War of the Wilted by Amber Mitchell is the second book in the Garden of Roses series. Check out an exclusive excerpt from the novel here!
‘War of the Wilted’ by Amber Mitchell synopsis:
Like flowers denied water, people are wilting under the emperor’s tyranny.
Rose will not rest until the Gardener is dead. But there are bigger battles to fight, and Rayce—leader of the rebellion and the only man Rose has ever loved—believes their best chance at winning the war is to join forces with her sworn enemy.
Saving innocent people is more important than her quest for revenge. But their new ally can’t be trusted—and he knows her darkest secret. One betrayal could leave the war and Rayce’s life hanging in the balance, and Rose will need to make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all.
‘War of the Wilted’ by Amber Mitchell exclusive excerpt:
He takes another step forward, coming into the light. His pockmarked face looks so much paler under the white beam, his tiny eyes ringed with dark bags and his thin lips cracking and dried. This is the shadow of the grossly confident showman that commanded his horror show with a mere look.
“Perhaps,” he says. “But I’m still willing to bet that when we are through with our little game, I’ll be the only one left standing.”
I reach for where my stunner should be. “Tell me how you knew about the poison.”
“Why else would the shogun bring a doctor in here to examine me? It doesn’t take much to figure out that my illness was brought on when you started feeding me. Apparently my life is worth more to him than I knew.”
“Don’t kid yourself. Your life is only worth the information you give us, and we both know you’re running out.”
He arches a bushy eyebrow. “Are you so sure about that?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Yes, Jin, I am.”
He looks down at the tray I brought for him, the pile of cold sticky rice slumping over on itself. If his real name bothers him, he shows no sign of it. He picks up a wooden chopstick, bringing it up to his face and examining it closely.
“Tell me, do you think you’re a good actress, Rose?”
I tilt my head, trying to figure out what that question has to do with anything. He sneers at me like he used to before a performance, setting every nerve on end. “I have no idea what you’re up to, but whatever it is, it isn’t going to work.”
His eyes flicker to my face, a smile pulling apart his peeling lips. “Do you think you’re better than I am?” he asks.
“Because I’ve always thought you were never very skilled at it. Your smile always felt forced during shows and no matter how much I tried to correct you by having your Wilted beat, you never did learn that lesson. You can act tough, but I will always see through you.”
“How about you stop talking now?”
He nods to the chopstick in his hand. “But I wonder how good you would be if you were going to lose everything.”
“What’re you going on about?”
As the words leave my mouth, the squeal of the iron bars behind me rings out in the air. I look over my shoulder, catch Rayce plunging into the darkness toward us. Small fingers grip my hand and I swing back around, trying to jerk away, but the Gardener’s grasp is much stronger than I remember. For a short second, I wonder what he’s doing until the sharp bite of wood presses against my palm right as he jams the pointed part of the chopstick into the fat in his shoulder. He lets out a sharp cry and my eyes widen as blood pours from the self-inflicted wound, sticky and warm on my skin.
“Sh-she attacked me!” he says, taking a step backward.
The thunder of footsteps behind me echoes with the Gardener’s cries and still my brain tries to catch up with what just happened.
“What?” I say. “No, I didn’t. You made me.”
“Did poisoning me not get the job done fast enough?”
“Rose, no!” Rayce’s voice booms behind me like thunder.
Arms wrap around my shoulders and yank me back. I don’t even strain against them, going completely rigid. I hold out my hands as if to show that I don’t have anything offensive on me, but the side of my left hand is covered in blood. Everything in my mind crawls to a stop. The last time I had the Gardener’s blood on my hands, I’d earned it, at least.
But this time, he played me. The only thing I can hope for now is that Rayce doesn’t fall into the same trap I just did.
“Rayce, I didn’t do this. It’s not what it looks like. I wouldn’t!”
Rayce’s gaze moves from my outstretched hands to the Gardener, who cowers a few feet away, his own hands wrapped around the chopstick in his shoulder, trying to catch the flow of blood oozing out of his self-inflicted wound.
Seeing Rayce turn to him, the Gardener speaks. “How am I ever supposed to trust in your word if you can’t control a simple girl?”
Anger rips through my body and I reach out to do real damage. I’ll happily take the blame for any injury I inflicted on him, and if Rayce said the word, I’d give him a real reason to fear for his own safety. I might as well now anyway.
“He’s lying!” I strain against Rayce’s grasp, but he tightens his arms around me. “I didn’t do that. He did! He stabbed himself to make it look like I attacked him. He’s trying to turn us against each other.”
“Why would I stab myself?” he asks, eyes questioning Rayce. He doesn’t even bother with me. I’m no longer his audience. Now I’m part of the act again. “That’s ridiculous. I’ve done nothing but help the rebellion since I’ve been here, and all I ask in return is to be protected. There was something important I was going to share in return for the Flower’s good behavior, a secret entrance into Imperial City, but you can forget about that.”
“Whatever you’re playing at, I will figure it out!” I jerk my shoulders, trying to escape Rayce’s grip. “I’m going to figure you out.”
War of the Wilted by Amber Mitchell will be released on October 1! Pre-order now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or Kobo. And don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads!
(Editors note: Book synopsis and excerpt provided by Entangled Publishing)
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