Novel & Cerita Ninth House Leigh Bardugo

I leaned against the cold brick wall, my hand trembling as I pulled my phone from my pocket and called my assistant, Maria, to come get me. The ninth time. I thought back to the ridiculous bet Julia had proposed a year ago. "Nine choices, Leona. Let's see who Isak really picks. The loser walks." The first time was at my mother's funeral. A rival family crashed the service and opened fire. Isak dove to shield Julia without a second thought. The second time was at his succession ceremony. A bomb went off, and his first instinct was, again, to protect Julia. The third, fourth, fifth time…

With a sigh, I tilted my head back and called out into the shadows, a voice sharp and commanding. “Nine.” There was a moment of silence, and then a figure came out of the darkness moving with the type of precision that showed that he has been doing this for years. Nine was tall, lanky, his face was shadowed under the brim of his cap but one could see the tell tale signs of a large scar covering his entire left eye. He stood tall with attention, waiting for my order. “Watch that girl.” I said curtly, nodding at him, “Every move she makes, every word she utters, report it back to me.”

As she searched the catalog, she was thrilled to see her library had, on hand, editions of most of them Caitlin grabbed a cart and had dove into the stacks, looking up each book by its call number, and slowly adding them to her stack. Some of the books were harder to find than others, and she’d had to use a ladder and go to the top, dusty shelf, deeper in the stacks than she’d ever been. One book she found stuck between two books, and literally had to pry it out. Another book she couldn’t find anywhere—until she realized that it was on display in the front window, for the Occult Exhibit; she guiltily unlocked the glass, slid it back, reached in, and removed it, making a mental note to replac

She approached the grave with a soft, almost tender smile that made everyone's skin crawl. "See? I brought back everything that belongs to you. None of it is left for anyone else." Under the horrified stares of the crowd, she carefully placed the bloody kidneys Anna had taken from me into the urn. When the police rushed in with guns raised, they froze in disbelief. I turned to Mom. She raised her head, laughed, and pointed into the air. "Look, Jenna has returned." I let out a soft, long sigh, as if I had finally released the last thread of attachment.

Runes faintly glowed along the cracked walls, pulsing like veins of fire. Shadows shifted in the corners until figures emerged, cloaked and hooded. One by one, they stepped into the faint glow of broken chandeliers above. Nora counted seven. Each moved with the kind of poise that spoke of centuries of survival. Her hand brushed instinctively against the dagger at her hip, though she knew steel meant little here. The first of them spoke, voice dry like parchment. “Nora Ainsley. Rogue-born. Tracker. Murder suspect.” The words stung, but Nora lifted her chin. They want me to break before this even begins.

In the meantime, blood continued to seep from my injury, rapidly soaking the hem of my white dress red and pooling on the cold stone slabs. I could hear the revelry in the banquet hall carrying on without interruption, its lively sounds bleeding faintly into the stone chamber. Father was announcing to the gathered nobles that Elara had become the new Sacred Huntress, while Caelum stood at her side, accompanying her through the final dance of the night. Those in attendance didn't even realize that I, the firstborn princess, was actually locked away in the dark by her own family, on the verge of dying. In my semi-conscious state, I thought I heard Wren crying out for me.

“So my ancestral home has been reduced to a giveaway item.” She shrugged weakly. “Pretty much.” I exhaled slowly. “Humanity never disappoints.” --- I followed her up the narrow stairs. The Varyn House shivered, breathing again after two centuries of stillness. In the kitchen, she turned a dial on a black metal box. Blue fire bloomed inside it. I recoiled. “You summon flame indoors?!” “It’s gas!” “You worship gas?” “It’s for cooking!” “You enslave fire for breakfast!” “It’s called convenience!”

If Isabella wanted to play with physical evidence, then Liora would provide evidence that would make the entire Montgomery family never dare set foot in this country again. That night, under the cold moonlight, Liora Thorne was writing code that was no longer about defense but about total destruction for anyone who dared to underestimate a Phoenix. END OF CHAPTER 23..