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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kalie Cassidy was born and raised in Southern California and spent over a decade working in Los Angeles as a professional theater actor, coach, and acting teacher. She now lives in the Midwest with her family and rambunctious golden retriever.
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Praise for Kalie Cassidy’s IN THE VEINS OF THE DROWNING
“A provocative dark fantasy with all the alluring qualities of siren song. Sensuous and lushly romantic, In the Veins of the Drowning ensorcelled me from the very first page.”
—Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning
“An absolute riptide of a book. It draws you in, pulls you under. Atmospheric and evocative, Cassidy’s writing sews adventure, romance, and political intrigue together while maintaining its ominous tenor. Monsters lurk, and danger knows your name. I was completely swept away.”
—Rachel Gillig, New York Times bestselling author of One Dark Window
“Cassidy has written your new favorite romantasy couple: a king tormented by his honor and a siren grappling with her monstrosity, each of them walking the knife’s edge of duty and desire. Sensual, gripping, and resonant as siren song, In the Veins of the Drowning will sink its lure into you and leave you breathless.”
—Allison Saft, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide
“Perilous stakes underscore a defiant, hate-to-love affair that’s as vulnerable as it is sexy. In the Veins of the Drowning is a sprawling, incandescent debut that emerges with talons and teeth.”
—Isa Agajanian, author of Modern Divination
“As glittering as the sea and lush as its foamy waves, In the Veins of the Drowning will lure you in like a siren’s call with its mysterious lore and fierce, yet tender romance. Imogen and Theo are perfect reflections of each other and I have no doubt they will ensnare the hearts of readers the way they’ve ensnared mine. Devastatingly atmospheric and utterly captivating.”
—Maddie Martinez, author of The Maiden and Her Monster
“Rich with atmosphere and lore, this lush fantasy is like the sea that roars at its heart: fierce and dangerous; darkly glittering. The ferocious tide of Imogen and Theo’s irresistible romance will sweep you off your feet, but it is Imogen herself—grappling with her power and what it means to be a monster—who will steal your heart. A gorgeous, spellbinding debut.”
—Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn
“In the Veins of the Drowning is a seductive study of the monstrous, weaving a rich tapestry of prose and emotion in which beauty has talons, memories hold magic, and blood runs deep.”
—Maggie Rapier, author of Soulgazer
“Consider me drowning and gasping for air. In the Veins of the Drowning is as seductive as a siren’s song and as haunting as the sea itself. Don’t miss sinking into this gorgeous debut!”
—Brittney Arena, author of A Dance of Lies
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If you enjoyed
IN THE VEINS OF THE DROWNING
look out for
IN THE WAKE OF THE RUINED
BOOK TWO OF THE SIREN MAGE
by
KALIE CASSIDY
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1
I crawled out of the sea like some graceless water creature, unused to the air and hard sand.
In one fist, I gripped Nemea’s sword. On the opposite arm, looped around it like an overlarge shackle, was his crown. I’d been delirious with pain and exhaustion, floating over the sea’s surface and through the remnants of the battle, slipping in and out of consciousness for the whole of the night. There had been no deciphering between dream and reality as bits of soldiers’ bodies bobbed on the water beside me. Ship flotsam mingled with the blood-laced foam.
It had been a strain to keep my power focused, as that spell seemed to have reduced me to almost nothing. The taste of it still sat on my tongue, an incessant hunger for more pulsing through me with each thump of my sore heart. My senses had been dulled by the fierce, terrible pain in my middle, and yet, I’d managed to force the sea to ferry me across its surface. All the while, I’d clung to the sword and crown like the dented pieces of metal were what kept me afloat. They were imbued now, anointed with Nemea’s blood. When I touched them, I remembered that I had slain a monster.
I remembered that I could do it again.
Shaking, and on all fours, I paused at the edge of the waves and looked up the dune.
The white sand rolled gently, creased by the wind, and I realized the sea had spat me out onto the very beach where Halla had performed her offering to Eusia. Where I had choked on the draught that had severed my bond to Theodore. I could make out the stairs that led to the flower garden, where the pain had brought me to my knees and blotted out my vision. The pale walls and turrets of Genevreer Palace loomed beyond in an endless, mocking sprawl.
I lay slowly onto my side and let out a sob at the flare of pain in my stomach. I could hardly stand, let alone reach the palace, traverse its halls.
“Your house is too big, Theo,” I mumbled to myself, sounding half dead.
Perhaps I was.
The moldering, sea-filled hole in my middle throbbed like a heartbeat, carrying pain from my tender scalp to my wet toes. It pounded in my lips, in my fingers, and all I wanted was to sleep on the warm sand. I closed my eyes, only to have my thoughts flicker and distort like images from a violent fever-dream. I imagined the empress on her swaying ship, and Eusia in her little pool of dark water, and Halla, warm and safe with Theodore in the palace above me. I imagined Agatha’s halo of dark curls, her wide, shining brown eyes, and there was fear in them.
A thin whimper filled my throat. Agatha, who never seemed to fear or fumble. Who was made of steely resolve. Agatha, who had given me years and years of stalwart care and friendship. Who’d done so much to ensure I would never be alone or afraid.
“Get up,” I said, the words sharp air through my teeth, “get up, get up, get up.”
With pain licking at me like wildfire, I pushed myself back up onto all fours. I knew, even as I dragged myself—and my damned sword and crown—over the sand, toward the garden stairs, that I wouldn’t be welcomed back on palace grounds. I’d threatened the safety of the Varian kingdom in more ways than one. I’d gleefully choked Chancellor Eftan in farewell. But I was too unwell to enact my plan alone, and there was only one person in the palace who cared for Agatha the way that I did.
