Excerpt from THE ENDLESS ONE by Emma Hamm:
One Month Ago
Jessamine pored over a stack of documents that Sybil had brought her hours ago. Each one of them was the written record of someone who claimed they knew about Leon and his plan. All of them, thus far, were useless. People said they knew where he was, but every tip had turned out to be a lie.
After the Pleasure District had fallen, Leon had gone into hiding. And the witches themselves? Well, the coven was stronger than ever, but it certainly didn’t have the capability to find a man with that many resources. Sybil meandered over to her again, this time with another stack in her arms that was smaller than the first. Thankfully, they could be outside for this. The haunted home in the Pleasure District was easily expandable with Elric’s magic. The garden they’d created in the back was full of every
poisonous plant imaginable, from belladonna to oleander to daffodil. Jessamine found she quite liked being surrounded by poisonous things. There was something soothing about knowing she could protect herself with just the plants around her. There was a certain level of ease that came with knowing a single tincture from any of these plants would kill a very large man.
Reaching out her hand, Jessamine ran her fingers over Nyx’s head. Her familiar was never far, and the cat quite enjoyed lying out in the sun. Her dark fur was nearly purple in the light. She did glare at Sybil every time something disturbed her slumber, though.
With a thud that was surprisingly loud, Sybil set the next stack of papers down on the table they’d dragged out into the sunlight. “Are you sure you want to keep working out here? There’s a storm brewing.”
One that was far in the distance, though. Jessamine had time before it started to rain.
Tilting her head up into the sunlight that still burned through the clouds, she nodded. “Sometimes it’s nice to remind myself that I’m still alive. I’ll stay out here until the rain chases me in.”
“What if the papers get wet?”
“Do you really think any of these people have seen Leon?” Jessamine knew her friend agreed with her when Sybil sank down into the chair beside her and stared down at the papers like she wanted to set them on fire.
“No. No, I don’t think they have seen him.”
“Then why are we still reading through everything?”
“Because I don’t know what else to do. He aims to become a god, Jessa-mine. We can’t just let him channel one of them. I remember . . .” Sybil’s voice cracked. “I remember what it was like when they all ruled. It was chaos. So many of us believed that this was the best way for us to live, and that the gods were doing everything they could to help us. But the witches knew. We could see how so many people had fallen under their spell and that the gods were doing nothing for us. Not anyone other than him.”
“And yet, people still worship them. Even hundreds of years after their deaths.”
“It’s hope that keeps them going. Hope that is insidious and deeply rooted in their souls. They pray to dead gods, hoping that someone will help them because they are desperate. They will cling to their gods who did horrible things, and they will ignore every act that harmed them or those they love.” Sybil shook her head. “I’ve seen people do terrible things for gods. Both living and dead.”
Jessamine reached for Sybil’s hand and squeezed her wrinkled fingers. “We’re going to make this happen. We’re going to kill him long before he brings anything back.”
“How are you so sure?”
Even Nyx looked at her, cracking one eye open as though she was waiting to hear what her mistress would say next.
Jessamine sighed. “I just know it. I have a feeling in my gut that this time, we’re going to win.”
As she said the words, a shout rose from inside the house. Not one of terror or fear, but a shout of victory that echoed around the household with a crackling pulse of magic.
Something had happened. Something that filled all the witches in their house with glee.
Then Elissa sprinted out the back door. It slammed open so loud Jessamine swore it shook the entire building as the willowy woman raced toward them.
“The crows!” Elissa shouted. “The crows have returned!” Sybil’s face creased in confusion. “The crows?”
But Jessamine knew exactly what they were all so excited about. She stood, papers spilling from her lap into the dirt in a rain of rippling white. “The crows I created with Elric’s magic. They were sent out to Leon’s kingdom to spy for us. They’re back.”
Which meant they’d found something. Those crows weren’t natural. They knew not to return unless they had detailed information. She’d made them only to return when they would give them an edge over the would-be god.
Jessamine ran for the house, her heart in her throat. This was possibly what they needed to actually move forward in their plan, because the people of Leon’s kingdom were useless.
No one wanted to help witches. But the witches didn’t need other people’s help. This was proof.
The meeting room was full of witches. There were more of them than a month ago as women found their way to this hideout. Not that it was much of a hideout anymore. With so many people coming and going, Jessamine had a feeling most of the Pleasure District knew who and what they were. They just didn’t care after . . . well, everything.
