Courting Death and Destruction (The Death and Destruction Series Book 1), page 1
Courting Death and Destruction
EMILY SHORE
Contents
Other Works By Emily Shore
PLAYLIST
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MAP of the COURT O’ NINES
Author’s Note: Mental Health/Content Warning
***DID Note:***
Prologue
1. “The Lannisters send their regards.”
2. “He’ll never catch me.”
3. Holy foremothers! The Prince of Destruction followed my trail
4. “The Princess and I have some unfinished business…”
5. “The Father is coming.”
6. “How about you shove that invite right up your ass?”
7. A hundred years of brides for the Prince of Destruction
8. Time to enter your new home, Princess…”
9. I will take the war to the Prince of Destruction
10. “I hope you enjoy your night, Lys Spirit…courting the Prince of Destruction.”
11. “I. Will. Be. Your. Bride.”
12. “I’ll worship you right out of that gown in the bedroom tonight…”
13. Could he…will he ever be mine?
14. “What does the Prince do all day?”
15. Who in all Ten Court Realms have I married?
16. “Elysia: twenty-seven. Neo: one.”
17. “You think I can be bought with a few petty, mind-blowing, sexual favors?”
18. “You want me to touch you?”
19. “It’s a portal, isn’t it? To your brother’s tower?”
20. “It seems my new bride is a little jealous!”
21. “Oh, the games we will play with you, Everblood!”
22. “Drop that cat this instant, Neo!”
23. “Well, aren’t you just Fifty Shades of Elysia?
24. “Oh, she’s perfect, Quillion. We like…”
25. “In the bedroom, he belongs entirely to you. Prostrate as a servant.”
26. “I’ll look forward to sitting next to your bride and watching Court today.”
27. “No blood do I require. Only one strand of your hair.”
28. I will leave the Court O’ Tens. I will never return
29. “You can ride me whenever you desire, my love.”
30. They are dreams and second chances and reclamation
31. For one night, I do not want to be the warrior. Or the healer. Tonight, I want to heal. Myself
32. Wrestle with me again, sweet angel!
33. “I have found my Everblood!”
34. “Remember your oath, my son. And remember the price should you choose to break it…”
35. “You courted Destruction. Now, sweet angel, you will court Death!”
36. “You are not getting off that easy, you supercilious ass!”
37. “You will give us the whole night. As husband and wife.”
Epilogue
BRIDE OF LUCIFER on KU/paperback
On KU/Paperback/Hardcover/Decorated Edges
Acknowledgments
About the Author
COURTING DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
Book One of the Death and Destruction Series
Copyright © 2023 Emily Shore
emilybethshore.info
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead or otherwise, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by
Molly Phipps of We’ve Got You Covered Design
Interior Design by
Kate Seger
Other Works By Emily Shore
POST 2020 AUTHOR JOURNEY:
Bride of the Corpse King – Book One (Kindle Vella Bestseller – Now on KU)
Hell’s Angel Series
Bride of Lucifer: Hell on Earth – Book One (Kindle Vella Bestseller – Now on KU)
Bride of Lucifer: The Bride Trials – Book Two (Kindle Vella Bestseller – Now on KU)
Her Monstrous Boys Series
The Sacrifice (Kindle Vella Bestseller/Trending on KU Kindle Top 100 New Release/Dragons)
The Surrender (Kindle Vella Bestseller/Trending on KU/Kindle Top 100 New Release/Dragons)
Kindle Vella Original Works
Bride of the Shifter King – (Kindle Vella Bestseller)
The Grymm Beauty (Kindle Vella Bestseller)
Find all of Emily’s Kindle Vella works where she rebranded after finding her voice* * *
PRE 2020 AUTHOR JOURNEY:
The Uncaged Series – temporarily unavailable
The Aviary – Book One, The Garden – Book Two, The Temple – Book Three, The Temple Twins – Book Four, The Aquarium – Book Five
The Roseblood Series
Roseblood – Book One, Silhouette – Book Two
Requiem – Book Three
Sanctuary – Book Four
Roseborn – Book Five (WIP)
The Flesh and Ash Series
Flesher – Book One
Flesher: Resurrection – Book Two (WIP)
To the person I was before I wrote these books. I’m learning to be kind to you when you were suppressed and validating your journey to your calling: writing dark romantasy.
