The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.books2020.com Thu, 30 Apr 2020 01:57:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.books2020.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.books2020.com 32 32 The Rising Read online Kristen Ashley (The Rising #4) http://www.books2020.com/the-rising-4-read-online-kristen-ashley Thu, 30 Apr 2020 01:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-rising-4-read-online-kristen-ashley Genre: Dragons, Erotic, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Magic, Paranormal, Romance Authors: Kristen Ashley Series: The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
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Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 162269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 541(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Rising (The Rising #4)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Kristen Ashley
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B08666LM47
Book Information:
Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton. The land was filled with beauty, but it was also splintered by war. Out of the chaos grew a conspiracy to reawaken the Beast, a fearsome creature who wrought only tragedy and devastation. The only way to stop him was to fulfill an ancient prophecy: Triton’s four strongest warriors must wed its four most powerful witches, binding all nations together and finally bringing peace to the land. This is the story of their unions: the quiet maiden Silence and the savage king Mars. The cold warrior Cassius and the fiery witch Elena. The steadfast soldier True and the banished beauty Farah. And the pirate king Aramus and the mysterious queen Ha-Lah. Their unions will not be easy, but each couple must succeed, for the fate of their world is at stake.
Books in Series:	The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
Books by Author:	Kristen Ashley

118

The Work

Marian

Farm Six Miles West of the Ancient Ritual Ground

WODELL

She was beginning to feel the pain in her back becoming an ache in her entire body, which was good.

Everything else was bad.

She lay on her side on the floor in the farmstead, peering into the lifeless eyes of the dead child not five feet from her as she heard the screams of the mother coming from the other room.

The father had already been consumed.

Consumed.

The screams stopped but worse started as she heard the noises of sobs and pleas.

And then noises of something else.

What have I done? she thought.

After some time, she heard the familiar sound of the Beast’s release and the crying and moaning of the woman abruptly halted.

Marian tried to move her legs, and they moved, but it made the pain in her back excruciating, thus she was forced to stop.

She needed a draught for the pain.

She needed to rest.

She’d have neither.

Where is that bloody priest? she thought.

“We must be away, Daemon,” Jellan stated in a voice of genuine obsequiousness, false calm, but still managing to convey not a small amount of urgency.

“Fetch me some of the man’s clothes,” the Beast ordered.

“Of course,” Jellan murmured.

“You don some too,” the Beast went on.

“As you wish.”

“Pack more, and I want my female bathed. She is dirty. I do not like her dirty. Bathe her and dress her in the woman’s clothes,” the Beast finished.

“It will be done,” Jellan, the arsehole, the fool, the duplicitous sycophantic cretin assured.

She heard steps ascending stairs as she heard others approaching her.

She also heard the rain coming down in sheets and sheets.

She saw his feet, filthy with mud and grass, before he crouched and she saw his member hanging between his thighs, large even flaccid, and now tainted with blood.

Marian’s mouth filled with bile.

She then felt his gentle touch as her hair was pulled away from her face.

“Do not be angry at me, my witch,” he clucked.

Don’t be angry?

Her mind reeled for ways to play this.

Jellan could shove his nose right up the creature’s arse.

She would be who she was.

“You might have broken my back,” she snapped.

“You could have a broken back, but you would still have your magic.”

She lifted her eyes to his and saw what she did not see all these months she had been with him.

He was still beautiful.

In this form.

But he was not innocent and docile and misunderstood. He was not simple and easily led.

He was devious and crafty.

She had been played.

By her Beast and Jellan.

“You connived with him against me,” she accused.

He shrugged.

She turned her eyes away.

“I needed you both,” he shared. “I could not ascend without your power, and his. But when I ascended, I needed a meal. And such it was.”

“Will you do me like you did that woman in the kitchens?” she demanded.

“I like you willing. You have much exuberance.”

Her gaze shot to his handsome visage again.

The new definition of twofaced.

“I can hardly be of service to you in that manner if my spine is snapped,” she spat.

He fell to his arse, and Marian gritted her teeth against the moan welling up her throat wrought by the pain in her body as he pulled her into his lap.

He then smoothed her hair again before he chucked her under the chin.

“I will not hurt you if you do not earn it. You are too important to me,” he told her.

“Important how?” she asked.

“There is more work to be done, important work, and I need you and our friend to do it.”

Marian was not feeling joyous about this news.

“What work is to be done?” she inquired.

“I fear it would be foolhardy to tell you of this at this juncture,” he shared.

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when Jellan appeared at their sides, stating, “I have your clothing, Daemon.”

Marian glared up at the fallen priest.

