The Thorn King

By Alexia Purdy

"They say you can sense evil. That was what he was. A devil. An abomination of the damned. I could feel his power writhing around the room, whispering and cackling in my ear."

A curse is forever. Trapped in a scorched rose garden, Riley finds himself in the domain of a malevolent creature cursed by a dark magic ready to claim him as well.

The Thorn King is a ghostly retelling of the classic fairy tale: Sleeping Beauty. Originally published in the Once Upon a Ghost Anthology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melancholy Muse Press
• Release date: Jul 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215181027

Alexia Purdy

Alexia is a USA Today Bestselling author who currently lives in Las Vegas and loves spending every free moment writing or hanging out with her four rambunctious kids. Writing is the ultimate getaway for her since she's always lost in her head. She is best known for her award-winning Reign of Blood series, and A Dark Faerie Tale Series.Sign up for email updates and exclusive giveaways: http://smarturl.it/AlexiaPurdyNewsAlexia's websites:www.alexiapurdybooks.comhttp://alexiaepurdy.blogspot.comTwitter: @AlexiaPurdyAlexia Purdy Fan page:https://www.facebook.com/AlexiaPurdyAuthorA Dark Faerie Tale Series by Alexia Purdy FB page:https://www.facebook.com/ADarkFaerieTaleSeriesReign of Blood Series FB page:https://www.facebook.com/RoBbooks

Book preview

The Thorn King

©July 2023 Alexia Purdy

Previously Published in the Once Upon A Ghost Anthology

All rights reserved

www.alexiapurdybooks.com

All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious and any similarity to a real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

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Dedicated to Joshua, my dear sweet love.

A curse is forever.

Trapped in a scorched rose garden, Riley finds himself in the domain of a malevolent creature cursed by a dark magic ready to claim him as well.

The Thorn King

Hilde

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, feeling like another person. For a moment, another face, another set of eyes and bridge of nose, peered back at me. His hair, far darker than mine, his eyes a brilliant brown, and pale skin superimposed over my face made mine disappear as though I had never existed at all.

I gasped and jumped from my seat, the chair screeching loudly before it thumped to the floor.

Hilde! Are you all right? What’s going on up there?

My mother’s voice swam through my thoughts as I breathed hard, my heart hammering. Cold sweat peppered my forehead and covered my chest. A prickle of fear hung over me until I realized the reflection in the mirror was once again my own.

I’m all right, just dropped something, I called out. My mother’s nervous demeanor made her jumpier than a skittish terrier. Silence and calm were a must in my house.

Well, keep it down. I nearly cut my finger off dicing these tomatoes.

Sorry. I breathed out a slow, centering breath in the hope that I could calm the fluttering in my chest. It was enough to give me the strength to step forward and reach out to the mirror