Sidenote: For anyone who must hide their true identity but feels it deep inside, my empath heart goes out to you. I hope you will find your safe space, your support system, and your beautiful voice as I did. This book brought me healing, my author voice, and the courage to show my identity. I hope you may find healing on this journey as I did…
PLAYLIST
(I wrote this 3 years ago, so cut me some slack for giving you the YouTube playlist vs. Spotify)
ELYSIA’S THEME:
“I’m Not An Angel” by Halestorm
NEO’S THEME:
“Angel” by Theory of a Deadman
BOTH:
“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban
GENERAL:
“My Heart is Broken” by Evanescence
“October” by Evanescence (Trauma aka Noralice chapter song)
“Halo” by Beyonce
“My Immortal” by Evanescence
“Imaginary” by Evanescence (For Elysia’s lair)
“Take me to Church” by Hozier
“Drops of Jupiter” by Train
“Lips of an Angel” by Hinder
“Broken” by Seether/Amy Lee
“U + Ur Hand” by Pink
“Inside Out” by Emmy Rossum
“Stay” by Emmy Rossum
“Listen to Your Heart” Roxette Cover
“Evermore” (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast) Jonathan Young rock cover
“What Hurts the Most” by State of Mine (Rascal Flatts Rock Cover)
Once upon a time, the Princess went to the tower to kill the Dragon.
She saved him instead.
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SUPPORT ON KINDLE VELLA *KICKSTARTER*:
While I originally wrote Courting Death and Destruction before Kindle Vella, I brought it to the platform where it joined the bestseller rank next to The Sacrifice and Bride of Lucifer. It also won the championship round for the Kindle Vella Summer Madness!
What is Kindle Vella? Amazon’s new serialized fiction platform.
Why? It helped me rebrand myself and kept our family afloat through 2021 and 2022 with my husband’s cancer and all my chronic health issues.
How? Please consider voting for any of my books on Kindle Vella and supporting me as an author. The minimum to vote aka Top Fave is less than $2.00 a month via tokens. Consider it like a Kickstarter since it enables me to bring my books to paperback!
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MAP of the COURT O’ NINES
Author’s Note: Mental Health/Content Warning
***PLEASE READ***
Courting Death and Destruction was birthed from a dark place, but it turned into the most beautiful book. I channeled my trauma into the main healing scene. I did this symbolically, with non-graphic details. I hope you will respect my raw and beautiful journey that brought healing to my heart and my sisterhood community. Dark trauma scenes are related by the protagonist but written with emotion and intimacy. There is a light beyond the darkness, I promise you this.
It’s NOT your typical fantas y book. This book is character-driven, focusing on the heart and soul and relationships—namely the romance.
Elysia does NOT pick up a sword or go to war, conquer some big trial, or lead a rebellion—not in this book. She wears dresses more than leggings. She fights for those she loves, but she is not a warrior. If I summed up Elysia in one word, it would be a healer. She is also a princess, a smuggler, a witty feminist, a proud bisexual, and a friend.
All LGBTQIA+ identities are normalized and accepted.
P.S. I did a little F U to purity culture in one chapter. I stayed true to my voice and background and how the social construct of “virginity” has no bearing on one’s sexual empowerment or physical confidence. All women and their stories should be validated.
***DID Note:***
One significant character, not the protagonist, has the mental health condition of Dissociative Identity Disorder. What is known as a DID systems. This used to be called Borderline Personality Disorder. It is negatively stereotyped in society. As someone who has DID friends, including sensitivity readers, they are worthy of profound respect. And their alters.
This may be difficult to understand, but one must accept the alters as separate identities from the original known as the Host. Alters are not manifestations of the Host’s imagination. They are not spirits or ghosts. They are their own entities, who rise, for many, during extreme trauma periods. They exist to help the Host cope with the trauma. Examples of alters include the Internal Systems Helper, the sexual alter, the protector, the trauma alter, child alters, and more.
DID systems individuals are not broken. Their alters are not broken. You will meet multiple alters over the series. For the sake of this book and inspired by a DID systems friend, I feature the hypersexual alter most as she was the first I met in real life. And full of life herself!
I ask people to keep an open mind, to separate the alters from their Host, and to respect the beauty of these survivors. And to research if you want to learn more. Extreme trauma is referenced in this book but not shown while accompanied by overcoming and healing.
