Description: "When you asked me if any of the guard took lovers, I thought you might have sought a companion for your bed." Ember nearly choked on her own breath. Fortunately Barrow continued speaking, sparing her the embarrassment of an attempt at spluttering a response. "And it was that day"-Barrow paused, holding Ember in his gaze-"that I was forced to admit my jealousy. Though I thought I could fight my own desires, I learned quickly that my only choice was to keep myself away from you." "I thought you despised me," Ember said. "Despised you?" Barrow said. "How could you think-" "You left me," she answered sharply. "You were my teacher, my friend, and then you were gone. What else was I to think?" "I thought you would take me to be a brute no different from Alistair," Barrow continued. "You are nothing like Alistair. I longed for you to come to me." Ember leaned toward him, her pulse thrumming with the boldness of her words. "I still feared you," Barrow told her. "What would happen if I..." He rested his hand on her knee. Very slowly, Barrow's touch moved up her thigh, following the curve of her hip and finally resting on her waist. He spread his fingers wide, pressing firmly from the bottom of her rib cage to her lower back. Ember didn't break from his intent gaze, but her every breath was short and trembling. Belladonna Fiona Paul Bitterblue Kristin Cashore Bloodrose Andrea Cremer Eon Alison Goodman Fire Kristin Cashore The Inventor's Secret Andrea Cremer Nightshade Andrea Cremer Rift Andrea Cremer Snakeroot Andrea Cremer Spirit Walk Richie Tankersley Cusick Venom Fiona Paul Wolfsbane Andrea Cremer RISE Also by the same author: RIFT NIGHTSHADE WOLFSBANE BLOODROSE RISE PHILOMEL BOOKS A division of Penguin Young Readers Group. Published by The Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.). Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England. Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd). Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd). Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India. Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd). Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North 2193, South Africa. Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England. Copyright 2013 by Broken Foot Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission in writing from the publisher, Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Philomel Books, Reg. U.S. Pat & Tm. Off. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Published simultaneously in Canada. Printed in the United States of America. Edited by Jill Santopolo. Design by Amy Wu. Text set in 10.25-point Apolline Regular. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cremer, Andrea R. Rise / Andrea Cremer. p. cm.-(Nightshade) Summary: "Everything Conatus stands for is at risk, and Ember must involve herself in a deception that ultimately brings about the Witches' War"-Provided by publisher. [1. Knights and knighthood-Fiction. 2. Supernatural-Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.C86385Rj 2013 [Fic]-dc23 2012012263 ISBN: 978-1-101-60782-4 13579108642 The road to hell is paved with good intentions. -Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Table of Contents ALISTAIR COULD REMEMBER screaming only once before, at least since he'd become a man. The shrill cry had forced its way from his throat when he'd been pinned to the floor of the wine cellar. Three hobgoblins held him down, cackling, while a fourth stretched its long, clawed fingers toward his eyeball. That scream had been a brittle, strangling yowl of horror. The sound escaping his lips now was brighter than shattering glass, jagged shards of pain and loss. Ember was gone. Less than an hour earlier, restless after the events of the day-and of the night-Alistair had gazed at the stone ceiling in his cell. His pallet was unsympathetic to his pains, offering no ease or comfort to lull him into slumber. With eyes open, Alistair didn't see the rough-cut gray blocks above him. Neither did he see darkness when he closed his eyes. An image had burned itself upon his vision. Skin revealed as linen slipped from Ember's slender but strong shoulders. Weeks with Conatus had chiseled her arms, making them hard as a man's, but Alistair remembered the softness he'd glimpsed. Her hair was fire, flames licking the snow of her naked body, its sudden curves appearing as her garment fell. It was a scene stolen from his very dreams. Ember baring herself to him. Wanting him. Alistair would have given his soul to relive the moment. And change the way it had ended. No matter how often he turned in bed or summoned other thoughts-for there was much to think on: Lady Eira's plans had been set in motion and everything was about to change in Tearmunn-he failed. Ember's bare skin, captured in the glow of candlelight, held him hostage. Unable to bear the torment another minute, Alistair rose from bed. He hadn't bothered to change from his uniform into a sleep shirt. With Conatus reeling from Sorcha's death and Eira taking control of both the Circle and the Guard, the night portended chaos. Alistair had even kept his sword belted to his waist. Should a fight arise, he would be ready to assure Lady Eira's successful ascension to sole rule of their order. As he left his cell, Alistair briefly considered seeking out Eira. Perhaps she had need of his help maintaining order. But he readily dismissed that thought. Should she desire, Lady Eira would have no qualms about summoning him. Having given this brief attention to duty, Alistair succumbed to the siren song that called him through the dim corridor. Passing the few doors that separated his cell from Ember's, Alistair paused in front of her door. What took place within this chamber once he entered would determine the nature of his relationship with Ember. Alistair knew this truth. He leaned against the door, letting the image of her half-clothed figure slide into his mind's eye, coaxing him to action. Ember must have known he was the one at the door earlier that night. Only a trusted friend would intrude upon her at such a late hour. She hadn't dropped her gown in surprise. The chemise had been falling, released with purpose by Ember's own hand. She'd been waiting. Alistair refused to believe Ember had anticipated the arrival of another. How could she? Despite the sick twist of his gut the thought provoked, Alistair couldn't stop the needling doubt following his question. Barrow had come upon them. The knight had disrupted what Ember's skin promised Alistair. Could Ember have been waiting for Barrow? Alistair's roiling stomach tangled itself into a hard knot. No. It wasn't possible. Barrow had abandoned Ember. He'd cast her off, forsaking his role as her mentor. And hadn't Alistair restored his own friendship with her in the wake of Barrow's rejection? Hadn't he and Ember grown ever closer, slowly returning to the intimacy and trust they'd shared as children? That history, the knowledge that he knew Ember better than anyone else, assured Alistair of what he'd always believed. Ember was bound to him, and despite her characteristic stubbornness, she loved him. They would marry, and she would be his. Alistair could imagine no other role for Ember in his life, and his loyalty to Lady Eira had secured his future with Ember. Eira had promised to bring changes to Conatus, which Alistair would soon take advantage of. No longer heralding ties to those monk warriors, the Knights Templar, the Conatus Guards' vows would be of fealty to Lady Eira and Lord Bosque Mar and nothing more. The new order offered Alistair all he desired. Fortified by this thought, he rapped lightly on the door. And waited. He knocked again, daring to use a bit more force. With Sorcha's sudden death, most of the Guard would be away from their cells, holding a vigil in the hall below. Waking someone was of small risk, and since Ember had kept away from the gathering of knights when he'd sought her out earlier that evening, Alistair wagered that she'd remained secluded in her bedchamber.

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