Queen of Gods
Author: Katherine Rhodes; Scarlett Dawn
Date: 2018-02-27 00:00:00+00:00
Description: **Dark. Brutal. Sexy. The VAMPIRE CROWN series sets emotions on fire, as vampires and druids hunger for one thing-power. Sex, secrets, and bloodshed twist two intoxicating love stories into one wicked tale. Magic is life. ** Bound to S'Kir, the Unseen Gods wait to reunite with their brethren. Only an ancient prophecy keeps their hope alive. Blood is life. Locked away from S'Kir on earth, the Vampire Overlords and an Original Druid hold their crowns with brute power. The Law is all that keeps their savage nature hidden. Until one defiant vampire is awakened early from her Rest and summoned to t
Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing

Table of Contents

- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- 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

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

QUEEN OF GODS

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2017 © Scarlett Dawn & Katherine Rhodes

SECOND EDITION

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

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 ONE

~ KIMBER ~

S’Kir

Land of the Unseen Gods

“Wise and intelligent beyond our understanding, the protective magic raised the mountain and locked the gates, forever.”

The children followed the images in the book as they carefully turned in an arc so they could all see.

“Still, in the silent night, if you listen with your magic and your heart, you can hear the rocks whispering, love must awaken. Once love awakens, then our wisdom will shine, and two worlds will unite.”

I slowly closed the book and smiled at the children sitting in the half circle. They started clapping, and as young as they were—the applause was enthusiastic.

A bit too much so for a little one named Bershat. His joyful hands conjured the small magic he had started to show.

“Oh, my! Bershat!” I chuckled as he startled himself with sparks and little fireworks.

Placing the ancient book to the side, I took hold of the young boy’s hands in mine. Frightened, he quivered as tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. “No, no, Bershat. You’re fine. It’s just a bit of your magic. You’re nearly seven now, and it’s going to start happening. It’s a good thing!”

“Magic, Miss Raven? Like the story?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, just like that. Wise and intelligent, but magic is in all of us. And yours is starting to appear. It means you’re growing up.”

I glanced at the students—the oldest of the children at the temple and the joy of my day.

“Your parents have trusted me to teach you all you need to know before your magic appears. And when I see your magic, as I have in Bershat, I know that it is almost time to send you to the S’Kir Amphat School. There you will get different lessons. You’ll get to learn to use your magic and grow it.”

Holding my hand up, I pulled in a little of the magic. I spun a small, glittering tornado for all of them to see.

As the children were transfixed and enchanted by the whirling glitter, I smiled to myself as I looked around at these little minds. As one of the youngest acolytes—honored keepers of the Temple of the Lost God—my job was to teach the children until they showed their magic. Bershat would move to the school in a few weeks.

Dispelling the glitter, I clapped my hands to make sure the students were listening to me. “All right, everyone, I think we’ve had enough excitement for today. Let’s all get your jackets and head on home. Remember to tell your parents about your lessons and that we’ll have a recital next week.”

My little prodigies leapt to their feet and raced for their jackets and bags. Each of their items hung near the entrance of the temple classroom.

I kept an eye on them as they tumbled out of the brightly colored room onto the walkways of S’Kir Prime, our capital city.

“Miss Raven?” The youngest of this class, Tillini, stood sheepish, clutching a book to her chest.

“Yes, Tilli?”

“Miss Raven, will I ever get my magic?”

“Of course, Tilli. Why would you think that you wouldn’t?”

“Because I don’t have a daddy.”

I knelt down, my heart trembling with her innocence. “You do have a daddy, Tilli. He died on the Mountain Watch, remember?”

“Doesn’t that take my magic away?”

“Goodness, Tilli. Who told you that?”

“Griffin.”

Of course, Griffin. I would have a talk with him before class tomorrow. He was a storyteller, and I had been desperately trying to redirect his stories away from his classmates. He didn’t need to scare them.

“That’s not true. Your father died in an accident on the mountain. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to have magic.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Her whole attitude changed. “Thank you, Miss Raven!” She skipped off and jumped down the full set of stairs. Every student jumped down the stairs, and every student nearly gave me a heart attack when they did.

My own sweater and bag waited by the door, and after retrieving them, I made my way back through the temple.  I walked by the altar, made my daily obeisance to the Lost God, and walked out into the city, thinking about my life.

I loved the students, but I had decisions to make.

Not fully a priestess, I wasn’t sure I wanted to move on from acolyte status. I loved the temple, but dedicating my life, my long immortal life, to a lost god didn’t always seem a good idea. I had too much fun being able to leave at the end of the day. I enjoyed time with my friends, the theater, swimming, and excellent restaurants.

Becoming entirely dedicated to the God, I would have to give up my life as I knew it now for hours of scrying, constant research, hours of waiting and watching, trekking to the gate and the mountain to examine either for change.

My friends would become the other acolytes and priests dedicated to the Lost God with me.

“Deep in thought again, my lady?”

A step away from crashing into one of my oldest and dearest friends, I looked up just in time and pulled to a halt. Happy to see him, I grinned.

“Always, Elex. It is the nature of the acolyte to spend time in contemplation.”

He had such a kind smile. “Methinks you’re thinking about finding a teaching position soon that isn’t in the temple. And you’re wondering what kind of trouble we can get into tonight.”

“Trouble? In S’Kir? How dare you suggest such a thing!”

We were playful and mocking. S’Kir Prime did have its problems, as was the nature of the mischievous druids, but never more than a small share.

He nodded in the direction of another street. “Come on. We have reservations for dinner, and then we’re going to head over to the Mountain Park for games. Is your leg feeling better?”

“Oh, no.” I huffed. “We’re not playing that game again, are we, Elex? Oh, please no.”

Laughing still, he put his arm around me. “No, no. We’re going to watch a better team play. We’re clearly not cut out for it. But there are a few leagues, and we can watch them battle it out.”

My terror at playing that silly game where I’d hurt myself must have been evident on my face. Elex continued to chuckle at me even as we walked into the restaurant.

Dinner was exquisite, as always. Drez, the head chef, was magic with food. Every year, her fare became more and more amazing, and our group were her willing guinea pigs. Always trying new combinations and new spices, sauces, and techniques on us, but none of us complained—not for food that magnificent.

Heading for the Mountain Park, Jallina and Arik came running from another street to catch up and join us.

Mountain Park was just that—a park at the foot of the mountain.

The S’Tisk Mountain, the most massive peak in the spine, threw shadows on S’Kir Prime as the sun sank. The streets and buildings shone in the late sun anyway. All made of white, it was only on the shortest days of the year that any true shadow fell on the city.

The magic of S’Kir raised the massive spine of mountains to keep us from the vampires on the other side. No one questioned the magic. The stories said the vampires were wicked and the magic of our island decided the druids needed to be protected.

The simple story was the story told to children. Most of us didn’t question the wisdom, but some had doubts on the reasons.

There were very few druids alive who remembered when there was no mountain. Those who did didn’t talk about it. So, we accepted that the mountain and the magic had reason without imparting the reason for the rising—or the locking of the Gate.

Our friends fell in step with us as we headed for the game of esalhukhi, the very game that made me—the youngest of the group at just ninety-five—sprain my knee so severely that I had to have a healer come and take care of it.

Laughing, Jallina pointed to my knee as we walked. “Even the memory of the injury makes you limp?”

“Hush! You have no idea what pain that was!” I couldn’t stay mad though, and a giggle escaped me.

“Did you not play sports as a child?” Elex glanced over. “You work with those children; you know they are rough.”

“Bookworm, Elex, remember?”

“Even so young?”

“Yes.” I nodded firmly. “Why do you think I’m an acolyte at the temple? My parents saw I wasn’t an athlete at a very young age and let me read. Which is what I should have insisted on doing instead of getting tripped with a cheater’s stick!”

The truth was I wasn’t mad. It had been fun, but I really wasn’t a very good athlete. Books were everything to me. I loved reading and learning, and for eighty years, I had been doing just that in the temple.

As we all walked toward the mountain, I realized I didn’t have to make up my mind about my position at the temple. I wanted to remain an acolyte. I wasn’t interested in forsaking the company of my friends—especially Elex—and I certainly wasn’t willing to have the temple be my only existence. So many of the wise teachers in my books had said, education is not just learning. Doing, and being, and seeing and witnessing—all of it was part of life.

I wanted that.

And perhaps, someday, a mate and children. I was entirely too young for that, though.

Finding seats in the amphitheater, the esalhukhi teams had started their on-field battle.

Even as I tried to pay attention, something…

…something plucked at me.

The amphitheater faded into the background, even as the game became more intense. A surge in my power, an odd rush in my ears.

Something tried to pull me away.

A tickle.

An itch.

A burning desire to turn around and stare up at the massive, airless peak of the mountain.

Stronger and stronger as I sat there, the feeling drove through me, permeating every nook of my mind, and eventually, I couldn’t resist it.

I looked to Elex. “Do you feel that?”

Startled, Elex glanced at the crowd and stadia around us. “Feel…what? An earthquake?”

My eyes landed back on the tall, now-threatening peak behind us. “The mountain. It’s…”

Startled, and a touch frightened, he craned his neck around. He studied Mount S’Tisk, as a trained geologist would, eventually turning back to me. “There’s nothing there, Kimber. It’s the same it’s always been.”

I tipped my head back to try to see the peak, but as usual, it was impossible from so close to the base. Still, the itch grew. Ignoring it without success for another few minutes, it increased to a pull I needed to answer.

With a gentle touch, I got Elex’s attention long enough to tell him I was leaving. “No, something is going on, Elex. I’ll be back.”

Standing, I climbed over him and two others. The aisle was clear, and I scampered out of the amphitheater toward the mountain.

“Kimber!”

Elex caught up before I made it very far. “What in the world are you doing? There’s nothing there. The mountain hasn’t moved in millennia, save for a small tremor here or there.”

“There’s something, Elex. It’s pulling me toward it, trying to tell me something.”

“Oh, for… You’ve been in that temple too long.”

I stared at him, hard. “You don’t believe me.”

“I think your dinner is sitting wrong, and you’re applying mysticism to indigestion.”

Rolling my eyes, I marched toward the mountain.

It was a very odd mountain, growing straight out of the ground to an astounding height, the sheer cliffs and drop-offs peppered the vertical climbs, and dangerous spires and crevasses broke up the climbs even more. Even as the best mountaineer made their way up the side, no one had ever crossed over because there was no air at the top. There was no way to cross the peak, and the peaks ran like a spine the length of S’Kir, all two hundred leagues.

The magic hadn’t been messing around when it lifted the land.

Caves dotted the bottom, and animals, residents, even hidden water springs, lurked inside. None went more than a half league in before ending abruptly, but the water there was sweeter than any other in S’Kir.

One of these caves was the origin of my itch. I headed straight for the opening that called me, without regard for the danger I could be marching into.

Elex, however, lacked my enthusiasm for an impromptu spelunking expedition because I had an itch. He grabbed my arm.

“Kimber. Stop. We aren’t prepared for this.”

How right he was.

“I’m going in there, Elex. With or without you. I need to find out what’s going on. This is—” I halted my words as I realized what was going on, and I couldn’t contain my surprise. “This is magic.”

“We’re drenched in magic.” Skepticism, not magic, dripped off Elex’s words.

“No, this is the mountain’s magic, pulling me toward it. Telling me to discover what’s inside.”

For all my years in the temple, this was the first time the magic had reached out to me instead of me reaching for it. It pulled on me, asking me to come and find it, deep within the cave I was standing at the mouth of.

I held my palm out and up, and a globe of light appeared, hovering there. “I’m going in, Elex. I’m an acolyte. If the magic calls, I answer.”

Not waiting for his answer, I passed into the mouth of the cave. I made sure the globe of light would stay where it was and let it float ahead of me. I was going to need more than one of the globes to dispel the darkness of the cave if the first few hundred feet were any indication.

Inclining sharply, boulders of all sizes from tiny to enormous littered the ground. There was hardscrabble between each of them, making footing dangerous and unstable. Still, they could be useful as I grabbed the boulders around me as handholds. I climbed into the shadows and through the rocks to get to a platform that allowed me to catch my breath and let my muscles rest.

The entrance wasn’t all that far behind. This was going to be a hard climb.

Elex stumbled into a rock next to me, panting. “You’re insane, Kimber.”

I grinned at him in the light of my magic. “Who followed me in, though?”

Glancing ahead, I could see there was just more darkness, but it didn’t seem to be too much more of an incline. “Do we know if anyone has explored this cave?”

“They’ve all been explored. But when and how much is the real question.” Elex sighed, giving the cave a perfunctory study. “I think this is Cave S’Kir Prime Park North Twelve, but I can’t be sure. It fits the profile, a sharp incline, and a boulder-strewn entrance. It’s been explored, pretty deeply if it is, and we’ll have a slow incline from now on.”

He gripped my arm. “Please, Kimber. Think about this. If you really want to do this, let’s go get the proper equipment. For the love of the Lost God, you’re wearing sandals.”

I shook my head. “No. We have to go now. I have to go now. You don’t have to come with me. But I have to do this.” Pursing my lips, I studied the rocks and walls of the cave. “This is the first time I have ever heard the magic tell me what I needed to do. So I have to.”

“I won’t let you go alone. If you break your leg, I can go for help.”

I nodded into the cave. “Let’s go. I need to find out what this is. I’ve never—”

How could I ever describe what it felt like to have the magic pulling on me? There was an urgency to it as if I needed to be somewhere immediately or I’d miss something spectacular. Elex didn’t need much more convincing than I had given him, so we trekked deeper into the cave.

It was a desperate urge for me.

So desperate, I didn’t even realize I was running after another few minutes of walking into the cave. Elex pulled me to a stop again, and let me—and him—catch our breath.

Before he could scold me, though, the magic shifted, and my light shook in the air and was yanked to the right.

Even Elex couldn’t miss that.

He stood up straighter, searching the cave with a glance. “What—”

“This way,” I said and then maneuvered around the boulders, toward the light. The cave grew narrower and sloped down. I didn’t travel another twenty paces before Elex pulled me to yet another halt.

“No, Kimber. Stop. This part of the cave hasn’t been explored.”

“How do you know?” I started to feel annoyed.

Pointing to the archway leading into the small side cavern we were in, Elex gruffed, “If it had been explored, a green medallion would have appeared when we walked by. There was nothing. There was…” Staring down at the ground, his brow wrinkled, and confusion washed over his features. “There are no footprints in the dirt here.”

“Well, if no one has been here—”

“No, you don’t understand. There are no footprints in the dirt here. None, save ours coming in. No one has even approached this cave. No one knows it’s here.” Spinning around, Elex’s expression flipped from confused to frightened. “We have to go back. We have to get the right equipment, the right documentation, spotters, communication, mapping—”

“Stop.”

My word was simple, direct, and stopped him dead.

“Listen to me. The magic is telling me I have to be here. To go this way. So I need to. And that’s as far as I’m discussing this. Come with me or not.”

“We can go, but let us get the equipment—”

I wrapped my hand around his arm and opened us to the magic around us. Elex’s eyes sparked in shock, and he inhaled sharply.

“Is that what you feel?”

“This time. That is why I am going to continue into this cave and listen to what the magic is telling me to do.”

He finally understood and merely nodded in agreement. I ducked further into the cavern, following the magic deeper.

Elex kept close behind. He lent me some magic toward my light and let the silence follow us.

The cavern led down, down again, and at some point, crossed under the cave above. I didn’t understand how this branch had never been explored, but—

Elex yanked me back against him by my waist as the entire mountain seemed to tremble around us.

“Kimber—”

Shaking my head, I spun in his grasp and faced him. “Stop. It’s not going to crumble. Can’t you feel that through the magic?”

“No.”

I found that disconcerting, but I didn’t have time to think about it. The shaking rocks compelled me on.

I went.

Deeper and deeper, faster and faster, until I was close to running again. The passageway curled in the other direction this time, and as I rounded a corner, I halted sharply, causing Elex to slam into me.

The deep breath he drew to yell at me, he released in a shocked huff.

The cavern beyond was massive and beautiful. Streaks and cracks packed with colors and light striped the walls. All the glimmering colors of the rainbow shone in the crystals dotting the stone. Thrumming with magic, pulsing with light and life, this was the source of the call.

The mountain trembled again as we both took a step further in, our fear holding us in place.

The rocks peeled further in the tremors, crumbling into dust. Not pebbles or boulders, but dusty powder coated the floor.

Magic pulsed through the room, taking our breath from our lungs. I put a hand to my chest, trying to draw a breath, and stared.

There was so much power.

Love.

“What is this?”

“The mountain is breaking.” I could scarcely believe my own words.

Elex grabbed me and turned me to face him. “What?”

“The mountain is breaking. The chosen love is awakening.” I blinked up at him. “The legends are all true. The chosen love is awakening! Can you feel it?”

Barely nodding, he recited the poem from our childhoods.

“Magic is life.

Without magic, we are nothing.

Without life, there is no magic.

Life is magic.”

Working his jaw, Elex could find no words for what we stared at.

“But it was all a story. Just a story.”

“The Temple of the Lost God exists because these aren’t stories. They’re history, Elex. We’re just all too young to know it. Oh, Elex! This is amazing! It’s the beginning of the mountain coming down, reuniting the two halves of our world. The gate will open again!”

Whirling out of his arms, I danced toward the wall with so many crystals, pulsing with all the colors we could imagine.

Elex, next to me in a moment and obviously nervous about this place.

“Please relax, Elex. Nothing is going to happen.”

“Something already has.”

The magic of the crystals called to me, pulling me in, daring me closer. I couldn’t resist a moment longer. With a careful hand, I reached out and made contact with the pulsing rocks. Oddly soft, gentle, yet firm with their instruction, it was not yet time, but soon.

Time for what, though?

“My God. Have you always felt the magic like this?”

“Not until just now. It so rarely speaks to me.”

Withdrawing my hand, thrill and excitement danced through me.

This was what the temple was waiting for and was why they existed at all—the gates, the mountain, the return of the God.

“I have to get back. I have to tell High Master Dorian and the Chiefs of the Temple. Oh, Elex! There’s going to be so much celebration! So much joy and happiness! The God is going to return to us!”

I clasped his arms and whirled us maniacally through the light of the room. The joy bubbled up from deep inside and exploded out of me—laughing and laughing, the sound bouncing off the walls.

Elex pulled me to a stop, and I giggled from being so dizzy. Holding me still to keep me from falling over for a moment, I leaned into him, still laughing.

Elex’s voice brushed against my skin. “Kimber. The crystals are flashing with your laughter…”

My laughter tapered off, and it was plain to see he was right.

My jaw hung unhinged.

Elex caught my eye, and in the sparkle of the crystal lights, I saw something there I’d never seen before. And yet, somehow, I knew it had been there all along.

Elex kissed me. His lips were warm and soft, and I wasn’t surprised. I joined the kiss, without thought, allowing him to possess my mouth. In return, I could possess his, and he tasted as sweet as any dessert I’d ever had.

The kiss didn’t end so much as tapered away, neither of us really wanting to let it go.

“You have to tell the temple,” he said.

“I have to tell the temple,” I parroted.

“I’m going with you.”

“No.”

“I’m going to be with you. Through all of this.”

His words were serious, and his eyes were still sparkling with honesty.

“No, Elex, I have to speak to Master Dorian alone. I can’t…the temple won’t allow you in so far.”

“You can’t do this alone.”

“I have to speak to Dorian alone.”

Torn, his eyes glided over my face. “I am afraid for you, Kimber. This power is too much to face alone.”

“I do not have to face this power alone, just Dorian and the council. It’s the way it is. If you wish to help me—”

“I do.”

“—then let me do this.”

Again, his eyes were memorizing me. “Wasn’t the kiss enough to convince you I need to help you?”

I grinned. “More than.”

“Then… what?”

“You can help me after. There will be so much to do! But the magic has told me this is my responsibility alone, and I am the only one who can get that deep into the temple.”

“But you will come to me.”

“Oh, in oh so many ways.”

Worry drained from him. “May I act upon the innuendo you imply in that?”

“I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”

“Then, let’s get you to the temple!” This time, his laugh rang through the cavern as he took my hand in his, pulling me along. “We have a discovery to report.”

CHAPTER TWO

~ GWYNNORE ~

Ras Ouanoukrim, Morocco

Atlas Mountains

Blood is life.

Without blood, we are nothing.

Without life, there is no blood.

Blood is life.

Every child knew the truth of that from the moment of birth. Whether suckling at their mother’s breast or taking their first taste from the vein, it was ingrained in all of them.

Blood is life.

Life began again, not as a roar but as a trickle, almost a tickle to the subconscious. I wanted to dismiss it as a dream my body wanted me to have. I tried to will it away. It was too soon. I was still tired. I was still owed years of sleep.

The trickle turned to a stream. Deciding that the flow calmed the soul, I went with it, riding along, still drifting through the Rest. Falling over the rocks, slipping by the deep pools of my mind, I followed. I allowed it to carry me.

The stream became a river. I could not deny that my Rest was coming to an end. It was too early. I was too far away from blood. If I woke alone, with no chance for life, I would go mad. I would ravage anyone nearby, and sing and dance with their existence coating my skin a deep garnet.

The river became rapids. Violent, uncaring, channeled toward just one end. I became aware of things. The long, cold stone my body rested on. The smell of must and dust. The utter darkness that surrounded me. The feeling of death, the chill of old bones and desecrated humans in the room.

Blood is life.

I awoke from my Rest.

A scream tore from my throat, the desperate sensation of hunger ripping through my stomach, my heart, my fangs. I was awake. Years before I should have been and the blood madness was taking a firm hold quickly.

Climbing, demented and nearly naked, from the altar I was on, I crawled to where I had discarded the last of the humans I had fed on before the Rest took hold.

Bones. No blood.

I snapped one open, hoping for marrow.

Only dust.

The crypt door was shut, but opening it was nothing for the strength the madness lent me. I shoved, hard, and the stone door moved smoothly to the side.

A stream of light slammed into the back of my eyes and I could see nothing. Like a feral cat in the light of a hunter’s sights, I scurried to a corner, welcoming back the dark and cool. I huddled there, in the grip of insanity, not knowing what to do.

A whisper not my own, “Christ.”

A lamb…a lamb has come. I waited.

Light followed the swear word and passed over me. The figure of a woman, dressed as a Bedouin, rushed forward. She smelled healthy, full of blood I could use.

I hissed, dropping my fangs.

Quickly rushed words, “Gwynnore. Don’t. It’s me, Adelie. I’m here, my friend.”

Who? No matter. She was a lamb.

I lunged, wrapping my hands around her neck and pulling her down.

“Gwen, stop. Stop.” She struggled inside my hold.

My fangs itched, aching to taste the red, warm life as it flowed around them. “Thirsty.”

“It’s coming, Gwen. It’s on the way.”

Some part of my hunger-addled brain recognized her. “Adelie.”

Not…

Not a lamb.

“Yes, it’s me.”

With hard drawn breaths, I could feel the death rattle in my chest. I had to drink. Soon.

I sniffed at the air around her head.

“Bring them forth, Adelie. Bring them.” My voice gave out at the end. I could smell… life.

More life than just her.

I peered toward the entrance of the cave. “Thirst—”

“They’ll be here in a minute. They’re all here for you. All of them, all of their memories, all of their blood.”

“Lambs…”

“…to your slaughter.” She grinned, her fangs gleaming and healthy. “Stay here. Stay hidden. Until I come back for you.”

I watched, unmoving.

Adelie moved to the cave entrance and enthusiastically waved outside, at someone. No, someones. I could feel them, more than one. A moment later, the first of the humans climbed in and looked around, and they began making quick work of filling the cave.

I started to tremble.

I needed them, and I needed them now.

“Someone opened the crypt for us,” Adelie said, cheerfully. “We can set up camp right in this cave.”

“Was it cranked open or broken?” said one of the hikers. The individual…looked strange to me.

“It’s in one piece. Let’s go in. We’ve been running ahead of that storm for hours. The rain won’t hold off much longer.” Adelie turned and called to the group that had assembled. “Into the crypt, everyone! There’s going to be a storm, and we want to be as far away as possible.”

Without question, the whole group walked in. Smiling the whole time, my wonderful best friend had brought me nearly twenty-five warm bodies full of blood, of life. I stayed dead still until she walked over to me and offered me a hand.

“They are all yours.”

“All?

“Yes. All of them.” She wasn’t taking any.

I darted into the crypt with the last of my energy.

Adelie shoved the door closed behind me.

Not one of those humans would be able to open it.

The high-pitched shouts started right away. The humans couldn’t see a thing. There was no light. There was only blood pumping and shaking breaths and screams and terror. It was beautiful. My lambs—all mine.

I started with the young boy, barely this side of puberty with a scraggly beard and rich, rich blood. I held his throat to keep the shriek quiet and drove my fangs into his neck. With the first swallows of my first meal in nearly three hundred years, the fog in my brain started to lift. The knowledge this child held was siphoned off with his life, and it was all mine to take and remember. I discarded his personal crap. I took only the history and events of the time during my Rest.

Time and again I struck. Draining all I could from the first six victims, I then took just enough to render the rest unable to fight me. I was going to enjoy the rest of my meal.

