Unworldly City Series by Kelly St. Clare

A gothic romantasy unlike any other…Five soldiers rode across the plains,At a cave they arrived.Green light shone from far within,So sought it, the brave five.A pulsing power, a stone half-buried,Beckoned, taunted, coaxed.Til five brave men, in unison did,Touch left hand to olden rock.Bring. Take. Raise. Change. See.Three princes, each, shall come to thee.Monsters to guide kings to thrones,To keep real monsters chained with blood and bone... moreA gothic romantasy unlike any other…Five soldiers rode across the plains,At a cave they arrived.Green light shone from far within,So sought it, the brave five.A pulsing power, a stone half-buried,Beckoned, taunted, coaxed.Til five brave men, in unison did,Touch left hand to olden rock.Bring. Take. Raise. Change. See.Three princes, each, shall come to thee.Monsters to guide kings to thrones,To keep real monsters chained with blood and bone.Your immortal burden cold and lonely,Hear! Rule until the bloody finish.For the mighty never stirred at dawn,They burst forth at dusk,into toothed beast’s yawn.In the 1200 years since The End, fifty mothers in my line have passed the truth to their daughters. They passed truths of how the world was, of how the world changed, and even mythical stories of powerful romances that sparked great tragedy and war.Those romances are dead and gone, and as the fiftieth daughter, I am determined the truths of my ancestors will die with me too.I will be the last daughter to bury her withered mother.But ancients pull back the bloodied curtain without warning, and I cannot unsee the hidden world revealed beyond. Sinister impossibilities lurk in this walled city. They have always existed—dusk immortals who battle and prowl, filled with menace and conflicting purpose. And they, even the dark creature I blind with my presence, must decide the fate of all.Yet fifty mothers prepared for nightfall. They knew five kings could not win.Now the fiftieth daughter will walk into the toothed beast’s yawn.For the mighty never stirred at dawn… and I’m about to inherit something more monstrous than the truth.Of Monsters Of Kings is a dark fantasy romance thoroughly drenched with the morally gray and intended for mature audiences. This story contains monsters with manners, heaped teaspoons of spice, magical impossibilities, and not many conventional things at all, really. less

She that inspiresShe they desireShould only shimmerLike a starWithout its powerLest starlight stealsAll they areTo build her tower.For the last week at dusk, fifteen pawns who were princes have clawed from their midnight chambers to await my declaration of purpose. A queen should have purpose, I am told. Because kings mostly do. Except this queen just wants her copper crown to stop slipping... moreShe that inspiresShe they desireShould only shimmerLike a starWithout its powerLest starlight stealsAll they areTo build her tower.For the last week at dusk, fifteen pawns who were princes have clawed from their midnight chambers to await my declaration of purpose. A queen should have purpose, I am told. Because kings mostly do. Except this queen just wants her copper crown to stop slipping.The truth is that discovering my purpose feels unimportant, even though I am faced with powerful kings who clamor and war and threaten me at every vulnerable turn.And if I expected guidance from a certain seeing king? Well… I shall not dwell on loveless kings lest I enter another rage.Forget purpose. What I must do is protect myself from kings, in heart, mind, and body. I must protect monsters, old and new, who lurk inside my walls.A queen must learn to war.Yet if pawns cannot teach her, who else remains? The immortal answer swims beyond a tangle of obsession, vice, and unrequited love. And if reaching that slippery answer is even possible, I cannot be certain of my ancientness to fathom it when the time comes.Of Brides Of Queens is a dark fantasy romance thoroughly drenched with the morally gray and intended for mature audiences. This story contains monsters with manners, heaped teaspoons of spice, magical impossibilities, and not many conventional things at all, really. less

Up and outWeaves golden fateFeeling ancient in gifted wisdom.Five powers graspAll icy demiseFree from her olden prison.If throne is seatUnion is seamSkulls are skinShackles are stitch.Until ancient in truthTarry notLinger neverLest the world becomes forever buried.If princes became her pawns, and if princesses became her champions, then naturally a queen ponders what five kings will become... moreUp and outWeaves golden fateFeeling ancient in gifted wisdom.Five powers graspAll icy demiseFree from her olden prison.If throne is seatUnion is seamSkulls are skinShackles are stitch.Until ancient in truthTarry notLinger neverLest the world becomes forever buried.If princes became her pawns, and if princesses became her champions, then naturally a queen ponders what five kings will become.A deathly chant sounds, and there is no time to leisurely stitch fifty mothers together, nor time to make lazy and lustful demands upon King See to deliver his lessons of war. How ironic that an immortal queen should be so poor in minutes, dusks, and midnights, and yet the ruin of the world and monsters hangs in the deadly balance.Ancients push me to obsession, and so to obsession I must go, to rip and tear at the immortal burdens and wearied purposes of kings. Perhaps I should not waste time pondering what kings will become, then, for I will be as obsessed as ancients intend, as mad as they design, and only as powerful as they allow.That is the only truth for any monster, even me.Of Skulls of Shackles is a dark fantasy romance thoroughly drenched with the morally gray and it is intended for mature audiences. This story contains monsters with manners, heaped teaspoons of spice, magical impossibilities, and not many conventional things at all, really. less