He was dressed in the dead Dellish farmer’s clothing.

It was too big on him.

However, as fate would have it, it would fit Daemon perfectly.

“Heat water for Marian’s bath,” Daemon commanded. “We must soothe her aches. And see if this dwelling has medicine. She is in pain.”

Jellan’s eyes flashed his displeasure at his service, but he said nothing against it, nodded, set the clothing on the floor beside Daemon and moved away.

“And get these bodies out of here,” Daemon added.

“I am but one man, Daemon,” Jellan reminded him.

Daemon twisted his head to look at the priest. “Then we shall have to find you some assistance. But for now, it’s just you, and your standing there, glaring at me is not seeing to the things I’ve asked you to see to.”

No, this Beast was not simple, docile, innocent and easily led.

Jellan bowed his head and scurried off.

Marian would have smirked, but such was the direness of the situation, she could not even take enjoyment in Jellan’s subjugation.

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Advertisement The Dawn of the End Read online Kristen Ashley (The Rising #3) http://www.books2020.com/the-dawn-of-the-end-3-read-online-kristen-ashley Wed, 08 Apr 2020 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-dawn-of-the-end-3-read-online-kristen-ashley Genre: Alpha Male, Erotic, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Magic, Paranormal, Romance Authors: Kristen Ashley Series: The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
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Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 156907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 785(@200wpm)___ 628(@250wpm)___ 523(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >157

Read Online Books/Novels:	The Dawn of the End (The Rising #3)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Kristen Ashley
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B086682KZ8
Book Information:
Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton. The land was filled with beauty, but it was also splintered by war. Out of the chaos grew a conspiracy to reawaken the Beast, a fearsome creature who wrought only tragedy and devastation. The only way to stop him was to fulfill an ancient prophecy: Triton’s four strongest warriors must wed its four most powerful witches, binding all nations together and finally bringing peace to the land. This is the story of their unions: the quiet maiden Silence and the savage king Mars. The cold warrior Cassius and the fiery witch Elena. The steadfast soldier True and the banished beauty Farah. And the pirate king Aramus and the mysterious queen Ha-Lah. Their unions will not be easy, but each couple must succeed, for the fate of their world is at stake...
Books in Series:	The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
Books by Author:	Kristen Ashley

81

The Schemer

Jellan

Underground Lair of the Beast

WODELL

He felt it, even in his weakened state.

The veil, it was growing strong.

The prophecy, it was advancing.

When he also felt he had company in this dark hole where they allowed him to go when they weren’t using him or making him serve, Jellan curled deeper into himself, pressing his abused body closer to the stone wall.

He could tell them.

He could use his knowledge of the prophecy, his feel for the veil, to better his circumstances down in that dirty, cold, ugly hole.

“Hungry?”

It was her.

Marian.

The Mistress of the Beast.

His Beast.

That fiendish creature should be his.

Not hers.

The thing liked using him.

Perhaps Jellan could turn that around, gain control of…

She kicked him in the back, and Jellan tasted blood as he bit the insides of his mouth to stop from crying out.

He’d given them his tears. His pleas. His moans of agony.

They would have no more.

They would take no more from him than what they could force from him.

“I asked, are you hungry?” she demanded.

He needed to keep his strength.

“Y-yes,” he answered.

He heard something drop to the ground close to him and turned carefully, battling the pain that seemed to infuse every inch of his body.

He could not make out what it was in the dark, a joint of some animal, not very much meat, lying in the dirt.

He took it up anyway, thinking he had to plan.

He had to plan.

And he had to have strength to plan.

He had power.

He was a Go’En priest, for Bedi’s sake. A member of the Society of the Beast. One, if not the most powerful sorcerer in all of Triton.

He was born to master the Beast.

He was made to master the Beast.

He had to find a way.

He had to plan.

She started to move away, but he called to her, forcing timidity into his tone.

“C-can I ask you a question, Mistress?” he requested.

She turned, moved back to him, and he braced.

Like a woman, her moods were inconstant and sometimes volatile. He could not know if she’d kick him, call to the Beast and demand Jellan be used again or stroke his hair and coo to him.

In the end, he would lash her to the ritual ground, Jellan vowed it. He’d call the entire Society to have their way with her. He’d stand over and watch her take each cock and then he’d stand over her and watch her take each blade. And finally, when she was beaten and humiliated to the core of her soul and praying death would come fast, he’d give her that by drawing the final blade across her throat.

All of this looking right in her eyes.

All of this with the Beast at his back.

“What is your question, pet?” she asked.

So it was his benevolent mistress this time.

