Heavy is the Crown: A Gothic Grove Novel, page 1
HEAVY IS THE CROWN
A GOTHIC GROVE NOVEL
JA GEORGE
CONTENTS
Content and Trigger Warnings
Playlist
Author Note
I. A Brief History
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
II. A Princess and Her Dragons
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
III. Into the Belly of the Beast
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Epilogue
Translations
Character Guide
Thank You
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Series
CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS
This is a dark paranormal romance with both MF and MFM. Please know this is book two in Gothic Grove. YOU MUST READ BOOK ONE FIRST. The events in this novel take place directly after the events at the end of the first book. It will not make sense if you haven’t completed that journey.
If you are at all disturbed or triggered by spice, dark content, or the paranormal, do not read. For real, turn back now, this book isn’t for you. This book contains adult content and is intended for readers eighteen and older. This book deals with much darker content than book one in terms of mental health. Please note the following are all present: homophobia (discussed, not on page), suicidal ideation, self-harm (on and off page), drug use/addiction, SA (on page and off), torture, murder and general love of stabbings, attempted cheating, PTSD, depression, anxiety, verbal abuse, physical abuse, grief, and death.
Other warnings include light choking, blood play, biting, impact play, voyeurism, masochism, and pierced peens.
This book is not meant to be a guideline to any sexual activities, nor should it be used to reflect healthy relationships.
If you are interested in gaining education around the kink community and exploration of kinks here are some resources:
Authentic Kink by Princess Kali
Wild Side of Sex by Midor
This is a dark romance. If you do not like darkness, do not proceed. This is the last warning. Again, this book is darker than its predecessor.
If you encounter errors in the book OR have other triggers you feel should be added, please reach out to the author, not Amazon. Author email: authorjageorge@gmail.com
It is important to note I use some language that is not translated until the very end of the story, and this is purposeful.
To the people out there who sought refuge in sharp objects and substances, you are worthy of healing.
To my husband, for always being my person and helping me get through this book without even realizing it.
And to my healers of the world who sit in the darkness with people and don’t judge them, I see you.
PLAYLIST
Listen Here
“bad guy” – Vitamin String Quartet
“In the End” – Linkin Park
“Clint Eastwood” – Gorillaz
“Cobra (Rock Remix) [feat. Spirit Box]” – Megan Thee Stallion
“You’ve Created a Monster” – Bohnes
“I Can’t Stop” – Flux Pavilion
“Gold Dust (Flux Pavilion Remix)” – DJ Fresh
“Mermaids” – Florence and the Machine
“From the Inside” – Linkin Park
“Labour” – Paris Paloma
“She Will Be Loved” – Vitamin String Quartet
“It Had To Be You” – Tommee Profitt
“SACRIFICE” – In This Moment
“I Hate Everything About You” – Three Days Grace
“I’m OK” – Christina Aguilera
“Eat Your Young” – Hozier
“Rumors” – NEFFEX
“Gold (Stupid Love)” – ILLENIUM
“Something To Hide” – Grandson
“STILL NUMB” – Ryan Oaks
“Somewhere I Belong” – Linkin Park
“Lovely” – Tommee Profitt and Fleurie
“Don’t Blame Me” – Taylor Swift
“despicable” – Grandson
“Just Pretend” – Bad Omens
“I Love You, I’m Trying” – Grandson
“The One That Got Away” – The Civil Wars
“Half God Half Devil” – In This Moment
“ARMY OF ME” – In This Moment
“The Beautiful & Damned” – G-Eazy
“Judith” – A Perfect Circle
“Down With The Sickness (feat. Ai Mori)” – Violet Orlandi
“Tell Mama” – The Civil Wars
“Let It Go (with Lø Spirit)” – Chandler Leighton
“Godly” – Tommee Profitt and Vo Williams
“Land Of Darkness” – Rated R and CELO
“Miracle” – Bad Omens
“THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” – Bad Omens
“Closer” – Nine Inch Nails
“Gasoline” – Halsey
“SWEET DREAMS” – HANZO
“Promises (Skrillex and Nero Remix)” – Nero
“Movement” – Hozier
“Exile” – Taylor Swift
“Dangerous Hands” – Austin Giorgio
“I Walk the Line” – Halsey
“The Grey” – Bad Omens
“The Fighter” – In This Moment
“FATE BRINGER” – In This Moment
“I Would Die for You” – In This Moment
“How Villains Are Made” – Madalen Duke
“California Dreamin’” – Sia
“Wicked (feat. Royal and the Serpent)” – Tommee Profitt
“Shadowboxer” – Fiona Apple
“The Tradition” – Halsey
“Iris” – Tommee Profitt and Ruelle
“Shattered Dreams (feat. VE)” – Hidden Citizens
“(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight” – Hidden Citizens
“The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie” – Colter Wall
“Me and the Devil” – Soap&Skin
“Voices” – Hidden Citizens
“This Is Where It Ends” – Hidden Citizens
“Don’t Speak” – Hidden Citizens
“Paint It Black” – Hidden Citizens
“Bigger Than the Whole Sky” – Taylor Swift
“marjorie” – Taylor Swift
AUTHOR NOTE
This book was a lot more personal for me to write. Shadow’s character took on a lot of my own personal healing journey, and as such, I’m very protective over him and his healing arc. Not everyone will have the same experiences with substance and self-harm. If you are someone who believes in abstinence-based models of recovery, particularly with substance use, you might struggle with his healing. Harm reduction does not work for everyone. Nor does it work for everyone through every stage of life.
