ACAC First Chapter

I know I left my wonderful readers off on a brutal cliffhanger in Celestial Destiny Book 2: A Fox Among Flames back in January 2026, so I wanted to share the first chapter of Book 3: A Crow Among Crowns early to go along with the cover reveal.

I've also tentatively scheduled Book 3's release for July 1, 2027 (though I will move that date up if I manage to have it ready sooner!)

I hope you all enjoy this peek into the continuation of the series. This will be the final book in the trilogy. Be warned: A Crow Among Crowns is a bit darker and gorier at parts, while building upon the same vibes, feelings, and themes as the prior books.

**Please be aware that this copy has had a sample edit but has not had final copy/line edit, so minor changes are possible before going to press next summer.**

A CROW AMONG CROWNS: Celestial Destiny Book 3

Chapter 1: Eight Days

Another blood-curdling scream filled the near-empty room, ricocheting off the cobblestone walls and echoing in Serena’s ears. She didn’t flinch at the sound anymore. Not after all she’d stood by and witnessed that week.

It had been eight days since the border wall fell. Eight days since they laid to rest thirty-four of their own. Following the brutal battle, Crystal had pushed her healing abilities until she was on the brink of collapse. She had managed to save a few lucky souls, but the ones she could not weighed heavily on her heart, especially their comrades, Ausha and Heath.

Additional Elven healers made their way to the border the following morning to tend the wounded who had yet to succumb to their injuries. Madeline was suffering from a terrible infection that should have taken her life, but after several days of healing, she miraculously survived.

The elves built great bonfires and helped the survivors to honor the dead. But it was impossible for some to stop and mourn. Not when other members of the rebellion had been captured, presumably alive, by their enemies. Without bodies, they could only assume Xandra and Will were among those taken prisoner.

Every second they were gone was eating away at Serena and her comrades. In fact, Cole might have been the worst off of the bunch. He had immediately taken over interrogating their prisoners of war, quickly losing his composure. When a mouthy guard taunted him, Cole slammed the man so hard against a wall that his neck snapped. The elf didn’t show a hint of remorse as he tossed the body aside in frustration. Serena had paused then, almost feeling pity for the man who hadn’t seen his own death coming.

Almost.

But then she remembered Rexton’s men were likely doing their own interrogations, which shook her to her core. And in that moment, she buried her pity under six feet of cold dirt and ordered them to bring in the next prisoner. She’d torture them all to the brink of insanity if there was any chance of saving Will.

“Stop, please!” their latest victim cried out, rattling the chair they’d tied him to with scraps of his own crimson uniform. Snot dripped off his chin as shuddering sobs wracked his body. On his left hand, an amalgamation of bruised flesh and trickling blood revealed how tough Rexton’s soldiers were. But all men had a breaking point, and Cole was determined to punch, stab, and snap every appendage until he reached it. As the elf took hold of the man’s pointer finger, their prisoner shrieked, “No, please! They’ll be in Murmont!”

Cole lowered his bloodied hands and stepped back from the captive so Serena and Rigel could see him. This wasn’t the first time they’d tortured one of Rexton’s men for information—but he was the first to break. Three mangled fingers in. 

Serena tapped an impatient foot in tune with the blood dripping onto the floor. Drip. Drip. Drip. Taking haggard, wheezing breaths, the young man’s gaze darted between her and Rigel, far too afraid to peer at his torturer. Deciding to appeal to the only woman in the room, the soldier pleaded for sympathy. “Please…I beg you. Have mercy! I am no one.”

Cole’s scoff made the man flinch. Serena exhaled and pulled the dagger Will had given her out of the holster at her hip. Pushing off the wall, she sauntered closer to the prisoner. “Why should I? You’re the enemy. Your comrades took people who are important to me…and to them.” She pointed the blade at the guardians before poking the man’s exposed chest. The tip dug into his soft flesh, and dark crimson liquid pooled around the sharp edge as she leaned in and asked, “How do we sneak into Murmont undetected?”

