Reaching up, he brushed his thumb down her cheek. He could not have loved her more if he tried. ‘Let’s hope her journey there was a little less turbulent than ours.’ His hand fell away. ‘Come inside and eat.’

Isabel looked at Margery. ‘Are you hungry?’

The eagle flew off towards the house, entering via the kitchen window. Blackmane took Isabel’s hand, and they slowly walked that way.

‘Can you hear that?’ Isabel asked, eyes bright and teeth on display.

He knew exactly what she was referring to. It was the sound of everyday life. ‘I hear it.’

Tolly emerged from the house then. They had not even heard him arrive.

‘Full house, I see,’ he said.

Blackmane nodded. ‘A bit more crowded than usual.’

‘Have you eaten?’ Isabel asked. ‘We have enough eggs to feed a… well, an army.’

‘Ita’s fetching me a plate as we speak.’ He leaned against the doorframe. ‘I hear we’re going to have some extra help to get our army in order.’

‘Certainly looks that way,’ Blackmane replied.

Laughter erupted from the open window, making them all look in that direction. Tolly straightened and headed back inside.

‘Now the whole family is here,’ Isabel said quietly.

Blackmane ignored the tightening in his throat and gestured for her to go ahead of him. When he reached the door, he paused and looked back, gaze sweeping the tree line.

‘You coming?’ Isabel called.

He remained there a few seconds longer, then followed her inside.

Where to now?

WHERE TO NOW?

I hope you enjoyed Isabel & Blackmane’s story.

Did you know that Kingdom of Chains is a spin-off book? If you loved it, then definitely check out Defender of Walls, book one in the Kingdom of Walls trilogy. I promise you will absolutely adore the Suttone sisters and the defenders I hand selected for them ;)

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Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who contributed to this book. My biggest thanks goes to my readers. Without you guys, I wouldn’t get to do what I love. Next, a huge thank you to my hubby who supports and encourages me even though my writing takes time away from the family. I love you to bits. A big thank you to McKinley, Kristin and the team at Hot Tree Editing for polishing the manuscript into something beautiful. A shout out to my proofreader, Rebecca, for catching everything I missed. A round of applause for my cover designer, Stuart Bache (Books Covered), for this gorgeous cover. And finally, a huge thank you to my Launch Team for your encouragement, honest reviews, and being the final set of eyes on my work. You guys are amazing.

Also by Tanya Bird

ALSO BY TANYA BIRD

You can find a complete list of published works at

tanyabird.com/books