“I…the last quake, there was a demanding cry from the creature. I thought that he…I was not at that ritual, I thought that he—”

“Was calling to you?”

He nodded, gazing up at her but not meeting her eyes.

Fearful.

Submissive.

Beaten.

She needn’t know he was none of that.

“He wasn’t, he was calling out to me,” she explained. “He sensed me. I’d been visiting him. And he was tired of your vicious shenanigans. Thus, he was calling me home.”

“But, if he has no power down here, how does he make the earth quake? How did he call out like that? How does he pull you down? Me? The other women?”

“He has no magic, but he does have feelings. And just like everything with him, his feelings are stronger, more powerful, more sweeping than anything a mere mortal would have. They move the earth. When he makes the surface, if he should not get his way, they’ll probably shake the heavens.”

Jellan shuddered at that thought.

“But how does he pull you down?” he pressed.

“He doesn’t. I did that.”

He blinked up at her.

“I brought you,” she went on, “and your brothers, our girls. That is my power. He reached to me, but my magic gave him that power. And my power brings him to the surface. But once there, the merfolk’s binds on his magic are erased. And once we feel the time is right, we will surface and make all of Triton bow to us.”

Not if the prophecy goes forward, Jellan thought. Not if the lovers wed, consummate their love, ally all kingdoms, learn their gifts and how to use them. If they do, he will not be banished back to this under-realm, you won’t either. He’ll be slaughtered. As will you.

“He…he would hum to me. After—” Jellan began.

She laughed an ugly laugh.

“This was considering what he’d do to you when I delivered you to him, not for any other reason, pet. Don’t get any ideas in that silly, stupid, villainous, despicable head of yours. It was not your rituals he craved. Not your seed that stirred him. It was knowing I would come to him soon, and when I did, when I found my way to this place, to him, I could bring you to him.”

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Advertisement The Plan Commences Read online Kristen Ashley (The Rising #2) http://www.books2020.com/the-plan-commences-2-read-online-kristen-ashley Wed, 18 Mar 2020 01:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-plan-commences-2-read-online-kristen-ashley Genre: Alpha Male, Fantasy/Sci-fi, Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Witches Authors: Kristen Ashley Series: The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
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Total pages in book: 208
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >208

Read Online Books/Novels:	The Plan Commences (The Rising #2)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Kristen Ashley
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B08667W2MH
Book Information:
Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton. The land was filled with beauty, but it was also splintered by war. Out of the chaos grew a conspiracy to reawaken the Beast, a fearsome creature who wrought only tragedy and devastation. The only way to stop him was to fulfill an ancient prophecy: Triton’s four strongest warriors must wed its four most powerful witches, binding all nations together and finally bringing peace to the land. This is the story of their unions: the quiet maiden Silence and the savage king Mars. The cold warrior Cassius and the fiery witch Elena. The steadfast soldier True and the banished beauty Farah. And the pirate king Aramus and the mysterious queen Ha-Lah. Their unions will not be easy, but each couple must succeed, for the fate of their world is at stake…
Books in Series:	The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
Books by Author:	Kristen Ashley

36

The Grieving

Prince True

Guest Suite, Second Floor, East Corridor, Catrame Palace, Fire City

FIRENZE

“We should give her another sleeping draught,” Queen Elpis said fretfully. “The last is clearly not working.”

True did not even attempt to hide the censure in his gaze when he looked from the weeping beauty that was in his arms to the Queen of Firenze standing at the side of the foot of Farah’s bed.

Elpis was as far from them as she could get at the same time staying close.

Her wont these past days when it came to Farah and her now-dead mother, Sofia.

Elpis’s eyes were swollen and bloodshot from her own tears.

Too little.

Too bloody late.

Elpis flinched when she caught his gaze.

“You may leave,” True rumbled.

“But, I—” Elpis started.

“You. May. Leave,” True said lower and slower.

Her head jerked before she lifted her chin and stated, “This is my palace. She is my subject. I am queen and I—”

“For thirteen more hours,” he interrupted her to note. “Then my cousin will be the Queen of Firenze and you will be naught but Relict Queen.”

She gasped in affront.

True did not give a gods-damn.

“You leave, or my men will remove you,” True warned.

“You cannot—”

“Leave, Your Grace, or my men will remove you,” True repeated, and Florian made a move toward the queen.

“They have no authority here,” she snapped.

“I am their prince, which means I will be their king and Farah will be their queen. Ask your son what authority that gives me,” True retorted.

He immediately noted she took his meaning.

Then again, after the attack on the palace that occurred not two hours before had been quashed, Mars—her son, her king—had not allowed Silence, his intended, to climb down from his back where he held her as he battled their assailants.