The man shook his head. “You can’t. There are checkpoints, guard details. It’s impenetrable.”

Serena straightened her back and chuckled humorlessly. “That’s what they said about the border. Yet here we are.” The man’s gaze darted behind her, and his trembling increased.

Glancing back, she found that Cole had retreated to brood in the shadows beside Rigel. His foreboding presence made her think of death, and she suppressed a shiver at the fury emanating from the deep blue scowl that never left their prisoner.

With a sigh, she clamped a hand on the man’s shoulder and leaned closer. “What’s your name?”

The young man blinked incredulously before stammering, “Ian.” 

She feigned a smile, bringing her eyes level with his. “Look, Ian. We both know there has to be a weak spot. You tell us the easiest way in, and this whole ordeal is over. We’ll toss you in a cell and forget that you exist.” She tightened her grip, and the man winced. “What do you say?”

Ian’s breathing was shaky as wide eyes searched her face. He leaned closer and insisted, “I don’t know anything! I was a new recruit. Barely trained before they sent us to Durmak.”

Serena’s breath caught, and she straightened abruptly. “Durmak? What business did you have in Durmak?” 

“They were looking for a missing girl from there,” he stammered. Serena inhaled sharply, suspecting the king knew who she was but did not know that she had fled to Symptee. After all, they’d slaughtered all of his men on the mountain. Did he think she had failed to cross the border? That she had returned home?

She closed her eyes and asked, “What happened when they didn’t find her?”

Surprise registered in his voice at her question. “How do you know they didn’t find her? Is she here?”

A sharp crack rang out when Serena’s hand made contact with the soldier’s cheek. “I’m asking the questions here! Tell me what happened in Durmak.” 

“Getting off topic here,” Cole chimed in. “It does not matter where they went before the battle. We need to find out where they took hostages after.”

The man nodded vigorously, bowing his head in submission to them. “Murmont, sir. They’d hold them there until the king sends orders.” 

She turned and yelled at the elf. “It matters to me.” His jaw clenched, a vein bulging in the side of his neck as he bit his tongue.

Serena grasped the prisoner by his shoulders and forced him to look at her. “Answer my question. What happened in Durmak?” The man flinched as she raised her voice.

“We set it on fire!” The soldier winced as he shouted the truth, clamping his eyes closed in fear of the repercussions. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to. It was the king’s orders. I’m so sorry.”

The air left Serena’s lungs as she stepped back, words escaping her. “No.” She remembered the ruins of Cinders, envisioned the faces of her friends and neighbors running scared. Thought about Talitha and her family, Will’s parents and sisters. What had become of them?

A flash of bright orange appeared in her peripheral vision, and Rigel hesitantly touched her back. He said something, but she couldn’t focus on his words, too lost in thoughts of Rexton’s latest destruction. Sadness and rage warred within her. She clenched her quaking hands into fists, fighting the urge to choke the soldier who had helped raze her hometown to ashes.

Before she could recover, Crystal walked through the doorway with a sense of urgency. Pausing beside Serena, the elf eyed the captive before whispering, “There are men claiming to be loyalists at the gate. We need you up top.”

Serena stared a moment longer at the sniveling man in front of her as her shock subsided into pure rage. “I cannot leave now. This traitor said they burned Durmak.” She gestured toward the terrified soldier. “He has to pay… They all have to pay for what they’ve done.” If the rage in her heart could boil a man’s blood, he would have exploded on the spot. Imagining it was no comfort. She wanted these men to suffer as Rexton’s men had made her and her friends suffer. Slowly. Agonizingly. Wailing in endless pain.

These monsters would burn for what they’d done.

A gentle hand clasped her upper arm, and Serena locked eyes with her Elven comrade. “They will. Leave him to the boys. You really must come with me.” Crystal gently tugged her toward the door. Serena swallowed, frustrated that her guardian was dragging her away. She flexed her aching fingers and looked over her shoulder at the others.

