Inker and Crown

Inker and Crown

Megan O'Russell · Completed · 119.1k Words

391
Hot
391
Views
117
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Ilbrea: A magnificent country that offers fame to those brave enough to seize their place among the Guilds—no one has worked harder to find their scrap of glory than Adrial Ayres. But being a prodigy and the Lord Scribe’s heir won’t be enough to find the secrets the Guilds would kill to hide. Adrial can’t face the dangers of hidden magic alone… A sailor with a taste for adventure.A soldier whose heart has been claimed.A beauty they will never suspect.A map maker with secrets of their own.An inker who will change Adrial’s life forever. The Guilds offer glory. The truth promises death. Adrial might be the only one who can save Ilbrea—if he can survive the shadows long enough to discover his true enemy. For film and TV rights inquiries: Megan@MeganORussell.com

Chapter 1

1

ENA

There is a moment when the first spark of a fire appears and it is still possible to ignore the coming blaze.

There is no smoke tainting the air. No damage has been done.

Just a little flash that seems harmless and beautiful.

You can’t see the raging power of the fire, but it is there, hiding its danger and waiting for its moment to ignite.

That one spark will consume the world.

It does not care if you are too blind to see the destruction racing toward you.

We will all burn in the coming blaze.

I perched in the rafters above the crowd, wondering if any of the people below could see the spark or sense how near our doom we stood.

“The paun will starve us.” Cade stood on a crate, looking out over his followers. His eyes gleamed as he took in the silent horde. “They will watch our children die and not raise a hand to save them. For too long, we have let the Guilds build their glory on the corpses of our fallen brothers. Their time is coming to an end. How many of you will be brave enough to stand with me when the battle begins?”

A rustle of murmurs fluttered through the crowd.

“Watch and see what decrees the King sends down for Winter’s End,” Cade said. “He won’t order the healers to stop letting those who can’t pay die. He won’t order the soldiers to put down their swords and help the common farmer in the field. The King cares only for glory and riches. We are worthless rodents to the Guilds.”

He stood still for a moment, basking in the crowd’s rapt attention. With his curly, blond hair, handsome face, and broad shoulders, he looked like the hero the common folk had been waiting for. The savior of the tilk standing on a crate as he made grand plans to change Ilbrea.

Cade looked up at me.

My heart stuttered, but I didn’t shrink back into the shadows. I held Cade’s gaze as he spoke.

“A new day is dawning. The blood of the Guilded paun will slick the streets. Fire will consume anyone who stands in our way. There is only death or freedom. There can be no other path. Who will answer when I give the call to fight?”

“I will!” a voice shouted from the back of the crowd. The same voice that had shouted first the last time Cade held court.

“I will fight with you!” A man stepped up to the front of the horde.

“I’ll fight!”

“I will!”

I stood up on the rafters and made my way back to the open window at the front of the stable. The shouts of the horde were still growing as I grabbed the thick rope hanging off the side of the building and swung myself down to the street.

The people passing by paid no attention to the roaring shouts in the stable. It was Winter’s End, after all. A day of celebration for everyone in Ilara.

Cheering, dancing, drinking, a raucous mess would swallow the streets by nightfall. Why should anyone care if some started their celebrating before midday?

I forced my shoulders to relax as I followed the crowds toward the cathedral square. But even as I pressed a careful smile onto my face, I couldn’t drive the horrible images of blood and fire from my mind.

Cade wanted a rebellion. He wanted blood to slick the streets of Ilara.

It would be easy to cause chaos and death in Ilbrea’s capital city.

It would be impossible to protect the innocents of Ilara if Cade got the battle he craved.

“Mama, mama, look!”

I nearly tripped over the little girl who had stopped in the middle of the street to point at me.

The child gazed up at me, her eyes wide with wonder. “Are you a fairy?”

“There is no such thing as fairies.” The girl’s mother frowned as she eyed me.

I bent down to be level with the girl and pulled my hair over my shoulder, letting her touch the technicolor strands. “But it is Winter’s End, so I suppose anything’s possible.”

The girl giggled as I winked and strode away.

I could feel others staring at me, but it didn’t bring me any fear or make me blush.

I wanted them all to stare.

A dozen colors streaked my hair. More decorated my skirt. I offered them all a grand display as I fluttered through the streets of Ilara.

Armor comes in many forms. Mine is forged of pigments and beauty. Better to know why I drew the gaze of those around me than to wonder if they’d discovered the secrets I’d hidden in the shadows.

