laughed, knowing he could counter our every move? That was what he did after all—took whatever he wanted. Tricked people into his whims.
“Where are your minions? When are they going to shove splints under my nails or flay my skin off?”
“You’re rather morbid for a witch. Are you certain you don’t have any ghoul in you?” He dusted off his always white suit and reached for the accompanying hat hanging off a hook beside the door. “You are my guest. There will be no torture, though I do require a small sample from you from time to time. I hope you don’t mind, but we took one while you were out.”
He looked to my arm with the strip of pink tape. “You son of a…” I picked at the tape to find a small circle Band-Aid over my vein. “You stole my blood.”
“You’ll make more. It’s slower than using your organs, but…” He sighed dramatically and slotted his hat onto his bald head. “These rooms are yours. Do whatever you wish in them. I care little for the whims of mortals.”
He reached for the doorknob, and I surged forward. “You can’t expect to keep me.”
“I do, and I shall.”
“My friends will come for me. They will tear this place down to its nails to save me.”
Conquest stopped and stared at me with a quizzical turn of his head. “Do you not remember? I had your house flattened with all of your compatriots inside.” He flung open the door to reveal an impossible beam of white light. Conquest stared back at me. “No one survived.”
He walked out.
My plan to rush past him vanished as the door slammed shut. I crumbled to my knees, splitting my skin on the heartless marble.
He’s lying. He couldn’t have killed them. Not Garavel. Or Raul. Or…
The image of Daniel’s lifeless body reaching for his phone, for me, pounded in my brain. He’d died alone, wishing I’d been there to save him. They’d sent me away, trusted that I could escape. But I was caught, and they… Everything we did, everything we fought for, everything they died for…
“No,” I whispered, curling into a ball and crying my heart out.
Ellen Mint adores the adorkable heroes who charm with their shy smiles and heroines that pack a punch. She has a needy black lab named after Granny Weatherwax from Discworld. Sadly, her dog is more of a Magrat.
When she’s not writing imposing incubi or saucy aliens, she does silly things like make a tiny library full of her books. Her background is in genetics and she married a food scientist so the two of them nerd out over things like gut bacteria. She also loves gaming, particularly some of the bigger RPG titles. If you want to get her talking for hours, just bring up Dragon Age.
You can find Ellen at her website here and also on Bookbub..
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