Stolen Bloodline Read online

  Contents

  Also By L. G. Rollins

  Copyright

  Dedication

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Free Novella

  Also By L. G. Rollins

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  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  When it comes to defending her family,

  Adaleigh Dubois backs down from no one.

  Not a competitor caught cheating—

  Not from fear while stranded in a barn during a full moon—

  Not even from a crazed werewolf.

  Because no matter what,

  Family takes care of family.

  Download Your Free Copy at

  LGRollins.com/freenovella

  Other Books By

  L. G. Rollins

  Steam and Shadow Series

  Stolen Bloodline

  Clockwork Image

  Waltz of the Crows

  Buried In Blue

  Masked By Moonlight (available at LGRollins.com)

  Zaad Stone Series

  Shadows of Angels

  STOLEN BLOODLINE

  Copyright © 2019 by L. G. Rollins

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or medium whatsoever without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real or used fictitiously.

  ASIN: B07VB983H8

  To Callie Stoker.

  Thanks for believing in me.

  PROLOGUE

  Twenty Years Ago

  Zhi liling slipped in through the door and tip-toed up behind her husband, Ju-long.

  Moving noiselessly was far harder now that her baby would be coming in only two more months. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, her stomach hitting into his back almost before her arms could get to him.

  “Surprise!” she said.

  He actually jumped in his seat, before turning in her arms. “Liling?” He smelled as he always did, a bit like the cypress trees he often read beneath and a bit like the persimmons and jasmine rice he would so frequently sneak from the kitchen.

  She giggled at his shock. “I decided to come home a week early.” Her gaze moved from her husband to the much-used desk before him, to the jade carvings resting atop it, to the fine calligraphy on silk hanging on the wall. Liling rested her head against her husband’s. “I missed home.”

  “Liling.” Ju-long’s tone was firm as he pulled her arms off of him and stood.

  He wasn’t smiling, not even a little. Liling folded her hands together in front of her. “What’s wrong, my sweet?”

  His eyes moved from her face, to her ever-expanding stomach. In the space of a breath, his face crumpled.

  He wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his chest. “You were supposed to stay with your mother; you were supposed to stay far enough away to be safe.”

  Liling placed her hands against him and pushed back. “Ju-long, you’re scaring me. What’s happened?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing as of yet. Only—” He reached behind himself and picked up a single sheet of paper off of the desk. “After you left, I traveled South. I wanted to pay my respects to my ancestors and pray for a prosperous year.”

  Liling only nodded. It was something Ju-long did frequently. His devotion to the ancestors was one of the things that she’d first admired about him.

  “While I was passing through, I stopped for a while and spoke with a local midwife. My flower, I learned that the real Leng dashi died when he was three.”

  “You can’t be serious.” Liling pointed out the window from which a soft spring breeze blew in. “Leng lives on the other side of Chongqing. He’s one of the Emperor’s favorite—”

  “He’s an impostor.”

  Liling shut her eyes. That simply couldn’t be. “Think of what you are saying,” she whispered. “If the Emperor ever found out . . .”

  Ju-long sighed loudly. “I know. He’s become too good an acquaintance—too good a friend—these past few months to oust him without at least allowing him the chance to explain first.”

  “Oh, Ju-long, you wouldn’t.” To accuse a man of taking another’s name? Of casting off his own ancestors to pretend to be part of another family? It was one of the worst insults you could accuse one of.

  Ju-long’s face and voice turned grim. “Honor won’t allow me to be silent.”

  Liling placed a hand against her collar. What would Leng say? What would Leng do? Leng was a determined man; some claimed he aspired far past what he ought. But she had always found him charming if a bit self-centered.

  “He’s coming tonight,” Ju-long said. “After we speak, I will have to decide what to do.”

  “You’re quite certain the midwife knew of whom you meant?”

  “Quite.”

  “Then, let us not worry about it until then.” Her voice was far less confident than she would have liked. Liling turned away from her husband, eyes moving but not seeing the room. She didn’t want to discuss this anymore.

  Wait; that box resting on the foot of the bed hadn’t been there before. Liling moved up to the box. It was simple and tied with only a bit of twine.

  Ju-long moved up behind her, threading his arms under hers and around her stomach. “You’re not the only one who wanted to surprise the one they love.” He kissed her just below her ear. “Open it.”

  She did. The movement of untying the ribbon, though, felt strange. Almost mechanical. What would Leng do when her husband confronted him tonight? She’d heard many a rumor claim Leng could eventually become one of the most powerful men in all of China. Why didn’t the ancestors prevent Ju-long from meeting that cursed midwife?

  Liling lifted the lid. Atop a pillow of cotton sat four silver bracelets, each one encircling the one smaller than it. From the tiniest of them dangled a longevity lock charm.

  “Oh, they’re beautiful.”