It was safe, and still Mars kept Silence as close to him as he could without absorbing her, something he could not do, or he would have done that instead.

Yes.

Elpis took his meaning.

Her face softened, and her gaze moved to Farah, who was in his arms, silently crying, her head turned toward True’s body, even if she was not holding him in return. Something that alarmed him and something he wished to address with his betrothed.

It was just that he’d do that when the bloody queen left.

“I am glad she has you,” Elpis whispered.

“It would have been good if she’d had you,” True retorted. “If they’d both had you.”

Pain sharpened her features.

Pain and regret.

But Farah tightened in his arms.

This was upsetting his intended.

Therefore, this had to end.

“Go,” he ordered the queen.

Elpis seemed to crumble before his eyes and True wished he didn’t care about that either.

But he understood regret.

The woman could not know her friend would take hundreds of bites from poisonous emerald oil asps and die in her bed under a pile of them before they could find their way back to a friendship that had been torn apart by treason and murder.

However, now he didn’t have time for Queen Elpis.

He needed to see to his future queen.

Fortunately, Elpis knew the only one who could look after Farah was in her bed holding her.

Thus, she gave up the fight and moved slowly from the chamber.

The door latched shut behind her.

“Leave us,” True ordered Florian, Bram and Alfie, the members of his guard who were in the room. The others, Luther and Wallace, were guarding it elsewhere. One, Luther, in the hall. The other, Wallace, outside, under the window.

“True—” Alfie began.

“Leave,” True said.

Alfie looked to Farah then to True.

“Magic,” he replied quietly.

Indeed.

The asps that had killed Sofia had been very real.

They had also been transported to her bedchamber through magic.

A bedchamber that had been Farah’s before her mother and she had switched in order to place Sofia farther away from Elpis’s room.

True knew all this.

As did Alfie and his other lieutenants.

But he could have fifty swords in that room.

They wouldn’t be able to fight magic.

“I’ll want you in here, guarding her after I leave. But now, we need privacy,” True told his friend.

“I think—”

“Go, Alfie,” True demanded.

Alfie hesitated before he nodded then he jerked his head to Florian and Bram and they walked out of the room.

The instant the latch clicked, True turned his attention to Farah, pulling her deeper into his arms.

Hers remained resting limp at her sides, her body lax, her tears silent, but still tracking down her face.

“Sweets,” he murmured. “Do you wish another sleeping draught?”

He offered it, for her sake, but he didn’t like the idea. They’d already given her a strong one.

“I need to rise, dress,” she told him, her voice dull and remote.

True grew more alarmed at her tone.

And her words.

Pain, he could understand.

Withdrawal was an additional concern.

“That’s the last thing you need, Farah. You need to rest. Sleep,” he refuted.

“I need to be in attendance at the procession.”

“The wedding won’t be for hours, love,” True murmured. “Regardless, it would be understood if you didn’t attend. And Mars might postpone it altogether after—”

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Advertisement The Beginning of Everything Read online Kristen Ashley (The Rising #1) http://www.books2020.com/the-beginning-of-everything-1-read-online-kristen-ashley Tue, 03 Mar 2020 01:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-beginning-of-everything-1-read-online-kristen-ashley Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, Paranormal, Romance Authors: Kristen Ashley Series: The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
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Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 137958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 690(@200wpm)___ 552(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >138

Read Online Books/Novels:	(The Rising #1) The Beginning of Everything
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Kristen Ashley
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B08666YMXB
Book Information:
From the unparalleled imagination of New York Times best-selling author Kristen Ashley comes an enchanting new fantasy romance series that will sweep you away! Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed the continent of Triton. The land was filled with beauty, but it was also splintered by war. Out of the chaos grew a conspiracy to reawaken the Beast, a fearsome creature who wrought only tragedy and devastation. The only way to stop him was to fulfill an ancient prophecy: Triton’s four strongest warriors must wed its four most powerful witches, binding all nations together and finally bringing peace to the land. This is the story of their unions: the quiet maiden Silence and the savage king Mars. The cold warrior Cassius and the fiery witch Elena. The steadfast soldier True and the banished beauty Farah. And the pirate king Aramus and the mysterious queen Ha-Lah. Their unions will not be easy, but each couple must succeed, for the fate of their world is at stake.
Books in Series:	The Rising Series by Kristen Ashley
Books by Author:	Kristen Ashley

PROLOGUE

The Prophecy

Once upon a time, in a parallel universe, there existed an abundance of beauty and riches on the continent of Triton.