Cole had already stepped up to take her place, adjusting his rolled up sleeves in anticipation. “Don’t worry. He’ll keep talking for me.”

“I know he will.” Serena locked eyes with the soldier and ordered Cole, “If he doesn’t give you everything, break the rest of his fingers. Should you run out, kill him and bring in the next one.”

The soldier’s eyes widened. The chair clattered against the stone floor as he tried to leap to his feet, begging and crying for mercy as Serena turned her back on him.

“Trust me, he will regret having ever worn crimson,” Cole replied as the two women exited the room. 

Screams resumed, the sharp sound hurting her ears through the closed door.

It took everything in Serena’s tired, aching body not to crumble to the floor under the weight of what they were doing. These men might have been their enemies, but they were still people–prisoners just like their friends. While she was willing to do anything to get them back, it made her stomach lurch to watch Cole and others torture their captives. Their screams would echo through her nightmares for years to come.

But she forced herself to watch. To ask questions. To listen, even when each sickening crunch and squelch made her want to run from the room and toss what little food she’d choked down that day. She was responsible for this. For the rebellion, for the loyalists, for their missing friends, for anything that happened in their camp. In that room. They could not sit back and do nothing while Rexton’s men had their people.

There was no such thing as fair when fighting against Antoine Rexton and his army. To win a fight against the ruthless, they would have to be ruthless themselves.

In the hall, Serena exhaled roughly, her heart squeezing in her chest over the news of Durmak’s destruction. She wanted to weep for her town and for her people, for the pain caused in Rexton’s relentless pursuit of her–the missing Garrick heir. The one that got away.

The one coming to end his reign of terror.

While the wall on the eastern side of Norlee had to come down to allow their fighters entrance, they had elected to leave the western wall intact since they now had control of the valley. Now, the wall’s interior structure served as the resistance’s headquarters.

“I am sorry about your home,” Crystal finally said, breaking the silence before they began ascending the steps to the upper level of the border wall. “But you must quell your rage for now. There is much to be done if we intend to break into the military fortress.”

Shaking her head, Serena did not reply. How could she quell her rage when this felt like such a blatant attack on her? Durmak had been her home. Will’s, too. And now it was reduced to ashes, its residents Divinity only knew where. If anyone had even survived.

Footsteps pattering against stone ahead drew their attention, and Serena looked up to find Gideon and Kieran descending the stairs with haste. “Where are you off to?” Crystal asked, stepping aside.

“They’re opening the gate,” Gideon replied in passing. “The captain was able to identify one of the men.”

Crystal and Serena exchanged a skeptical look before turning and following them back down the steps. Outside, armor-clad members of the Garrick Guard and other members of the rebellion rushed down the dirt road, shouting excitedly that additional aid was there. The gate had already been wrenched open. A cluster of men gathered in the shadow cast by the border wall. Following close behind Gideon and Kieran, knights and students parted to allow them to pass. They whispered as they watched Serena. She didn’t have to hear them to know what they were saying. She was too young to be leading a ragtag army of guards and rebels. How could she possibly face Antoine Rexton and win?

The boys stepped to the side, allowing Serena to pass them when they reached the cluster of men conversing with Elara’s highest-ranking guards. Captain Smedley greeted the loyalists with vigorous handshakes. “Fritz, it’s been a long time. Good to see you’re still around.”

Serena paused, uncertain whether she had heard him right. Then a deep, familiar voice replied, “It has not been easy, friend.”

Her throat constricted as though a heavy weight had been dropped upon her chest, and tears pricked her eyes. “Papa?” Serena grasped the shoulders of the two nearest men and forced them aside, opening up a space between them. There he was: John Finch. Nathan Fritz. Whatever his name was didn’t matter. He was her father. He was alive, and he was there, staring at her in utter disbelief.

“Stars,” she whispered, her voice rough with a swell of emotions. “You’re here.”