  “For our beautiful baby,” Ju-long said, coming around her and sitting on the bed. He picked up the largest of the bracelets. “It’s a complete set—every size she needs to wear the charm until adulthood.” He held out the largest bracelet to her.

  “It’s a little soon to be buying such a thing, though, don’t you think?” Liling asked, taking the bracelet. It was thicker than the others and wide enough she could slip it on without unclasping it. She’d seen bracelets like this before. They were built to last even after years of daily wear—and they were very expensive.

  Ju-long shrugged. “This way we are prepared for the baby’s one-month celebration. But this,” he reached into his robe and pulled out something fist-sized and wrapped in tissue. “This is for you, and for right now.”

  Setting the bracelet back on the cotton
pillow, Liling took the small present and slowly pulled off the tissue paper. A delicate hair comb carved from jade lay nestled inside the folds of paper. It had three flowers along the top with pearls nestled inside each of the centers.

  “It’s lovely,” she said with a sigh.

  Ju-long took it from her and, pulling a strand of hair back, tucked it into the black folds of her hair. “Three flowers for our little family of three-to-be.”

  There was a knock at the door. They glanced at one another. The trepidation of their earlier conversation surfaced once more. Liling’s hand curled into a fist, the paper crinkling inside it. Ju-long placed his hand on top of hers, reassuringly.

  Another knock.

  Ju-long stood. “Which of the servants knows you’re home?” he whispered.

  “None,” she said, shaking her head. “I was worried they’d ruin the surprise.” The anticipation of an hour ago, expecting Ju-long would be overjoyed to see her sooner than expected, now almost felt foolish.

  “Good.” He placed both hands on her shoulders and began pushing her toward the far side of the bed. “Duck down where no one will see you.”

  “But why?” Still, she bent low, going on all fours. Gears above, but this was harder now than it had been seven months ago.

  “Wait here.” Ju-long hurried to the bedchamber door. She heard him open it a crack.

  Someone spoke—it sounded like one of the menservants. Liling wasn’t sure. Getting onto all fours had been hard, but staying on all fours was proving harder. Liling gently lowered herself down into a sitting position, resting her back against the soft blankets of their bed.

  Ju-long’s steps echoed about the room as he came over to her side of the bed again.

  “Leng is here.”

  That simple phrase sounded horribly foreboding.

  “Are you sure you have to speak with him?”

  He dropped to one knee beside her. “Please, do not ask me to be less than honorable.”

  She rocked her head back and forth against the mattress. “You don’t have a dishonorable bone in your body, Ju-long.”

  Leaning forward, he kissed her on the forehead. “I want you to stay hidden—from the servants and everyone—until after my meeting.”

  “I don’t understand why.”

  “Leng still believes you to be up North with your mother and sisters. I want it to stay that way until I know how to best resolve this.”

  ***

  Staying hidden didn’t exactly mean she had to stay on the floor, beside the bed, right?

  At least, Liling chose to see it as not meaning that.

  Checking all around her to be sure no servants were about, Liling stepped lightly down the corridor, her slippered feet making nary a noise.

  Deep voices were coming from Ju-long’s book room. That must be where he and Leng were meeting. She slipped up next to the partially opened door and flattened herself against the wall—well, as flat as a very round belly could get.

  “Come now, Zhi ju-long.” That had to be Leng. It was easy to recognize his booming, confident voice. “No doubt this midwife you met had me crossed with someone else.”

  “Leng.” That was Ju-long’s voice, firm and full of power. “I saw the documentation. I spent an entire day searching the countryside, trying to prove you right, trying to prove that you weren’t what I feared.”

  Documentation? A full day searching for other records? Fear, hot and sharp, filled her lungs, pricking against her chest. This was far more serious than he’d let on to her in their bedchamber.

  “And what is it you fear, my friend?” Leng’s tone had changed. Instead of lighthearted and slightly mocking, it was cold and clipped.

  “You, Leng dashi, are an impostor. A fraud.” Ju-long’s tone dropped slightly. “You know what honor dictates I must do.”

  Oh, Ju-long, please don’t push him so. Leng was quickly gaining power in the government. He had almost as many resources as her husband had by now.

  Liling took a few steps forward until she was directly next to the door which was slightly ajar. She could see them both, barely, standing face to face in the center of the room. Their shoulders were tight and their faces set.

  “Perhaps we could work something out,” Leng said. “I have many connections, connections I could share with you. Together, no one could stand in our way.”

  “You have maligned your ancestors. Such a thing can hardly be overlooked. However, I will go with you to the Emperor. I will vouch for your hard work. No doubt he can be made to see this was all just a misstep in your youth.”