She couldn’t be surprised. Nothing could surprise them after watching the statues of the gods walk through their streets, a coven blot out the sun, and Fortuna herself suddenly disappearing.
And in the midst of that crowd of powerful witches was the only person who always caught her eye.
Elric stood in the center of the madness, immovable and frowning as he stared at the single crow perched on the back of a chair. They eyed each other with distaste. His dark hair was rumpled from lack of sleep, dark shadows under his eyes showing just how ill rested he was. But he still looked intimidating. Commanding. In control.
Her god had been far more serious in the past month. Part of that was the threat of another god entering this realm, but the other threat was that of his own family seeing him once more. Of all of them, Elric wanted the God King to come into this realm the least.
She walked up to his side, trying to ignore the hubbub of all the other witches chattering around them. But she couldn’t help picking up on what they were saying.
“What did the crow claim?” “A sacrifice?”
“Is there really going to be a ceremony to turn him into a god? A public one?”
None of it sounded good. She stood beside Elric, her arms crossed over her chest in a mirror image of his pose. They had created the crow with his shadows, so the creature was a little twisted. Just like her familiar could walk through walls, this one was unusual.
A third eye between the other two blinked at her, turned upright rather than horizontal like it should have been. The feathers were a little more spiky than an average crow’s would be as well. In all other fashions, however, the crow was the same as any other bird. From afar, no one was likely to notice that it was a little different.
“Did it see anything?” she asked. “What do you think?”
“I think it would only return if it did, and I don’t know whether that is a good or a bad thing.”
“It saw enough.” Elric’s gaze flicked to hers and then back to the crow. “Leon may seek to put a god in himself, but he isn’t one yet. He does not know the ways of the witch, nor is he capable of understanding just how far I will go to stop him.”
A shiver traveled down her spine. “You say that like you’ll stop at nothing to kill him.”
“I won’t. There will be no more gods in this kingdom. Not while I’m alive. No one would survive their return, Jessamine.” He reached out his arm, and the crow hopped onto his wrist. “Tell her what you told me.”
She gazed into that third eye and felt herself tumble through the vision of the crow.
Jessamine saw her almost-husband wandering through the halls of his own castle. She’d been there before, but it had been many years ago. At the time, she’d been young and hopeful. She’d thought his home was beautiful, and Leon to be handsome. But now she knew to look at the details of his homeland, rather than the hopes and dreams she’d imagined for herself.
Leon was learning how to cast spells. There were runes etched into the ground. Giant ones. Some that were twelve feet in length, even bigger for others. He was working through the web of them, making sure everything was just right.
Without seeing Elric standing in front of her, she murmured, “Is that the same rune Callum used to hold you?”
“It appears to be the exact same rune. At least we know where Leon learned his tricks from.”
“But your grimoire is with us. It’s safe and no one else has looked through it since we took it back.” At least, she didn’t think so.
The crow was already flying past the castle as night and day changed over, turning into another day where it had watched Leon. There were women and men joining him, but it was the women she took note of.
Elderly women, each of them in crimson ceremonial robes that weren’t familiar and yet were at the same time.
Elric’s voice murmured in her ear as she watched them all file into the castle. “My grimoire is safe, yes, but that doesn’t mean Callum didn’t make copies of the page he had. Are you seeing the priestesses entering the castle?”
“Yes.”
One of the old women looked up and caught sight of their crow. A frown crossed her features, and Jessamine watched as her mouth moved. Perhaps rumbling with a spell, because in a split second, all she saw was darkness.
“Death?” she asked.
“The priestess killed many crows, it seems.”
The flickering memories were then shown to her in bits and pieces. Images of those priestesses heading into the castle in droves. Of a ceremony where Leon knelt before them, the first time she’d ever seen him even attempting to look humble. And then, a vision that chilled her to the bone. An effigy of the God King had been brought to the castle. It was tall, the same height as the ones she had seen in the Pleasure District before Elric had brought them to life and forced them to walk with him through the streets. He’d left the statues scattered throughout the city as a reminder that only one god could command them, and that he was displeased with many of those who lived in this district.
But this God King statue was clearly one that had been saved by the priestesses. It was in perfect condition, depicting him in full armor and the regalia that he always wore. It made her blood turn icy in her veins.
“Why would they bring a statue of the God King to the castle?” she asked.
“To make the spell easier. Leon can see the god that he is summoning, and if he has the image of the God King’s form, then it will be easier to know which spirit he brings into himself.” Elric cleared his throat and then shifted the bird away from her gaze.