Blood is life.

*  *  *

Dripping crimson stained my face. And it couldn’t be any sweeter.

I stared down at the lambs brought before me. My mind churned with the memories I had stolen from each human. So much knowledge. So many differences in the world since I had lain down for my magical Rest two hundred years ago.

Correction. Almost two hundred years ago.

‘Almost’ was the keyword there.

I had been woken early. And from the horrid churning in my stomach, I knew it was because of the overlords. Only they had the power to pull me to them.

And I wanted to see the vampire rulers. Desperately.

The urge to run day and night to stand before them made my skin itch.

Or perhaps that was the dust covering my pale flesh.

I brushed off my shoulders with a brutal rub, and at least two handfuls of dark dust fell from them to the floor. I was in need of a rinsing. Or a shower, as they now called it.

I cracked my neck and stepped over the bodies cluttering my crypt. Eventually, they would be nothing but bones—all before the next time I decided to Rest. Those bones I would shove into the back room, along with all the others. At some point, I would need to clean my crypt up. That back room was getting a bit cluttered with skulls and hip bones and such.

My dirty hands pressed against the crypt door, and I shoved.

It swung open with ease.

My two hundred years had been good to me. More power flexed within my muscles than I could remember. It was always like this upon awakening, reuniting oneself with one’s own body again.

I held up a quick hand to shade my eyes. I squinted, asking, “Adelie?”

A flash of curly red hair came into focus.

My friend now stood directly in front of me. “Here. Put these sunglasses on until your eyes adjust.”

“Sunglasses?”

“Yes. They go on your face.” Her words were gentle.

I held still, allowing her to put a pair of sunglasses over my eyes.

Instantly, I breathed a sigh of relief and dropped my hand from the glaring sun shining into the cave. I cracked my neck and rotated my shoulders. I bounced a few times in place.

My friend, who appeared all of sixteen years old with her innocent features, watched as I worked out my stiff muscles. Up and down, I jumped. Her eyes tracked every movement, a slow smile etching her lips. She muttered, “You’re coming around faster than last time.”

I grinned. “I feel damn good.”

She nodded, her brows lifting as I raced around her in a circle.

Just for the fun of it. A crypt can be cramped.

Jerking to a sudden stop in front of her, I probed, “Do I have this generation’s lingo down correct? Or do I sound like I’m from the past?”

She snorted. “I picked well for you, my friend. I made sure there was a social media guru in there. So you sound even more up to date than I do.”

I nudged her shoulder with mine, teasing, “So I’m still better than you.”

Adelie huffed a long-suffering sigh. “Once, Gwen. Only once did you beat me in chess. I don’t know why you must continue to bring that up.”

I flashed a little fang. “Because it’s so much fun.”

Another sigh. Added to a roll of her pretty, brown eyes. “I should have stuck a therapist in there, too. Dammit.”

My head tilted back, and my laughter filled the cave.

Adelie blinked ever so slowly, her gaze running over my features. “You know, you look straight from a horror flick right now. We should probably get you cleaned up before I take you out into civilization.”

I stuck out my bottom lip, joking, “I can’t scare the food?”

“Oh, you’d scare the humans all right. But you shouldn’t.” She pulled her backpack off her right shoulder and unzipped it. Rummaging through the contents, my friend mumbled hesitantly, “Aren’t you going to ask me why you woke up early?”

A pair of dark jeans, a black t-shirt, boots. Weapons. Bottles of water and rags.

All were dropped at my feet.

I started stripping down out of my Rest attire. “I know the overlords are behind it.”

“Are you curious why?” Adelie zipped her bag up and shoved the strap back over her shoulder. “I think you’ll like the reason, be less pissed.”

I wet a rag down, my head cocking as I eyed her in silent question.

“Lord John took his final breath six months ago. He decided he’d lived long enough and chose his death,” she explained. A small, pleased grin graced her features—an impish look. “King Pippin has elevated to the Council. He’s now Lord Pippin, an overlord.”

My breath caught in my throat, the cleansing rag in my hand halting against my cheek. “You mean I’m finally being called as a possible candidate for the new queen?”

Her red hair shook as she bobbed her head in excitement. “Yes! There are two women before you, from what I hear, but if they decline the offer, then you could be the candidate for the next queen!”

“Oh…my.” My blue gaze widened as all my dreams flashed before my eyes.

Adelie squealed, jumping up and down. She even clapped her hands together.

I blinked. “You can’t do that in front of them.”

She cleared her throat and held her hands behind her back. Attempting calm.

“That’s better.” I nodded and began scrubbing my face once more. “I can’t believe, after all this time, I’ll get a chance at the crown. I didn’t think any of those overlords were ever going to die.”

It took one of them dying for a king to ascend to overlord.

Only five at a time. And vampires lived forever.

She shrugged a delicate shoulder. “Lord John was ready for his Eternal Slumber.”

My brows rose, and I wet the rag again. “He was the youngest of them all.”

“Now Lord Pippin is,” my friend hummed. Pleased.

She was so pleased with this.

But I probably had her beat. My grin grew, pinching my cheeks. “When does the official meet happen? When do I have to be there?” Because I wanted to be there now, my gut churning and heating from the magical pull.

Adelie pulled out her cell phone. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at the time and date on it, counting silently with her fingers. Her head nodded with her own internal thoughts, then her brown eyes pierced mine. “We have three days. With our travel, it’s cutting it down by half. But the overlords do have a private jet waiting for us.”

I sighed in relief. “Thank fuck I have you listed on my paperwork as an emergency contact with the Council. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what the hell was happening, and I’d be killing left and right until I was sated.”

The killing I didn’t mind at all. Not being discreet would bother me.

Dead humans lying around normally tended to bring the nearby authorities.

From all accounts of the memories I had just stolen, that hadn’t changed in the past two hundred years. If a human was murdered, it was still considered bad.

Pity that.

It would be much easier if you could just dump their bodies in a landfill.

That was what the humans did with their garbage.

We should have the same rules. We were the predators.

I lifted my sunglasses, closing my eyes to clean my eyelids. “The humans still don’t know about us, right? I didn’t miss that clue with my feeding, did I?”

I had fed very fast, sating my thirst. And I was still thirsty.

Adelie snorted. “Not a chance. We’re still hidden.”

“Good. No wars have resulted then because of our nature.”

“Nope.” She popped her lips with the word.

I dropped the sunglasses back over my eyes. “The stronghold is still in the southwestern portion of South America?”

“They haven’t moved. There’s no reason to. The castle is still in Japri.”

“Excellent.” I grinned. “Anything else I need to know?”

My friend nibbled on her bottom lip. Finally, she shook her head. “No, I think that’s it. All your affairs are in order, like normal. You’re fully prepared to enter society again.”

I picked up the clothes she had brought me. One black eyebrow rose. “We’ll need to go shopping before I meet with the overlords.”

Adelie laughed, the sound like tinkling chimes.

I rolled my eyes. “What?”

“Some things never change.” Her arms wrapped around my bare shoulders, squeezing me in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much. Next time, we’re going to schedule our Rest at the same time. The last two hundred years have been hell without you by my side.”

I hugged her back, holding her tight. She had once gone to Rest while I was still awake. It had been hell during that time. I completely understood. I whispered, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

She continued to hold me tight.

Eventually, I cleared my throat. “Adelie, hello? Naked here, remember?”

Her strong grip loosened, and she released me. “Fine. Fine.”

I waggled my brows. “I know I’m fine. I look damn good for being almost a thousand.”

Her brown eyes lifted skyward in exasperation. “Here we go. Gwen is back.”

CHAPTER THREE

~ GWYNNORE ~

Japri, Chile

“Hello, beautiful,” I purred. The pads of my fingers ran over the black paint of my brand new Lamborghini. My attention snapped to my friend. “Adelie, you have outdone yourself this time.”

Her lips twitched. “Your money paid for it.”

“I don’t even care,” I whispered. Then I leaned down and kissed the top of the roof with a gentle caress for my newest baby. “She is flawless.”

“The last time I remember you being this excited after a Rest was when I bought you that gorgeous colt.” She opened the passenger side door, snickering quietly. “Remember that?”

I nodded. “This is just as excellent as that time.”

Adelie lifted a finger into the air, pointing out, “But this one doesn’t poop.”

My laughter could be heard over the jet engines roaring behind us.

The overlords had, indeed, provided us with a private jet—which included private airports. Our flight had been long to South America and mainly boring after I got over the thrill of a plane taking off. Memories were one thing, experiencing it myself was another. It was more fleshed out and vivid compared to stolen experiences from humans.

Adelie slid into the magnificent car wearing an arrogant smile.

I chucked my luggage in the trunk next to hers and closed it.

When I sat in the driver’s seat, I groaned. “Oh, the leather hugs my ass just right.”

My friend snorted. “You need to get laid.”

“Yes, I do.” I sighed in agreement. “But we have plans first.”

Her red brows lifted. “Should I even guess?”

“Clothes and weapons.” I wiggled my shoulders as I started up the engine. And, boy, did my new toy purr for me. Another pleased sigh escaped. “Tell me where to go. I have money burning a hole in my pocket.”

“It’s actually a credit card,” Adelie explained.

Using the heel of my palm, I thumped her on her forehead. “I know. It was a metaphor.”

She stared, and then scowled. My friend grumbled, “I need to drink a human who is younger. It’s been a while since I stole a younger one’s memories.”

I chuckled and peeled out of the small parking lot. “Where am I going?”

Adelie quickly strapped on her seatbelt, then gripped the door as I took a sharp left out of the exit. “Head west…and try not to kill us.”

“When all my dreams are coming true? I wouldn’t dare harm us.”

But a little speed never hurt either.

I opened my new toy up on the highway.

And thoroughly enjoyed Adelie’s frightened screams.

* * *

Adelie grunted as I tossed another shirt on the pile she was holding for me. Only her eyes and nose could be seen over the garments. Her gaze was narrowed, but she hadn’t commented—it would come.

I lifted a pair of black leather pants and held them against my waist. “How do you think these would look?”

She only continued to glare.

Still not commenting. Yet.

My lips twitched.

I tossed the pants on top of my ever-growing pile.

Adelie jerked, bending one leg when the garments tilted to the side. My redheaded friend kept them from toppling all over the floor. Barely.

“Hmm.” I hummed and pointed at the racks at the very back of the store. “Do you think there’s anything good back there? We haven’t seen those yet…”

“Oh my God, no! Just no!” Adelie wailed in misery. It was a bit muffled behind the pile, but I could hear her just fine with my vampire hearing. She shuffled to stand directly in front of me, cutting off my access to the racks in the back. She growled, “Those are on sale. You wouldn’t want them anyway.”

I lifted my arm over the top of the clothes pile and bopped her nose lightly with one finger. “I’m just teasing.” I winked. “It appears you still hate shopping as much as you always have.”

Which truly didn’t make a lot of sense. Adelie loved fine clothing.

One would think she would want to pick it out herself.

But no, she enjoyed others doing the shopping for her.

My friend grumbled, “Yes, I still hate it. Can we go now?”

I eyed the yellow and blue bags slung over her forearms. “I guess so. I think I bought enough shoes earlier. But maybe I still need—”

A soft vampire growl emitted from behind the clothes pile.

I quickly bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Okay. Okay. We can go.”

“Thank goodness.” She shuffled back around me, her attention squarely on the checkout area. Adelie moved pretty darn well with a bulky tipping load in her arms. “I mean, really? How many black shirts and black pants do you need?”

I trailed behind her, twirling one of my fingers through her red curls. My hair was jet black and straight, down to my shoulder blades—freshly cut an hour ago. I’d always been envious of her beautiful locks, and that hadn’t changed. I mumbled, “Some are sweaters and such.”

I quickly stopped playing with her hair as she leaned forward, lest I yank her head back.

My clothes tumbled onto the cashier’s table.

Adelie sighed in relief, adjusting my shoe bags down to her gripping fists by her sides. As the cashier worked to ring me up, my friend asked candidly, “With this amount of shopping—aka procrastination—how nervous are you for your meeting with the overlords?”

I ground my teeth together and peered to the side.

No comment from me. The tables had turned.

“Ah.” Her head bobbed in understanding. “So, you’re so nervous you feel like wetting your pants or puking. Got it.”

I rubbed my stomach. The closer we traveled to the castle, the worse the compulsion became. But I was fighting it as hard as I could.

Because my friend was right.

My brows puckered and my honest eyes met hers. “This is everything.”

Adelie held my gaze without flinching. “And you will be fine. You will prosper. You’ve trained for this your whole life.” She repeated her words, her voice soothing my nerves. “You will be fine, Gwen. I have faith you will do whatever it takes to make your dream come true.”

I snorted. “Dammit, I better.”

“Damn right, you better. I’m counting on you to do just that.” A sudden sigh deflated her chest, her brows bunching in irritation. She stared off into nothing as if she were being tortured and interrogated. “Fuck. We still have to go weapon shopping.”

A smile curled my lips. “Hell yes, we do.”

CHAPTER FOUR

~KIMBER~

Even though Elex had rushed us from the cave, partly due to his own fear of the walls coming down on us, I insisted on my own schedule when it came to the temple and my announcement.

“Kimber, please, let me—”

“Elex. Stop. I have to do this carefully. This is joy beyond joy, and I have to convey that reverently to the Temple Masters, or they will dismiss me. I cannot go in smelling like dirt and wine.”

“Then let me help you shower. I mean…wait…”

My finger sealed his lips. “Elex. Trust me. I haven’t forgotten your kiss that quickly. But this must be done right. There will be such joy and celebration, but let me go. For now.”

Arms snaked around my waist, and in the next moment, Elex pulled me to him, and we touched from head to toe.

“I have been afraid to show you what you mean to me.”

He slanted his mouth across mine, the kiss soft, deep, and pure fire through my body.

“That,” he whispered across my lips, “was to refresh your memory of what waits for you when you’re done with this.”

“I am reminded,” I breathed.

He was gone. It was startling that he wasn’t there, but I caught a glimpse of him—and a perfect backside in casual clothes—as he walked down the street that would lead to his house.

How had I never realized Elex harbored those feelings for me? I’d always held back what I really felt for him. At that moment, I was already grateful to the magic in the mountain. It pulled down a wall I didn’t know was there.

Without breaking into a run, which was very, very hard, I managed to get to my own apartment and slam the door. I leaned against the wood and looked around.

I could see the magic everywhere now. Threads of light and colors danced through the air. Reaching out, I ran my finger along one small thread, and it sang for me, a crystal tone that trembled through all the threads nearby.

No one had ever described magic as alive. It was the only word I could think of that came close to capturing what I could I see.

Maybe…

Maybe, before the mountain cracked, no one had ever seen magic this way. Perhaps it hoarded the magic until the right time.

Or the right person.

I had to talk to the Temple Masters. Immediately.

Tearing through my apartment, the colors of magic faded a bit as though they were trying not to distract me. Yanking the closet doors open, I stood staring at my collection of clothes.

Gods and stars, I was boring.

Teaching tunic after teaching tunic, probably two weeks’ worth hung there. White, beige, taupe, cream, eggshell, off-white, and some variety of pale yellow. Several casual outfits were also there, in fascinating shades of grey, black, and charcoal. Two formal dresses, one in black, one in charcoal were tucked in the corner.

Was I really this terribly boring?

At the other end was the outfit I was looking for. A pale blue formal set, with a flowing skirt and modest bodice that sparkled in the light of the room.

This was the dress I had worn to every temple function.

While others went to spectacular ball after spectacular dance, each one with a new fantastic outfit, it was tradition at the temple to have just one dress. There was never any doubt who you were. Everyone knew what to wear. Everyone was expecting you to show up in that dress each time. It bordered on scandalous if someone dared to show up in something new.

A person was not a member of the temple to show off and dress up. There was always a solemn edge to all of the festivities.

The formal stature of the gown was what I needed tonight.

Glancing at the clock, I had to hurry. The Temple Masters gathered for dinner and had a small, private audience after. I could still make it.

The guards could not deny me entrance as an acolyte.

While I did walk through the streets quickly, I also took the time to think about what I was going to say, how I was going to approach those grumpy old buzzards.

Dorian would be the worst.

Oh, would Dorian be the worst, by a long shot. He was the oldest of the council, and…

Well, an asshole.

He had started pushing me to make my decision about being dedicated to the temple because he insisted I could not remain an acolyte.

Nothing in the Temple Texts said that. It was tradition for an acolyte to be dedicated to the temple or separate, but there was nothing anywhere that said I must decide. He’d badgered me for twenty years. I researched for twenty years. There was nothing. But he was the oldest and the most powerful of the council, and I had to explain that magic had called me to the mountain, and made me its servant. Far more than anything in the temple ever had.

How?

…and why me?

I dismissed the second question. There was no point in thinking about it at all. The first one—how?—was more important now.

How did I convince a council of twelve grumpy bastards—and I was including the five women in that bastard title because they were just as bad as the men—that the mountain called to me.

Never had I shown a unique talent with the magic. I was a true-blooded druid, both father and mother were from the Old Families, but that didn’t guarantee I was talented.

Until today, I hadn’t been. I had been mediocre at best.

Taking shorter strides, I looked around me. The magic had faded back when I wasn’t paying attention, but as soon as I looked for it, it lit up.

The strands and strings were bright and strong. I could see them dancing in the air, waiting. They waited for whoever would call them.

A couple I passed was surrounded by a thin mist, enveloped by light yellow magic. Another was surrounded by an intense red bubble. Another, an orange cloud. And still another, a bright blue fog.

The auras were a fact of life. I had never seen them quite this well or this easily, though.

The rousing of the mountain was meant to be a joy. The two worlds, that of the Vampires and ours, were meant to be reunited and the Lost God to return. We would have a King and Queen again. There would be revelry in the streets and dancing in the squares, fireworks in the sky, and dancing fountains on the lakes.

The joy and excitement bubbled up inside me. There was so much happiness due to the people of S’Kir, and I was going to deliver the news to the Temple Masters that it was time.

Finally, time for joy and celebration.

The smile lodged firmly on my face bolstered me, and the wonderful thoughts of such celebration put a bounce in my step like no other.

My walk almost became a skip—how undignified.

The people around me stared at me in my formal dress in the middle of the week, with no declared festivals or celebrations. I didn’t care. I was delivering marvelous news, and my heart would not sit still.

The residences of the temple were in a different area from the school and the temple proper. Behind the school, down a path that wound away from the temple entrance, were the residences’ thirteen buildings.

One massive center building hosted the common area, with kitchens, library, receiving and conference rooms, a gym, and a smaller temple. The other twelve buildings circled the main one, each the private home of the Temple Masters. Not evenly spread around in a circle, they bunched slightly to the back to allow a pathway through a massive old hedge and tree tunnel that lead to the main entrance of the big building.

The necklace I wore proclaimed me an acolyte, and no guards even tried to approach me as I marched up the walkway.

A building as old as time, bound to its eternal splendor by spells and magic weavings, it gleamed white, even in the deepening night. The moon was rising, and it cast an eerie shadow on the white bricks. I could see the magic used now, and watched a moment as it cleaned the façade nearby, scouring the bacteria that tried to ruin mortar.

Raising my hand, I knocked with tremendous force on the thick, unyielding doors placed by the Lost God. The knock barely made a sound on the wood, as though the door swallowed sound whole.

Still, the doors creaked and parted to swing open a few seconds later, allowing me to walk into the hall.

Swallowing my gasp, I screwed up the courage to enter. I had never been here before. Everything I had done with the temple had been in the school and in the Dedicants’ dorms.

This was a very different place.

The Lost God had lived here once.

With as much reverence—and silence from my shoes—as I could summon, I strode in with my head high.

And saw.

The massive rotunda streamed with magic, the threads tumbling from the heights above in magnificent waterfalls of color and light, flashing and dancing, laughing—welcoming. I could see beyond them as though they were a painted glass, the walls covered in murals and statues. The ceiling was a dome, concave step pyramids lining it, and an opening in the top center that would let the sun, or moon, shine down.

“What is the meaning of this?”

I whirled back to the one dramatically arched entrance opposite the main door and saw Master Dorian standing there, flanked by Master Hedregon and Mistress Lunella.

My courage tried to flee, but I pulled it back and stood up a little straighter. “Masters, Mistress. I am Acolyte Kimber Raven, a teacher in the temple school. I have to report a joyful and wonderful occurrence in the mountains.”

“This couldn’t wait until morning?” Dorian’s eyes rolled in his head. I suspected if he rolled them any harder, he might sprain them.

“Master, I know you do not regard me highly for my indecision on my path forward, but the mountain called me tonight. Its magic beckoned me to the caves below.”

“The magic speaks—”

I dared to cut him off. “Not like this. Never like this. The mountain cracked below, and the walls were full of crystals, dancing in colors. The magic there was so thick and rich. Your excellencies, I think the Breaking Time has arrived.”

Dorian rolled his eyes again and turned his back to me, walking to the back of the quarter. “You are an infant, Miss Raven. You have no idea of that which you speak.”

“Mistress Lunella,” I said, bowing respectfully in her direction. “Will you hear me out?”

Her sigh said everything.

“Master Hedregon?”

He pursed his lips.

“You are not going to listen to an acolyte of your own temple? I do not speak in hyperbole! I am not given to hysterics! I have been a faithful servant—”

“You are a child to us,” Dorian snapped at me from the distance. “You have no knowledge of power and magic that even begins to rival ours.”

Pompous ass!

“Excellency, I—”

The voice that interrupted me was calm and deep as the ocean. “Be still, child.”

Master Tymon walked into the rotunda from behind his fellow masters. He placed an arm on Mistress Lunella and guided her to the side. “Come forward, young one. You say the mountain spoke to you?”

I corrected him. “Called me, master.”

“And what did you see in the cave?”

“Crystals, sir. Colors and light dancing in the rocks. My companion said he could see the magic respond to my laugh through the crystals.”

“And now? What do you see?” His hand swept the vast space of the hall.

“Threads of magic, sir. Thousands. Hundreds of thousands, some falling from the walkway above, some seemingly alive on the floors and walls around us.”

“Can you show us?”

I didn’t have an answer. I couldn’t think of a way to show them the magic I could now see.

A moment later, the magic told me how.

Extending my palm up, a thread dropped to my touch and spun like a dust devil, swirling and twirling, and gathering more thread to itself. With my other finger, I touched the whirling dervish in my hand. It was soft and gentle, nothing at all like what a tornado should feel like. Bringing my lips closer to the tiny maelstrom, I dusted a breath across it, and whispered, “Glow.”

A cascade of chimes surrounded me as the magic flowed down from the whirlwind out into the air around me, creating its own waterfall. Cascading down to the floor, the threads lit each one they touched and a new chime added to the beautiful cacophony.

I watched as the colors and lights of the magic glowed more brilliantly than the moment before. Traveling across the floor, the threads seemed to catch fire when they reached the waterfalls that surround the rotunda. A burst of light flew up the threads, and soon, the whole room was aglow, and the chimes were melodic, sweet, and calming.

Marveling, I tipped my head back to stare up, and I realized Dorian was suddenly there, glaring at me with confused anger in his eyes.

“How are you doing this, acolyte?”

Not pleased, Dorian stared at me instead of the lights that I was able to create.

“I listened to what the magic told me to do.”

“You are nothing but a middling—”

Lunella raised a hand. “Dorian. With all respect to your station as the oldest of us, hush.”

Tymon nodded at Lunella and studied me. “You are well known to us, my dear. A bright, brilliant, but not naturally gifted druid. And now you can do this?”

“Sir, I’m just as overwhelmed as anyone else. But the mountain called, and I answered. The magic has become stronger even from the time I left the cave until my arrival here.”

“You cannot believe this child, Tymon. It’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not, Dorian,” Tymon said, smiling at me. “You see, her friend Elex contacted the Geology Guild, who, in turn, contacted me to let me know there was a cave that needed exploring, and I instructed them to send several geologists and two of our master magic wielders to check this cave and our acolyte’s claim.”

Tymon whirled around to Dorian and considered him. “I am not afraid of the Breaking Time. I would welcome them. It’s been millennia. It’s time.”

His ice-cold eyes found mine over Tymon’s shoulder. “Her. Of all people in S’Kir? Her.”

“Who are you asking that question of, Dorian? Me or the magic?”

Releasing my gaze, he fixed his sights on Tymon. “You’ve sent someone out to survey this place she claims called her?”

“Elex Everettson is one of our finest trained geologists, and his gift with magic is strong. I trust his word, and he is in my purview. Why do you not trust one of your own?”

Tymon stared at the angry, ancient druid who was hiding behind Lunella.

Was this old, wise man actually a coward?

I held my breath, the air burning in my lungs. I wasn’t scared of Dorian. While he was my teacher and the master of the school, he was generally… an ass. But I was not going to be afraid of him or doubt what had happened to me.

“I trust her,” he finally said. “If your study team has seen the cave she claims is breaking—”

“They will be reporting back in just a few minutes.”

“And you won’t take me at my word?” I cast a glance at him

“We have had hysterical claims like yours before. I won’t take steps based on the claim of just one acolyte teacher who was, until just moments ago, barely adept at using magic.”