If you are having suicidal thoughts or need support for your mental health please take care of you above all else.
Crisis Line: 866-427-4747
PART 1
A BRIEF HISTORY
The events in this portion predate the events of Gothic Grove
ONE
A dragon’s first shift is the most volatile. The pain of allowing your two parts to merge is beyond comprehension, but once the two are merged, you will know peace as you never have before.
– Rosewood Family Journal
Shadow (sixteen years old)
They say when you shift the first time, it’s euphoric. The merging of you and your dragon counterpart makes you complete. Maybe it is euphoric for your average shifter. But I’ve known nothing but fear since it awoke in my mind. The raw power of it has terrified me from the very moment we first became aware of each other, and as soon as I started feeling the shift coming, I tried to deny it. Tried to pretend I wasn’t changing.
But you can only deny reality for so long . . .
The world slams back into me as my body shifts down, scales dissolving back to skin, wings pulling into my spine with bone-crushing pain, as my massive body pushes back inward, trying to fit into a space that cannot accommodate it. This is it. This is how I die. Being ripped apart by the shift. But as quickly as those words race through my brain, the pain ceases and my body belongs to me again. Naked and shaking, I blink rapidly as I try to come to terms with what just happened. As if a volcano erupted, pools of lava gather around me, and b eyond that lies the smoldering remains of the field.
Now you know our power. Next time, we won’t lose control like this. The voice in my head isn’t my own, and I’m reminded now how I will never be alone again.
Disoriented, I step forward but slip on something warm, and the scent of blood slams into me.
My eyes snag on my worst nightmare. My mother’s body is lying under me, her blood fanning out around us over the charred remains of the field. “No,” I choke out. “No, no, no!” I cry, a sob wrenched from my chest.
This wasn’t us, my dragon roars, but I can see the truth in front of me. The undeniable truth.
Dropping to my knees, I try desperately to push my mother's blood back into her wounds. The ragged claw marks across her chest pulse in time with her fading heartbeat. “Mom, no! Please! Oh, gods, no, no, no.” My tears are blurring my vision, causing the world around me to appear as if through a kaleidoscope.
A cool hand braces my face, the touch so familiar to me. “It’s okay, my love. Please stop. This is okay.” Her voice is soothing. “You must calm down and listen to me, dear one.” I try my best to breathe in her steady voice, but my body is still shaking. Tears are still cascading down my face. “Promise me you won’t let your father know who you are. Promise me, Shadow. He can never see your dragon. He can never know how powerful you are.”
“I promise! Mom, just please stay with me.” The only person in my life who loves me is slipping through my fingers in the middle of what I can now recognize as our backyard. The sunlight peeking through the haze of smoke left behind from my shift feels like a cruel mockery of the situation when it lands on her face.
“I love you.” Her broken voice turns cold as her hand slips away from my own. Agony rips through my body, shattering my heart and shredding my soul. A scream tears itself from my throat as the last breath leaves her body.
It’s my fault. It’s my fucking fault. I killed her with my shift. I did this. I couldn’t control myself, couldn’t control it.
NO! This wasn’t us. This is not our fault, my dragon roars back. But I’m lost to my own grief.
Worthless. Pathetic. Weak. Murderer.
The words repeat over and over in my mind, until I feel hands pulling me away from the body, and when a fist connects with my jaw, the world blinks out. I wake up in a sterile-looking room. A wooden desk and a small twin bed are the only things in the room. The walls are blinding white, the scent of fresh paint covers something else that I can’t identify. When I turn toward the window, I’m not shocked to find bars on it. It resembles a prison cell. Which is fitting. I killed her. I deserve this.
