Wicked Desires: Cursed Coven: Midnight Coven, #3

By K.L. Bone

I bind you to dread's cold embrace

Until your truth you boldly face.

 

Kiera never wanted to be a witch, and certainly did not desire to inherit her mother's ancestral crown. Yet as the rightful heir to the Bargarran Coven, it is a destiny which becomes inevitable upon her parents' untimely death.

 

Summoned to New Orleans on Samhain night for an annual gala, Kiera struggles to come to terms with her impending ascension. However, before she can make a final choice, a curse whisks Kiera through the veils of time.

 

Trapped in Medieval England, Kiera must come to grips with her deepest fears in order to return to her own time and protect those she cares for. However the journey is complicated by both an evil presence intent on preventing her return, and a blossoming love with a noble knight, Aisling, who aids the young witch upon her quest.

As Kiera is forced to face both past fears and an uncertain future, she is confronted with the greatest challenge of all. Does she give in to her heart's desire and remain with her newfound love? Or return to her own time, to claim her rightful place within the Bargarran Coven? 

 

Both choices promise a heart-wrenching price. 

 

*Wicked Desires is a self-contained story in a shared universe. Each novel in the Midnight Coven series follows a different couple. Books can be read in any order.*

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.L. Bone
• Release date: Oct 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9798223509554

Book preview

cover.jpg

Wicked Desires:

Cursed Coven

K.L. Bone

A Midnight Coven Novella

Wicked Desires: Cursed Coven © 2019 by Kristin L. Bone

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Cover Design © 2019 by Skyla Dawn Cameron

First Edition: September 2019

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Works by K.L. Bone

Rise of the Temple Gods Series

Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to Kale

Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to Koloso

Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to the Defendants

Rise of the Temple Gods: Heir to the Prophecy (coming soon)

The Black Rose Series

Black Rose

Heart of the Rose

Blood Rose

Shadow of the Rose

Silver Rose

Princess of the Rose

Daughters of the Rose (coming soon)

The Flames of Kalleen

Embracing the Dragon

Releasing the Dragon

Forsaking the Dragon (coming soon)

Other Works

The Indoctrination

Undying Embrace: A Dracula Novella (coming soon)

Midnight Coven Novellas

Forever Chosen: Vampire Brides

Immortal Skye: Vampire Mates

Wicked Desires: Cursed Coven

See www.klbone.com for more.

Dedication:

This book is dedicated

to Skyla.

Thank you for your

guidance and friendship.

Welcome to the magical world of the Midnight Coven. Within the pages of our books, you’ll find vampires and demons, witches and fae, dark magic and happily ever afters. Each Midnight Coven book is a romance novella, featuring characters who occasionally cross over to different stories, so we hope you’ll read them all. You never know when your favorite character might show up again.

Your initiation begins now…

Chapter I

AD 1999

Brighton, England

Asleep before her second-floor window, the child did not hear the blaze’s ominous crackle, nor the groan of sizzling wooden planks. She did not rouse to the seeping smoke, which rose to replace the once crisp air, nor realize the danger of each polluted breath as the thick grey cloud clogged her delicate lungs, smoke blanketing the room with a suffocating grip.

A loud shudder of crashing wood finally woke her from the flame’s threatening embrace. Rising, she wiped at stinging eyes, deep coughs rattling her chest, threatening to make her gag.

Bewildered, she rose from the bed and moved toward the door, calling Mommy! Smoldering planks squeaked under her weight. Unfamiliar, eerie sounds, crackles and pops, answered back.

She reached the door, but when she touched the bronzed handle, the metal seared her tender palm, drawing a high-pitched scream from her throat as she jerked her hand back. A gooey trail of skin connected her hand to the door before she pulled it back further. Wrapping the throbbing limb in the hem of her nightgown, tears filled her eyes, her hand in agony due to exposed nerves.

Daddy? she called for her other parent, a quieter, hopeless plea.

Only the floor groaned in answer, warming her feet as unseen flames steadily weakened the home’s structure.

Heart hammering, she rushed to the window and gazed fearfully out at the beach. Through sobs of pain she managed to cry, Help! Please, help me. Daddy? Mommy?

The beach was empty. No one heard her cries. She attempted to open the glass panel, but found it locked and, as she looked to the left, caught her first glimpse of the yellow-orange flames licking the side of the room, crawling toward her.

Help! she repeated her plea, but again none answered.

Unable to leave the room, she moved to the bed. Crawling between the blankets, she clutched Lady, a stuffed blue dog. Violent coughs rattled her chest, the last of her breathable air transforming to poisonous fumes.

Mommy! Daddy! This time, her voice came as a choked whisper, her mouth painfully dry. The room grew warmer, flames coming closer with a devouring hunger. Between tears, and smoke, her vision blurred. Burying her face in Lady’s worn fur, she closed them, but the sting did not dissipate. Her lungs burned as she struggled to breathe the toxic smoke. Soot lined her throat to constrict her airway, making each breath a struggle as the heat continued to increase.

A sharp clatter broke through the flames’ roar and groaning wood. Barely conscious, the child did not open her eyes to the icy touch when arms lifted her from the bed. A quick movement, and a strong push of wind, caused her to tuck her injured hand protectively under Lady, and then she fell, plunging downward in a way that caused her stomach to churn. The fall came to an abrupt stop.

Breathe, a deep, masculine voice commanded.

Spasms ran through her poisoned body as she struggled to follow the command. Ragged coughs rattled her thin chest as air attempted to penetrate the soot-filled lining of her throat.

Kiera, the man encouraged, you have to breathe.

Cold air surrounded her as the chilled ocean winds soothed her flushed skin. Kiera, the man again spoke her name, tones soothing, I’ve got you.

She tried to speak, but no words would form in her clogged throat and parched mouth. Unable to breathe, she slipped toward unconsciousness.

No, the man’s voice called. You must stay awake.

Clinging to Lady, she turned to the sound of his voice.

Something pressed against her lips.

Drink, child.

Kiera’s head tilted back as warm, thick liquid passed her lips. A coppery, bitter tang filled her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow. When the viscous liquid reached her throat, the taste sweetened, as though sugar had been added to the mixture. She swallowed again.

Keep drinking, he urged.

She complied, the act becoming easier with each desperate gulp. Against her lips, the flow of liquid increased before the source drew back.

Kiera gasped and, to her surprise, found her airway cleared. Finally able to draw breath, she pulled in shaky gulps of the oxygen her body craved.

That’s it, the man coaxed. Breathe, Kiera. You’re all right.

Body trembling, Kiera struggled to control her frantic breathing as the man gathered her against his chest, holding her in his arms as though she weighed nothing. Tucking the stuffed dog more securely between them, she wondered why her