Yet for millennia, the peoples within it knew nothing but mistrust and oppression and war.

Peace was not the destiny chosen by the rulers.

Differences were reviled.

Subjugation was observed.

Conflict was sought.

One cold night in Sky City, broken from centuries of exploitation, finding themselves without an alternate course, the women gathered their magicks and made the ultimate sacrifice.

They slayed the men who were their masters.

Leaving their sons and gathering their daughters, they fled the city and created The Enchantments of the Warrior Sisterhood of the Nadirii.

In the magical, green, sunny forest of The Enchantments, mighty trees charmed by their witches grew tall and strong, providing treehomes for the sisterhood of the skilled warriors of the Nadirii. The sisterhood welcomed all who beseeched their Enchantments to escape their oppressors and thus grew and thrived through loyalty and trust.

And earned the wrath of men who sought to collect them.

The rest of Triton grew fractured, splintering into different realms.

There were the sun-drenched dunes and mountains of the wealthy, wanton and barbarous southern region of Firenze whose mines of jewels, northern fields of spices and rare silk made them the richest nation of Triton.

And their riches were coveted by others.

Then there were the wet, fertile, wooded forests, dells and plains of the virtuous northwest region of Wodell, whose sheep produced the best wool on the planet, and whose crops and orchards fed the continent.

And whose people tired of war and chafed under a weak king.

Further, there were the black crags of the northern shores and the rolling fields inland of the cultured nation of Airen, producing olives and wine and the best leather and weapons on the continent.

And populated by men who had not learned.

And there was the island continent of Mar-el. Its barren shores of rock and beach forced its people to live by the sea and become fishermen, sailors…and pirates. But within its boundaries, there was a secret.

And its peoples remained removed from the rest by decree of their king.

Last, there was the Dome City. Known for its resplendent golden domes, the city-state was the place of the religion and practitioners of Go’Doan. The priests and their mysterious female acolytes held fast to three sacred missions: education, healing, and most of all, extending their beliefs.

But even after the Night of the Fallen Masters that saw the birth of the Nadirii…

Dissension, assassination, rebellion and conflict reigned across the continent of Triton.

And then there were those…

Those who would see the dominion of all in all lands, the peoples of the nations of Triton cowed to their whims and controlled by new masters.

And it was those who conspired to reawaken the Beast, a fearsome creature who wrought tragedy and devastation across the continent who had been vanquished centuries before.

Foreseeing this, a powerful coven of witches proclaimed the prophecy.

Triton’s four strongest warriors must wed its four most powerful witches, binding all nations together.

There is the quiet maiden, Silence, born of Wodell.

And the savage king, Mars, born of Firenze.

And the cold warrior, Cassius, born to Airen.

And the fierce witch, Elena, born to the Nadirii.

And the steadfast soldier, True, born to Wodell.

And the banished beauty, Farah, born to Firenze.

And the pirate king, Aramus, ascended in Mar-el.

To make the crusading Ha-Lah his queen.

If these men and women could see beyond their differences of culture and history, pride, politics and pasts—and love could prevail—their strength and magicks would flourish…

Then, they could face The Rising.

And perhaps defeat the Beast.

The time has come.

He has been awakened…

And he is rising…

1

The Feeding

The Priest

Ancient Ritual Ground, Lesser Thicket Forest

WODELL

He stood removed from his four brothers as they did their work.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have the stomach for it.

Well, not this part of it.

The part that had just been completed however…

The part that meant the virgin staked naked to the dirt, arms wide overhead, legs spread-eagle, was virgin no more. The seed of four men flowed from her into the earth.

That part he had no stomach for.

It was the next part he rather enjoyed.

He was happy to note she’d long-since stopped screaming.

“Continue,” he commanded when one of the men who’d again donned his dark-gray robe turned his head the priest’s way for instructions.

This was when it happened. When the ritual set his blood to quickening. His skin heating.

It was when the men approached her with their daggers drawn, and when they’d gained their places, they fell to their knees.

She had it in her for but a mere whimper when the first blade slid into her left side at her waist.

And then out, the blood swelling from the wound, rippling toward the earth.

Another, slighter whimper when the other blade slid into her right side.

And out.

The next slid precisely, nicking her heart, causing an actual gasp.

And then out.

And the next, her womb with an upward slice, and at that point, no sound at all.

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Read Online Books/Novels:

The Rising (The Rising #4)

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B08666LM47

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The Dawn of the End (The Rising #3)

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The Plan Commences (The Rising #2)

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B08667W2MH

Read Online Books/Novels:

(The Rising #1) The Beginning of Everything

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B08666YMXB