Lunella turned and stared at Dorian. “You are being quite the asshole to this young woman.”

“We have had false alarms.”

Her arms folded in disappointment. “You do not have to make her feel like this is not important! All our acolytes—imbued with magic or not—are critical to the survival of this temple and this school. So, Master Dorian, shove it.”

I liked Lunella.

A heartbeat passed, and he pivoted on his heel and marched out of the rotunda with a sound of disgust.

Tymon and Lunella shook their heads and dismissed him. Turning back to me, they smiled—and I could see they were genuinely pleased I had come to them with the news.

“Have you eaten tonight, Miss Raven?”

“Yes, mistress, hours ago.”

“Then allow me to offer you a drink.” A graceful hand motioned me to the inner sanctum of the Masters’ Hall, and there was no way to refuse. “Let’s at least wait for Mister Everettson in comfort. There are things to discuss yet.”

The sitting room, done in shades of ivory and red, and peppered with all kinds of chairs, chaises, and sofas, was a welcoming, lush retreat from the massive, echoing chamber of the entrance hall.

I was in a sacred space now. This was something I hadn’t anticipated or expected. I thought perhaps that I might wait in the rotunda or an antechamber. Not the sitting room of the masters.

“Mistress Lunella.” I dared to lay a hand on her arm and keep her from walking away from me. “Please. If this is the Breaking Time, is it not an appropriate time to begin the celebrations? Don’t the people of S’Kir—”

The grin she graced me with was blinding. “My dear. If this is the Breaking Time, our joyous celebrations shall last through years. The people of S’Kir have kept the Lost God alive. That he will return to us and reunite us with our vampire brethren is cause for joy.”

She leaned in closer to me but stared at where Dorian had planted himself in the corner. “We may even be able to get a smile out of Master Dorian.”

My chuckle slipped out.

CHAPTER FIVE

~ GWYNNORE ~

My baby’s engine purred down the winding two-lane roads of Japri. The small town could be viewed in the valley from our height winding up into the mountains, a village not too far off in structure from when I had laid down for my Rest. Two hundred years hadn’t done much for the buildings. Only the coloring of green and blue new roofs were the noticeable changes against the white stone houses. The tiny town square still housed a courthouse in the center with a pointed clock tower. The humans moved like ants along the roads, ready to be squashed.

If they only knew what lived in the mountains surrounding them…

I slowed, pulling back on the gas pedal as we neared the stronghold.

The forest was lusher, the trees robust and fragrant. The leaves danced in the breeze of the noonday hours. My heartbeat thrummed in fast cadence, the compulsion causing my hands to shake on the wheel. Birds chirped their merry tune above, and the wolves lurked in their safe havens below. I slammed on my brakes, chewing up the gravel beneath my tires, as a deer sauntered out of the woods onto the path.

Adelie leaned and rested one of her hands on top of mine. She squeezed ever so gently, whispering, “Breathe, Gwen. You will be fine.”

When she removed her hand from mine, I stretched my fingers out over the wheel, my eyes on the deer taking its sweet time to pass by. “Will this call end as soon as I’m in the castle? Did they tell you?”

She cleared her throat, her tone quiet. “They said it would lessen considerably, but if you try to leave without seeing them, then it will only get worse.”

I cracked my neck. “Fucking Original vampire amulet.”

My friend nodded in agreement. “That beast of a jewel is nothing to mess with. Only the oldest and most powerful can use it. And when the overlords do, it still costs them.”

“I know,” I mumbled. The deer finally flicked its little tail as it disappeared into the trees on the other side of the road. I pressed on the gas pedal again, taking us even closer to our destination. “I can’t even imagine the power the Originals had. One person to control theirs? That’s fucking insane.”

Adelie snorted. “Then the Original druid murdered our Original vampire…and only the newly appointed overlords were left to wield the Original vampire amulet. Blah, blah. I swear you are obsessed with the Originals. And, fuck, one of them is dead!”

I blinked. “I’m not obsessed. I just find it fascinating. That Original druid took our Original vampire’s power when he killed him. We shouldn’t ever forget that. If you forget history, then your future is screwed. The druids will always be a threat to us because of one man’s actions.”

She waved her hand in defeat. “Yes, you’ve explained that many times.”

I shook my head at her blasé attitude, but I lost interest in trying to push my ideals on her as the castle came into view. My insides—my organs—were thrumming with the pressure to race as fast as I could to the stronghold. So, naturally, I eased up on the pedal and cruised even slower. Managing power greater than your own was always a fun game I liked to play—beautiful torture as you achieved your goal.

The castle was older than me. It was born of magic and dedication by overlords many years ago, courtesy of the Original vampire amulet. There were a few castles such as these all over the world, but the overlords only lived in one. This one with its majestic swirls of black stone intimidating newcomers and polished marble to hinder climbing.

With the castle built into the mountain, all you could observe was the front.

It was menacing enough no one ever ventured inside who wasn’t invited.

I bit my bottom lip, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “There are no cars outside.”

Adelie instantly pointed at a side road. “Follow that. When vehicles became normal in daily life, the overlords created a new section to the stronghold. There’s a parking garage down below now.”

I turned the wheel, doing as instructed. “Is there anything else new?”

Her brown eyes lit up. “We have an indoor tennis court now.”

My lips trembled, and a snicker escaped. “Anything new that I would like?”

Tiny fingers drummed on the door. “Well…let me think. There’s a new indoor swimming pool, too—and the water is always the perfect temperature. Oh! There’s a top of the line workout area now with all the latest machinery. I bet you’d like that.”

The grin that popped up on my features was broad. “Yes, I think I will like that.”

Adelie flicked her finger to the left. “That way when the road forks.”

“Where does the other fork go?”

“Horse stables. The overlords won’t get rid of those.”

I rolled my eyes. “I bet Cato had something to do with that.”

Brown eyes flicked in my direction—quickly—then away. “Speaking of Lord Cato. How do you feel about seeing him?”

“I’ve practically forgotten what he looks like,” I dissembled.

Delicately, she cleared her throat. “He’s your biological father, Gwen. And you haven’t seen him in forever. I know his abandonment is hard to think about…but you should prepare yourself for seeing him before you go in front of the five overlords. You don’t want to mess up because he’s one of them.”

I drove my baby into the ornate opening in the mountain. Instantly, the car dipped, our destination down into the bowels of the stronghold. Much like where my father truly belonged—in the ground. Forever.

My sanity instantly returned full force as the call quieted to a mere buzz, like a bee flying far overhead and thinking you might hear something nearby. I stated calmly, “I won’t let that bastard ruin my chance. You don’t need to worry about that, my friend. I’m focused on the prize.”

She grinned, flashing her straight teeth. “And what a prize it will be.”

The crown. It truly was everything.

* * *

Adelie and I shuffled to the elevator, our arms laden with luggage and shopping bags. We bumped sides repeatedly as we staggered our way past all of the luxury cars. I had barely found a place to park, taking thirty bloody minutes.

I grunted as our shoulders bounced off each other again. “Where the hell is our complimentary service? If the fucking overlords want me here this bad, then why isn’t someone here to greet us?”

Cameras were all over this place.

There wasn’t a chance they didn’t know that we had arrived.

“Apparently, being a possible candidate doesn’t hold much sway.”

“No shit,” I grouched. “This is ridiculous. We could have stayed at Japri’s tiny ass hotel and received better care.”

Adelie nodded her head in agreement. “That’s the honest truth.”

A masculine throat cleared behind us, loud and clear.

As one, Adelie and I jerked our heads back.

My eyelashes fluttered as I stared. Dammit.

Adelie’s mouth gaped, and then she whispered, “Think they heard us?”

All five overlords were standing far away.

Directly next to my car.

A couple of them even leaned against it, their bodies relaxed. A couple of arms crossed over muscular chests. A few heads cocked. One even sat on the parking garage floor with his legs crossed. Each was dressed in simple black slacks and dark button-down shirts.

And all were staring straight at us.

I swallowed on a dry throat. “Yes, they heard us.”

Adelie and I stood in place, unsure what they were planning to do.

Or what they wanted us to do.

They took the decision out of our hands…

Moving as one unit, they turned away from us.

And walked up the incline.

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Fuckers.”

Lord Xenon glanced back while still strolling away. He merely raised an arrogant eyebrow. The look told the whole story. Even if I became queen, they would still be above me. They had done their time as rulers, and I hadn’t done shit except exist long enough to be called on as a possible candidate for rule. He turned his attention back to where he was walking, all five of them disappearing around the corner.

My fangs descended. I shouted, “Fuckers!”

They may be egotistical. But so was I.

Perhaps we would be a perfect match to work together.

Adelie bumped my shoulder as she groaned, turning back around to start our trek to the elevator once more. She muttered softly, “Try to keep yourself somewhat under control, Gwen.”

I snorted. “If they had been close enough, I would have punched one of them.”

“That’s quite Queenly of you,” she grumbled, full of sarcasm. “You might as well not unpack if you go in with that attitude. You’ll be leaving sooner rather than later.”

I turned and trudged behind her, attempting to catch up. “Fine. I’ll keep my fists to myself—as much as possible.”

“I really should have stuck a therapist in with that group.” She sighed.

“Live and learn, my friend. Live and learn.”

Adelie bent at the waist and used her nose to press the button for the elevator.

My eye twitched. “I think we both have a few things we could work on.”

Her laughter softened my heart. “Oh, Gwen. There aren’t enough lessons in the Bible to help us.”

The elevator dinged, and the door opened.

It was full. Of overlords.

I blinked in confusion, not moving.

Then the door shut after Cato—my father—pressed a button.

Adelie choked on air. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

I dropped all my bags and banged on the elevator doors as it traveled up…and up. “You motherfuckers! That was not funny!”

My friend snorted. “It kind of was.”

“Traitor,” I hissed.

She merely stared up at the numbers. Patient. “You should probably start picking all that stuff up. The elevator isn’t that slow. It’s actually relatively fast.”

I bent and started grabbing items off the dusty concrete. “I’m pissed.”

“Yes, I caught that.”

I grumbled and wobbled to my feet, trying to hold all of my goods again.

It took five minutes for the elevator to come down.

Why? Because the numbers danced up and down. Up and down. Up and down.

Only fifteen floors above us. Still in the enormous parking garage.

I was seething at the overlords’ antics. My fangs glistened in the horrid lighting.

Adelie barely contained her mirth as we—finally—entered the elevator.

She blinked. And then burst out laughing.

“Goddammit!” I shouted.

Every single button had been pushed, the numbers glowing red.

Like multiple vampire eyes staring at us, fully powered.

Adelie murmured, “Well, you get to see every floor. Reacquaint yourself.”

I slumped back against the wall. And relaxed myself.

I couldn’t make a scene on my first day here. Too many vampires about. Vampires who would be my people if I became queen.

I sighed after we stopped for the sixth time. “Tell me they gave me a room that’s halfway decent. Please.”

“If they didn’t, I’ll give you mine,” she reassured. “The last thing you need to be worrying about is your room. I won’t have that. You have—we have—worked too hard to prepare you for this. Keep your head on straight, and you’ll be fine.”

Easier said than done. But I would give it my all.

Finally, when we entered my room first, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a full apartment. Separate rooms for entertaining—personal and business.

“See?” Adelie stated with a smile on her face. “This is nice.”

“It is,” I conceded. I dropped my bags and luggage onto the plush carpeting. “I can do this, Adelie. I can. I know it.”

That crown would be mine. My throne. My people.

I would be queen.

CHAPTER SIX

~ GWYNNORE ~

I stuck my head out my door and glanced left and right. No one was in sight…not even my best friend. Perfect. I slipped outside my room, done unpacking my many new belongings. I had one person I wanted to see in this rock castle. I just needed to figure out how to find him without alerting anyone else I was looking for him.

I walked with purpose down hallways.

This was the royal section of the castle.

That much I remembered.

Oddly enough, I didn’t have to look long.

I stopped dead in my tracks at a small alcove carved into the rock. The man I was searching for was sitting on a curved bench cut into the mountain. A plush, crimson cushion rested on top of the bench for comfort. And the bench was made for two people, enough room for me to sit down next to him.

The overlord didn’t look up from his book as I walked forward with hesitant steps—even though he damn well knew I was staring at the top of his head. His red hair had grown since I last saw him over two hundred years ago. His locks were unruly around his lowered rugged face— too damn good looking for his own good. I knew a spattering of freckles dotted his nose and the curve of his cheeks.

My last lover. Who had left me for the crown.

I sat down silently next to him.

Only then, did he place his book on his lap and stop reading. He waited silently, neither one of us looking at one another. We both sat face forward with our hands in our laps, quiet in our own thoughts.

Eventually, I stated softly, “You saved a spot for me.”

He hummed under his breath. “I knew you would come. We left a lot unsaid.”

I fidgeted with my fingers in my lap and peered down to them, picking at my fingernails. “I only have one question I want answered by you, Lord Pippin.”

“I owe you that much.” The overlord leaned back against the cave wall, relaxing further. “I probably owe you more than that, Gwen, if I’m honest with myself.”

I cleared my throat and lifted my head. I turned my blue gaze on his brown eyes, not flinching under his heady, direct regard. I’d cared deeply about this vampire at one time—and it still hurt.

But I kept to the matter at hand. I questioned, “Is it worth it? The crown?”

His cheeks puffed out as he released a heavy breath. “Yes. Yes, it’s worth it.”

“Over everything else?”

Lord Pippin’s eyes flicked back and forth between mine, resolute in his stance—and much colder than he had ever been before he was a royal. “Yes. It’s worth everything.”

For how long we stared at one another in the resulting silence, I couldn’t say. Time merely ticked by in an endless count that neither of us was willing to break.

One side of my lips curved up at the edges. “You’ve changed. It’s all in your eyes.”

His chuckle was quiet. “My reign as king wasn’t as long as some, but it kept me busy for a few hundred years. I’ve learned more than I ever dreamed possible. Experienced even more craziness.” His head of red hair tipped toward me. “As you may too if you become queen.”

I sat back on the bench and pointed at the book in his lap. “I gave you that.”

“I know. I was feeling sentimental, I suppose.”

I poked at the old tome. “I’m surprised it held up so well.”

“Well, I never really liked the damn storyline.” He snorted under his breath. “But you gave it to me, so I kept it.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. Then I stood up and brushed off my pants—there wasn’t a speck on them though. “It was good to see you again, Lord Pippin.”

“And you as well.” His brown eyes danced with a trickster amusement. “Try not to cause too much trouble while you’re still only a possible candidate. All right, Gwen? You don’t want to get kicked out before you even have a chance.”

I shrugged a shoulder. “I’ll try.”

Abruptly, it was an overlord staring into my gaze, all his previous humor gone in a blink. “Try real hard, Gwynnore. That’s your only warning from me.”

I swallowed on a dry throat. I whispered roughly, “Yes, you’ve definitely changed. Good day, Lord Pippin.” Then I turned and walked away, the man I had known no longer in existence.

* * *

I roamed the hallways, attempting to familiarize myself with the layout, and, even more so, trying to forget the man I once knew. Both would happen with time. That was all an immortal had… Time to change. Time to pass. Time to thrive in.

Still lost in my own thoughts, I found a small kitchen at the end of the royal area, the area secluded against all others living in the stronghold. My nose had inadvertently led me here, the smells divine pouring from the space. My stomach growled as I stepped into the adorable kitchen.

“Nope. Fuck no.” Lord Otto jammed a pointed finger at the entrance I had just come through. “You are not allowed in here. Not yet.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Oh.”

All of the overlords, minus a certain redhead, were sitting or standing around the kitchen, munching on some type of noodles with spicy sauce.

Again, my stomach growled. Louder.

Lord Xenon’s short black hair gleamed under the harsh lighting. With no inflection in his tone, he ordered, “Quit standing there like a lost puppy. Turn around. Leave. You do know how to do that, right?”

Lord Otto’s surfer looks, blond hair and blue eyes, were deceiving as he stood from his chair in growing agitation. He snapped his fingers in front of my face hard. “Hello, Gwynnore. Can you hear us?”

“Yes,” I mumbled.

“Then take a fucking walk out of our space.”

“Okay.” Still, I stood there for a moment too long.

Lord Belshazzar’s head tipped to the side as he swallowed a bite of his meal, his long black hair brushing over his left shoulder. He rested a hip against the counter. “Have you run into trouble already, Gwynnore?”

Lord Pippin’s words haunted my thoughts.

Trouble. I couldn’t cause trouble yet.

“Nope.” I quickly turned around and hurried to the door. But I stopped cold…when my father stood in my way. I peered up into his brown eyes. His black, straight hair just like mine, shining under the light, even if he kept his short and mine was long. I cleared my throat and spoke to my father for the first time in almost a thousand years, my voice the most chilling it had ever sounded, “I’m leaving, Lord Cato. If you would move to the side…”

He didn’t budge as he stood with his bowl off yummy food directly under my nose. “I think you’re lying. Your demeanor has completely changed since we last saw you. And not really for the better.”

My nostrils flared with fury.

I needed to leave before I said anything horrible.

I pivoted around him and quickly left.

As if he ever gave a damn about me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

Summoned. I’d been summoned.

It was now time.

I would know today if I was the Queen Novitiate.

Adelie rushed to ask, “Are you sure you don’t want me to grab a blood donor before you go? You could sip, and then meet the overlords.”

“I’m sure.” I bounced in place, shoving excess energy away. “If I go in there blood drunk, it wouldn’t help matters.” I had to play it cool until I was chosen as the candidate.

In the past day, since I arrived, the overlords had become a pain in my ass.

Dinner last night?

Oops. My food was burnt to a hard crisp.

Breakfast this morning?

Damn. The cook ran out.

Lunchtime fare?

What? What’s lunch? No one had heard of it.

Adelie was horrified—and embarrassed—too. She was treated the same as I was.

So I wouldn’t offend them anymore until I knew I was the one contender. I would respect them, as they should be respected. My ego was taking a backseat while my brain ran the show for the rest of the evening. A few hours wasn’t an issue. Growing up in my grandfather’s household, with elitists galore entering and exiting, I had learned how to play the game at a young age.

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. One more minute before I needed to leave. My attention turned to my friend, and I asked for the hundredth time, “Am I dressed appropriately for this?”

The invitation clutched in her hand was wrinkled from her own nervous gestures, but she lifted it high into the air. “Again, it says casual attire for the possible candidates.”

I peered at myself in the mirror and ran my fingers through my black hair.

My new black leather jeans and simple black cashmere sweater was casual. The guns strapped to my legs weren’t, but I wouldn’t go anywhere without them. I was leaving my sword behind, locked tight in my closet. It was simple and warrior-chic, as I had always been.

My black boots…may have sparkly black laces, but I needed a little flash.

The guns in their holsters didn’t count.

My makeup was done with expert fingers—Adelie’s.

I either resembled a model gone crazy or a soldier gone soft.

I liked both of those instances.

I may overcompensate on my apparel at times. I knew this. I was only five foot two inches in height, and my shorter stature had always bothered me. Adelie was my only acquaintance who was shorter than I was, raking in a grand height of five foot nothing.

I ran my fingers through my hair once more. “Time to go.”

Adelie hugged me in a quick embrace. “You got this.”

I sucked in a large lungful of oxygen, inhaling her scent. “I do. I’ve got this.”

Then I was out the door of my apartments in the blink of an eye, not peering back at my friend’s hopeful and determined face. If I didn’t accomplish this goal, not only would I be devastated to have to wait again, but also so would Adelie. I couldn’t be a failure.

My steps were measured and precise as I walked through the halls of the stronghold. Pictures, modern to ancient, hung on the black stonewalls. The quiet lighting was intimate and natural to the senses. Errant lounges or chairs lined the halls for whatever purpose a vampire could want them for—pleasure or business. The grand staircase was a chaotic curve and retreat, only to twist again, enough to boggle the mind.

When my feet landed on the massive foyer tiles, I kept them silent. This area echoed, all the way deep into the castle, the ceiling so tall no human eye could see the top. Large windows framed the doorway—black wooden doors meant to be in a fairy tale with giants—all the way up seven stories. Lighting hung on the rock walls, casting shadows to and fro.

I let out a shaky exhale and continued my trek.

Many vampires passed by. A few on cell phones, more wiping the blood from their mouths.

The chattel quarters weren’t far away. Little nips were taken by any who wanted.

My fingers wiggled down at my sides. Almost there. Almost there.

Six more turns down hallways, and the area quieted.

Private overlord caverns were in this section. Even their offices close by.

I stopped at the far door. This was the room.

I took a moment to collect myself before turning the doorknob.

I stared inside, my stomach dropping and fury burning in my throat.

Those. Motherfucking. Bastards.

All eyes turned in my direction.

Four other possible candidates stood before a raised dais. The overlords rested on their ornate chairs atop a lifted area, four body lengths taller than I was from the floor. The space echoed just as greatly as the foyer as I closed the door with false calm behind me. This was a true cavern deep inside a mountain, the smell of damp stone and dirt attacking my nostrils.

And the overlords were motherfucking bastards because their invite had lied.

The four possible contenders were dressed in their finest attire.

Even if the overlords were merely in black matching suits.

Glitter and splotches of vibrant, dark color marred the room from the women’s elegant dresses. They were glorious and stunning, stars upon the night, their lips blood red and hair perfectly coiffed.

The only sparkle I had going for me would be my shoelaces.

My eyes wanted to narrow, and my fangs wanted to descend.

I bit it all back, swallowing my fury.

Gradually, I peered up to the overlords and dipped my head to them.

Fine. They were above me. Figuratively…and literally right now.

I strolled with subdued confidence, just the right amount, to stand next to the ladies.

Lord Belshazzar sat on the far left, in order of age. He was the eldest.

Lord Xenon next to him.

Lord Cato—asshole father—was in the middle.

Lord Otto followed him.

And last but not least, Lord Pippin brought up the tail end. The youngest.

Lord Belshazzar had a history of being astute and caring. Lord Xenon was always a mystery, never letting his emotions show. My father was just a dick—and had ruled with an iron thumb. Lord Otto prided himself on his intelligence, a scholar. And Lord Pippin enjoyed life to its fullest, robust, and hungry for more adventure.

My gaze raked over them, trying to decide who had thought it would be humorous to lie on the invitation. Because, obviously, the time was even off with everyone already in here and waiting. The individual wanted to humble me, to test if I had learned my lesson or if I would react with force.

If I were a betting woman, my money would be on Lord Xenon. Mystery Lord.

In fact, it was he who leaned forward in his chair. “How lovely of you to finally show up.”

I would have won big at a casino.

Instead of retorting with anger, I dipped my head once more. “My apologies, Lord Xenon.”

He snorted softly under his breath and rested back in his cushioned and jeweled chair. His attention eventually turned from directly toward me, allowing his eyes to scan the group of women. Lord Xenon explained calmly, “You all know why you are here. And I’m sure you all at least know of each other, even if you’re not friendly with one another. So please line up in order of age. The oldest to our left, youngest to our right.”

I peered around the group, my first time getting a good look at who they actually were versus how the four others were dressed. Lord Xenon was correct. I did know all of these women. How could I not? All were well known and were the oldest female vampires left on planet earth—that weren’t already previous queens, since they weren’t allowed to rule more than once, only with their king. It was exactly who should be here, by the law, to stand up for the position of queen.

Anna was the oldest. Far, far older than me.

She went to the left.

Cleo was closest to her age.

She stood next to her.

Somewhat surprised, I was next…which meant a few female vampires had died since the last crowning. I hadn’t been invited to that one.

I stood in the middle. Ironic, my position put me directly in front of my father.

Hortensia was a few centuries younger than I was.

She stepped on my other side.

Deborah was the youngest.

She walked to the end.

Silent, we peered up to the dais. We waited.

Lord Belshazzar stood from his chair and walked with confident ease down the steps on the back of the dais. He strolled to stand before us, his eyes never leaving our group. Once he was centered between the other overlords and us, he explained calmly, “Two of you have been here before, but three are new. So I will explain. The way a Queen Novitiate is picked happens in two parts. I will ask the oldest if they want to be the candidate. If they say yes, then the overlords will decide if she is the correct choice. If we say no, then we will move on to the next in line. Do you understand the rules, which are law?”

“Yes, Lord Belshazzar,” we stated.

“Once the candidate is picked, the first Challenge is given right here. If that woman fails the first test, then we will immediately move on to the next woman and begin again. Do you understand the rules, which are law?”

“Yes, Lord Belshazzar,” we answered.

My hands began to perspire, and I clenched my fists behind my back.

The lord nodded once. “Also, once you leave this room, the compulsion we used to get you here will disappear, no more.” His attention turned to the woman at the end. “Anna, what say you? Do you wish to be the candidate?”

I peered down at her profile, observing cautiously. My nails dug into my palms.

She peered straightforward, not looking at him. “With much respect, Lord Belshazzar, I decline once again. I will not be able to perform all of the trials required of the Queen Novitiate.”

He sighed quietly. “No disrespect taken. The overlords respect your choice.”

My brows snapped together as I straightened.

Why wouldn’t Anna be able to accomplish the trials?

She was a marvelous vampire. It didn’t make sense.

Were the trials even more dreadful than I had anticipated?

And damn, who was the leak who told her what they were?

