The Prince raises his brows in a look that says ‘so, tell me.’
“I’ve complained about life in Purgatory for ages. But the problem’s bigger than being told how to dress or serve. The way the ghouls ran things, a lot of good souls were destroyed. Now that I’m the Scala, I think I can change things. I need to stay here and prepare for the summit.”
Lincoln nods. “I understand. You can make a difference, so you have to try. Not everyone gets that chance.” He lets out another long breath. “I know the feeling well.”
I run my finger along his jaw, and then over his lower lip. He’s staying in Antrum for the same reason I’m staying in Purgatory, and somehow that means we’ll be apart. Doing the right thing can be such a pain in the ass.
Lincoln’s mismatched eyes search my face for a long minute. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “As Scala, you’ll have diplomatic duties to attend to, eventually.” He slides a strand of hair behind my ear. The sensation sends a pleasant shiver through my belly.
I mock-frown. “None that I know of.”
“Perhaps you’ll be surprised by an invitation to Arx Hall.”
“I don’t know, unexpected invitations haven’t worked out for me.” In my mind’s eye, I picture the embossed invite for Zeke’s party that arrived six months and a million years ago.
Lincoln sets his knuckle beneath my chin, gently guiding my mouth toward his. Our lips brush; warmth blossoms though my chest.
On second thought, maybe unexpected invitations work out great in the long run. “But if the thrax High Prince asks me, I suppose I can’t say no.”
Lincoln slides his hand up my neck, pressing us into a deep kiss. “Come to me at Arx Hall.” His voice is low and sweet.
“I really don’t know when I’ll–”
“Whenever you can. I’ll be waiting.” Tilting his head, he looks at me from his slate-blue eye. “Say yes.”
Warmth and love radiate through me. “Yes.”
The story continues in the second book of the Angelbound Series. Pre-order your copy now for delivery on May 13th, 2014 by visiting: www.inkmonster.net/angelbound
Acknowledgements
If you’re reading my freaking acknowledgements, chances are, I should thank you for something. So, for the record: you are awesome, dear reader. In the unlikely event that I forgot to thank you, it’s only because my manuscript was due to conversion two hours ago and I’m a wee bit frantic. My bad.
That said, huge and heartfelt thanks must go out to my husband and son for their rock-solid support. Writing Angelbound meant a lot of early mornings, late nights, long weekends, and never-ending patience from you both. You two are the best guys in the universe, period.
After that, I must thank the extensive network of readers and reviewers who helped me build my writing chops in general, and this book in particular; that would be Aileen Latcham, Aileen Latcham, and Aileen Latcham. You are the Editorial Monster extraordinaire; I simply would never have done this without you.
Finally, deep affection goes out to my late, much loved, and dearly missed Aunt Sandy and Uncle Henry. You saw the writer in me, always. Thank you, first and last.