Ascend

Tryle Trilogy #3

by Amanda Hocking

Edited by Jason Letts

Copyright © 2011 by Amanda Hocking

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Al rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

Table of Contents

1. Amnesty

2. Birthday

3. Scars

4. Fiancé

5. Plans

6. Altar

7. Interlude

8. Morning After

9. Repercussions

10. Aid

11. Defeat

12. Rendezvous

13. The Truth

14. Confrontation

15. Oslinna

16. One Night

17. Consequence

18. Future

19. Relief

20. Orm

21. Preparation

22. Offense

23. Time

24. Beginning of the End

25. Destiny

Epilogue: Four Months Later

About the Author

About the Editor

Jenny Pox Excerpt

1. Amnesty

I had my back to the room as I stared out the window. It was a trick I’d learned from my mother to make me seem more in control. Elora had given me lots of tips the past few months, but the ones about commanding a meeting were the most useful.

“Princess, I think you’re being naïve,” the Chancelor said. “You can’t turn the entire society on its head.”

“I’m not.” I turned back, giving him a cool gaze, and he lowered his eyes and baled up his handkerchief in his hand. “But we can’t ignore the problems any longer.”

I surveyed the meeting room, doing my best to seem as cold and imposing as Elora always had. I didn’t plan to be a cruel ruler, but they wouldn’t listen to weakness. If I wanted to make a change here, I had to be firm.

Since Elora had become incapacitated as of late, I’d been running the day to day activities of the palace, including a lot of meetings. The board of advisors seemed to take up a lot of my time.

The Chancelor had been voted into his position by the Tryle people, but as soon as his term was up, I planned to campaign against him as hard as I could. He was a conniving coward, and we needed somebody much stronger in his position.

Garrett Strom – my mother’s “confidant” – was here today, but he didn’t always come. Depending on how Elora was doing that day, he often chose to stay and care for her instead of attending these meetings.

My assistant Joss sat at the back of the room, furiously scribbling down notes as we talked. She was a smal human girl that grew up in Förening as a mänsklig and worked as Elora’s secretary.

Since I’d been running the palace, I’d inherited Joss as my own assistant.