In two strides, John’s arms were around her, and she sobbed loudly in his embrace. One hand cradled the back of her head, gently smoothing over her unbound waves. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m here now. It’s all going to be okay.”

Commander Maynard cleared his throat. As her father pulled away, Serena realized it was the first time she had lost it in front of everyone since discovering Will and Xandra had been taken hostage. Maynard and Smedley had advised her to keep her emotions in check in public, as everyone was looking to her to lead them.

Easier said than done.

She sniffled and swiped her fingers across her wet cheeks. “Sorry. We should go inside.” When her father took her hand, she felt like a child again for the first time in years. The small comfort of having him back tugged at her heartstrings as she led him inside the stone structure. They passed two rooms where the dwarfs and elves had set up bedrolls. Rilura nodded at her through a doorway, but she did not stop to visit. Her sole focus was on her father, on the questions she’d been asking ever since he left Durmak and their family to aid the queen.

She led him into one of the many rooms with bunk beds once used by the border guards. This room was where she and a few of the female guards had been sleeping. Crystal had followed them inside, but when they reached the room, she paused in the doorway. “I’ll be down the hall should you need me,” the elf said before shutting the door, leaving the two of them alone.

John turned toward his daughter and cupped her face in his hands. “I can’t believe you’re here. They’d told me you made it to Symptee, but I never expected…I wouldn’t have thought you’d be fighting so soon.” His dark eyes glistened as he studied her, almost as if he had forgotten what she looked like. Or had she changed so much in only a year?

“I’ve been fighting for so long now, I hardly remember peace.” Serena swallowed thickly, suddenly unable to hold his gaze. His brown eyes, warm and full of adoration, should have brought her comfort. But in that moment, all she could think about was his son who shared them. His son, whom she had killed on the mountain to save herself.

Stumbling back a few steps, she stammered, “I’m so sorry, Papa.” Suddenly, it felt impossible to breathe. The weight of her guilt clawed at her chest. Serena tugged at the neck of her blouse, loosening the strings in a single pull. She wanted to run–to flee this room, this building, this horrendous guilt. She’d give anything to shed the weight of it all.

When her back hit the wall, she sucked in a haggard breath, and John grasped her by the arms, steadying her footing. “Serena…Serena, you don’t owe me an apology, sweetie.” His hands found her cheeks and brushed away her tears, but they continued to pour out. “It is I who should apologize to you. I left you all alone. I can’t even imagine how terrifying it was for you. I should have been there. I–”

She shook her head harshly, trying to push away his hands. “You don’t understand,” she sobbed. “Cameron. He’s d–”

John’s features dropped, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “Cameron? Are you worried he’ll be in Murmont? I heard that’s where you intend to strike next.” He grasped her face and gently forced her to look at him. “You don’t have to worry about that, Serena. Just take a deep breath.”

Serena clamped a hand over her mouth. As John Finch stared at her–a shaking, sobbing mess like he’d never seen her before–she watched the light drain from him. He knew it was something far worse. The muscles in his temples tensed, and his hands slid off of her cheeks. “Serena…Tell me what’s going on.”

Finally, it burst forth like a dam, a flood of words filled with raw emotions. “They’re all dead because of me! Mum, the boys. Your whole family, gone…because Rexton wants me.”

John’s voice was rough as silent tears etched a path down his cheeks and disappeared into his thick beard. She could see the questions in his solemn expression, but instead of asking, instead of pushing her away, he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her. They clung to each other while they shed their grief, knowing no one else could understand just how much the two of them had lost. They were all each other had left to call family–but she feared he wouldn’t want to call her that anymore.

A heavy hand smoothed over the back of her head, the repetitive motion whisking her mind back to her childhood. Their family huddled in their sitting area before the fireplace–Mama and Papa in their wooden chairs while she and her brothers gathered at their feet, eager for one of their stories. When her father spoke, he boasted of heroes in armor fighting great battles, vanquishing their foes, and being honored by kings for their valor. When their mother took a turn, the story was sure to include a sweeping romance, and the boys would gag at the mention of a mere kiss. Serena most enjoyed when her parents interwove a tale of equal parts action, whimsy, and love. She would lean her head back and allow her mother to run her fingers through her tangled tresses, the gentle caress nearly lulling her to sleep. 