Thank you for reading these valuable notes! I appreciate it!
Prologue
REINA
Ninety-Six Years Ago
This series was “technically” a spin-off of my Roseblood Series. You do NOT need to read Roseblood to understand Courting Death and Destruction. The Prologue simply offers a *foundation* through the eyes of the protagonist’s mother, the origins of this world, and how the Halo came to be. Please read the MENTAL HEALTH NOTE before this.
“I will make you a deal, Your Highness,” the Father of Vampires crooned while circling me.
Hunger dilated his pupils as his power prickled the hairs on the back of my neck.
On each side of him stood his sons: Thanatos, Prince of Death, and Neoptolemus, the Prince of Destruction. With the Father of Vampires, they comprised an omnipotent force responsible for the greatest wars and genocides. If I didn’t stop him, he would unleash another Dark Age upon the world.
I stiffened from Neoptolemus, Prince of Destruction, the youngest son, who licked his lips, fangs coated in the blood of my people. Under the eager eye of his damned Father, the destructive warlord had made my city his personal playground, waging war against my people because we protected bitten vampires as well as born. Not to mention werewolves. And I’d played with him for too long.
Ever since that fateful night of my 18th birthday when my powers awoke following my blood sacrifice, I was considered the Father’s greatest challenger. My blood didn’t turn to ice at the memory. Not when it was the most redemptive moment of my past.
Not when it saved the man I loved.
Tears burned in my throat as the Father meandered toward Raoul. No matter how I’d woven a telekinetic shield around my fiancé, it wouldn’t stop the Father. Like me, he was a Creator. The ancestor of my blood, he could bring forth any power he desired, but he had centuries of experience.
In moments, he annihilated the shield. My heart slammed against my chest, but I could barely lurch. Thanatos gripped my wrist, drew me to himself, so my back crashed against his chest while his destructive brother smirked to one side and stalked toward the two of us.
Seething, I brandished my flames—hot enough to match the younger Prince while his fiendish shades curled around my body. Enough to give me an inch.
“I won’t tell you again, Father…” I spat out the word, approaching him and hissing, “No deals. No bargains. Get the hell out of my city. As long as I still hold breath, I will never become your weapon.”
I’d had enough. Enough of the Prince of Destruction’s games. Enough of Thanatos breathing down my neck. Enough of the Father forcing my people to battle in gladiator games for his pleasure.
What the Father did next stole all the breath from my lungs. He drew his palm to his mouth and sliced a clean line with his fang, spilling his blood. A sign, a precursor to a blood oath. “I vow to you, Reina Caraway, Queen of Le Couvènte, I will leave your city with my sons and never return. I will spare all within it from wolf to bitten vampire. You will never need to see my face again, though I’m certain our paths will certainly cross.”
“What do you fucking want?” I demanded, stepping toward him, prepared to unleash any of my Creator powers. If it took a cataclysmic battle, I’d release the energy of the earth itself. I’d form craters, I’d bring forth a volcanic eruption, I’d shift the tide and the gravity of the moon itself if it meant he’d leave my city and the rest of my family, the man I loved, who needed to be spared above all, alone.
“All I desire is your blood,” the Father declared, extending his palm to me. “To show my generosity, I will even spare your self-sacrificial paramour,” he added with a chuckle, throwing his chin toward Raoul.
My heart faltered at the sight of the bitten vampire on his knees. I gazed at his dark eyes, dark skin, and the dark locks I loved that eclipsed his cheeks. My most loyal and faithful of all guardians. The man who loved and cherished me above all. The man who had shed his blood for me would lay his soul down upon an altar if it allowed me to draw one more breath. The first thing he did was shake his head. Because of what this meant.
Giving up my life force, my essence, my roseblood of my own free will meant the Father would have all-consuming control over me, body, mind, heart, and soul. I would sign my own death warrant. It would be my soul upon an altar. My sacrifice.
I took one step forward.
I closed the distance between the Father and myself, slit a line in my palm, and crashed it against his.
In that single moment of the blood bond, of this otherworldly and almighty oath, a blade pierced my heart with the pain of ten thousand burning suns. A blade to end all blades. A blade to silence the stars themselves.
Not a scythe of Destruction. A sickle…of Death.
As Thanatos whispered his cold-as-death words into my ear, I smiled at Raoul with nothing but warmth growing inside me, “Long live the Queen!”