The pace of the crowd slowed as we neared the cathedral square and the people packed more tightly together.

I weaved through the throng, offering smiles to the men who let me pass, winking at the women who glared disapprovingly.

“Keep moving forward.” A soldier stood on the steps of a shop, waving the horde onward. I caught his gaze, and he smiled down at me. “Happy Winter’s End, miss.”

He was young and handsome. He had a glimmer of hope in his eyes as he smiled at me, as though speaking to a pretty girl might bring evening enjoyment.

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. I tucked my chin and hid behind the curtain of my hair, hoping the soldier would think I was shy rather than disgusted at the thought of ever letting a filthy paun touch me.

The line of people stopped as we reached the cathedral square.

“We should have stayed home,” an older man grumbled.

A woman smacked him on the arm. “We should have left home when I wanted to.”

I ducked around them and dove deeper into the crowd, aiming for the statue of the seven-pointed star that rose up in the center of it all.

A hand grazed my waist as I climbed up onto the statue’s pedestal. I didn’t bother looking for whoever had been so brazen. The crowd nearest the cathedral had already begun cheering, and I hadn’t the time to spare.

The bottom two arms of the star were set into the white marble of the pedestal. The next pair up had already been claimed by men.

“Give a girl a hand?” I reached for the man sitting above me.

“I don’t mind the company.” He grinned, wrapping his callused hand around mine as he helped me up.

As soon as I got a toe onto his arm of the star, I let go and climbed onto the level above him.

“I thought we were going to be friends,” the man called up to me.

“I only asked for a hand.” I gripped the center arm of the star and looked toward the towering, white cathedral.

A line of soldiers in black uniforms stood in front of the cathedral steps.

Fear flickered through me. Only a chivving fool would be brazen enough to climb above the crowd in front of so many paun soldiers. But it was Winter’s End. I would no more be whipped for climbing the statue than a fiddler would be for taking coins for their songs.

And, even if the soldiers wanted to get to me, they would have to slog through hundreds of others to reach me.

I forced myself to breathe.

The crowd at the front gave a fresh round of cheers as the Lord Soldier climbed the cathedral steps. Two lines of men in black uniforms marched behind him.

The golden doors of the cathedral opened before the soldiers reached them and closed as soon as they’d passed through, keeping the common folk from peering into the Guilds’ precious sanctuary for too long.

The sailors in their blue came next. They didn’t march in neat columns as they entered the cathedral. A young man with black hair moved at the center of their unruly pack, and even the Lord Sailor laughed at whatever joke the young man had made.

I tried to find a bit of sympathy in my chest for the sailors. They looked almost like common men, like they’d rather drink ale with you than see you dead.

But the healers started up the steps, and any flicker of pity I might have felt vanished.

The Lady Healer turned and waved to the crowd as though she actually thought herself to be a savior of the common folk.

I gripped the star, biting back my urge to scream that the healers were no better than murderers. How could anyone be grateful for a healer who left the poor to die?

The Lady led her red-clad killers through the golden doors.

The map makers in their green entered next. At least the Lord Map Maker didn’t stop to wave at the people. He led his flock straight to the doors. A girl with red hair wore the same map maker’s uniform as the men. She walked taller than the rest, though she was the shortest among them. She kept her shoulders thrown back and her chin held high.

At least there was one paun I could feel true pity for. Poor thing had lost herself to the world of men and didn’t even have the sense to revel in the power it gave her.

The doors shut again. I squinted through the sunlight glinting off the metal but couldn’t see the fancy carvings in the gold from my place on the star.

I’d only been near enough to see the carvings once, when I’d come by late at night and offered a smile to the soldiers guarding the cathedral in exchange for a chance at a closer look.

A soldier had tried to tell me about the scenes and saints the images honored, but all I’d been able to think of was the number of children that could have been fed off the gold the paun had molded into a door.

I’d run away from the soldier and been sick in an alley.

The crowd cheered again as a flock of white-robed scribes climbed slowly up the steps. At the front of the group, two men clasped each other’s arms. The older had a shining bald patch. The younger, dark blond hair so neatly groomed I wished the wind would give a great gust just to muss it up. I thought the younger man had been helping the older up the stairs until they reached the top and the hint of a limp marred the younger man’s stride.

I had heard of that scribe before. Born on the bastards’ island of Ian Ayres and now the heir to the Scribes Guild. Too young for the position, too talented to be unseated―even the common folk liked to chatter about the Ian Ayres-born scribe. The whispers in the shadows called him the Guilded Cripple. I wondered how many in the crowd were disappointed to see a young man with a limp rather than a mangled beast.

