It would be Jas or an elderly gentleman who had retired from the senate five years prior.
Jonathan Montgomery should have ran, or Captain MacFarland.
Or me.
“Prince Jasper!”
The crowd cheered. Clark forced himself to smile, but he pressed his mouth into the back of Amethyst’s hood.
Amethyst accepted Clark’s hand as they descended the main staircase in the Summerhaven Mansion. The skirt of her yellow silk dress brushed against the marble stairs.
Jas held a champagne glass out to a girl in a low-cut gown. “My dear, you look amazing today. I cannot imagine how I never saw you about before.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Clark Grisham,” the footman announced.
Jas turned toward them with a smile and set his glass on a table beside an ornate glass. “My friends! Thank you for attending the coronation.”
Amethyst sensed Clark’s wince; coronations were geared more toward royalty than a president.
“We are glad to make your inauguration,” Clark said.
Jas laughed. “How spiffy you look. Back in Hedlund, did you ever think you’d be in a suit?”
Amethyst glanced at her husband’s attire: a black velvet suit and a silk necktie. “You do look handsome, Clark.”
“Only a reflection of you, my dear.” Jas bowed to her and kissed her knuckles. “Will you both be staying long in the south?”
“Only a quick vacation,” Amethyst said. “We want to get home to Hedlund. My mother is watching Jolene and—”
“Yes, back to Hedlund. Excuse me, everyone.” Jas clapped his hands. The crowd hushed and the band quieted their music. Amethyst scanned the crowd, but she didn’t spot the fortunetelling twins or her father. The senators might be in another section. The twins had probably opted to stay low. Last she’d heard, Jas had provided them a farm near his estate.
“I have an announcement,” Jas shouted. “As one of my first presidential duties, I will be declaring Hedlund a state rather than a territory. Therefore, it will need two senators rather than one.”
Clark stiffened and she almost laughed. Of course he would hate Jas creating his own rules without consulting with the government.
“For the second senator for Hedlund, the state, I choose…” Jas turned to Clark and lifted both of his hands. “Clark Grisham. Welcome to the senate, Clark.” Jas winked.
Clark gulped, but his jaw didn’t drop open. Amethyst’s did.
“Well then, Clark.” Her father approached from the ballroom’s corners to clap her husband on the shoulder. “You were worried about how the government would run. Now you get to see firsthand it runs smoothly.”
“Congratulations.” She kissed Clark’s pallid cheek. “Don’t worry. We will keep soaring.”
I had planned for the TREASURE CHRONICLES to be a two book series. Actually, it was originally one book, but the characters didn’t want to let me go and their adventures spilled into a sequel. After the completion of BORN OF TREASURE, they still had their claws in me. Clark and Amethyst had more they wanted me to tell, including the introduction of their little girl, Jolene. I gave into their wishes and within a few months, WICKED TREASURE sprang to life.
This book, like all my others, wouldn’t have come to fruition without the support of my family. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have experienced half of what I get to write about!
WICKED TREASURE wouldn’t exist without the staff at Curiosity Quills, the Belcastro Agency, and above all, the readers of the series. Thank you all for being so amazing!
Hopefully, this is not the last you will hear from the Treasures…
Jordan Elizabeth is addicted to writing, and the Treasures love that about her. She isn’t saying she writes steampunk fantasy while wearing corsets and brocade boots…but she’s not saying she doesn’t either. WICKED TREASURE is her sixth novel from Curiosity Quills Press. Readers can check out her website, JordanElizabethMierek.com, for bonus scenes, contests, and more.
Now that you have completed this book, we hope you will leave a review so that other readers may benefit from your perspective. Authors like Jordan Elizabeth live and die by your reviews, after all!
Please visit http://curiosityquills.com/reader-survey/ to share your reading experience with the author of this book!
Gears of Brass: A Steampunk Anthology
(http://bit.ly/2lCRivm)
A world like ours, but filled with gears of brass, where the beating heart is fueled by steam and the simplest creation is a complex clockwork device.
Within this tome, you’ll find steampunk fairy tale re-tellings, as well as original stories that will send your gears turning.
Welcome to the steampunk realm, with eleven authors guiding your path.
The Deathsniffer’s Assistant, by Kate McIntyre
(http://bit.ly/1z05e3O)
Impovrished gentleman Christopher Buckley is drawn into a world of murder and conspiracy after he begins working for Olivia Faraday, the eccentric Deathsniffer. His work with this manic lady detective takes him far out of his comfort zone — and brings him closer to truth. Set in a unique fantasy world inspired by Edwardian era London, the Deathsniffer’s Assistant is a murder mystery that introduces a greater story of conspiracy, societal upheaval, and people being changed by forces they cannot control.
A Curse of Ash and Iron, by Christine Norris
(http://bit.ly/1IxI9pf)
Eleanor Banneker is under a spell, bewitched and enslaved by her evil stepmother. Her long-lost childhood friend, Benjamin Grimm, is the only person immune to the magic that binds her. Even if he doesn’t believe in real magic, he cannot abandon her to her fate. But time is running short. If they don’t succeed before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, Ellie will be bound forever…
The Heartless City, by Andrea Berthot
(http://bit.ly/1Jp6Qag)
It’s 1903, and London has been quarantined for thirteen years, terrorized by a race of monsters created by Henry Jekyll. Due to his own devastating brush with science, seventeen-year-old Elliot is now an empath, leveled by the emotions of a terrorized, dying city. He finds an unlikely ally in a music hall waitress named Iris, and together they must discover who’s pulling the strings in Jekyll’s wake. Monsters, it turns out, are not the greatest evil they must face.
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Main Course:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
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
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Dessert:
A
cknowledgments
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Publisher
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