I wanted that information too.

Though, with another peek at her, I didn’t believe she would tell me.

Her jaw was as hard as granite, her eyes like steel.

A perfect specimen of loyalty to the law.

Lord Belshazzar turned his attention to the next oldest. “Cleo, what say you? Do you wish to be the candidate?” His eyes were expectant, all-knowing…and suddenly kind.

Cleo cleared her throat, staring directly into his gaze. “With much respect, Lord Belshazzar, I decline. I plan to take my Eternal Slumber soon to join my soul mate.”

He nodded gently. “Lord John is missed by all. The overlords respect your choice.”

I stood blinking like an idiot. That was what happened when you went into Rest. Occasionally, you missed out on the big news, like a rare soul mating. I hadn’t even known Cleo was no longer married to her previous mate, her husband.

The women all turned to her and hugged her.

The declaration of an Eternal Slumber forever. She would end herself.

And yet, while all the women cooed over her choice, a few tears running down their cheeks, all I could do was stand stalk still in place. I blinked repeatedly, not seeing anything before me. My dreams of ruling the vampire people…were right in front of me with the two oldest declining. I sucked in a sharp breath and shook my head, clearing the shiny gem of real possibility from my gaze.

And, belatedly, I realized I was staring right into my bastard father’s eyes.

Calm as a dropped stone, he was gazing back.

All the overlords were staring right at me, ignoring the women consoling Cleo.

I stood all by myself. Alone from anyone else.

My life in a nutshell.

Except for my one true friend. I always had her.

I blinked when Cato’s lips twitched.

He knew I was back from my mental merriment.

Lord Otto spoke loudly, “Everyone back in line. Save your words for later.”

The women scurried back to their places on either side of me.

I cleared my throat and stood tall—or as tall as I could.

It was my turn. My throne to win. My people to lead as I saw fit.

Oh, and the good I could do for them.

I would protect them with every ounce of intelligence and power I had.

Lord Belshazzar turned his attention to me, his eyes never leaving mine. “Gwynnore, what say you? Do you wish to be the candidate?” That gaze gleamed, already anticipating my answer.

“I do, Lord Belshazzar.” My chin rose, my voice steady. “I wish to be Queen Novitiate.”

Next to me, Hortensia sucked in a sharp breath. Disappointment radiated off her in waves. The woman had wanted the spot…and wanted it bad if the reek of her aggression told the truth.

I didn’t bother looking in her direction. My eyes were for the overlords.

They decided now if they wanted me.

And, so far, I don’t believe I had impressed them.

The eldest lord’s lips twisted into a crooked grin. “The overlords respect your choice.” He dipped his head to me, peeking up under his lashes. “And the overlords accept you.”

My eyes widened in shock—it couldn’t be held back.

They hadn’t even convened to talk about it…

Unless they already had. Cunning bastards.

I swallowed down my shriek of joy, barely managing to stay in place. With an unruffled tone, I murmured, “Thank you, overlords. You humble me with your acceptance.”

And…they did. It wasn’t just Adelie or myself who thought I would be an excellent queen. It was the most influential and powerful individuals in our race who thought so too.

As far as I knew, none of them knew Cato was my father. I kept that private.

This was all me. It was my time to shine.

Lord Belshazzar gestured for me to come forward. “Your first Challenge happens now. Please, come stand next to me.”

I yanked my hands from behind my back and attempted to walk with forced calm. I hoped I was pulling it off. My excitement was barely contained. I would need to get my act together soon, hopefully when the adrenaline left my system.

I stopped next to him and peered up, waiting patiently.

He opened a slot inside the stone dais. Small and functional, it opened easily.

An ancient tomb lay inside. Brown leather flaked off it despite the magic that sizzled around the massive book. The pages had yellowed with time, and the spine was breaking.

With careful fingers, the lord lifted the book from his hidden spot.

He flipped through a few pages until he stopped. His eyes met mine.

“Queen Novitiate, your first Challenge is to agree to these trials listed.” Lord Belshazzar maneuvered to stand directly next to me again so I could see the text. “It is spelled so you’ll be able to read the ancient language.”

I leaned closer to him and stood on tiptoe to fully view the page.

Surprised, he grunted and bent his knees, lowering the book to my short height.

“Thank you,” I whispered, and my feet went flat on the floor again.

Just as quietly, he answered, “You’re welcome. Now read.”

I cocked my head, studying the words. It was all a jumble of scribbles…until it wasn’t.

Suddenly, I could read it clearly, the magic working.

There were five trials. Each vastly different.

I didn’t speak, reading them through. Multiple times.

1. Agree

2.  King

3. Secret

4. Truth

5. TERMINATE

My brows puckered in confusion. “Why is number five—”

“Quiet,” Lord Belshazzar snapped, cutting me off before I could say too much. All kindness vanished from his features as he straightened to his full height. He closed the book, his nostrils flaring. “Gwynnore, what say you? Do you accept the trials?”

I closed my eyes, running them through my mind again.

Why was terminate capitalized?

It was extremely odd.

My eyes opened and wandered to where Anna stood.

Her gaze flicked in my direction, stalled, then swiftly looked away.

Whatever the trials were, they would be brutal.

That much I knew.

I sucked in a sharp breath when fingers gripped my chin, pulling my face forward and yanking my attention off the other woman. I slapped at the fingers, and growled, “What the hell?”

Cato had appeared directly next to my side without me even hearing him. His fingers gripped my chin harder, stinging my flesh. But his words were cool and composed, even their meaning was just as brutal as his touch. “No one—past, present, or future—is allowed to reveal secrets of the trials to other candidates.” A hard shake of my chin. “It is punishable by death. For both parties involved.”

In a flash, I shoved his chest. Cruel and hard, right in his solar plexus.

The asshole didn’t even take a step back, but he did release my chin. To cross his arms and stare down the tip of his nose at me—that nose was my nose. Pert and straight, perfectly placed on his face. His brows rose slowly, speaking even more gradually, “Do you understand, Gwynnore?”

I took a step back from him, allowing the tips of my fangs to show. “Don’t touch me again.”

Lord Belshazzar sighed heavily and stepped between us, his eyes only for me. “Answer his question, candidate.”

I swallowed my pride and nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

Fuck, I wasn’t going to ask her.

It had been a knee-jerk reaction to look at her.

Cato turned and walked away, back to the dais.

He was good at that. Walking away.

Asshole.

Lord Belshazzar waited until the other lord had taken his seat before asking me once more, “Gwynnore, what say you? Do you accept the trials?”

I inhaled heavily and exhaled slowly. I tipped my face up to his. “I do, Lord Belshazzar.”

This time, he did glance up to the other overlords.

Lord Xenon nodded, his eyes on mine.

Lord Pippin nodded while evaluating his fingernails.

Lord Otto shook his head, his jaw tight.

Lord Cato nodded his head once. Yawned.

Lord Belshazzar’s regard returned to me. “The majority agrees. The Council is pleased with the outcome. You have passed your first Challenge.”

My gulp was audible. Damn throat was dry.

The eldest lord turned to the other women. “Ladies, thank you for coming. You may go now.” Quick and efficient. As the women trailed out the room, the lord’s attention returned to me. He stated factually, “We will be watching. I suggest you follow Lord Cato’s orders and refrain from tracking Anna down.”

All right. I was the Queen Novitiate now.

My civility crumbled in glee.

“Fuck you, bastards,” I growled and started marching toward the door. “I wasn’t going to ask her anything, and all you’re doing is pissing me off.”

Lord Xenon called, “I wondered when we would see your true side again.”

I turned around and pointed a sharp finger at him. “I did not appreciate you messing with my invite. I was trying, dammit. And you went and fucked that up.”

No expression, not even a little crack. “That was the point, candidate.”

Lord Otto smirked, adding, “How much can you handle before you break?”

I snorted and threw my arms wide. “I’m the best bitch you guys have ever had in here. The past three queen’s, while beautiful and elegant, didn’t do shit for our people. And you know it. So quit pushing, and I’ll do the same. But if you don’t…you get the fun Gwen!”

With that, I turned on my heel and slammed the door behind me.

Arrogant assholes.

CHAPTER EIGHT

~ GWYNNORE ~

“Did you get it? Did you get it? Did you get it?” Adelie pounced.

I shut my apartment’s door behind me gently…

A shit-eating grin spread across my features, and I screamed, “I got it! Oh, my God. I’m the Queen Novitiate!”

Adelie squealed right along with me, throwing her arms over my shoulders.

I picked her up and swung her around and around in circles laughing.

Then I dumped her straight on her butt onto the floor, ignoring her initial startled glance, and lowered my voice as low as I could, attempting to imitate the overlords. “Listen, wench, you barely scraped through. You better shape up or you’re out of here!”

She snickered and ducked her head in a mock bow, “Oh, my gracious and fabulous and sexy Lords, I shall endeavor to kiss your precious feet and wipe your fine asses like the lowly female that I am.”

My head tipped back as I laughed. Tears formed in the corner of my eyes. I held my stomach as it started to cramp, but I kept on chuckling.

Adelie jumped to her feet and lifted both hands into the air, her voice full of assurance and conviction. “I told you! I knew you had this. You’re going to be the best damn queen ever.”

I raised both of my hands too and high-fived her with gusto. “You bet your ass I am.”

Still grinning like a fool, she flopped down onto the study room’s ornate chair, her hands flying in the air with excitement. “So tell me all about it. Was it everything you thought it would be?”

My head tipped in thought. I took a moment to consider that as I sat on the rolling chair next to the desk. I tapped my foot and wiggled my shoulders. “Actually, it was. It was stimulating and interesting and full of political intrigue. Just like we always guessed it would be. Those fucking overlords are too slick for their own good.”

Her brows rose. “Too much ego?”

“Perhaps. But I believe some of it is well deserved. They are more of a challenge than I thought they’d be.”

A finger point in my direction. “Ah, so too much ego there.”

“Probably,” I conceded. “But they sure as hell know how to get under my skin.”

“And that…,” she threw her hands up into the air, “…is what it’s like to be the official candidate. It’s their job to get you riled up. They need to know what you’re made of.”

“They’re definitely seeing my bitchy side.” My lips twitched.

My friend side-eyed me, her lips thinning. “Do I even want to know?”

“I would say no,” I evaded. I tapped my fingers on my desk, staring at the black computer screen. I hesitated, and then mumbled, “These trials are going to really test me. I have this gut feeling it won’t be good.”

She hummed softly, her brown eyes capturing mine. “It won’t be easy to be queen. You need to be tested.”

“I know.” I nodded. “I’m just a little nervous.”

“Which means you care if you lose or not.”

“You know, when I’m queen, you can’t leave me. Not right away.”

She snickered. “What would I do? I’m old enough that I need some new experiences in my life. And being a queen’s personal assistant would definitely be one. I’m definitely not going back to my jewelry business.”

I blinked. “Wait. You’re doing what this time?”

“Jewelry.” She waved a bored hand into the air. “It helps me express my creative side.”

“You are an amazing artist, my friend.” I sighed and smiled in contentment, resting back in my chair to stare up at the ceiling, pretending I could see the night sky from here. “This is one of the best days of my life.”

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Adelie popped up from her chair. “Hold that thought. That’s not happy knocking.”

I tipped my head, watching as she opened the front door.

“This is for candidate Gwynnore.” An assistant held an envelope out. “She is to read it immediately.”

Adelie grabbed the envelope and merely slammed the door in his face.

She may have a natural creative talent, but you just couldn’t take the snobbish upbringing out of her. Money had raised her, and it showed. Just as it did with me, but I didn’t try to hide it like she did. I figured I am who I am. While she wanted to change who she was—constantly.

Her head of red hair dipped as she evaluated the envelope. “Looks like it’s from the overlords. It’s sealed with their stamp. You probably should read it now.” She tossed it on my lap before flopping back down onto her vacated seat.

My eyes narrowed on the envelope, not touching it. “What do you think it is?”

“Probably another summons.” Adelie shrugged.

I sat up straight in an instant, adrenaline pumping through my veins once more. “It can’t be the next Challenge. Not yet.”

She blinked. “You already did one?”

“Yes, I passed.” Carefully, I lifted the envelope.

“Open the damn thing already,” my friend growled.

I hissed at her, showing a smidge of fangs.

But I did rip the envelope open.

Adelie raced to stand behind me, reading over my shoulder.

My breath caught in my chest as my eyes flew over the clear handwriting. “Oh, my goodness. I’m not sure if I’m ready for this yet.”

The evil redhead chuckled behind me, patting my shoulder. “Maybe they won’t try to push you two together. You never know. They don’t do it to every king and queen. Some are merely business partners in the ruling.”

I dropped the paper and the destroyed envelope onto the desk. I stared down at the words, my forehead crinkling in worry. “I don’t even know what to wear to something like this. I mean, what if I don’t like the King Novitiate? I don’t want to appear like I do.”

“But if he’s handsome, you don’t want to look like a slob either.” Adelie grabbed my left hand and yanked me to my feet. She ordered, “Come on. Let’s just fix your makeup a little. Your outfit is sexy and standoffish. Both will work for you depending what way you sway toward the dude you’ll be stuck ruling with for a long-ass time.”

I snorted and allowed her to drag me to the bathroom. “You inspire hope like a champ.”

Her red brows bounced as she placed me in front of the mirror. “It’s time to pass your next Challenge, Gwen. Time to find the next candidate for king.”

I grouched, “I hate how they do this, though. I’ve heard about it before. They pick the female candidate first, the oldest and bravest, in hopes it will produce the best male candidate for them. All they really give a damn about is him.”

“We are a male-run society.” Adelie grabbed my makeup bag, digging through it, her nose almost inside of the pouch. “But you can start to change that. Have faith in yourself. And don’t allow this male candidate to overrun you. Take charge.”

I stiffened my spine, staring myself in the eye in the reflection.

Take charge. Be the woman. Be the fabulous woman.

I nodded my head. “He’ll probably be some weak-ass guy I end up with.”

“Let’s hope not,” Adelie grumbled, dropping the bag, done with her exploration of it. Too many tools were in her hands. Apparently, she was going to beautify me to her standards. My friend lifted a brow. “Because, like you said, they do take the oldest females first to get a strong male. You don’t want the overlords thinking you’re weak because the males that come to you are weak.”

I groaned long and heavy. “Dammit. This is not helping me.”

She blinked. “He’ll be a rock star. You deserve the best. You’ll get it.”

My black brows rose. “All right, that was better. Thank you.”

“I have my moments.” Adelie winked.

CHAPTER NINE

~ GWYNNORE ~

Lord Otto stepped forward in the too-white office. “No. Absolutely not.”

I crossed my arms and entered the room the overlords were lounging in. “The invitation didn’t say I couldn’t bring anyone. And Adelie is my support system. I want her here.”

“No.” The lord didn’t budge.

My molars ground together, and I stepped in front of my friend, cutting off his glare on her person. I decided honesty might actually get me further in this situation than to lie my ass off. “Lord Otto, when I say she’s my support system I actually mean that. And finding out who will be the possible King Novitiate, and having to meet him…is a little off-putting for me.”

His mouth snapped shut, but he didn’t stop scowling.

I cleared my throat and explained further. “I’m terrible with men for longstanding, personal relationships. Most find me intimidating. And I know this doesn’t have to be a romantic match—which I’m incredibly grateful for—but it will be a personal one no matter what. Having Adelie here as a buffer will help me—and him.”

Lord Otto’s blink was dangerously slow. “That was refreshingly honest.”

Heat flooded my cheeks, painting them pink against my pale complexion. “Yes…well…”

I didn’t mention all my previous boyfriends somehow wound up dead. The only one still alive was Lord Pippin.

I swear, I was a plague in the love department.

I would date. Eventually, it would end in a very bad way—usually with them telling me I was shit-on-a-stick. Then the man was dead. Like a damn curse.

The overlords didn’t need to know that though.

I cocked a hip and continued to hold my arms over my chest. This was embarrassing. My skin heated even further.

I just knew my blush was rising to my hairline, little beads of sweat dotting my brow.

Lord Pippin stepped forward, his eyes cast to the other Lord. “It makes sense. Let Adelie stay. It’s not breaking any laws.”

Lord Otto drummed his fingers against his legs, studying my sullen expression.

“Good grief,” Lord Cato grumbled. “Make up your damn mind. I’d rather not be up all night watching you two stare at one another. Unlike you, I enjoy my sleep.”

Lord Otto flicked a glare in his direction but swiftly returned his regard to my person. He bent forward and hissed, “If she does anything wrong during this Challenge, I will kill her myself. Do you understand, candidate?”

I quickly nodded. “Understood, Lord Otto.”

“About fucking time,” Lord Cato growled. He barged straight between us, heading to the door. Grumpy and irate. Over his shoulder, he barked, “Let’s go, people. I know you can move faster than that.”

I turned and quickly followed after my horrible father.

Adelie leaned toward me, whispering softly, “What pissed him off?”

Lord Xenon answered—directly behind us, “His favorite chattel was taken before we came here. And he doesn’t like using his position as overlord to make a feeding vampire give up his meal just because that blood is one of his favorites.”

“I can hear you!” Cato bellowed, far down the hallway.

My eyes narrowed on his back. Those actions were of an individual testing their own limits. I knew that game well. I played it all the time with my own willpower.

Bile rose in my throat with the thought that we were anything alike.

Sensing my discomfort, Adelie broke the silence. “Lords, where will the Challenge be held?”

Lord Pippin replied, “In a ceremony room not directly attached to the stronghold. We have to go outside to get there.”

Shoving my queasiness down, I questioned, “What was it like for you guys when it happened to you? Is it just like the compulsion you used on the possible candidates?”

Lord Xenon spoke, no inflection in his words. “It is a thousand times worse for the male. Because we use the female’s blood in the magic. It amplifies a mating response the likes of which can only be reproduced with drugs.”

I blinked as we marched down the grand staircase to the front door. “So, you’re pretty much telling me that every man who comes tonight is going to be horny as fuck?”

The steadfast lord didn’t mince words. “Yes. Exactly.”

Lord Belshazzar added, “It can get volatile. That’s why we started using this ceremony room. If anyone tries to attack another physically, then magic instantly renders them unconscious.”

Adelie snapped her fingers as we hit the tiling. “It’s the old jail!”

The eldest lord snickered. “Indeed. But it’s all cleared out now.”

“This sounds like so much fun.” I swallowed on a dry throat.

Lord Otto grunted. “Don’t pass out. I did let your friend come.”

“I’m not going to pass out!” I exclaimed, catching one of the enormous front doors with two hands to hold it open after Cato’s rude departure. “I’m just…”

“Nervous,” Lord Pippin supplied helpfully, extremely pleased with himself by the smug grin on his face. “You usually suck with men—no pun intended—so you’re nervous.”

I let the door flop back onto his face.

The thud was immensely satisfying.

“Not nice,” he grumbled from behind the thick wood. “Now I understand why you have issues with the opposite sex. You can’t handle honesty about one’s self told from another person.”

I sighed heavily and almost ran to catch up with my asshole father.

Anything would be better than Lord Pippin’s psychoanalysis.

Adelie linked one of her arms in mine, keeping our side against one another.

I peered into her brown eyes. “You always know what I need.”

“That’s because I’m the most amazing friend in the world.” She shrugged.

I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut.

I really couldn’t disagree with that.

* * *

I quieted my steps inside the ominous cavern, definitely echoing inside this space. Magic pulsed in the air, pulling up goose bumps along my flesh. The walls were bare and black stone, only lights hanging like dead tree limbs from the ceiling to light the solid black ground below. Folding chairs packed the floor, all empty, and all facing a raised platform at the end of the cave.

The overlord’s chairs must have been moved here because their fancy seating graced the stage, spotlights illuminating them in a harsh glow. Complete intimidation factor.

My eyes caught on Cato. He was slipping into a hidden door behind the stage.

When the door closed, it appeared just like the rock wall. Even to my eyesight.

“I’m glad I never got into trouble,” Adelie hissed, glancing around as if ghosts were spiriting the old jail. “This is spooky on a different level.”

I nodded once. I agreed wholeheartedly.

The rest of the overlords passed us by, all heading to the same ‘door’ that Cato had entered. Adelie’s arm and mine were still linked, so I pulled her at a fast clip behind them. I certainly didn’t want to get stuck down here. And I was positive Adelie didn’t either.

No one’s shoes clicked on the floor.

We were all silent in this arena.

Apparently, some things even disturbed overlords.

Like the reverberating of vampire hearing.

It was damn near never-ending.

Lord Xenon opened the wall-door.

We entered single file, making it so Adelie had to release my arm from her death grip.

I wiggled my fingers down by my sides, attempting to get circulation flowing.

Stone steps led us up into a dark abyss.

I squinted and kept my hands near my guns.

This place didn’t sit well in my gut.

Lord Xenon opened another door at the top of the stairs.

Blinding white light pierced all of us.

Lord Pippin glanced back at me, stating cheerfully, “If you aren’t supposed to be up here, the magic will kill you when you cross the entryway.”

“That’s…pleasant.” I ignored Adelie’s instant jabbing in my back with a pointed finger. “Who grants access?”

“The magic.” He snorted as if I should have known.

“And that’s comforting,” I mumbled.

But there was no stopping me. I knew what I wanted. And that meant crossing the threshold. I quickly followed the overlords the rest of the way up the stairs and grabbed Adelie’s hand. I placed my other in front of my eyes to shade them from the blinding light, but it wasn’t coming from one particular place. It merely came from everywhere—probably even my own body by the way the back of my hand close to my face only hurt my eyes worse.

Inhaling quickly, I rushed past the entrance.

Dragging a struggling and silent Adelie in behind me.

Neither of us died. Instead, a potent pine smell floated around us. The blinding light died away where we stood stock still.

Adelie and I peered at one another, our eyes roaming up and down each other’s frames checking for any injuries. We were healthy and whole, even if a little disheveled and wide-eyed.

Lord Otto commanded, “Over here.”

Instantly, we peered around the sweet smelling room we were in.

A glass pane covered one wall, looking down on the cavern. The rest of the wall was shaped in a crescent moon curving around to make a lopsided circle. There were stars in the ceiling as the lighting, or at least they appeared that way. Red couches, a wooden table and chairs, a small kitchen and bathroom occupied the edges of the room.

And in the center, there was a cauldron.

An honest to God cauldron.

It frothed white at the top, the mixture inside it scalding. Smoke lifted into the air and disappeared once it hit the ceiling. The smell of forests was coming from the bubbling brew inside the cauldron’s depths. And there was no fire beneath it to even warm a single cup of water. Magic danced around the pot, almost tangible in the air.

A small choked gasp emanated from Adelie’s throat.

I merely patted her shoulder, my eyes on the overlords. Then I came closer to their huddled circle around the black pot.

Their eyes were on me as I stepped into their circle.

Curious, I asked, “What is this place?”

Lord Belshazzar supplied, “It was the guard room. Where they took their breaks.”

I flicked a finger at the magic cauldron centered between us. “And this?”

“Well, that wasn’t here before.” He smirked. “We bring it out on special occasions.”

I jerked, freezing in place, eyes enormous on my face.

Cato had rolled up one shirtsleeve and dunked his hand down into the scalding brew.

“W-what the hell?” I gasped. My eyes flew to his. “Are you suicidal?”

His lips quirked, and he chuckled. His arm was still down in the mixture. “It won’t hurt me. Or any other overlord. But, watch… You’ll like this.”

I blinked, and my attention slammed back down to the magic before me.

My jaw started to fall down, gaping wide as Cato lifted his arm out of the mixture. His arm was merely wet, but that wasn’t what held my attention. The golden chain he was dragging out of the cauldron did. Because I knew what that was. Every child learned about it at some point.

A blood-red jewel the size of my fist finally surfaced as Cato stretched the chain.

He pulled the necklace free of the cauldron, the jewel twinkling under the stars.

“The Original vampire amulet,” I breathed in awe. I reached out a hand, in a daze of wonder. “May I touch it?”

Cato quickly jerked it back, away from my reaching fingers. He shook his head once, his tone quieting in seriousness. “Only overlords can touch it without dying. Never try that again.”

I dropped my arm, and muttered, “What if I become queen?”

“Only overlords, Gwynnore.”

“You mean, only men,” I clarified. Then I crossed my arms in frustration. “That’s bullshit.”

“And yet it doesn’t change anything.” His head cocked, eyeing me.

I jerked my regard away from my loser father and found Adelie. She was standing off to the side, bouncing on the tips of her toes trying to see the Original vampire amulet. I waved her closer, offering, “Come and look before we begin whatever this is.”

She practically plowed into my back in her haste to take my place. Lord Belshazzar grabbed my elbow, stopping me from taking a header into the cauldron.

I muttered, “Thanks.”

He grunted and released me.

I moved to the side and let her through.

She stood blinking. And blinking. And blinking.

Cato bit his bottom lip and lifted the necklace, gently swinging it back and forth in front of her face. “You are getting sleepy. So sleepy—”

I grabbed her shoulders and yanked her back. I hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”

He tossed the most powerful vampire artifact back and forth between his hands like it was a baseball. “It was a joke, Gwynnore. I wasn’t doing anything.”