  “Misstep?” Leng laughed, and the sound sent chills down Liling’s spine. “It was the best thing I ever did. And, as for my true ancestors”—there was the sound of a chain clinking and Liling leaned forward to better see Leng as he drew out a long necklace with a large charm hanging from it—“I have dealt with them as well.”

  “Leng.” The single word was a clear warning, one that could not be mistaken for anything else.

  Leng ignored her husband and instead began chanting, soft and low. Liling couldn’t make out the words, but she knew dark magic when she heard it. Holy gears above, that wasn’t a charm on the end of that chain, it was a talisman. The Emperor had strictly forbidden the use of dark magic and talismans of any kind. How deep did Leng’s evil deception run?

  Pulsing blue light flowed into the room, as though it seeped through the very walls. The light coalesced into dozens of pillars within the room. Forming. Shaping.

  Liling heard her husband swear. Not fully opaque, each pillar morphed until it was clearly the shape of a person. They stood, unevenly spaced, throughout the entire room, filling it. Liling’s breathing increased.

  Ghosts. Dozens of them.

  One stepped forward, completely blocking her view. Another moved behind Leng, so that it stood nearly shoulder to shoulder with Liling.

  “You need to run.”

  Liling blinked—the ghost was talking to her. What did one do when a ghost spoke to them? One who wasn’t even her own ancestor?

  “Leng will kill you both,” the ghost continued. Though she didn’t look at Liling, it was clear her words were meant for Liling only. “You need to leave, now.”

  Liling could still hear Leng chanting. She glanced over at the ghost speaking to her; a woman dressed in a fashion of a by-gone era.

  “Are you here to do his bidding?” Liling asked.

  “No.” The ghost’s voice turned sad. “But he has bound us all to the afterlife. We are only able to appear when he allows it. We can no more stop him than you can.”

  What a horrid fate. Still, Liling wasn’t ready to leave. “Please,” she said. “Protect my husband.”

  “We can’t. The most we can do is block anyone from hearing yours and my words.”

  While it was a small relief to know her conversation with the ghost woman wouldn’t be overheard, it fell far short of the protection she and Ju-long desperately needed. “Then at least let me see for myself what is to be.”

  The ghost listed her head, her brow creasing. Then she nodded. Reaching forward, she rested a hand against the ghost who stood blocking Liling’s view of the room. The larger ghost, a man dressed in an attire closer to the present time, took a step to the side and Liling could see into the room once more.

  “Stop this madness.” Liling’s husband sounded as upended and surprised as she felt.

  “The Emperor will not understand, Ju-long,” Leng said, strolling about the motionless throng of imprisoned ghosts. “So, you see, I intend to make sure he never finds out.”

  There was a flash of steel.

  Leng buried the blade deep in Ju-long’s stomach.

  Liling’s hand flew to her mouth, stifling the cry that burst from her.

  Ju-long’s eyes—those gorgeous brown eyes she loved—grew wide, then glazed over. He dropped to one knee, half-leaning against Leng.

  Leng only smiled. “It is time you joined my ancestors in the afterlife.”

>   He shoved Ju-long to the floor. Her husband hit with a sickening thud and did not stir. Blood began pooling on the rug beneath him.

  “Run,” the woman ghost said to Liling once more. “We will make sure no one hears you.”

  Liling couldn’t tear her eyes away from the man she loved. “I can’t. I can’t leave him.”

  The ghost’s voice turned firm. “You have your own lineage to worry about now. You baby’s safety must come first.”

  This wasn’t happening. Ju-long couldn’t be . . .

  “I will go to the Emperor,” Liling said. “He will avenge my husband.” She wrapped an arm around her growing stomach. “He will protect us.”

  “No,” the ghost said. “Leng is too powerful. You will never make it to the palace.”

  Leng called to someone behind him. A man, clearly living and not at all like the blue transparent ghosts around him, stepped out from the shadows of a corner. Liling didn’t recognize the man; it certainly wasn’t one of the house servants.

  “Bring in one of your werewolves,” Leng said. “Let him tear up the place—no one will ever be the wiser.” As he spoke, Leng began swinging the talisman in a small circle above Ju-long’s motionless form. “Then send men to watch the roads. I want his wife brought to me the moment she returns.”

  The man bowed then disappeared through one of the book room’s side doors.

  “Leave,” the ghost said. “Protect your own.”

  Liling took a half step back. Ju-long. Her kind, loving Ju-long. What would she do without him? The baby inside Liling kicked, pressing tight against her ribs. She wrapped an arm around her stomach. What would their baby do?

  “Go, while we can still silence your footfalls.”

  The ghost was right. There was nothing she could do for Ju-long, but she could save his baby.

  Turning on her heel, Liling sped away toward her bedchamber. Thoughts of what she had just seen washed over her, forcing her to draw in a painful breath. Liling rocked to a stop, her arms covering her face. She leaned against the wall for a moment.