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PROLOGUE

He laid his hand on the cover of his latest book, closed his eyes to shut out the world around him, and savored this new reality that was still so painfully sweet

They had eston They had read his thinly veiled discovery about hiht more copies of that book than any other

He was one of thee for sohis true nature only by accident, now he could stand aht hih to be a casual acquaintance because his writing skills had earned him fame and wealth, had earned him invitations to parties and literary discussions that would otherwise be closed to a landen

Now they would welcome him simply because of the power that flowed in his veins

He’d been overwhelmed by his discovery and had kept it a secret for all these months Well, an open secret, since he’d put it down on paper for all to read But noas ready to walk aed by them Not just by the society sparklers, but by the true aristos He’d even taken the first step to indicate he would welcome just such an invitation

He could see hi table at SaDiablo Hall, one of a suests with a stories, and he would flirt with the Lady—but not so much that he would offend his host He’d heard rumors about a fool who had offended Daemon Sadi inthat way

Had Sadi really burned out thePerhaps…

There was so much to learn now that he was one of themSo much And there was so er shackled by landen law So much he couldn’t have tried before Except in stories

For a long ti with him thatpoured into his stories Now he knew that violence was simply part of his nature

Oh, yes He was one of them now One of the ones alked the Reallory

He was no longer an insignificant landen, chained by someone else’s rules

He was Blood

PART ONE

ONE

“Hell’s fire”

Surreal SaDiablo stared at the page she was currently reading, then let the book drop into her lap “A body in a closet? What kind of idiot leaves a body in a closet?”