Capture the Crown (Gargoyle Queen #1) -Jennifer Estep Page 0,166

storing the stolen tearstone might help us stop his plot before more lives were lost.

“What is your magic telling you?” Reiko asked. “Picking up any thoughts?”

I concentrated, scanning the clearing and the ridges again, but I didn’t hear so much as a whisper of thought, and I didn’t sense anticipation or any other strong emotions. “No one’s hiding in the grass to stab us in the back. As for what’s on the other side of that ridge, well, I can’t tell without getting closer.”

Reiko twirled her sword around in her hand. “Then let’s get closer.” She grinned. “After all, it’s worth the risk.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to mention that every time I want to do something dangerous?”

Her grin widened. “Absolutely.”

I huffed with annoyance, but we left the woods and stepped into the clearing. We moved through the knee-high wild grass as quickly and quietly as possible, but the longer we walked, the more unease filled me. I still didn’t sense anyone nearby, but the clearing and surrounding woods seemed unnaturally still and quiet. No birds twittered in the trees, no squirrels rustled through the underbrush, even the breeze had stopped blowing. The utter lack of noise and motion was unnerving.

A shadow flitted by overhead, momentarily blotting out the afternoon sun. I glanced up, thinking it was Grimley or Fern, but the shadow’s shape was sleeker and more streamlined than those of the blocky gargoyles. The shadow vanished over a ridge before I could get a good look at it, but a presence flickered through my mind, as soft and light as a feather tickling my skin. I frowned. That felt like—

A faint creak of leather sounded, and a man stepped into view beside the trail marker at the top of the ridge. I froze, as did Reiko, who let out a soft, muttered curse. The two of us were completely exposed in the clearing, and there was no way he didn’t see us.

The man was a few inches over six feet, with short black hair, hazel eyes, and bronze skin. His body was thick, strong, and muscled, and he clutched a sword with the easy familiarity of a seasoned soldier. Even though it was only midafternoon, heavy stubble had already darkened his square jaw. Most people probably would have thought the man handsome. I might have too, if I hadn’t known how cruel, petty, vindictive, and vicious he was.

Just like the two Mortans we had seen earlier, this man was also wearing a purple cloak over a black tunic, leggings, and boots. A fancy cursive M surrounded by a ring of strix feathers—the Morricone royal crest—was stitched in gold thread over this man’s heart, marking his importance and position.

Wexel, the captain of the Mortan royal guards, who was loyal to Milo Morricone.

Wexel sneered at me, then lifted his sword and brought it down in a sharp motion. Several more creaks sounded, along with the steady scuff-scuff of footsteps, and more than a dozen men appeared, lining the top of the ridge, all of them clutching crossbows.

My heart sank, and I cursed my own foolishness. Reiko had been right.

It was a trap.

Also by Jennifer Estep

The Gargoyle Queen Series

Capture the Crown

The Crown of Shards Series

Kill the Queen

Protect the Prince

Crush the King

The Elemental Assassin Series

Books

Spider’s Bite

Web of Lies

Venom

Tangled Threads

Spider’s Revenge

By a Thread

Widow’s Web

Deadly Sting

Heart of Venom

The Spider

Poison Promise

Black Widow

Spider’s Trap

Bitter Bite

Unraveled

Snared

Venom in the Veins

Sharpest Sting

Last Strand

E-novellas

Haints and Hobwebs

Thread of Death

Parlor Tricks (from the Carniepunk anthology)

Kiss of Venom

Unwanted

Nice Guys Bite

Winter’s Web

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

capture the crown. Copyright © 2021 by Jennifer Estep. Excerpt from tear down the throne copyright © 2021 by Jennifer Estep. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Harper Voyager and design are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.

first edition

Map designed by Virginia Norey

Title page art by Angela Boutin

Cover design by Yeon Kim

Cover art by Tony Mauro

Cover images © Dreamstime.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

Digital Edition JULY 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-302304-8

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-302303-1

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