Jessamine blinked back into the room. She grounded herself, noticing every detail surrounding her before nodding. “So what does all of this mean?”
“There is more that the crow saw. The time of the ceremony, who will help Leon, all the resources he has gathered to ensure that he will not be disturbed.” For the first time in a very long time, she saw that edge of glee in Elric’s eyes that meant he knew something she didn’t. “We know everything, Jessamine. His entire plan.”
She blinked. There was no way they knew his entire plan. Leon wasn’t that foolish as to have all of it out in the open like that . . . was he?
Or maybe that was the point. He wanted them to know what was going to happen because he genuinely believed they wouldn’t make it in time. His kingdom was far away, and it would take every bit of their resources to get there, but . . . They could do it. They had to.
Jessamine couldn’t help but stare at Elric, slack-jawed and shocked. The other witches in the room quieted as well.
“I . . .” Jessamine cleared her throat. “Do you mean that we know his entire plan, everyone who is going to help him, and when all of it is going to happen?”
“I do, nightmare. I mean exactly that.”
“So we could plan every detail, anticipate every difficulty that he might throw at us, and prepare accordingly?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If I could be so bold, might I suggest you gather your witches, and we will plan every detail of his death? Getting rid of the priestesses will not be easy, but they are the ones who will help him the most. The guards should be much easier. Getting to his kingdom is the hardest part. I can open a portal for some of you to travel through, but not the entire coven.”
She lifted her hand. “I don’t want the entire coven to go. What if this is a trap?”
“How could it be a trap? And if it is a trap, we still have all the information required to best him. He didn’t show the crows all these details. A murder of magical crows died to gather all of this information, and this is the only one who returned.” He lifted his arm, and the beast flapped its wings to stay steady on its perch. “This is the truth, Jessamine. All of our hard work has come to fruition. Now we have to prepare accordingly with the gift we have been given.”
They were really doing this. They had all the weapons they needed to take Leon Bishop down, and she would finally, after all this time, get her revenge.
Licking her lips, she looked at the crowd of women surrounding them and felt her entire being radiate with anger. “Leon Bishop held a knife to my throat on the day of our wedding and killed me. He threw my body over a cliff’s edge because he didn’t want my people to mourn the princess they lost and the queen they would have had. He is a man who can kill an innocent woman and toss her aside, all for his own gains. But I am not that woman any longer. I am not the innocent little girl who agreed to marry a man to save her kingdom. I am a gravesinger, indebted to the Deathless One, and a woman deeply tied to magic. I am going to kill Leon Bishop with my bare hands, and you are going to help me.”
A cry rose in the room as all the witches reveled in her choice. So many of them had the same story as her. Not the death, but the pain at the hands of those they were supposed to trust.
They had all the information they needed. They had the time to plan. Killing a king had never seemed so easy.
After all, they had the only surviving god on their side.
Excerpted from THE ENDLESS ONE by Emma Hamm. Copyright © 2026 by Emma Hamm. Reprinted by permission of Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
THE ENDLESS ONE by Emma Hamm
Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Emma Hamm’s instant USA TODAY bestselling dark romantasy trilogy comes to a heart‑stopping conclusion in The Endless One.
Jessamine survived betrayal, death, and the gods themselves—but survival was only the beginning. Her kingdom lies in ruins. Her throne has been stolen. And the man who once murdered her has succeeded in doing the unthinkable: binding himself to a god.
To reclaim her crown, Jessamine must defy ancient powers and betrayals alike—and face the enemy who once slit her throat. But now, she isn’t the innocent bride who fell to her death. She is the Gravesinger.
Captured and forced to confront a fate far worse than dying, Jessamine must decide how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice to end a war. Bound to Elric, the god who loves her, she must choose between the humanity that shaped her—and the power required to tear divinity down at its source.
Because this time, she isn’t just ready to kill a man.
She’s ready to kill a god.
Romance Fantasy [ Gallery Books, On Sale: September 1, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781668063194 / eISBN: 9781668063200 ]
Buy THE ENDLESS ONE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Emma Hamm
USAToday Bestselling Author Emma Hamm grew up in a small town surrounded by trees and animals. She writes strong, confident, powerful women who aren’t afraid to grow and make mistakes. Her books will always be a little bit feminist, and are geared towards empowering both men and women to be comfortable in their own skin.
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