“None of this is your fault, sweetheart. We tried our best to protect you from this burden, to give you a normal life, but we weren’t perfect. We should have told you the truth years ago. Trained you–and the boys. Had a better plan, in case soldiers came looking.” She lifted her head, and he grabbed her dripping cheeks between large, warm hands. “That’s on me, not you. I could never blame you for anything that’s happened.”

The knot returned in her throat, tight and suffocating. She struggled to clear it as she removed John’s hands from her face. The truth clawed at her insides, the earth-shattering, life-altering words desperate to unleash themselves on this unsuspecting man. “Cameron–when he found us on the Athamar Mountains, I–I killed him. You have to know I never meant to hurt him.”

The door wrenched open then, and they turned to find two guardians in the doorway. Rigel’s hand still clenched the doorknob. “Everything all right, sir?” He stared at John, watching carefully for his reaction. Had they been eavesdropping? Did they think John would harm her when he learned the horrifying truth about his son?

When John did not reply, Serena dared to turn back toward the man who stared at her quite helplessly. When he finally spoke, he had one question, his deep voice resigned, as though he already knew the answer. “What did he do to you?”

Instinctively, Serena’s fingertips brushed her bare neck, remembering where Cameron’s hands had wrapped tight around her, choking the breath from her lungs. Noticing the motion and the far-away look in her eyes, John nodded and cleared his throat. “I need some air,” he murmured. He stalked past Rigel into the hall. Serena moved to go after him, but her friends stepped between them.

“Let him have a minute,” Rigel whispered.

“I didn’t mean to.” Serena choked on a sob. “He hates me.”

Crystal shook her head, one hand gripping Serena’s shoulder. “He doesn’t. If he hated you, he would have lashed out. He just learned the last of his sons has died. He needs time to grieve alone.”

“He’ll come back when he’s ready,” Rigel added, guiding Serena to take a seat on one of the empty bunks. Her friends sat on either side of her and waited. She cried on their shoulders as minutes ticked by, and she wondered if John Finch would ever look at her as a daughter again. 

She started pacing the room when the sky turned deep gold. As Crystal stood and suggested they go to dinner, John burst through the door, eyes puffy, chest heaving as though he had been running for his life. Serena stared at him, her own heart hammering in anticipation of the shift between them.

Rigel was beside her in the blink of an eye, standing in her father’s path. John glanced wearily at her guardians as he approached. “I would never hurt her,” he told them, tired eyes boring into Rigel’s, “but I am glad Elara found such diligent guardians. Thank you for keeping her safe.” He extended a hand. 

“It is our honor to serve her,” Rigel said, accepting John’s hand and giving it a firm shake. 

Serena cursed the blush that overtook her cheeks at his sincerity. She’d never feel worthy of such respect and loyalty.

John shook Crystal’s hand as well before asking, “May we have a moment alone?” His gaze fell on her finally, and her insides melted under his tenderness. There was no anger there, only sadness and resignation. She nodded, and her guardians made their way out of the room.

Alone again, her father wrapped his arms around her protectively. “I will never blame you for what happened to your brothers. Any of them. Cameron chose the wrong side in this war. If he hurt you, then he wasn’t the boy I raised. We lost him a long time ago.”

She gripped his tunic as she fought back another wave of emotions. “I’m so sorry.”

John took a deep breath before drawing back to look her in the eyes. He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his palms. “You did nothing wrong, protecting yourself, Serena. That must have been terrifying, but I’m so relieved that you kept going. That you survived. I’m proud you’ve borne the Finch name all these years.”

“But I’m not your child,” she whispered dejectedly. “I don’t feel like Elyse Garrick suits me, but Serena Finch doesn’t exist, does she?”