“That wasn’t funny,” I growled, studiously pretending not to hear all of the overlords chuckling at his kidding nature—if that was what you called it. I gently pushed Adelie toward the closest couch. “Go sit over there. I don’t know how long this is going to take.”

She followed my order without hesitation but kept stealing peeks at the jewel.

Who wouldn’t? It was magnificent and awe-inspiring.

And I didn’t feel any power coming off it at all. Weird.

My attention snared on the overlords. “What happens now?”

“For this Challenge, you must bleed on the amulet. We will then combine our powers to bring forth the men who are a possible match for you,” Lord Xenon issued the Challenge. “We don’t believe it will take long because most vampire bachelors of a certain age have already traveled to the castle in anticipation of this. Those doors will flood with males and will be unable to leave unless we allow them to.”

My lips pinched before I growled, “Do I even get a say in who will be my king?”

Lord Xenon explained patiently, “Remember, Gwynnore, he will not only be your king, but he will be the king of the entire vampire race.”

My eyebrows shot up. “So that’s a no?” Give me a damn straight answer.

I had been honest in this Challenge so far.

They could give me the same courtesy.

“Yes, you do have some say in it. In fact, you have the final word once we’ve narrowed down the candidates to five individuals.” His eyes roamed my features. “Overlords tend to pick well. There haven’t been any bad matches in over two thousand years.”

The righteous anger flooding my system dissipated—a little. “Fine.”

He blinked. “Fine? No argument?”

“There’s nothing I can say right now that will change any of this.” I shook my head slightly, my jaw grinding together. “This is currently the law.”

His head cocked. “Currently?”

I snapped my mouth shut. Too much information.

Lord Xenon stared, his gaze unflinching. “Candidate, you would do well to know that there have been plenty of queens in the past who have tried to change the law. But it never passes. And do you know why?”

My eyes narrowed, not speaking.

He answered anyway. “Because the magic won’t work if the law changes. And every vampire is made up of magic. Meaning, our race would be annihilated. So it is in your best interest to flush any ideas you have to change the law down the drain. If you don’t, you’ll only be setting yourself up for disappointment.”

I could only stare.

My heart was breaking.

My chest physically ached.

He didn’t move to console me. He simply waited for me to come to terms with it.

Eventually, I sucked in a mouthful of oxygen. “You’re lying.”

“I am not. You have my word on it as overlord.”

I shook my head rapidly. “There has to be something—”

Lord Xenon held up an instant hand, cutting off my words. “While these laws cannot change—the Original laws—there are plenty that…may…need updating. Laws that were enacted by Kings, not the Originals, long ago that are still in place.”

“How many are there against women?” I probed immediately.

“Too many to count.” His eyes roamed my features once more. “Do you wish to continue as the Queen Novitiate?”

My chest pumped hard with all these secrets coming to light.

But my answer was simple. “I do, Lord Xenon. I want to rule the vampires.”

The lord nodded, and the Original vampire amulet was placed in his palm. He simply held it in front of me, his direction easy, “Bleed on it. One drop will do.”

My fangs descended.

I pricked one of my fingers.

I held my finger over the amulet, careful not to touch it.

Ping.

One drop of crimson blood splattered its surface.

“Please move away, candidate,” he ordered—not unkindly. “We must work now.”

I stepped back until the backs of my knees hit the couch Adelie sat silently on.

She grabbed my hand and held it tight, both of our nerves raw.

Our dreams were crashing down on us.

But perhaps that was where new goals began.

If many laws still hindered women, I would handle those once I took the crown. One by one, I would change them. I would alter the future for women in our society.

I would be their advocate.

Their knightress in shining armor.

My knees gave out as magic suffocated the room.

My ass landed hard on the couch.

The overlords were working, their heads bent together over the cauldron. Whispers filtered in the air, but they were only wisps on an unseen breeze. I couldn’t catch them no matter how hard I focused. They were bringing the future king here…

CHAPTER TEN

~KIMBER~

S’Kir had lit up, the joy diffusing through the city as the announcement was heralded.

Elex had come with a team that had gone back to the cave to confirm that the new cavern was there and just as magnificent as we had reported.

The masters had made the trek out themselves the next day, with Elex and me in tow.

The cave was larger this time. Deeper, and there were more exposed crystals. They danced with light and once again when I laughed, the light tripped through them brightly.

The light also liked Lunella’s laugh, as well as most of the other twelve masters and Elex.

The exception was Dorian, who didn’t even try it.

Stick in the mud that he was.

But everyone was satisfied with my report, and with what Elex and the others had reported, as well.

I didn’t have time to breathe, and Elex and I could not find a moment to steal to see each other.

Mere days went by, and there were huge celebrations in the planning. So many parties erupted throughout the city, and we weren’t even in more than the planning stage for the largest celebrations.

My position at the temple changed, as well. I was expecting that I would be back in the classroom the next week, but when I arrived that first day, there was a new teacher.

I thought Dorian had me removed, and I would have no reason or purpose there anymore.

I didn’t need to worry.

Lunella was waiting outside the class for me, grinning broadly. “You are not meant to teach anymore, my dear. Your powers have expanded beyond your small lessons, and I will now be taking on your magical education. Tymon will be helping me, as well. There are parties to plan, and you’ll be helping Mistress Danai with those.”

“Mistress, will I never teach again?”

“Oh, you’ll teach again when you’re an accomplished high druid, my dear.”

I tripped over my own two feet at that one.

“High druid?”

“Of course, my dear. You’ve been chosen by the magic of S’Kir to be a part of the key that unlocks our world and borders. While teaching our young ones is certainly a noble calling, you have been called elsewhere now.”

I was both intrigued and terrified by the potential.

The next weeks were a whirlwind of lessons, learning, planning, parties, decisions, dresses, and formal audiences.

I could barely tell which way was up.

At the same time, everything was exhilarating. I was talking to people, high ranked officials, magic users, defense force leaders, educators, leaders of the people of S’Kir every day.

The biggest shock for me was discovering I was being moved from my lovely little apartment near the market to the biggest of the dormitories on the temple campus.

Not just the biggest building, but I was being given the biggest of the apartments.

I didn’t have enough to furnish it. Most of the rooms were empty, and that was equal parts sad and exciting. Instead, I was excited until Lunella came to tell me that I had to have a receiving room.

“What on S’Kir for?”

“My dear.” She took my arm and walked me through the foyer into the back of the apartment. “You are becoming a very important person if you haven’t noticed.”

“I have, excellency. I’m not sure I understand it.” Pausing, I added, “I’m not sure I’m ready for it, either.”

Lunella’s grin was indulgent. I was still a child in her eyes. “We are never ready, Kimber. Millennia, two, five… we are never ready. But the magic has chosen you, and you are a piece of the puzzle—the puzzle we have been working for all these thousands of years.”

The woman managed to even sit elegantly on the worn chaise I had in the corner. “I am not sure of your role in the Breaking Times. But the magic called you to the mountain, and that means that you are a part of this. Not everything is revealed to us, but we have to trust that we are being guided toward a purpose.”

Danai took over my days soon after. The list of tasks to accomplish was stunning, but she was a driven woman, and she pushed through everything. If something needed to be done, she would persist until it was done.

I was exhausted.

Days before the first of the large, public celebrations, the Breaking Fire was lit in the inner courtyard of the Temple Masters’ residence. Eleven of the twelve masters were there, along with Elex and a few elders of the city.

It rose from the pit with a thousand dancing sparks and burned a bright white and yellow, throwing heat against the chill in the air. We stood silent, watching the steady flames as they settled into their home. The fire was oddly beautiful.

And lasted approximately two minutes before Master Dorian swept out of the building and extinguished it with his magic. No one should have been able to extinguish the fire, even the powerful Master Dorian.

“I have allowed this to go on long enough!” His voice split the air around us with anger and impatience.

Lunella, Danai, Tymon, Hedregon, and two more turned to see where he was approaching us. Elex pulled me against his side, protective of me around Dorian.

Elex witnessed one of the master’s rude and awful outbursts at me during a lesson earlier that week and had been angry with the ancient master ever since.

“You have allowed nothing, Master Dorian,” Tymon said, stepping toward him. “You have hidden like a coward and tried to destroy our celebrations. You have belittled and berated…well, everyone gathered here. You act worse than a spoiled child, and we are all exhausted from fighting against you.”

“You cannot stop the Breaking Time, Dorian,” Danai said.

“Don’t you know it’s not a celebration?” His head whipped around, pinning each of us with his burning gold eyes. “Don’t you know that all this ‘good news’ bullshit is what happens to facts when they are infused with myths? There should be no joy in this! There should be no celebration! This fire”—his finger whipped out and pointed to the embers—“signals terrible change.”

Steady and angry, he parsed the group with his gaze, and I bore the brunt with a hard, unwavering stare.

Trying to keep the fear of him down, I straightened my spine and spoke. “It is time for change. We have been stagnant for thousands of years.”

Without a rustle of his black and green robes, Dorian was in my face, looming over me.

“You are an infant. You have no idea what the Breaking Time will bring. Your joy and effervescence are out of place and out of line with the truth. You will suffer the most out of all of us for your naïveté and innocence, and I pity your existence in the face of the magic and the mountains falling.”

Elex yanked me back from the imposing figure and dared to challenge him. “Gods and stars, Dorian! She’s a grown woman! You terrorizing everyone here will never change what has to be!”

Dorian glowered at Elex for moving me away from him, but it didn’t stop him from grabbing my wrist and pulling me into his circle of influence again.

“You will rue this day, child. I would have spared you this.” Lifting his head and sweeping his eyes around the gathered crowd, he raised his voice. “I would have spared all of you this! But fine! Have your celebrations and bonfires. Welcome the coming days when our world falls. Fools.”

Releasing me, but not unkindly, he spun on his heel and threw a hand at the fire as he marched away.

The fire roared to life again, but our joy had been stolen.

Until the moment I had mounted the review platform for the first of the parades and celebrations that Danai and I—mostly Danai—had planned.

Elex stood across from me. I could scarcely believe how handsome he looked in the formal dress. Seeing him on the other platform, smiling, his place among the Guilds assured now, allowed relief to flow through me.

He’d been so angry with Dorian. I was afraid he’d do something foolish. Elex’s magic was strong, but not as strong as the oldest of the Temple Masters.

I didn’t want Dorian pissed off at him.

I didn’t trust Dorian.

The thoughts about the master slipped away as the parade began to file by.

The ribbons intrigued me, shining in the midmorning sun. These twirlers must have practiced for dozens if not hundreds of hours, and it would be a good bet most of that had been since the announcement.

Floats, bands, troupes of dancers, entertainers, gymnasts—they all moved by us, showing off and showing each other up.

There was laughter and bubbling joy all around. Magic was abundant, and to my delight, wound through the crowds, both in the parades and in the spectators, indulging in the happiness.

I learned magic loved life. It loved joy, laughter, friendship.

It loved love.

It thrived on love.

It glowed with love.

It bubbled and danced around Elex, beckoning me over.

Danai’s voice, however, sliced into my pining. This is all so wonderful, Kimber. So wonderful. Everything is going off without a hitch. Have you decided where you are going to go this evening? There are so many different celebrations. There’s the temple, the city square, the mountain, several smaller ones. Wherever you go, make sure you let the guards know.”

She scrutinized me for a moment, and I tipped my head to look up at her. A slow smile spread across her face.

“You know exactly where you’re going after the feasts, and it has nothing to do with another celebration.”

I felt my own slow smile show. “Maybe.”

Her words were close to my ear. “Whoever it is—make sure there are guards at the door. Your place or his.”

The bright red blush heated my cheeks.

Catching my eye, she followed my gaze.

“It’s that handsome Elex, isn’t it?”

There was nothing shy about my smile. “Perhaps.”

“He’s a good choice, my dear. Handsome, loyal, and clearly keen on you. I am sorry that we haven’t left you two alone long enough to… get acquainted.”

“Elex has been my best friend for years. I didn’t realize there was or even could be anything between us.”

“And now you can’t wait to find out.”

My nod was short and sharp.

Straightening her chair, she also gave a short, sharp nod. “I will fix the seating arrangement at the banquet tonight.”

“No, Mistress Danai, you don’t have to—”

A pointed glance at me cut the words off. “Please. You can see the magic…You see how it works. I always do my utmost to accommodate and feed the joy and love that magic likes.” Her head tipped, and she found someone on the platform across from us, the magic flaring around her. I drew a quick breath as she found me again and smiled.

“Just wait until you’re in bed. Better than any fireworks show.”

*  *  *

Elex’s face was full of concern when he saw his seat had been changed. The moment he saw I was sitting next to him, he relaxed completely and headed over.

The formal dress was doing it for me. So much.

He slipped into the chair with a nod of his head toward me.

“Good evening, Lady Kimber.”

“Good evening to you as well, Lord Elex.”

The titles were new. I still felt odd when people used them, but in his delightfully deep baritone voice, I found myself really liking it.

Pressing a kiss to my hand, he triggered a mad cascade of electricity through every part of me.

How had we never seen this? And why had we let everyone keep us so far apart for the past weeks?

When he placed my hand back on the table, he didn’t let go. Instead, he trailed his thumb back and forth along my knuckles, and it very much felt as though he had no interest in letting go again.

“You look lovely tonight, Kimber.” His voice was just loud enough to carry over the din of the room. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in anything quite so… bold.”

I gave him a shrug. “Oh, this old thing?”

Chuckling, his head shook.

I had never, ever owned a gown like the one I currently wore. A rich, deep green, it sparkled with a thousand small crystals. The heavier fabric had a high cut neckline, and beyond my shoulders, the sleeves were a sheer material, also laden with the same crystals.

Naturally, Danai and Lunella had dragged me to the shops when they saw my ‘shades-of-beige’ wardrobe.

I really couldn’t argue with them. I was a ‘shades-of-beige’ kind of person until now.

Danai’s face was between us quite suddenly. “It’s an excellent color for her, don’t you think, Lord Elex?”

“I do like it on her,” he agreed.

Danai patted my shoulder and moved on. Elex watched her go and leaned over to me.

“I’d like even more to see what it looks like on the floor of my bedroom.”

With a heaving, false gasp, I whipped my head to him. “Sir, I am scandalized!”

“I can scandalize you even more when the dress is on my floor.”

This time, I just laughed. “You’d better make me regret keeping you at arm’s length, Elex.”

His chin landed on his fist, pretending to think. I slapped his arm and turned back to the table.

“How are your lessons coming along with the immovable boulder that calls itself Dorian?”

Sighing deeply, I rolled my eyes. “About as well as you’d expect. He’s…a boulder. He’s also brilliant, and I’m delighted he agreed to teach me. Still. He could be just a bit nicer.”

“I guess the older you are, the more of an asshole you can get away with being.”

“Elex! Don’t be jealous. We’ve both had too much going on to be jealous of those who have been around us. I mean, I could get jealous of that gorgeous Parli you’ve been around for the past few weeks.”

“Parli? She’s…Oh.” The comprehension washed over his face. His cheeks pinked, and he let a laugh out. “Okay, so I need to relax.”

I wrapped my hand around his. “We’ve been friends for ninety years, Elex. This new path is just weeks old. Give us both time to adjust.”

“Yes, of course.” The smile was genuine.

Not too soon after the last course of dinner, Elex stood and offered his hand. “Dance with me.”

I took the hand offered and moved away from the table. Without another word, he led me to the dance floor in the middle of the room as the orchestra started a beautiful, ancient piece of music, a traditional dance in S’Kir.

A traditional courting dance.

As Elex wrapped his arm around my waist, I leveled a bemused grin at him.

“Did you do this on purpose?”

“Perhaps.” The grin was in his voice.

“You don’t need to court me,” I whispered the words.

“I know.” His eyes alighted on the audience we now had. “But they need me to.”

It still struck me as odd that I had to show people what I was doing. Until the cave, I was nothing more than a slightly magically inclined teacher, the daughter of two humble bakers, who taught the young ones at the temple.

Now, I was a Lady of the Temple of the Lost God.

The eyes of S’Kir were on me

They were on Elex as well as he spun me across the dance floor in the traditional courtship dance.

He did this on purpose. He was claiming his right to court me, to be exclusive to me. It was a purposeful display to warn everyone that I was not for their pleasure.

I hadn’t realized it would, but his possessive stance on our budding relationship actually turned me on.

“The only reason we’re still here,” Elex whispered, “is because I wanted this dance with you. Else, you would already be naked on my bed.”

“You do not need to fan my flames, Lord Everettson.”

“I plan to do a lot more than just fan them.”

Butterflies fluttered through my stomach as we whirled our way across the dance floor and through just a few other couples. My nerves wound tighter as the song finished, and we bowed to each other and the other couples on the floor with us.

Elex’s words were breathy. “May I escort you to my bed, Lady Raven?”

Before I could answer, a hand that wasn’t Elex’s slid between us and grabbed me around the waist.

A tall, well-dressed man in formal clothes stood behind me, smiling. I didn’t like it.

“May I have the next dance, with your suitor’s permission?” His voice was full of snake oil and falsehoods, and it slithered around like the very snake he’d stolen the oil from.

But Elex couldn’t refuse because he’d asked permission. It would be rude, and in an unspoken agreement, Elex and I conceded this.

The snake oil aristocrat whirled me out on to the dance floor again, this time in a high-spirited dance that had a lot more people joining us on the floor.

I hoped Elex would cut in fairly quickly. He lurked at the edge of the dance floor for just that reason.

The music was joyful and light, and it was a song I would have usually enjoyed, but something was bothering me about the man I was dancing with. There was something dishonest about him.

Turning me out at the right moment in the song, another person wrapped their arms around my waist, and the hope it was Elex was gone instantly. This faceless man turned me out again in the song and sent me to another pair of arms.

Spinning me, again and again through a dozen different arms, it took me a moment to realize I was no longer on the dance floor, but being dragged away through a door opposite Elex and the masters.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

“I think your spell is broken,” Adelie griped.

I grunted. Because I couldn’t really argue with her.

A glance at my cell phone indicated we had been waiting for two hours.

Lord Otto growled, “Our spell is not broken.”

“Then what do you call this?” I waved a hand at the see-through glass where all the folding chairs remained empty. “You said most of the oldest male vampires were already here in the stronghold. This spell was supposed to make them rush with open arms into this room. That sure as fuck isn’t happening.”

The overlords had all found places to sit and relax once they saw no one was initially running through the cavern door. One of them, Lord Xenon, was even snoring softly.

Cato ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes flashing red briefly. “The spell isn’t broken, my dear.”

My eyes narrowed at his endearment, but I held strong to the argument. “Lord Pippin hasn’t ever done this before. Perhaps there was an error.”

The lord in question snapped his eyes in my direction. “Excuse me, candidate?”

“No offense, of course. I’m merely shooting out ideas.”

“More like, you’re just shooting shit out of your mouth,” he growled.

From his perch sitting against the glass barrier, Lord Belshazzar held up his hands to stave off further argument. “Lord Pippin performed the ritual flawlessly, Gwynnore. There isn’t a problem with it. There is no problem at all.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “There are no men down there! That is a problem.”

Was I broken? Because if I were, I would be booted.

Unable to complete the “King” Challenge.

Adelie glanced at me, a brief flicker of worry entering her gaze before she hid it.

Damn. Even my friend was having doubts.

Cato hissed, “This was not what I planned for. I haven’t had blood in a week.”

Now, attention turned in his direction.

Adelie mumbled, “Leave. Go drink your fill. It doesn’t appear we’re going anywhere soon.”

Cato hissed, pure vampire.

He rolled on his own couch, placing his back to us.

Lord Belshazzar held up his hands once more. “Everyone, calm down. I will explain it all the best I can.” He flicked a finger at the blood-deprived lord. “He can’t leave. His power is bound to the spell. So, he’s mildly grumpy that we’re going to be here—possibly for a few days. And no one else can enter this room until the spell is complete.”

My jaw dropped open, and I shrieked, “A few days? What the hell!”

The eldest vampire sighed. “This has happened before. Many, many years ago. It was written in the ancient book, so if it ever happened again, the overlords would be aware of it.”

Lord Pippin dropped his head back and groaned loudly at the ceiling. “Oh fuck. That is happening?” He sighed and fell to his back against the hard floor. “Good God, we’re going to be here forever.”

My confused gaze flicked between the overlords.

In the resulting silence, I finally questioned, “Did I do something wrong? Should I have used more blood? I could fix it if I did. I’ll slice my wrist if I need to.”

They couldn’t send me packing. I wouldn’t let them.

Cato grunted, his face smashed against the cushion. “If only the problem were that easy to fix, my darling.”

I lost my cool, hissing, “Quit calling me that crap! You have no right!”

Another grunt was all I received in return.

Lord Belshazzar rubbed at his forehead, resting the back of his head against the glass. “Allow me to explain further, candidate.”

He was still calling me a candidate. That was a good sign. The tension in my shoulders eased some.

He continued, “You see, honestly, the vast majority of the eldest vampires are here. The fact that not one of them has come is a clear indication of what is happening.”

I leaned forward, silently pushing him to expound on his words.

The old lord almost appeared hesitant to say. But he cleared his throat, and forged onward, “It means, Gwynnore, that your match is not a vampire.”

My shoulder slammed into the barrier as my legs weakened. “Huh?”

“Your match is either a human or a druid. Most likely a druid with the amount of power we had to push into the spell.”

I couldn’t stop blinking.

I was feeling faint, my head swimming.

I decided it would be best if I sat.

Though it was more of a slide down the glass, the screech hideous inside the silent room. My butt landed right next to the oldest vampire—the scariest one of all. I tilted my head and stared up into his ice blue eyes. “How in the world can that be?”

He hummed softly, his head teetering back and forth in thought. “You said you weren’t good with relationships. Perhaps it wasn’t really that. You are very headstrong, and the druid laws are more lax with females. The vampires in the stronghold obviously wouldn’t mesh well with you.”

A gurgle escaped my throat. “So we’re going to have a bunch of horny druids descending in here?”

He nodded, his nose scrunching. Even he didn’t like the idea. “I believe so.”

“Oh my God,” I groaned, closing my eyes. “I hate druids.”

Lord Belshazzar bumped his shoulder gently against mine. “They aren’t all bad.”

“Every single druid I have met has an ego the size of this mountain,” I growled. A disgusted shiver ran down my spine. “Do we even allow a druid to be our king?”

He rubbed his forehead again. “We do. It is the law that we follow the magic.”

I banged the back of my head against the glass a few times in frustration. “And I bet our people will love this.”

His sigh was profound. “Whoever is chosen will have an uphill battle.”

“How does this really even work, though? When he becomes an overlord, he won’t be able to help you with any rituals on the Original vampire amulet—only vampires can.”

“No, remember what Lord Cato said. Only overlords can wield it.”

Adelie muttered, “Fan-fucking-tabulous. A druid will get his grubby hands on our most prized procession.”

“The magic will choose well,” Lord Belshazzar assured. “It always does. Everything happens for a reason.”

I held up an instant finger. “Except for that one time it didn’t. I was listening earlier.”

“Not very well,” Elder Otto grumbled. “The match wasn’t ideal, but the king was. There is a difference.”

“This isn’t good.” I placed my face into my waiting palms, hiding from my misfortune.

“Uphill battle. But not impossible,” Lord Belshazzar reminded. “And with the overlords backing the new king—druid or not—our people will trust in us. Our pasts have won over the people, and that is how they remember us. Trustworthy and loyal. We wouldn’t back someone if we didn’t believe in them.”

I dropped my hands from my eyes and slumped onto my side. The chill of the ground was delicious against my fevered body. I growled in frustration. “I hope you’re right.”

Lord Belshazzar snorted. “Get up, Gwynnore. If the Unseen Gods saw how pitiful you looked right now, a candidate to the throne—”

“The Unseen Gods are only a myth,” I cut him off, bravery loosening my lips. “I can’t believe you believe in them.”

Though, I did sit up.

Ice blue eyes caught mine, sending chills down my spine. He rumbled, “I believe in a great many things. Live long enough, and you will too, candidate.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

~ GWYNNORE ~

One night in the old jail turned into two nights.

Then three nights.

On the fourth day, we were all a sight for sore eyes.

Though we had learned blood bags could be tossed into the room.

By females. Not males.

No men could enter the cavern who shouldn’t be here right now.

We weren’t thirsty anymore, but we were damn grumpy.

Thank goodness for the tiny shower in the bathroom.

Or we would have stunk too.

Lord Xenon rubbed at his chest and stared at the cauldron. “This is getting absurd.”

“It’s getting absurd?” Lord Otto growled. “It passed absurd two days ago. We’ve entered What the Fuck Land.”

I choked on a laugh.

I hadn’t known he had a sense of humor.

Cato prowled from one end of the room to the other. For hours straight. He rubbed the back of his neck fiercely, muttering, “It feels like there’s a whole damn legion of druids coming.”

Instantly, I sobered. All mirth was gone. “What do you mean?” Asshole.

Lord Belshazzar was doing a backbend, stretching his muscles…then he started walking on his hands and feet across the room, still in his backbend. Bored silly. It was the oddest thing to watch. He grumbled, “The power that’s holding the spell. It’s our magic. We feel it being pulled.”