Before the door had closed behind the scribes, a golden carriage stopped in front of the steps.

High up on the cathedral walls, horns blared, welcoming the King.

He stepped out of his gilded carriage and smiled for the crowd, waving at his people like the benevolent ruler he pretended to be. His clothing glinted gold in the light, and sour rolled up into my throat.

The Queen stepped out of the carriage next, her gown sparkling like her husband’s coat, though she did not smile as the King had. Her face was pale, and the King gripped her hand as though keeping her on her feet.

The King helped the Queen up the steps, leaving the young Princess to face the crowd on her own. The girl was beautiful, and her silver gown made her look like something out of a fairy story. But her smile flickered away as she watched her brother abandon her to the crowd. She nodded to the horde and followed her brother up the steps.

Last to arrive were the purple-robed sorcerers.

The Lady Sorcerer led her pack. She didn’t look to the common crowd or to the soldiers as she climbed the steps and sauntered to the door, completely secure in her position. Completely certain that no danger could touch her.

The purple lady was above us all, her power made untouchable by the strength of her magic. She held the throat of the Guilds in her hand as the paun crushed the common folk beneath their fancy boots.

The golden doors closed behind the sorcerers, and the soldiers tightened their ranks around the cathedral.

All the most powerful people in Ibrea packed into one place. They’d spend hours locked inside, plotting new ways to grow Ilbrea’s might.

If a fire could start, flare to life right in the middle of the cathedral, then the paun would burn and Ilbrea would be free.

But only the gods could set a fire like that, and none of them have ever seen fit to be so kind to the common folk.

A fiddle started playing on the far end of the square. A pipe and a drum joined in.

Men rolled out barrels of ale and frie, and the whole square turned to chaos as the celebration of Winter’s End truly began. The common folk would dance, and drink, and sing, and laugh while the Guilds decided what new torments to unleash upon the people of Ilbrea.

I could see the spark of the fire that would devour Ilara hiding beneath the celebration. It was in the leering of the soldiers and the red faces of the men who drank to forget their troubles.

The inferno would not come quickly, but it was beyond my power to stop.

I was not strong enough to save the people dancing below from the coming flames.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

His Mission

His Mission

353.3k Views · Completed · Sakz Hussain
Meet Emily Wentworth. Since the death of her father, she's been living a home life full of abuse. It's remained a secret for years until she meets the town's bad boy, Jake Melvin. It doesn't take long for him to figure out her secret.

Emily is suddenly thrown from one world of danger and uncertainty into another. The two teens ride the rollercoaster of love, unbelievable betrayal and heartache.
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

181.6k Views · Completed · Jessica C. Dolan
Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

421.1k Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

219.3k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
On the day Evelyn thought Liam would propose, he shocked her by getting down on one knee—for her stepsister, Samantha. As if that betrayal wasn’t enough, Evelyn learned the cruel truth: her parents had already decided to sell one daughter’s future to a dangerous man: the infamous War God Alpha Alexander, who was rumored to be scarred and crippled after a recent accident. And the bride could’t be their precious daughter Samantha. However, when the "ugly and crippled" Alpha revealed his true self—an impossibly handsome billionaire with no trace of injury—Samantha had a change of heart. She was ready to dump Liam and take Evelyn's place as the family daughter who should marry Alexander.
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

615.3k Views · Completed · Veejay
"No... You can't do this to me..." I almost squeezed the words through my teeth, my voice trembling.
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

1.6m Views · Ongoing · Jaylee
Soft hot lips find the shell of my ear and he whispers, "You think I don't want you?" He pushes his hips forward, grinding into the back of my ass and I groan. "Really?" He chuckles.

"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."

I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.

Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.

"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."


New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.

Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates

When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.

But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
Mr. Ryan

Mr. Ryan

207.2k Views · Completed · Mary D. Sant
"What things are not under your control tonight?" I gave my best smile, leaning against the wall.
He came closer with a dark and hungry expression,
so close,
his hands reached for my face, and he pressed his body against mine.
His mouth took mine eagerly, a little rudely.
His tongue left me breathless.
“If you don't go with me, I'll fuck you right here.” He whispered.


Katherine kept her virginity for years even after she turned 18. But one day, she met an extremely sexual man Nathan Ryan in the club. He had the most seductive blue eyes she has ever seen, a well-defined chin, almost golden blonde hair, full lips, perfectly drawn, and the most amazing smile, with perfect teeth and those damn dimples. Incredibly sexy.

