The Princess and Her Grand King

I am home, yet it does not feel like home. The chains on my wrists and ankles are gone, but those around my heart tighten. Is the world truly black and white, or is it just my vision failing? Does all food turn to ash, or is it merely my mouth forgetting how to taste? When the crows call and the moon hangs heavy, does everyone else drown their sorrow in pillows, or am I the only one? Urai is hell. A kingdom of devils. Yet hell is my heaven. My dark devil—through these falling eyes—is my angel. I breathe, but I do not exist. I exist, but I do not live. Send me back to hell. —Emeriel Galilea Evenstone. Book three of Beasts of Wrath and Madness. This cannot be enjoyed as a standalone, as it is a direct continuation of book two: The Slave in a Princess Disguise. For mature listeners.