Adelie cocked her head, eyeing him. “You know, Lord Belshazzar, you’re very limber.”

He snorted. Winked from his upside down position. “You have no idea.”

I waved my hands in the air, now playing the part that he had originally. “No one should be flirting right now.”

Because, damn, I was even starting to eye Lord Belshazzar’s ass. My hormones were going into overdrive the longer I waited to get laid after my Rest. Two hundred years and my pussy hadn’t seen any action. I needed to have a cock rammed so far up my—

“Hey, do you guys feel that?” Adelie interrupted my daydream. She stood to her feet and gradually walked to the glass barrier. Her small hands pressed against the glass as she leaned forward. “It feels like…”

“Like a small earthquake.” Lord Xenon stepped up beside her. “I guess Lord Cato was correct. It is a legion of druids descending on our home.”

In a rush, we all plastered ourselves to the glass.

And waited.

I despised druids with a burning passion, but I was ready to get out of here.

As soon as they all came, we could leave this place.

The entire lot of us jolted on our feet when the door to the cavern jarred hard against its bolts.

“I’m thinking we don’t pick the idiot who doesn’t know how to turn a doorknob,” I muttered under my breath. “I mean, what kind of moron doesn’t understand how to work a door?”

Lord Pippin’s head tilted. “I don’t think that’s what is happening out there. Those vibrations aren’t typical for an earthquake. Perhaps a fight…”

I blinked. “You guys did call the stronghold and tell them we were going to have company, right?”

“They know,” he answered calmly. “They’re staying away from this section of the mountain.”

Suddenly, the black wooden door bowed in on its hinges.

Boom.

All of our eyes followed the door as it flew across the cavern, slamming into the bottom of the stage and scattering a chair in its wake.

“That’s one way to open a door,” Lord Xenon rumbled. “Can anyone see them yet?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “That was definitely druid power, though.”

The ground of rock beneath our feet rumbled, and we steadied our legs.

“I wonder if we’ll be able to fit them all in here,” Lord Cato muttered in amusement. “They’ll all need to enter so they’ll stop fighting each other.”

I cleared my throat. “Please tell me the spell does disappear for them. I’m not going to have some aroused druid nipping at my heels for all of the Challenges, am I?”

Lord Otto snorted. “No, it’ll disappear as soon as we break the spell.”

“Maybe you should break the spell when they enter,” Adelie suggested. “Because that’s going to be a lot of testosterone aimed at my girl here.”

Lord Pippin hummed deep in his throat. “I actually think that is a good idea.”

“Agreed,” Lord Belshazzar stated. “We’ll end their need as soon as they enter.”

All air escaped my lungs in a mad rush as a man threw his body inside the door. His legs were still outside though, and two men each had ahold of one of his feet. All three were a bloody mess, their clothes in tatters. The man on the ground clawed at the stone, sparks of red and blue glistening on his fingers.

And I knew him. I knew all three of them.

But I especially knew the one inside.

A man who had broken my heart…

When I was much, much younger.

My first crush and it had been him.

All of our jaws dropped at the sight before us.

Because he was Master Niallan. The Original druid.

The man who had stolen the Original vampire’s power. And killed him.

“Oh fuck,” Adelie gasped.

Lord Xenon grunted.

The rest of us stayed mute.

Master Niallan kicked and bellowed, his features contorting in rage. His normal gem green eyes had morphed into gold. He twisted to the side and threw his palm in his buddies’—and they were his closest friends—direction. A shot of flame erupted from his hand, hitting its target.

His friends howled their frustration, patting their clothes in a rush.

Letting loose the Original druid’s feet.

In one swift move, he jumped up.

The man bared his teeth at his friends.

Devin’s and Ysander’s eyes glowed golden, and they marched straight toward him. They also had the power of a vampire, gifted to them by their best friend.

But their heads smacked back suddenly as if they had hit a brick wall.

“Oh my God,” I mumbled in utter shock.

My eyes landed on the Original druid. The only one who could enter.

It wasn’t a legion of druids that had come.

It was the druid.

Cato snapped out of his shock, and hissed, “We need to shut his need down. Now.”

The overlords rushed to the cauldron, their heads bent close together.

Adelie and I watched as Devin and Ysander continued to try to enter. The floor continued to shake with each of their blasts for entry. They shouted at their friend, urging him to come out.

But the Original held his ground, pacing in front of them.

As if he were protecting the doorway like it was his lair.

I knew when the spell started to dissipate.

His steps faltered.

Once. Twice. More and more frequently.

He shook his head of long, curly blond hair like an animal, and pounded on his forehead with the heel of his palm, shaking off the effects. His six-foot-two-inch muscled frame tensed with each step he took. The black Celtic tattoos on his dark complexion bunched on his biceps, his hands turning into two fists. When he next looked up, the gold was erased from his eyes, his gaze now a stunning green.

His blond brows puckered on his rugged features.

He stopped directly in front of his friends.

Lord Xenon rushed to the window, followed by the rest of the overlords.

“Done,” Lord Otto hissed. “No more sex-crazed Original.”

“Yes, he’s no longer lusting after me, but he’s going to be pissed,” I whispered.

Master Niallan took a step toward his friends, who had stopped trying to enter.

He crashed into the invisible barrier.

My eyes widened. “You didn’t take the entire spell off?”

Lord Pippin grinned, utterly pleased with the situation. “Of course not. We can’t have him running off, now can we?”

“Yes!” I shrieked, turning in their direction. I pointed a finger at the man below. “Let him loose! You can’t possibly think he would be a good King Novitiate.”

“Actually…,” Lord Belshazzar purred, “…he would be perfect for our needs.”

“Fuck. That.” I placed my hands on my hips. “That druid would be the death of us.”

Adelie elbowed me in the side, but I ignored her.

I wasn’t done yet.

I growled, “I don’t want him as my king. Remember? I get the final say.”

“Technically, you don’t,” Lord Xenon answered evenly. “In the case that there’s only one possible candidate for king, the decision goes to the overlords.”

My fangs descended. “Try the fucking spell again. Let’s see who else we can get.”

More elbow prodding, more ignoring.

Cato’s lips trembled, and he shook his head. “You don’t understand. He is the only man who could possibly be a match for you, my sugar plum.”

I really wanted to punch the bastard. “Quit with the damn name—”

“Gwen!” Adelie shook my shoulders, yanking me around to face her. “You should shut up now.”

My eyes widened in confusion. “Why the hell would I do that?”

Her voice was so quiet I had to lean forward to hear her. “Because the Original is staring right at you. I think he can hear us.”

My eyes snaked in his direction, and I practically swallowed my tongue.

The druid was just as beautiful as I remembered.

And just as arrogant.

He lifted one blond brow, his head cocked slightly. The druid leaned back against the black rock wall next to the entry, his friends still outside glaring in. The man’s startling green eyes ran over me from head to toe in slow motion, his forehead wrinkling ever so slightly. He dipped his head down and pinched the bridge of his nose, apparently deep in thought since vampires and druids didn’t get headaches.

Oh, my fuck.

Please don’t remember me.

Please don’t remember me.

I had only known him for one day.

And I wasn’t that little lovesick child anymore—barely seventeen years old then. I hadn’t known any better and had thrown myself at him when he’d visited my grandfather’s house. I had thought he was the best-looking man in the entire world. Kind and sweet to my grandfather too.

But he had turned me away from his bedroom on my grandfather’s estate.

With a chuckle and a pat on my back.

It had been mortifying.

Master Niallan’s brows lifted during his thoughts, and then his head tipped back up. The Original avoided looking at me, his attention wholly on the overlords. In a casual tone, he murmured, “How about you come down here with me? This is a little rude. Especially after I worked so hard to get here.”

Devin and Ysander cast him a glare.

His lips twitched, peering at them outside. “You guys can go. I’m in full control of myself now.”

Devin lifted a hand and tapped a finger on the invisible barrier. “Really?”

The Original shooed his hands at them. “Fine. Go down to the village and fuck your frustrations out or something. Drink beer. I don’t give a damn. I’ll call and let you know if I need you.”

After a few more words, his friends did leave.

Then he peered back up to us. “Coming down or not? Apparently, we have something to discuss.” A glance in my direction, then back to them. “Because I am interested in the position of King Novitiate to the vampires. I already rule one race, so what’s another, right?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

My ass was firmly planted in the seat farthest away from the Original druid. And that was saying something in the cavernous jail—lots and lots of empty chairs between us. The overlords and the druid were on one side of the room, and I was on the other side. I had done my job getting a possible candidate for king here. Now, I was just snooping—out in the open— to hear what the overlords said to him.

And I didn’t want to get any closer.

My best friend probably had the right idea.

She’d run off as soon as we’d walked downstairs.

Exasperated, Lord Cato turned in his seat to face me. He called from across the room, “Are you sure you don’t want to join us?”

“No. I’m just fine sitting here.” I shrugged, not bothered by my bad behavior. “I can hear you just fine.”

His brown eyes rolled. “Are you positive?”

Without even turning to look at me, currently in a stare down with the Original, Lord Belshazzar barked, “Gwynnore, get your ass over here right now.”

My lips pinched. Dammit.

I pushed off the chair and walked toward them.

I wasn’t pouting.

No, I was glowering at the Original.

I crossed my arms and sat next to the overlord who had demanded I join their group. “I’m here. Not willingly.”

His eyes never left the Original. Lord Belshazzar groused, “So I’ve guessed.”

Master Niallan sat forward on his chair. He smirked at the lord, but his gaze…was wary. If I wasn’t mistaken, he appeared guarded around Lord Belshazzar. But, with his grin still in place, he asked, “Miss me, old friend?”

The lord chuckled. “Like I miss a case of lice.”

His lips curved even further, and he motioned at his own face, fluttering his fingers over his features. “What about this face? Do you miss that?”

Lord Belshazzar’s jaw clenched. “Shall we move on to our business, old friend? Or would you rather talk about how handsome you are? If memory serves me correctly, you’ve only given a shit about yourself your entire life.”

I snapped my fingers and pointed at the Original. “That is a fine point, my lord. He definitely shouldn’t be king. So if all that is settled, we can just go try that spell—”

“Gwynnore?” Lord Otto interrupted, his blond head snapping in my direction.

“Yes, my lord?” Pure innocence.

“From now on, keep your mouth shut.”

“Yes, my lord,” I griped.

I slunk down on my chair and crossed my arms.

This was the worst day ever.

Master Niallan lifted a blond brow. He only had eyes for one person in this room. And they weren’t for me. The druid was still staring at the lord sitting next to me. With no arrogance in his tone, only business, he asked, “Only I came for her?”

Lord Belshazzar nodded once. “Correct.”

Green eyes did flick in my direction. They ran up and down my frame slowly, taking their time to study each part of my person. I didn’t squirm. I simply glared harder. When his eyes returned to mine, meeting the hatred in my gaze, his lips quirked in humor.

My eyes flashed red. I gave him one warning.

That was all I would give him.

His green eyes dipped to my breasts, then back to the only lord he seemed to want to talk to. “I’ll take it.”

My shoulders tensed.

Lord Belshazzar’s head cocked. “Do you mean you want to be considered for King Novitiate? Or are you saying you’ll take her?”

“Both.” An arrogant shrug. “Both appeal to me.”

My breath came in short pants.

The lord gradually nodded his head. “The Council will consider it then. However, nothing will be officially stated until the next queen is crowned. And you will need to stay at this stronghold starting now. There are duties you will need to do for the Queen Novitiate.” He paused and cleared his throat roughly. “And whether Gwynnore allows you to ‘take her’ is entirely up to her.”

My jaw clenched.

Master Niallan smiled. It was beautiful. “Deal.”

I shoved from my chair. I’d had enough of this.

They wanted him.

What the overlords wanted, the overlords got.

As I shoved the door open to the jail, I peered over my shoulder at the Original. His green eyes were following me. I showed my fangs, and then I slammed the door shut behind me.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

Droplets of water dangled from my black hair, my soul refreshed from a hot shower, as I bent down to lift the envelope from my floor. Someone had shoved the innocent white letter under my apartment’s front door while I recuperated from the King Challenge. I ground my teeth together as I straightened from my crouch, noticing the official royal wax seal on the back, the symbol as powerful as the blood pumping in my veins—two deadly swords protected by the almighty crown.

Another Challenge.

It had to be.

Only an hour after the last was completed.

I cracked my neck and tightened my bathrobe. This one couldn’t be too bad. Hopefully. The ancient book had said the third Challenge would be— Secret.

If I were to receive a secret of royal proportions…

I smiled with genuine delight as I flopped down on the crème-colored lounge chair and tucked my legs up under me. I tapped the edge of the envelope on my right knee, my grin never fading.

Knowledge was everything.

And I was about to learn a real secret held closely to the crown. I would hold it dear and never speak of it to anyone. Not even Adelie. I wouldn’t fail this Challenge.

With careful fingers, I opened the letter.

The wax cracked with a sharp snap, little red flakes falling onto my lap, dusting my black robe with the royal seal. With two fingers, I pulled the thick paper out of the envelope. I gazed at it as I held it before me, my brows lifting in surprise as I read the contents.

It was indeed the next Challenge.

But I was foolish to believe the secret would be told through a letter. The Council would never operate that way with delicate information—where anyone could steal a simple missive and read it. No, I was to meet the eldest lord in his private chambers for this one. The words would be spoken in a quiet setting.

I nibbled on my bottom lip as I set the letter aside.

Lord Belshazzar was ancient.

It was one thing to deal with him while the other lords were around and in the public eye, but another entirely to speak with him alone in a secluded location.

Every aspect of the ancient one was deadly.

From his looks. To his personality.

To his charm. To his power.

Out of all the lords, he frightened me the most.

The man had plans within plans within plans.

Within even more plans…

Every word he spoke had meaning.

Why? Because he planned everything he said, too.

Lord Belshazzar was conniving and dominant and potent to everything he touched—whether it be a new law, a kind word, the swing of his blade, an arch of his brow, or his fangs ripping out a throat. Everything he did was pure power. The entire vampire world knew it. Hell, all the druids knew it. The Original druid was even intimated by him. While the lord had ruled as king, absolutely none had tried to pull one over on him—because he had beat them to it.

He was a ruler no one had seen coming.

And they never forgot him.

The man was that good. And old.

I wondered vaguely how old he actually was.

There was no literature on that. Anywhere.

I attempted to swallow down my nerves and stood up, brushing off the tiny flakes of wax onto the floor. I watched each one flutter to the thick carpeting, and as they did, I calmed myself.

The lord is scary-ass-frightening…

But I wouldn’t be here if he didn’t want me to be.

That was powerful in itself.

Though, I would keep my smartass nature in check.

I wanted to live, after all.

I strolled into my bedroom with more confidence than I probably should have had over meeting him alone. But I needed to get dressed. One did not meet the oldest vampire in just a robe. Too much flesh visible for them to get any ideas about how my blood might taste if I did something wrong—which was always a possibility.

Damn my mouth.

* * *

With the invitation tightly held in my right fist, I stopped in front of Lord Belshazzar’s door—after obtaining directions from the sentinels guarding the other council members’ private chambers. I cleared my throat, peered up to the guard on the right, and extended the invitation to him, to the vampire who probably had more deadly training years than I had days living. I stated simply, “I have an appointment with the lord. My name is—”

He waved off my words. “I know who you are.” The guard opened the lord’s door without fanfare. “He arrived only ten minutes ago, but go on in.”

I nodded and swallowed on a dry throat. I could do this. There was nothing to be afraid of—it was merely the next Challenge. Strange how the simplest challenge was the most worrisome. I stepped inside with purpose and managed not to flinch as the guard shut the door behind me with a jarring thud.

Instant silence.

I blinked and turned around in a circle.

The room itself was nothing like my apartment. The lord’s private space was set up more like a regular bedroom—very modest. An enormous bed with red and black satin sheets sat on my left. To my right, a couch and chair were in front of a fireplace. An actual freaking fireplace where logs were burning, a glow of flames licking up into the black cavernous rock. And there was no smoke billowing inside the room. How he had managed that inside a mountain, I didn’t even venture to guess.

But the silence had my brows rising.

The lord’s room was soundproof.

No wonder he’d wanted to have this discussion here.

The only noise heard was the sprinkle of water.

I cleared my throat again and stuffed the invitation into the right pocket of my black leather pants. Then I fussed with my white sweater and called to the dark wooden door directly across from me, “Lord Belshazzar? I can come back if you aren’t ready.”

The shower continued in the bathroom.

Though his voice was clear. “I’ll only be a minute. Make yourself comfortable.”

I ran my fingers through my own slightly damp hair and walked toward the bookshelf on the far wall next to the couch. I even took my boots and socks off to feel the brush of the fur rug on my bare feet, the rug warmed by the fire. The vampire had said to get comfortable, after all. And with that man’s black hair, just like mine in length and color, I knew he wouldn’t only be a minute.

I ran my fingers over the old tomes lining the bookshelf. No dust coated my skin. The cleaning people here were amazing. Each book was treated better than most people, with love and a tender touch.

My head cocked and my brows furrowed, as I eyed an interesting development to my curiosity. A hidden panel in the bookshelf, slightly open—a compartment opened and hastily closed. I cast my gaze to the bathroom. The water was still running, tinkling on the tiles. I stood very still, contemplating my next actions.

I cracked my neck.

Dammit. Temptation was a bitch.

I quickly opened the panel wider.

I quickly gazed at the many books inside. Each one older than the next. Some were mere olden notebooks, the colors long faded with time. I scratched my cheek in slight confusion, though.

The spines of the books—the volumes that still had spines—were all in the ancient druid language. I’d only seen one before in my lifetime, in my grandfather’s collection. He hadn’t been able to read it, but had been extremely proud to own it. No one knew how to speak the forgotten language, much less read it.

Well, an Original druid probably could.

Asshat.

But the most puzzling problem about this view…

I jerked the invitation out of my pocket and held it up to the most legible of the spines. My gaze flicked back and forth between the two, the handwriting on the spine and the handwriting on the invitation.

Oh my dear fuck.

They were…a match.

I blinked and stuffed the invitation back into my pocket. Ever so carefully, I pulled one of the books from the shelf and opened its delicate pages. They didn’t flake as I had feared, but they were stiff from an ointment used to preserve the revered pages. I gazed at the writing, and just as the spine had shown, the pages were filled with his handwriting, in a language I couldn’t read. The ancient druid language.

I squinted at one page. A bowl had been drawn there with what might be a list underneath it, each sentence with what could be one word. Yes, probably a list.

Holy…shit.

These were druid spells.

How the fuck did the lord even know these?

Druids coveted their spells.

They killed to keep their spells to themselves.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Lord Belshazzar roared.

A shot of electric fear raced through my veins, and I dropped the book like it had burned me as severely as the flames in his fireplace could. My head swiveled in the direction of the bathroom. He was standing in nothing but a pair of black pajama pants and a long-sleeved black t-shirt, but I still froze like a human seeing a vampire rage for the first time in their life. With his eyes blood-red and actually fucking glowing—didn’t even know that was possible—I held my hands up into the air, mumbling rapidly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Didn’t help.

The ancient vampire bashed into my backside, slamming the front of my shoulders into the bookshelf. I hadn’t even seen him move. Not a blur in my vampire vision. Nothing. The lord was in one spot, and then he moved so fast he was in another. I shouted in terror as he grabbed my hair and yanked my head far to the side.

His fangs sank into my neck in the next breath.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

~KIMBER~

“What are you doing?!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping my voice would carry through the door out to the dance floor.

Before I could let out another shriek, my hands were yanked behind me, tied, and a gag shoved in my mouth.

Another tall, dark man appeared, but this one wasn’t wearing formal dress. He dragged me down the stairs, my dress tripping me up, and causing me to lose my footing.

“I thought you were smarter.”

There were figures on either side of the doors, dressed in black from head to toe, holding them open for us to pass through. A carriage waited for us, its door also open and unwelcoming.

Pulling madly against the hard grip of the man who dragged me down the stairs, I tried screaming through the gag.

His hand lodged in my hair and jerked me to stand still.

“Shut up, Kimber Raven. Shut up, or I will turn the magic on you and make you deaf and mute.”

With a heave, he spun me into the car and stuffed me into the back. Leaning in, he gave me a cruel grin. “We’re kidnapping you, Lady Raven. The temple does not deserve to have you as the world begins the Breaking. You will serve us, and you will lead us to power. Fight, and we will kill you. Escape, and we will kill the masters. Oh, and that tasty morsel you were dancing with, too. He should die, too, shouldn’t he?”

My throat worked of its own accord, and I held in my screams.

My magic wasn’t clean enough, honed enough, to escape his grasp or the ropes.

Slamming the door hard, he climbed into the front seat of the carriage as a passenger, and with a whip to the horse, we shot into motion across the grass.

I desperately tried to stay calm. It wasn’t easy as I was tossed around in the carriage. I’d been ripped out of the arms of the man who had just declared his courtship and was being shuttled away from everything that meant anything.

The cruel man turned in his seat and stared at me, now frazzled and confused.

“You don’t even know what you are, do you, girlie? Let me explain, then. You’re a pawn. You’re nothing more than something that gets moved across the chessboard to protect or save power. The temple will use you and destroy you, and eventually, toss you to the side as a sacrifice. You won’t have a golden crown to stand next to the Lost God. You won’t have gems and wealth as the prophecy says. You will be used. Wrung dry. Discarded and forgotten.

“We will use your power as well as anyone else would. The Found Goddess, in our grasp, to deny entry to the Lost God. He will never be allowed back, and we shall rule S’Kir as we were always meant to do.”

Who were these people? I didn’t have the power to open the gate or bring down the mountain. I was just the herald of the Breaking Times.

My mind froze on that face.

I was the herald of the Breaking Times. Just as Elex had needed to show everyone his intentions with the dance, I was needed to show who had control…who was going to protect the people of S’Kir during the Breaking Time.

If this group of…dingbats…had me, they could claim that they were the protectors.

But I was of the temple. And the temple should have control. They had the armies, the knowledge, the history, the power that would lead us safely through.

Even if this maniac turned the magic against me, I had to get away. I had to.

The temple needs to be in power.

The maniac laughed. “I see you get it. Good.”

Sliding back to the driver, he started to talk to the man whipping the horses. I couldn’t hear their conversation over the rattle of wheels on paving stones. I only caught one word.

One name.

Dorian.

There was no time to react.

A tremendous whompf sounded on the topside of the carriage, and the driver whipped the horse harder.

I realized I wanted his head for brutalizing that poor animal.

Another whompf came from the roof, and I ducked without thinking.

The maniac in the front seat was screaming at the horses to go faster, but a moment later, the door was ripped open on his side, and he was pulled out bodily.

The whip went up again and never came back down. The driver looked up and screamed just as a hand came down to snatch his collar and yank him away.

The horses slowed, and I could hear yelling. The carriage was buffeted by a blast of magic, exploding against the side and trickling in.

I couldn’t see what was going on, but I did know that I was calm enough now to try to use some of my own magic.

Slipping a few threads under the gag, I wiggled it a bit and felt the knot go loose. A moment more of wiggling, and it fell off. I gulped the air, rarely remembering it tasting so sweet.

Since it worked with the gag, I tried wiggling the ropes with the magic.

No luck this time.

Could I create a saw? There was no harm in trying, so I wrapped the threads around the rope. Before I could try, though, the door was yanked open, and I was ready to start kicking and screaming.

The face, though, was that of Elex, and I calmed immediately. He climbed into the carriage.

“Did they hurt you?”

“No. Well, not on purpose. My arms are sore, and I’m sure I’ve torn my dress.”

The flash of a knife blade disappeared behind my back, and the ropes were cut free a moment later. I rubbed my wrists. I would be sore for a few days.

“You’re sure you’re all right?”

“Yes. Please help me out of this contraption.”

Backing out, Elex held a hand out to steady me. I stepped out and found my center as both my feet hit the ground.

“Are you all right, Lady Raven?”

Snapping my head to the right, I found Dorian standing there. I swept my gaze back and forth a few times, taking in both him and Elex. They looked winded and worried, and their clothes were in shambles.

I finally settled on Elex. “What went on out here?”

Tossing a glance at Dorian, Elex narrated the story. “We both saw you getting tossed closer and closer to the other exit and tried to stop them from taking you. It became clear we weren’t going to be able to do that, and Master Dorian and I made a beeline for the horses outside.

“When we rounded the corner, we saw the horses take off across the lawns, pulling the carriage. The guards were picking off the others who were with them as they left the building, so Dorian and I were free to go after you. We gave chase and pulled alongside.”

I stared at him, hard, shocked. “You jumped on to the moving carriage?”

“Your suitor is quite the athlete,” Dorian offered.

“Are you kidding me? You jumped from your horse to the roof of my carriage?”

“I’m not. How else was I was supposed to save you?”

“Gods and stars! Are you insane?”

“Dorian helped.”

My eyebrows arched up, shocked. “Master Dorian? You jumped on to the carriage?”

A nonchalant shrug betrayed nothing of what he was thinking. “Lord Everettson needed assistance.”

“So you leapt from your horse.”

I was utterly astonished. This man was almost as old as the mountains, and he was leaping from a horse—

—to save me.