It’s the first time I shove my dragon deep into a cage, ignoring how he roars and protests and thrashes against me.
It’s the first day I find escape in pain . . .
And the first time I understand how good it feels to atone through my own flesh and blood.
Shadow (twenty years old)
(“bad guy” – Vitamin String Quartet)
I watch as my father parades his new wife around the massive party. Shifters, vampires, and witches have all come out to see the marriage between Julien Rosewood and Penelope Cadence. The Dragon Lord with his pretty bride. Even Alexi Helvig is here, the Vampire Lord himself. He’s currently drinking champagne that looks suspiciously red. His date is a slender witch who seems to cringe away every time he touches her.
They fashion themselves lords, but they only keep power through fear and through surrounding themselves with lesser beings. I grit my teeth against the voice of my dragon, even if he speaks the truth from deep in his cage. But we are not lesser beings. We would be a true lord. He’s never quieted down, always loud from his cage.
“Shut up,” I mutter out loud, taking a huge gulp of the champagne in my hand. The liquid costs more money than this house is worth, and I’m drinking it like it’s fucking water to keep his voice at bay.
My father does another sweep around the dance floor, cutting off my line of sight of the vampire. His new bride, my new stepmother, seems to be enjoying herself, a smile painted across a perfectly made-up face. Only someone versed in abuse would see through that look. You can’t even tell she has a black eye or that she is favoring the right side of her ribcage. I watch as he twirls her through the dance, ever the doting husband. My stomach rolls with unease. It’s not that I don’t like Penelope—she is actually quite kind to me, which makes it worse that she is marrying into this shit show. No one should be subjected to the hellish life we’ve been living since my mother died.
Since I killed her. Since I woke to her blood coating my hands. Because I’m a murderer. Weak. Weak. WEAK.
We are not weak; you are choosing weakness. I can taste the smoke on my tongue as he fumes in his cage. Ever since my new stepbrother moved in, my dragon has been growing louder from where I keep him trapped within me. Most days, I try desperately to ignore him, but right now, he’s too loud, and I can almost feel him rolling under my skin. The champagne isn’t working.
“You're looking awfully uncomfortable standing there.” The deep voice pulls me from the degradation going on in my head. Stepping out of the darkness is my new stepbrother, Drago. As usual, he looks perfectly put together, and my mouth goes dry as I look him over. At some point, he removed the bowtie, so his tattoos now peek out from the unbuttoned white shirt. The memory of seeing him shirtless the other night shoots to my dick.
He smells delicious. I bet he would taste like sin across our tongue. My dragon rubs up against his cage like a cat in heat.
My eyes track his tattooed hand, each finger decorated in silver rings, as he raises his glass to his full lips. Just imagine what those fingers could do. I choke on my own drink at the image that flashes across my mind, courtesy of the slutty reptile in my brain.
He raises an eyebrow at me, and I curse my body for having a reaction to him. Curse my dragon for making me want him. Curse him for giving me a taste of what it would be like to be able to choose a life with him.
“What do you want, Drago?” I manage to ask when I’ve caught my breath.
He steps directly in front of me, and his proximity makes my dragon go feral in his cage. He likes how Drago smells, and quite frankly, I can’t argue. The eucalyptus scent washes over me with a hint of citrus right underneath. It makes my mouth water. It’s why I’ve avoided Drago ever since he moved in. Or tried to. Aside from that fateful day when he dropped to his knees in front of me. The way his mouth felt still haunts my dreams. A shiver goes down my spine as I try to push the want away. We got lucky that time, to not get caught, but I doubt we would get lucky again. And I don’t need to add that to the list of things my father punishes me for. I can only imagine what fucking my stepbrother would earn me in punishment.
“I can’t say hi to my new stepbrother?” His eyes track over my body. My own tux is still in perfect order. Not a wrinkle on it.
Fuck, imagine what it would feel like to have him fuck us. His mouth was perfect; imagine that cock of his.
I curse my dragon as my cock gets even harder. Drago’s nostrils flare and he steps in closer, eyes widening. He opens his mouth to speak, when over his shoulder, I see the glare of my father, dark eyes burrowing into me. They offer up a promise of violence. Not just toward me, but toward Drago as well. My dragon growls low, rage moving through us like the lava that is our fire.
The urge to protect Drago at all costs is what makes me step back, putting distance between us. “Leave me alone, Drago. I have no interest in talking to you.” The lie is bitter on my tongue, but for once, my dragon is in alignment with me, agreeing that we must protect him. One, two, three steps and I’m turning on my heel, fleeing the party and my bastard father.
