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Back Legendborn Save as PDF
Chapters (68)
  1. Dedication
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. THREE MONTHS LATER
  4. PART ONE ORDER
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. PART TWO DISCORD
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. PART THREE ROOTS
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. PART FOUR SPLINTER
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. 55
  63. 56
  64. 57
  65. 58
  66. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  67. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  68. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After tonight, everything looks like an artifact from another world where magic doesn’t exist.

Real. Here.

Three other words join the thread: Merlin. Kingsmage. Legendborn.

I don’t expect to find sleep, but I climb into bed anyway, childhood imaginings colliding with the hellish reality I’d witnessed tonight. When I was little, I loved the idea of magic, the kind that lives in Percy Jackson and Charmed. Sometimes magic seemed like a tool that could make life easier. Something that could make the impossible possible.

But real magic includes creatures that feed on humans. A small voice inside me thinks that, if they hunt those creatures, the Legendborn must be good. They must be. But when the night slips into early morning, that voice grows quiet. By the time I fall asleep, my ears ring with echoes: that boy’s sharp cry of pain when Sel forced him to his knees; Dustin’s slurred mumble as he marched to the parking lot; and the isel’s scream when Sel destroyed it.

4

ALICE’S VOICE PULLS me awake.

“What is it?” I groan. Sleep threatens to drag me under, and I don’t want to fight it.

“Get up!” Alice stands fully dressed with her arms crossed and hip popped. “The dean of students’s office called. The dean wants to see us in fifteen minutes!”

My heart seizes in my chest and my thoughts fly. Selwyn. The creature. The ride home with Norris. Magic. It was all real. Wait—does the dean know too? Is he in cahoots with Selwyn and Tor, like the police? I swallow against a rush of panic. “Why?”

She fixes me with a pointed stare. “Why do you think?” It takes me a long minute to realize what she’s referring to—expulsion. Ours. In one motion, I’m upright and out of bed. Alice pivots on a heel and sweeps out the door, her face a mixture of anger and apprehension. “I’m heading over now. Don’t be late.” The door slams.

I scramble for my phone, find Charlotte’s late-night group text.

OMFGGGG holy hsit I’m SO sorry!! cops have NEVER shown up to the Quarry party text me when you get this!!!!

Ignore.

Next, a missed call and voicemail from a number I don’t recognize with an Orange County area code and a university prefix. My own call from the dean’s office.

I dash around the room looking for clean clothes. A few minutes later I’m out the door, down the hallway, and taking the dorm stairs two at a time. I hit the crash bar on the exit door and stumble down the stone steps at the side of the brick building.