I stared at Elex. “He really jumped?”

“He yanked the driver out. I got the kidnapper from the passenger side.” Elex cocked his head, and I could see him with an astonished smile playing on his lips.

“Master Dorian, thank you. Thank you and thank you, Elex.”

“Does the hero get a kiss?” Elex flashed his cheekiest grin at me.

Well, two could play.

I leaned in to give him a kiss on the lips and swerved at the last moment to land it on his cheek. “Brave hero.”

I turned to walk to Dorian, and he held his hand out. “I don’t need a kiss.”

But something flashed in his eyes as he folded his arms. A touch of jealousy? A hint of anger? There was no mistaking the gold of the flash.

“Are you all right?” Elex asked again.

“I am. I am just a little sore and shocked. I think I need to learn more about my own magic and more about physical self-defense.” My eyes landed on Dorian. “A lot is going on here you haven’t shared yet, isn’t there?”

He unfolded his arms. “You were the one who wanted to rush blindly into the Breaking Time. I tried to stop you. You’ll pay the price now.”

“You had best not threaten me, Dorian. You already have the other masters angry with you, and threatening me will cause a schism.”

“You are a child, Lady Raven.” Scorn and derision dripped from his words. “You have no idea what the masters are like, not from your few weeks of interaction with us. Thousands of years separate us from the infant you are in our eyes. You pushed the Breaking Times. You are not ready for any of this.”

His eyes flashed gold again, and his anger landed on Elex. “You’d best bond her soon if you plan on it. She’ll need what protection she can get from another infant such as you.”

He spun on his heel and marched away from us, back toward his horse.

I couldn’t stop the question. “Why is he such an asshole?”

“Probably needs to get laid.”

I punched Elex. “That’s inappropriate.”

He looked at me, and I saw his eyes light gold—there was no mistaking the lust that sat within them.

“I’m still on an adrenaline rush. You want me to show you what’s inappropriate?”

He moved just a step closer, and his finger traced the collar of my dress. My blood heated at the suggestions of that simple touch.

“Show me behind closed doors, and you can get my dress on the floor.”

Just a split second passed, and I found myself being dragged away by him.

Once again, I was laughing.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

~ KIMBER ~

Elex’s apartment was small and clean, but I didn’t have a moment to look at it before he pulled me bodily into the bedroom.

“Elex—”

His fingers pressed against my lips.

“No. No talking, my sweet. I only want to hear your pleasure.”

What was this?

As he walked around me, he trailed his finger over my dress and my skin. My blood heated again, almost instantly.

“I was terrified when I saw you being shoved out of the room, Kimber. I regretted every instant I hadn’t shown you what you mean to me. Tonight, I plan to worship every inch of what I’ve denied myself. And what I’ve denied you.”

Those same wandering fingers found the fasteners on the back of the dress, and slowly, torturously drew them open. Hot hands slipped under the shoulders, pushed the top open, and slid it forward. The sleeves were traitors, really, as they didn’t do much other than look pretty.

And slid right off my arms.

“You’re very serious about getting my dress on your floor.”

Elex’s arms slid around me from behind. “I am. And I’m also serious about making you scream your pleasure.” His arms wrapped around my waist, below the lacy bra I had picked out for him.

With other men, I’d been shy about sex. Another time, I would be holding the dress in front of me.

But with Elex… it felt natural. As though I belonged there.

I certainly wanted to be there.

His hand snaked its way up to my throat and splayed across the delicate expanse. “Kimber. I am not a tender lover. I am rough. I am raw. I am dominant. I will command you, and I will make you perform. And I will reward you. But if you expect sweet and careful, I suggest you leave right now.”

The timber of his voice sent chills through me, my nipples beading against the fabric of the bra—sending a touch of pain through my breast.

I liked it.

“I am here because I want you, Elex. I’ve had tender. I’ve had careful. I’ve had those who worship me. I am done with that.”

I tipped my head back to rest in the crook of his neck. “Show me your beast.”

His mouth descended on mine, plundering his prize. I opened for him, welcoming him, as I tasted him. Male, so very male, a touch of dessert, and the strong flavor of a rich, golden scotch invaded my senses.

Magnificent.

Those roaming hands slipped up my sides, and right under my bra, lifting it up and over my breasts. He didn’t take a moment to find my nipples and roll them, teasing them harder, and coaxing the first of a thousand moans from me.

Elex moved one of his hands away from my breast and slipped the fasteners open all the way down. That same hand found my hip inside the dress, and pushed it off, sending it cascading to the floor.

He was right, it did look better there.

Curling that hand around my hip, a smooth motion spun me into him, and he took over again with a kiss. “You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation. “I need you.”

“What do you need?”

“You.”

“Say the words, Kimber. Tell me exactly what you need.”

“I need you to fuck me.”

“Good.”

Unprovoked, I dropped to my knees. I needed to taste him. I needed his cock in my mouth. I grabbed his pants and unfastened them, shoving them down and out of my way as his impressive member sprang free.

“Oh, really?” His voice was a hiss. “You want to suck me.”

“Yes.” Again, no hesitation from me. “You have one of the most magnificent cocks I have ever seen.”

Glistening with pre-cum, I ran the tip of my tongue over him, tasting him. My little tease earned a grunt from him, and he threaded his hands through my hair, gripping tightly. Pulling against his tight fist, I slipped my lips over the crown of his dick and drew him deep into my mouth.

He tasted excellent, but I knew my jaw would hurt quickly with the size of him.

I went on. I drew him out slowly and then pulled him back in. I tightened my lips around him and took control of his dick, tasting and sucking and licking and enjoying him.

The huge erection did exhaust me. When it was clear to him that I was willing but tired, he took control of me and fucked my mouth, driving himself in and out of my lips. I licked and prodded, tightened and loosened my lips, even scraped my teeth over him.

There was something delightfully primal about him just using my mouth for his own benefit. I had never let a male do this to me, but him just using me, driving his erection as deep as he could force it, was the perfect act from him, from this beast he was.

How different he was here in his bedroom.

“I’m going to come in your mouth, and you’re going to swallow it. Every last drop.”

Yes. I was going to. I knew I was, and I wanted to. I wanted to taste him.

He drove hard, and his cum raced up his shaft with a jerk and hard twitch. The hot liquid coated my tongue, my mouth, and slid down my throat as he grunted and groaned with the release I gave him. I swallowed and sucked all of his sexual offerings from his dick and let every drop roll down my throat.

As he released my hair from his hand, he dropped his head and looked down at me kneeling there. “Shit, Kimber. What a hot little mouth you have. Did you like that?”

“Yes,” I answered, surprising myself.

“Good girl.” He put a finger under my chin.

He was still hard.

That was impressive.

He guided me to stand with a tug on my hair.

I was starting to like the pain he gave me. A lot.

“You’ll lay on the bed now and spread your legs so I can see your pussy.”

I moved quickly. I wanted all of this that Elex was offering. I had no idea I’d like his commands, but I did, and I needed him. I lost the bra and panties on the way to the bed, laid myself out like a freshly served meal, and enjoyed the wantonness of lying there with my legs spread and waiting for him.

Delightfully, I watched him strip.

His formal jacket and shirt were disposed of quickly, and he lifted and twisted off his undershirt to reveal the kind of abs that—well, that could rip a kidnapper out of a carriage. Rippling and taut, his pecs were a remarkable sight.

His pants were already down by his feet, and it was a simple task to step out and be done with them.

Elex had excellent aim. From standing at the foot of the bed, he was next between my legs. He found my clit with his hand instantly and elicited a gasping groan from my lips.

With that, he roughly shoved two fingers inside me and started to pump against my clit. My body was jelly. I needed this attention. I needed this. My poor clit was instantly on fire from his touch.

His tongue found my bundled nerves.

I dug my nails into his shoulders. The hiss it elicited tripped through my pussy, lighting my body up like a bonfire. I tried to tell him I didn’t want him to lick me to orgasm when I felt his finger slide up inside me again and start pumping in and out, in and out, my core trembling.

“Damn it…” I managed. “Elex, I want you to… to… uh… shit.”

He managed to tongue the words right out of my brain. My head fell back against the pillow

Elex’s teeth grazed the hot, tender bundle. The heat lanced through me. I wanted him to pierce me with his cock at that moment, and I opened my mouth to tell him so. Except, a third finger worked into my throbbing channel, and I gasped instead. The feeling of being filled and stretched was a relief, and it was followed by another graze of his teeth. I couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t move. I was almost there, without ever having his dick inside me.

A brush of magic wisped across my nipples, and in concert, he nipped my clit.

I came so hard I thought I was going to explode. My legs went weak as my body shook and shivered. I had no possession of myself. I felt the orgasm rolling through me, up and down, and back, and finally settling into my sex.

I threaded my fingers into Elex’s hair and yanked his head back from where he had nestled into my pussy. Drawing one of my fingers down his cheek, I stared at him. “Elex…”

“Did you like that, my sweet?”

“Yes, oh fuck yes.”

“Do you want me to fuck you?”

“Yes, yes. Get your cock inside me!”

He wrapped one hand around my waist and used the fingers of his other hand to probe the depths of my sex once again. I let out a few puffs of breath, trying to control my desire. This was wanton. This was the way I had wanted to be taken. I never thought that something like this could be enjoyable, but oh, Gods and stars it was.

Crawling up the bed, he captured my lips with a blistering kiss, his tongue unforgiving and his flavor burned into my memory.

His hand disappeared from my clit for a moment and was replaced by the probing tip of his erection. The hardened shaft pressed against me and the sensitive skin of my opening convulsed, throwing sparks through my body and pearling my nipples once again.

“Elex!”

“For you, Kimber.”

His dick slammed home, hard, deep, and blunt but with an odd sense of care. I swallowed the shriek I wanted to let rip from my throat. His thrusts bordered on merciless, but never quite crossed the line, and he filled and stretched me to breaking.

His fingers had prepared me well. If he had just driven home, there would have been no pleasure for me. This way, having come, having the wetness from sex already coating me made everything that much better, that much more pleasurable.

Driving hard, he pumped his cock in and out of my pussy, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist, the other holding a breast as though it were the most precious thing ever.

I pressed back, encouraging him to go harder, go faster. I could feel my climax rising with each slam of his shaft in my depths, the rock of his balls against my ass. I needed more of that, more of him, and I spread my legs further, allowing more of him to hit against me.

The sound of his skin slapping mine, the sexual sounds of being fucked, echoed from the walls around us. I didn’t care if they heard us. I needed this. I needed Elex to keep pounding at me, making me chase the climax I so desperately wanted at the end of his cock.

“Harder, Elex. Harder.”

I surprised myself with those words.

“Greedy pussy,” he panted but took up my challenge. I almost let a yelp slip out when he slammed so hard my teeth shook. “That’s what you want? You want my cock to bottom out in you every time? You want me to stuff every last inch of my dick in your cunt?”

“Fuck me, Elex.” I was breathless.

He pulled out, and I whimpered. I hadn’t come yet.

Instead of completely withdrawing from the bed, he grabbed my hip and flipped me over.

“Bend over, ass in the air.”

I moved immediately, nearly folding myself in half. With delightful and incredible accuracy, he speared himself back into my pussy. He started to saw in and out of my sex. Without warning, he grabbed my leg off the ground and pulled it back around his waist.

His next thrust let him in deeper than I could have hoped. The cold air that greeted my clit after each deep push contrasted with the heat of his cock and balls. Even if someone walked into the apartment, leaned against the wall, and started watching us, I wouldn’t care.

My climax was right there, and I desperately yearned for it.

Elex’s finger flicked against the hot bundle of nerves, and I was brought to the precipice. He slammed home and scraped back out against my G-spot deep inside. My whole body, sweating and hungry for release, shivered and shook. Another touch, this time a press against the heated button, and a hard slam of cock to the very root inside me.

The orgasm erupted through all of me, the release blinding me and rendering me deaf as well. The ringing in my ears nearly covered the sexual slap of his cock and the swear words that tripped off his lips as he spilled his cum deep inside me.

“Fuck! Kimber!”

His last few thrusts were short, sharp, and slow to withdraw. He dropped my leg on the bed and just held my hips against him as his erection slowly retreated and slowly withdrew from my pussy.

We collapsed forward on the bed, Elex wrapping his arms around me. He pulled me close, cuddling me.

I could barely keep my eyes open. I was so wonderfully exhausted from his relentless fucking.

I was satisfied.

I only just managed to look up and gasp.

“Elex. Look.”

“Hmm?” The grin on his face was ridiculous and wonderful.

“Look up.”

He rolled a bit to look up at the ceiling, and I felt him jerk a bit in shock. “Are those—”

“Binding threads.”

“They look like ropes. Giving me ideas.”

I slapped his arm. “They’re binding threads, dirty bird. We’re true mates. We can ask those to bind us if we want to. Right now.”

Elex looked slightly terrified for a moment. “Kimber—”

“No, sexy. Not right now. But the magic approves of us. We are true mates, and when we’re ready, we can bind ourselves to one another.”

“It approved of that filth?”

I rolled in his arms and kissed his nose. “I don’t care if it approved of what we did—I approved of it, my beast.”

“Mmm, good. I was slightly afraid…”

“Nope. Loved it.” I grinned. “We’ll have to do it again soon.”

He took my hand and placed it on his cock, which was rising again. “Very soon.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

There are unsaid rules about biting a vampire. Like, you don’t fucking do it without their permission. Blood is life. And the consequence of said action could be horrible if you weren’t prepared for a life-changing day.

Like finding your damn soul mate.

But since the lord hadn’t passed out on the floor from his first brutal gulp of my blood, it wasn’t an issue here. One problem averted. Thank fuck.

What was an issue? I hadn’t had sex in…

Well, hundreds of years thanks to my Rest.

And even though I was terrified, locked in his unyielding, furious grip, a new frenzy took over my mind, flooding in like pure bliss. His heated mouth pulling my blood into his body like he couldn’t get enough of it was ambrosia to my skin, to the cells inside my body as they burned with need, my thoughts as I envisioned what his mouth could do in other places.

I stopped struggling inside his hold.

And his arms relaxed against me.

His gulps turned into succulent sips, the burn of his pull lessening from excruciating agony to the point of delicious pain. The strong muscles in Lord Belshazzar’s chest flexed against my back as he gentled his hold even further, his fist in my hair relaxing to cup my tilted head softly.

With fire burning inside my cold soul, a moan escaped my lips. I cut off short and struggled to contain myself. This was a damn ancient vampire—and lord—pressed up against me. I could not do what my body was screaming to do with him. I tried to stiffen in his arms as I took my punishment for rifling through his private belongings to fortify my libido against his vampire bite…and sexy as sin body holding mine.

His lush lips curled into a smile against my flesh.

My brows puckered at his flirty attitude.

I was trying to behave. But…

Lord Belshazzar pressed his lower half against my backside, aligning our bodies despite our height difference.

Air lodged in my throat.

A fine as hell erection was pressed against my ass.

A hard, hard, big fucking cock.

“Oh my…fuck yeah,” I groaned, giving up the fight within myself. My ass started rubbing instantly against his dick trying to get friction where I needed it the most. “What the hell are you packing in there? Jesus.”

His fangs retreated from my flesh, but he didn’t lick over the wound to seal the two cuts. He allowed my two hot lines of my blood to run down my neck, keeping my head tilted to the side with his hand, and watching the crimson liquid flow gently from my body with his ice blue eyes. Thick black lashes fluttered as he peeked up into my gaze, his regard amused…and full of lust.

With a slight tilt of his lips, a sultry grin just for me, Lord Belshazzar murmured quietly, “Tell me, Gwen, are you sure you want to do this with me? You’re still very young.”

I snorted. “I’m almost a thousand years old.”

“Yes. Young.” He dipped his head right when I started to feel woozy from the blood loss and licked over the two bites, closing the wounds. The lord pressed two soft kisses over each mark, delicious brushes of the sweetest lips, before rising to his full height. He was almost a foot taller than I was and towered over me, not only in height, but also in power and prestige. As he turned me inside his hold to face him, he asked once more—simply and bluntly, “Yes or no. Think before you answer.”

I stared up into his blue eyes framed by the most beautiful eyelashes, thick, black, and curled naturally. They were the same length as mine. My blue gaze continued to watch his blue gaze as I truly thought this through. I asked with honesty and curiosity, “How old are you?”

He tsked. “You know that’s not polite to ask.”

“And you know it’s not when in this situation.” My lips twitched, actually enjoying his evasion of the question. I had to try, too curious about his age. “Is this against the rules for a candidate?”

Still blunt and to the point. “It’s frowned upon, but not against the rules. I would prefer no one know about it, though.”

“Same here.” I nodded absently. The last thing I would need was for people to think I was getting special treatment. My head cocked in curiosity. “Is it because of the bite? Is that why you want to fuck me?”

“No, I want to fuck you because I’m attracted to you.” His black brows rose. “Are you done with the twenty questions now?”

My eyes ran over his features slowly. Besides the five o’clock shadow covering his jaw, we looked a lot alike. One feminine, one masculine. He was built for seduction. I snickered softly and shook my head a little. “We’re both very vain since we find each other attractive.”

His lips curled up on one side in a teasing smile. “Ah, so you do find me attractive. I truly hadn’t figured that out yet. You hide it well.” He sniffed the air, his eyes flooding red. “I should have known, though. Your arousal hasn’t disappeared, even after my bite ended.”

“Not polite,” I grouched.

“I’m simply stating the truth.” He bent at the waist and placed his face in front of mine, the tip of his nose a mere inch from mine. “Answer my question. Yes or no. If it’s a no, I’ll need to ask you to leave. We’ll deal with the third Challenge in the morning when we’re both in a different…mood.”

My own eyes charged with lust, burning as red as his, my breaths coming in short pants. “Yeah, I want you. I want this.”

“Yes?” An arrogant black brow lifted.

“Yes.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

Lord Belshazzar blurred as soon as the word ‘yes’ exited my mouth. His strong arms tightened around my hips, and he lifted me straight off my feet with dizzying speed. Wind whipped through my hair, blowing the black strands into the lord’s chiseled features, but he didn’t seem to mind. No, not when he flattened me on my back, laying me on top of the fur rug, the flames of the fire only inches from our bodies. His heavy and warm weight pressed down over every inch of me. From the tips of my toes to the crown of my head, the lord’s cinnamon scent and his hard-muscled frame enveloped me.

I shook the dizziness from my head and glanced at the flames so close by. Then I peered up into his burning red eyes. Out of breath from the rush, I panted, “You like to live on the dangerous side, huh?”

His lips curved in pleasure. “Oh, yes.” His gaze ran over my features. “Are you all right now?”

I removed one hand from the death grip I had on his shoulders and rubbed my forehead a bit. Sheepish, I mumbled, “You move a lot faster than I do. Just got a little dizzy. I’m fine now.”

“I move a lot faster than most. But the blood loss didn’t help you either.” He dipped his head, narrowing his eyes on mine. “Are you sure you can handle me? Like I said, you are young still.”

I glowered. “Shut up.”

His lips twitched, though his resentful gaze didn’t waver, confusing me some. “Don’t puke on me.”

I scoffed, “I would never—”

Wind rushed and the room tilted in a mad rush.

Reality twisted and curved as we moved.

I squealed. “Shit, shit, shit, shit!”

Suddenly, we were in the same position again.

Except we were butt ass naked.

My mouth flapped like a darn idiot. I couldn’t stop blinking past the stars in my eyes. And I was certain I had a little drool hanging out of the side of my mouth. I sputtered, “Huh?”

The lord’s chuckle was quiet and devious. One long finger wiped against my cheek—yes, drool—and he stated calmly, “I was slow earlier. That’s how fast I can really move.”

With the back of my right hand, I quickly rubbed my cheek for any remaining drool. I continued to blink until he completely came back into focus. My eyes took a slow gander at all the hard olive-colored flesh I could see over me. It was only his shoulders, but they were damn perfect. I sucked in a sharp breath and leveled my eyes with his, desire spreading out to my fingertips for this vampire. They itched to touch all of his skin.

I growled, “I hope your end game tonight isn’t that quick.”

Those perfect shoulders shook slightly, barely containing his amusement. But…he was still glaring down at me. His manner was a heady mixture of emotions he was throwing at me. The lord whispered slowly, “There’s nothing quick about my end game, Gwen. You’ll enjoy tonight. I have no worries there.”

His fiery red gaze lowered. Almost on me.

The heat from his flesh was better than the sun.

I shivered as his red lips landed on mine.

Decadent and sinful.

His lips were made by the devil. They had to be.

They melded against mine and consumed.

Brush after brush, he hungered. For me.

That was how it felt, at least, and I let myself drown in the heady feeling, a need of two hundred years exploding inside of me. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and dug my fingernails into his flesh, moaning against his plump lips. His tongue met mine with the same fervor I gave—and needed.

One large hand ran down my shoulder, squeezing hard enough to bruise. I relished it, arching up against his naked frame. The lord pressed back down, challenging me in strength and winning. He kept me pinned under him, grinning against my cheek when he moved from my mouth, eliciting a whine from deep within my chest.

“Hush, little one,” he whispered against my flesh. The lord peppered my cheeks, my forehead, and my closed eyes last, with reverent kisses. “I’ll give you everything you need.”

I gripped his hair with my fists, bringing his mouth back to mine. I stared up into his fiery gaze. “It’s been so long. I need—”

“I know how long it’s been for you,” he interrupted. His hair fell down around the sides of his face from my fingers messing it up, fanning my face in a curtain of deep midnight black. The lord’s lips quirked against mine, holding himself just a breath away from my mouth. “You were at Rest. Don’t doubt me. I’ll give you what you need.”

I sighed in relief and then squirmed under him. “Please hurry.”

His chuckle was deep and masculine. “Now you want it ‘quick’?”

“You know what I mean,” I grouched. I lifted my head off the fur rug and attacked his teasing mouth with mine. His resultant groan satisfied me to the marrow. “Fuck me hard, my lord. Fuck me hard.”

He groaned again. Long…and hard.

Lord Belshazzar escaped my gripping hands on his head in a blur, and then he was sucking greedily on my right breast. Hungry. Hungry for me.

I screamed in pleasure and pressed my chest up against his mouth, wanting all he had to give. “Yes, my lord!”

“Bel,” he panted, his lips moving to my other breast. “You may call me Bel.” The lord flicked a glare up at my eyes, even as his tongue made a slow glide around my left nipple. “But only when I give you permission.”

I moaned at the sensations he was inflicting on my person. “Bel, you’re a cocky bastard.”

Tiny little bites, his fangs slicing gently into my heaving breasts. He licked the blood, holding my gaze, watching as I shuddered at the crimson color coating his tongue with each lick.

The lord whispered, “I am the worst, Gwen. The sooner you learn that, the better.”

I already knew that.

I squirmed under him again. “Lower.”

“I’m getting there.” His eyes left mine and lowered to my breasts again. With gentle hands, he cupped each small globe…and squeezed brutally.

My shout echoed inside the room. A shiver wracked my entire frame, holding me paralyzed with the beautiful sensation. He could stay there as long as he wanted, as long as he kept playing my body like a dream. Too long, I had been without physical contact. An overload of senses overtook me as he sucked and nibbled and played with my breasts—as if he were as mesmerized as I was. His words and expression might be harsh, but his actions were saying otherwise. The hunger in his actions, barely banked, was on the cusp of breaking.

Then his control did break.

And I loved it.

His mouth found a new treat to torture and devour. The lord’s tongue dove into my wet channel, shoving hard into my core, as I threw my head back in pleasure, even while he was still spreading my legs wide with rough shoves.

Against my most intimate flesh, he growled in harsh demand, “Goddamn, you’re smaller than I imagined. Hold your legs for me, or I will get my fucking rope to keep them apart.”

I moaned and thrashed my head as his tongue fucked my cunt. But I managed to take over his restraining hold on my legs, brushing his hands aside absently, to grip behind my knees, and spread myself for him.

The vampire hissed in enjoyment, his fingers parting my intimate folds for easier access for his mouth. One long finger pressed up into my channel, and his tongue slid up to flick hard against my swollen clit. Again and again, he thrust his finger in time to his gifted tongue.

Damn his tongue.

Fuck his tongue.

I loved his tongue.

The heat inside consumed. The explosion bowed my back, and I screamed in pure ecstasy. A climax straight from the pearly gates jarred my entire frame, passion and euphoria thrumming through my shaking body, all my thoughts gone except for...

Fuck, this is amazing.

I clung to it, holding onto the high, never wanting to let it escape. I wanted to climb in the climax, sink my claws and fangs in, and keep it forever. Just me and his wicked tongue playing in the clouds of bliss.

But my eyes shot wide open when the blunt head of his lordy cock pressed against the entrance of my channel. His very, very large cock. When he had moved, I didn’t know—nor did I give a fuck. I whimpered slightly at the uncomfortable intrusion, wiggling under him.

My wary gaze met his.

He stalled for a heartbeat, his hair hanging down around his face again, blanketing me in the darkness. Bel swallowed hard, fighting his urge to just shove inside me, his jaw clenching as a bead of sweat trickling down his right temple. Though, in a gruff voice, he questioned with extreme slowness and calm, “Do you want me to stop, little one?”

