Exclusive Excerpt from Rise of a Nobleman

by Valentina C. Brin

“Norwich Orphanage, June 23, 1680 

Dorian looked up at the sky. He closed his eyes and dropped his arms along his sides, fingers grazing his lily-white tunic.

Raindrops spattered on his forehead and ran down his temples, but he didn’t move. He let the water wash over his skin. When he felt it trickle onto his lips, he tasted it—it was fresh, pleasant like the peaceful atmosphere surrounding that labyrinth of hedges.

But then something changed. The clean taste of rain turned pungent and metallic, an unmistakable coppery taste that made him nauseous. His mouth was full of blood.

Alarmed, he touched his face but found no cuts. Nothing hurt, not the slightest hint of pain.

Another drop fell on his fingers. He saw it from the corner of his eye—a vermilion blotch standing out against the uniform paleness of his skin, a stain that removed all doubt. It wasn’t water any more.

Heart gripped with anxiety, he touched his cheeks, forehead, nose—everywhere the rain had fallen—but again found no sign of wounds. Checking his palms, he discovered them covered with blood that was still warm.

“Help!”

He really tried to scream, but his voice didn’t come out. It wouldn’t.

There wasn’t enough of it.

His hands were trembling, his knees shaking powerlessly. A coarse sound erupted in the sky.

Dorian looked up. A large crow flew in a circle overhead, its tiny black eyes pointed right at him as its wings flapped, spattering blood—the same blood that had just smeared his face. When it glided to a landing on a hedge, the blood strewn on the ground began to spread. The splotches grew larger until they formed puddles, but didn’t stop there—they kept growing and growing and growing. They spread out, touching one another, filling in the entire length of the pathway. In an instant, the blood had soaked Dorian’s feet, submerging his toes. But it didn’t stop there. The blood continued to rise, engulfing his ankles and reaching his shins.

Dark, magnetic eyes were trained on him. Waiting for him.

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