Her father’s brows pinched in the middle. “From the moment we left Graynor, you have been my daughter. I have never loved you any less than my own sons. We gave you the name Serena Finch to keep you safe, but make no mistake, you were ours…and you may keep that name forever, if that’s what you so choose. I would never ask you to give that up.”

Serena leapt into his arms, wrapping hers tight around his neck like she did when she was a little girl. He held her there in silence for as long as she needed, never pulling away. “Thank you, Papa.” He tucked her head under his chin, and she nuzzled into his chest as a small weight lifted from her shoulders.

This day had been brutal. The past week had ripped open a giant hole in her heart, one which this reunion could only partially stitch up. There still was the matter of their missing comrades, including the boy she loved.

With a deep breath, Serena lifted her head and cleared her throat. “We could use your help. We’re preparing to raid Murmont.”

John’s brows raised in shock. “That’s quite the undertaking, and so soon after taking the valley. Why take the risk?”

“We believe they have six of our people, including Xandra Stanton and Will Burroughs,” Rigel replied from the doorway.

Confusion etched her father’s features. “Will? What was he doing out here?” Serena’s cheeks burned knowing he was about to find out that his apprentice was more than just her friend. As soon as he looked back to his daughter, the deep crease in his forehead eased. “So, how long has that been going on?” he asked, not hiding his knowing smirk.

Part of her was surprised he was not upset about it. She was his little girl, after all. Cautiously, she told him, “He came with us to Symptee after Mum–” John hung his head and nodded in understanding, and her thought trailed off, not wishing to dwell on their grief. “We became, uh, more than friends a few months ago, when we traveled to Ord Metsiilva.”

“Sounds like you’ve been on quite the long journey together.” John hummed as he looked at her wistfully, as though it was hard for him to believe she had grown up so much. “He’s a nice boy. Level-headed. Talitha will be pleased to hear about you two.”

“You’ve seen Talitha?” Serena grasped his hands, her heart pounding faster as her father nodded. “Oh, what a relief. I was so worried when I learned that Durmak had been scorched.”

Frown lines appeared beside her father’s lips. “I had not heard that. Those poor people.”

Serena gulped. “We found out during interrogation this morning.” She couldn’t meet his eyes then, a wave of shame creeping into her chest, unsure whether her father would approve of the brutal tactics they had used to extract information from their prisoner. “Where did you see Talitha?”

“She’s in Jessirae with the loyalists,” John said, taking a seat on the edge of a bed. “She had been taken by some of Rexton’s men who were looking for us last year. After some time in the castle dungeon, a mystery man set her free. She won’t elaborate further.”

Flopping down on the bed beside him, Serena’s eyes welled with tears again. “They took her…because of who I am.” Her closest friend had been taken from her home and endured who knows what horrors–all because she had been associated with a family of loyalists, and neither of them had known it. Now that the truth was out, she couldn’t help but feel responsible for every single person Rexton had hurt in his pursuit of the Garrick hidden heir.

“Do not blame yourself. It’s more likely they figured out who I was.” Her father put an arm around her back and squeezed her elbow, though his words did not quell the shame she felt for her friend being wrongly imprisoned. “Don’t fret. She seems healthy, in good spirits. You’ll see her again soon enough.” 

Serena nodded, clenching her fists. “But first, we have to save our other friends. I don’t care what the risk is. Cole and I will go alone if we have to.”

John shook his head. “I wouldn’t dream of sending you anywhere alone. Let’s meet with the officers. We’ll come up with a feasible plan.” They rose and walked side by side toward the hall, knowing there was much work to be done ahead of their next attack.

They found Crystal and Rigel waiting outside the door. Together, they made their way down the hall until they ran into Cole. His fingers were stained crimson, his scowl still in place as he declared, “We have a way in.”

Serena smiled for the first time in eight days. They were going to get their people back.

And then she would bring her wrath down upon Antoine Rexton.