She and he had a beautiful and hot one-night stand...
Katherine thought she might not meet the man again.
But fate has another plan

Katherine is about to take on the job of assistant to a billionaire who owns one of the biggest companies in the country and is known to be a conquering, authoritative and completely irresistible man. He is Nathan Ryan!

Will Kate be able to resist the charms of this attractive, powerful and seductive man?
Read to know a relationship torn between anger and the uncontrollable desire for pleasure.

Warning: R18+, Only for mature readers.
Nanny And Her Four Alpha Bullies

Nanny And Her Four Alpha Bullies

423.8k Views · Completed · Eve Above Story
Chloe's underclass mother is married to a billionaire, and she transfers to an elite school to become the first female werewolf warrior.
But her origins make her a thorn in the side of the school's four ruling brothers.
They have to take a little baby girl, less than a year old, to school.
But the baby girl resists everyone ...... except Chloe.
So Chloe, a new adult, is forced to become the baby girl's nanny and live in the bullies' dormitory?
The Son of Red Fang

The Son of Red Fang

171.1k Views · Completed · Diana Sockriter
Alpha werewolves should be cruel and merciless with unquestionable strength and authority, at least that’s what Alpha Charles Redmen believes and he doesn’t hesitate to raise his kids to be the same way.
Alpha Cole Redmen is the youngest of six born to Alpha Charles and Luna Sara Mae, leaders of the Red Fang pack. Born prematurely, Alpha Charles rejected him without hesitation as weak and undeserving of his very life. He is reminded daily of his father’s hatred for him paving the way for the rest of his family to become the same.
By adulthood, his father’s hatred and abuse towards him has spilled over into the rest of the pack making him the scapegoat for those with the sadistic need to see him suffer. The rest are simply too afraid to even look his way leaving him little in the way of friends or family to turn to.
Alpha Demetri Black is the leader of a sanctuary pack known as Crimson Dawn. It’s been years since a wolf has made their way to his pack via the warrior’s prospect program but that doesn’t mean he’s not looking for the tell tale signs of a wolf in need of help.
Malnourished and injured upon his arrival, Cole’s anxious and overly submissive demeanor lands him in the very situation he’s desperate to avoid, in the attention of an unknown alpha.
Yet somehow through the darkness of severe illness and injury he runs into the very person he’s been desperate to find since he turned eighteen, his Luna. His one way ticket out of the hell he’s been born into.
Will Cole find the courage needed to leave his pack once and for all, to seek the love and acceptance he’s never had?

Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of mental, physical and sexual abuse that may trigger sensitive readers. This book is intended for adult readers only.
Reckless Renegades Goof and Silvy's Story

Reckless Renegades Goof and Silvy's Story

77k Views · Completed · Catherine Thompson
I'm Silvy. I'm tired of waiting around for Mr. Right. I don't think he is coming. I want a family, badly. So I'm taking matters into my own hands. I don't need to be married or have a boyfriend to have a baby. I am going to have artificial insemination. I ask my friend and biggest man-whore I know, Goof, to help me. He isn't ready to settle down so I know he will walk away when the time comes. He agrees to help me but changes the terms. He wants to have sex with me. I can do that. I mean he is hot as hell. I just have to keep my heart out of it. I may have a crush on the man but I won't let that get in the way of what I want.
I'm Goof. I agree to be Silvy's sperm donor but on my terms. Silvy thinks I'm going to walk away from her and the baby when she gets pregnant. I don't think so. I have been in love with Silvy for over a year. I have been trying to figure out a way to get out of the friend zone. Now I have my chance.
Ignored By One Alpha, Chased By Another

Ignored By One Alpha, Chased By Another

73k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
Since the age of 12, Aurora had known that she would be Raymond’s future Luna and wife.
However, just before inheriting his Alpha position, Raymond found his fated mate—a rogue girl named Giana.
Forced by his parents, Raymond had no choice but to marry Aurora. Yet on their wedding night, he abandoned her to be with Giana.
Tormented by the mate bond, Aurora ended up having an ONS with a handsome and charming man.
But how could that man turn out to be Raymond’s best friend, the Alpha King’s nephew, and notorious playboy—Kane…?
The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna

The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna

54.5k Views · Ongoing · Beatrice Putnam
She was born cursed and silenced. He was born cursed and destined to lose everything.

Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?