The heart in my chest still beat a fast tempo from the pleasure he had given me…and I wanted more of it. I shook my head quickly. “No, keep going.”

His head cocked slightly and his lips quirked up, still giving me a chance to calm myself before his huge fucking cock rammed into me. He teased, “I should mention I’m not trying to get you pregnant.”

I chuckled, the tension releasing with his words. “And I’m not either. No worries there.” He hadn’t even needed to say it.

Two vamps or druids coming together?

We don’t need condoms like humans. Our prey.

We only needed our will. By both parties.

If we wanted a kid, it might happen.

It was still rare, though.

If we didn’t, then there would be no baby.

Easy and simple. Magic was a vampire’s best friend.

The muscles on his biceps flexed on either side of my head as he bent lower, his face closing in on mine. He whispered in need, “Gwen, this is going to hurt. And I’m not sorry.”

He slammed his hips forward.

I squelched the scream that wanted to escape, ending up grunting, as I curled my arms around him and thumped my hands down onto his shoulders. I held on tight as my eyes began to water. The man wasn’t even in all the way, and my channel was already stretched in agony. I sucked in a harsh breath. He needed to get inside me all the way so it would start to feel better soon.

Two hundred years… Yeah, my pussy was locked up tighter than a pirate’s treasure. A few thrusts and it wouldn’t hurt either of us so bad. And it was hurting him by the grimace he wore on his striking features.

“Sorry,” I groaned. “Just hurry up.”

He blinked slowly, his voice strangled in pain…and more than mild irritation. “The next time you finish a Rest, use a fucking dildo before you let a man inside you. Fuck… I thought you would have masturbated at least once before this! You’ve been awake for days.”

With my eyes still watering from the throbbing in my cunt, I ground my teeth together. “I’ve been kind of busy, as you damn well know. Now, are we going to keep chatting about this or what?”

He heaved out a hard breath…

Then, in a blink, I was full of him.

His cock was fully seated inside me.

My body jolted inside his hold…and I screamed.

Too full. Too full. Oh my shit, too big.

What the motherfucking hell! A devil’s cock.

He has a goddamn devil’s cock. Too big.

Too big. Too big. Too big.

Out. Out. Out. He needs to get out of me!

Someone bring me a miniature-sized dildo, please!

I kept on screaming and shaking my head.

Over my pained shouts, he growled, “Silence!”

With my chest heaving against his muscled pecs, I clamped my mouth shut and glared daggers right into his eyes. Through clenched teeth, I hissed, “You used your fucking speed.”

“Thank the devil I did too,” he snarled.

See? I knew it. Devil’s cock.

“You gave me no warning,” I complained.

“And you gave me no warning you would have a cunt the size of a goddamn snail!”

My face scrunched up in disgust. “Please don’t ever reference my lady bits like that again. It’s just gross. And rude.”

His eyes flared even redder.

All right, all right. I was pushing too far.

I hadn’t warned him.

I had wanted it too much to ruin it.

With as much decorum as I could muster, I apologized, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I’ll be honest and upfront next time.”

“Too little, too late,” he grumbled. Though, after my apology, his fury subsided in small increments until it was contained once more. He cracked his neck—much like I do occasionally—his hair brushing against the side of my face. “Just tell me I can move now.”

I wiggled my hips a smidge. I grimaced, but it wasn’t the excruciating pain I’d had before. So I nodded in affirmation. “It’s as good as it’s going to get until you move some.”

With gradual ease, his hips moved back.

We both winced. But, damn, the man stayed hard.

Devil’s cock…

The vampire had perseverance.

He never stopped. He kept going, pushing into me and gliding out. Repeating and picking up gradual speed. Eventually, his eyes flared even redder for a more pleasant reason.

Each gentle plunge lessened the horrid ache while creating a new beautiful one. The walls of my vagina unclenched from dreadful levels to sweet and succulent. My wet channel gripped him like a tight glove, every inch of his devil’s cock feeling and rubbing just right.

I groaned low, my head arching back. “Yes…”

He growled quietly, agreeing without words.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and dug my fingers into his hair, bringing his face down to mine to kiss those delectable lips.

Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.

I jerked his head back. Stopped his movements.

He merely bit his bottom lip and stared at me.

Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.

I blinked, oh so, slowly. “Well, fuck.”

Our hearts were beating in unison.

Soul mates we may not be, but we were compatible mates. If we wished it. Hearts only beat as one during sex if we were magically compatible.

His hips started moving again. A black brow arched, his words arrogant and amused, “It’s never happened to you before?”

Breathless, I shook my head, listening to our hearts and drowning in the push of his cock thrusting inside of me. “No, it never has.” My brows furrowed as I gazed up at him. “What about you?”

With a soft thrust inside me, watching as my breath caught, he reprimanded delicately, “I’m old, Gwen.” His tone had tempered—a truly caring, and not just a polite, side he hadn’t shown me yet.

My cheeks instantly flushed more than they were from exertion, embarrassed for even asking something so ridiculous. Of course, he had. Older vampires had it happen to them a few times in their lifetime.

He’d probably had it happen ten times more.

“Little one…” Bel’s lips curved into a charming smile meant to pull me from my thoughts. The man always knew what to say. He teased, “Try to focus. I’m about to screw you senseless.”

I choked on a laugh.

And then all hell broke loose.

Or the walls did.

My eyes slammed from side-to-side…

Bel stopped moving, and his forehead thumped down onto mine. With eyes closed, he grumbled quietly, “I didn’t notice the time. Dammit.”

“What is that?” I asked innocently, trying not to freak out, as I pointed to the cave walls now covered in stainless steel. It had come from the ceiling, clinking and rolling down all the way to the floor. The entire room now encased in the steel, the only area still open was the door to the bathroom and the fireplace.

He groaned and tipped his head side-to-side slightly, his forehead rubbing against mine. “It’s my new security system for my room.”

I cleared my throat. “So it’s supposed to be there?”

“Yes, of course.” His eyes opened again and held my gaze. “The bad news? You won’t be able to leave until the morning.”

“Oh.” My brows puckered. “Wait. What?”

“No one can enter or exit—without an alarm sounding—while the walls are down. Guards will rush to the hallways, other Overlords contacted—it’ll be a damn disaster.”

I stared, flabbergasted. “You can’t even leave?”

“No. I’ve earned my privacy after this many years. I have no reason to unless there’s a true emergency. I’ll be phoned if that happens and can hit the code to raise the walls—and an alarm will sound.”

I still eyed him. “That’s a flaw you should probably get fixed.”

He groaned and conceded, “Yes, I can see there are a few things that could be tweaked.”

The lord evaluated my expression. It was clear he had no idea what to do with me once we were done with “business.”

I simply stared back.

Eventually, I cracked. “So…um…maybe we could talk about this later?”

Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom.

Our heartbeats were still synced.

It was a little unnerving in the quiet.

His lips finally twitched, and he rose back up on his arms, taking some of his weight off my chest. “You are wise in your young age.”

“Oh, shut it.” I chuckled.

The man was extremely good at mocking me.

He ducked his head once more and sucked sweetly on my neck, his warm tongue licking along my quickly racing pulse.

I groaned and ran my hands down his sides, his skin smooth and misted with light perspiration. When I grabbed ahold of the globes of his ass, he moaned against my neck, his teeth nipping a little harder.

The overlord pulled his hips back and slammed into me with such force that I grunted and arched my neck further for him. He began a pounding rhythm that had my breath catching in my throat, our heartbeats racing to catch up to his pace. His massive cock filled me over and over as I held onto his flexing ass and dug my short nails in.

Bel’s supple lips found mine.

Then we shared our breaths, our kisses, along with our heartbeats.

And I had been wrong.

He didn’t have a devil’s cock.

He had a magical fucking cock. One I could ride any damn day.

Our skin slapped against each other.

The fire crackled beside us.

Another climax began to unfold.

He pressed his groin harder against my clit and sped up his pace. The walls of my channel gripped his cock with pulsing need as I flew over the damn pearly gates and landed in heaven.

I shouted against his lips in bliss. The fur beneath me tickled my back as I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight. Each spasm that tore through my body was a shock to the system, stunning and perfect blows.

Bel’s body coiled around mine.

His cock swelled inside my throbbing channel.

And he shouted, his head thrown back as he found his release. His cum scalded my core in the most pleasant rush. His resulting groan followed mine as our bodies shuddered against one another.

Just as he pulled his cock from inside me, my eyes fluttering shut in exhaustion, our heartbeats eventually separated.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

I rolled onto my side, and something tickled my face. I brushed at it, trying to shove it away as I pulled my blanket over my shoulder. My brows puckered slowly as I pulled the blanket closer to my face, to my nose, fumbling with it in my half-dozing state. Cinnamon…and minty leaves…attacked my sense of smell.

My eyes shot open.

From his perch on the couch, Bel lifted a sardonic black brow. “You slept for two hours.”

I cleared my throat and peered down at my body. While he was dressed once again in his pajamas and shirt, I was still completely naked underneath the blanket he had draped over me. My attention snaked back over my shoulder to his fireplace. At least he had put that out before covering me with flammable material.

He snorted. “Get up. We need to discuss this Challenge.”

My blue eyes found his ice blue gaze. “You’re back to Lord Belshazzar now?”

“Correct.” He tipped his head to the empty space next to him. “Come sit by me while I tell you a secret.”

I brushed my hair out of my face and pushed off the fur rug that had been bugging me in my sleep. I brought the blanket with me, keeping it tight around my body as I stood. I kept my eyes off the bookcase, even though it was clear the hidden panel was once again closed and the book I had dropped gone from the floor. I walked on quick feet and tried to look as queenly as I could…even while looking thoroughly fucked.

I sat next to him with perfect posture. My regard turned to him, and I lifted a black eyebrow of my own. “I’m here for the Challenge, my lord.”

Bored. He appeared bored watching me. “First, you need to understand this Challenge completely. It is truly simple, and yet, not. When I tell you this secret, if you ever tell anyone before events come to pass, one or all of the lords have the right to kill you. It is one of the few exceptions for royalty killing royalty. Do you understand, Gwynnore?”

I nodded solemnly. “I do.”

“Are you ready for the secret?”

“I am.”

Lord Belshazzar leaned closer to me and bent down. He pressed his warm lips to my ear…and told me a secret. A very long secret whispered on the barest heated breath. A secret that had my brows rising close to my hairline and my eyes fighting not to move away from my lap.

The overlord pulled back to stare directly into my shocked gaze. He questioned plainly, “Do you want me to repeat it, just in case you missed anything?”

I blinked. Nodded.

His mouth found my left ear once more.

The secret was told again.

Back to staring into my quickly blanking expression. “Again?”

I shook my head. Just slightly. “No, I heard it all.”

“Do you understand it?”

“I do, my lord.”

His ice blue eyes sparkled. “Are you excited?”

“This is huge. I feel like I want to puke.”

The lord’s head tipped back as he laughed loud and deep. His attention eventually returned to my statue-still person, his hilarity barely contained. Still wearing a contented grin—even as his eyes narrowed—he asked, “Are you too ill to come to bed with me, Gwen? Or would you rather sleep in the bathtub so you can be near the toilet?”

My mouth bobbed for a moment as I watched him fiddle with his leather band around his right wrist. It was thick and black. I had never seen him without it, the royal seal stamped into the leather. My eyes traveled back up to his as I sputtered, “Are you back to Bel now?”

He slid his tongue across his bottom lip, revealing a glimpse of his fangs. “Yes. For the rest of the night.”

I let my eyes turn to red, allowing him to see the simmering lust I had been hiding. “Then yes, I will sleep in your bed tonight.”

“I can respect how well you hide that.” He sounded surprised.

“Shut up, Bel.”

“Yes, little one.”

I squealed as he rushed to pick me up.

He carried me straight to the bed.

His lips were already devouring mine.

* * *

Bang. Bang. Bang!

My eyes shot wide open just as a blanket was thrust over my head. “What in the—”

A large palm shoved over my mouth, smelling of cinnamon and mint leaves, smothering my words. I didn’t bite as instinct had me keeping my fangs out of flesh at the familiar scent. Lord Belshazzar. I was in his room, naked flesh to naked flesh. I was also sleeping on top of him.

I guess his warning to stay on the other side of the enormous bed after another bout of mind-blowing sex hadn’t worked out so well.

A mere second later, the creak of a door echoed inside his bedroom. Then the guard I had spoken to before entering his room, stated, “My apologies, Lord Belshazzar. But the other Overlords are outside your room waiting for you. There’s cause for an emergency.”

Furious voices could be heard in the hallway.

I stayed completely still. It was the Overlords.

“Just let me in there, you goddamn jackass!” Lord Pippin snarled. “Step out of my way. Now!”

Lord Belshazzar’s chest rumbled under my left ear as he barked, “I’ll be out in a minute. Shut my door.”

The door snapped shut. The voices disappeared.

When no other noises flittered in the air, I carefully removed the lord’s hand from my mouth. I whispered, “You better go.”

“Fuck, I smell like you. I need to take a shower.”

I pulled the blanket down from my head and peered into his eyes through the darkness. “I’ll take that as a compliment, my lord. And thank goodness you’re fast.”

His fangs flashed in his grumpiness.

But he was suddenly gone from underneath me.

“Oomph!” I groaned as my body hit the mattress. I shouted from the bed, “Not nice!”

The water started in the shower. “And I told you to stay on the other side of the bed while we slept!”

My lips twitched. I knew he’d mention that.

Thirty seconds later, he ran into the bedroom. Butt naked and dry. How he managed that…no clue. While he rifled through one of his chests of drawers, my eyes caught on an image I hadn’t noticed before.

I blinked. “Nice tattoo.”

It was on his right hip.

The royal seal. Two swords and the crown.

He hopped into a pair of white boxer briefs, tight and snug against that magical cock. Not looking at me, still focused on his choice of clothing, he mumbled, “If you become queen, you’ll have your own too.”

My brows puckered as I snuggled further under his blanket. His bed was better than mine was. It didn’t surprise me. I asked, “Does a druid spell it to stay?”

He nodded once, almost finished dressing. “Yes, we have one we trust.”

“Hmm.” I cleared my throat. “Should I worry about whatever emergency is happening right now?”

Lord Belshazzar glanced left and right, then grabbed his cell phone where he had left it on the couch. He glanced at the screen. He sneered at whatever he read on it, his fangs gleaming in the dark. “No. It’s just Master Niallan’s friends trying to break in. Apparently, he didn’t contact them before he went to bed and no one can enter his room.”

I stared. “No wonder the others want you with them.”

He grunted and placed his phone in the pocket of his dress pants. The vampire adjusted the leather bracelet around his wrist and then peered down at his attire, double-checking his appearance. Extremely vain man. His ice blue eyes peeked up at me through his lashes while he worked on buttoning his jacket. He ordered quietly, “Wait five minutes, then exit my bedroom.”

“Will do.” I yawned so wide my jaw cracked.

“Gwynnore?”

“Yes, Lord Belshazzar?”

His eyes ran over my features. “Just checking.”

I snorted. “I’m not that young.”

“Yes, you are.” He sighed and walked toward the door. He grumbled under his breath, “I didn’t even hear the damn security system go up.”

“Flaws. Know ’em, and then fix ’em.”

“Very true. I did that earlier, in fact.” He paused at the door and flicked a finger at me. “Cover up. They know someone’s in here with me, but they don’t know who. I’d like to keep it that way.”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled the cover over my head. “Me too, my lord.”

I stayed absolutely silent.

And barely even heard him leave.

I was sure he had been just loud enough for me to hear.

CHAPTER TWENTY

~ GWYNNORE ~

I held my smarting hand close to my chest as I left Lord Belshazzar’s room. I really shouldn’t have tried to pry that hidden panel open. My fucking blood was now stained on the wood thanks to the sadistic booby trap he had left for anyone trying to open it. While I had slept for those two hours, the overlord had been busy fixing the panel.

He would know I had tried to open it.

And I didn’t care. He had known I would try to look anyway leaving me alone in there. So, basically, he hadn’t warned me and let me fall into the trap.

No. I was not cleaning up that blood.

I nodded to the guard who had kept everyone out.

The man didn’t even glance at me.

It was obvious where his loyalties lay.

With the ancient lord.

I kept moving, my feet carrying me to my apartments. Even if his bed was better, mine sounded damn fine right now. I yawned and shook out my hand, passing a random vampire.

Or…not so random.

I stopped in my tracks and pivoted.

He had done the same, standing ten feet from me.

I stared, my tone droll. “I would know that ugly mug anywhere.”

The vampire, who actually wasn’t ugly in the least, cracked a smile. “Hello, Gwen.”

“Hi, Joshua,” I muttered, reluctantly tipping my head to the formidable man in greeting. “I see you’re still slinking around the hallways at night.”

His grin widened. “I could say the same for you.”

I grunted, not wanting to agree with him.

Joshua brushed his hair out of his eyes where it had fallen. “You’re still as taciturn as you were when we were kids.”

“Well, when your friend damn near kills you, it tends to leave a sour taste in your mouth.”

He threw his hands into the air, now glowering as if I had lost my mind. “Do you know how long ago that was? Fuck, we hadn’t even reached double digits in years. And you’re still upset about that?”

“You. Almost. Killed. Me.”

“Dammit! My fangs had just come in. I didn’t realize how sharp they were!”

I pointed a finger at him. “You didn’t even go get help. You let me bleed on the damn grass.”

His chest heaved in aggravation. “I was a kid, Gwen. I was freaked out. I didn’t even know my saliva could save the day then.” Joshua crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze running over my rumpled form. “And, besides, help did arrive. You know that. You’re here today because some poor bastard found us.”

More finger waggling. “I’d blacked out by then!”

He shrugged a shoulder. “You’re here, you’re fine.”

I let my eyes flash once in warning and shooed in his direction with both of my hands—even the one that was quickly healing. I grumbled, “Just go.”

Joshua pulled his phone out of his back pocket and checked the time on it. “You’re right. I better since this conversation isn’t going anywhere. Your father will be in the office shortly.”

“Huh?” I stared.

“Your father.” He put his phone away. “I’m his personal assistant. I have been ever since he was king.”

My mouth bobbed in shock.

The vampire’s position in life had risen.

His smirk hadn’t changed since we were small. “Surprise!”

I turned on my heel and marched away. “Goodbye, Joshua.”

He laughed quietly as I retreated from him. “Don’t forget the Day of the Dead is tonight. You look like shit so might want to get some sleep before the party this evening.”

“Fuck off, Joshua!”

More snickering. “It’s good to see you too, Gwen.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

~ KIMBER ~

“You’re sure you’re fine?” Danai asked, flipping my hand over again.

“How many damn times are you going to ask her, Danai?” Dorian’s voice barked from the corner. “Of course, the girl is fine. I mean, look at that boy with her!”

Tymon crossed his legs and smirked. “What about the boy, Dorian? He glows? From a good, healthy sexual encounter.” Lifting his hand, Tymon studied it a moment. “Huh. Looks like I’m glowing a bit too.”

Danai leveled an angry look at him. “She can still be not all right and have had magnificent sex, Dorian. Stop whining or go get laid.”

I could hear his growl of disgust as he turned away.

Tymon was glowing, though, and I glanced over to Elex. He was also glowing.

Elex smirked at me. “It’s a side effect for the men when they are with their true or soul mate. Never seen it?”

I shook my head and said, “No.”

He grabbed my hand. “Druid males glow for about twelve hours. Not much.” He flashed his other hand, teasing the air with his glow. “But enough. It’s an ego boost for us.”

“You hardly need an ego boost, Elex.” I tried to admonish him, but it didn’t work because I was delighted he was glowing because of me.

“So, we’re all safe and unharmed?” Lunella asked.

Every one assented, and she sat at the table with us and the vast spread for breakfast.

“Is anyone going to explain what happened last night?” I asked, looking around the room. “We all split and went different ways after, but that was more for self-preservation than anything else. I still want to know what happened.”

“You were kidnapped, you daft—”

“Dorian!” Lunella snapped at him across the room. “She knows she was kidnapped. But with the way you act toward her, she’s clearly confused as to why you would risk your ass to save her out of a moving carriage since you’re always treating her like shit.”

“I do not.”

Tymon raised an eyebrow. “Yes, actually, you do, Dorian. You’re mostly an asshole to her. To a lot of people. So why would you risk your life to save someone you don’t like?”

“No one deserves to be taken against their will.”

“Yes,” Lunella agreed, “but Elex was already on his way. He was capable.”

Dorian huffed. “Sending a child after a child.”

“You see? You’re always being an asshole,” Tymon said.

He launched out of the chair and came at Elex and me. “Because those people are dangerous! They are deluded. They think—” His words cut off, and he snarled at me.

“I was swung off the dance floor and pulled out the door and stuffed into a carriage to be carted off into the night. I didn’t know what was going on. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to get back to the temple.”

I stood to face him. Dorian was taller than I was, by a lot, and his skin was a pale cream that reflected the morning light streaming through the windows. His hair was a white-blond halo above him. He tried to be intimidating, but he wasn’t. And I knew this after he rescued me.

“I don’t understand why you came after me. Of course, they’re dangerous. And they’re deluded. But Elex would have gotten me back.”

Realizing he couldn’t get far with his intimidation techniques, Dorian stepped back. His lip curled, and I watched him as he snatched a strip of bacon off the plate on the table. “Well, I guess, since you’ve all decided this needs to happen, I need to explain this.”

Glancing at Tymon, Dorian walked away, munching on his stolen strip of breakfast meat. His chewing was thoughtful, and it was clearly a stalling tactic, but he then continued. “The people who kidnapped you last night were a faction of dissenters. They don’t agree with the temple and how we do things here. We have protected the gate for years. We have held the mountain. We’ve nurtured and cared for the people of S’Kir.

“But there is a part of our population who do not believe that the temple is the best group of people for this job. They don’t trust us. The Lost God left us in charge, and they don’t believe we should have been entrusted.

“They, like you, are infants and don’t understand how old these plans are. How much time and planning went into setting up our society, to preserving peace and protecting the magic that flows through everything.

“To them, this is nearly a game. It doesn’t fit in the narrow world they know here. They grew here, within the protective plans of our world, and now they think they know better than me.”

I wrinkled my brow. “Than…you?”

Dorian waved me off. “Us. The temple.” He snatched another piece of bacon. “We have always kept them quiet and placated.”

“Last night was unprecedented,” Lunella continued. “We have never had these usurpers be quite so bold. We never dreamed they would try to kidnap you.”

“And they can’t have you.” Dorian’s voice was possessive and angry.

“Well, no.” A wave of confusion washed over me. “Of course, they can’t. I am an acolyte here, and Elex is part of the Education Guilds. We belong here.”

“They want you despite your alliances,” Tymon said. “It doesn’t matter. They are convinced that controlling you will control the Breaking.”

“I don’t control the Breaking.” I tossed a look between the masters in the room. “I can control a class of students, and that’s about it.”

Danai forked a few pancakes on to her plate. “No one here is sure what the Breaking will bring. We have only prepared as much as we can. We don’t know what will come. None of us. But we are ancient, and we are far more acquainted with the people and our island.”

“What we aren’t sure of,” Dorian said, “is who these people are. They have managed to stay in the underground, away from our prying eyes. So, in addition to saving your ass last night, I was hoping we would find out more.”

Most of my life, I had joked about how safe S’Kir was and how anything going even slightly off-kilter was utter dissension toward the plan.

I never thought some people spent their lives going against the will of the temple and its masters. It never made any sense. S’Kir was as close to a utopia as we could get, with happiness and health, long life and lifelong learning and friends.

Only accidents marred us. I knew those well.

I pushed some of the breakfast around on my plate while considering what he’d said. Dorian made excellent points. They were the oldest and the closest to the Lost God.

Why would anyone ever go against such a clear-cut plan designed to preserve things as they were? Our society was fun, free, intelligent, and loving. That was the way the Lost God wanted it and how the masters had set it up.

Had the masters known the Lost God?

I pushed the thought away. I still had questions about last night. “So you weren’t helping Elex?”

Dorian eye’s narrowed as he trained them on me. “Everything I do has more than just you or Elex at the heart of it. My reason for saving you, for helping your male, was many-fold. Your life was one. My information was another.”

I hated this man. He couldn’t seem to just have an honest, singular motive. “Did my imperiled life help you gain your information?”

Elex rested his hand on my arm, trying to calm me.

I was not in a mood to be calm—or calmed.

“It did, yes. Thank you.”

Danai’s head whipped up and around to find Dorian’s eyes. “Wow, Dorian. That was perhaps the most dickish thing you have ever said. To anyone.”

A casual flip of his hand dismissed her. “She asked.”

“I asked to prove you are on your own mission and not actually acting nobly to help my male rescue my kidnapped person.” It had been a very long time since I harbored this much anger toward anyone. “And you have clearly provided the evidence.”

“Do you want me to lie?” His anger came close to matching my own.

“I want you to very carefully examine your duplicity in every damn thing you do!”

“Kimber, please.” Elex’s voice was laced with worry.

“I am angry, Elex. He didn’t want to help us—he was once again helping himself. The self-serving Master of the Temple.”

“You’ve known me as nothing more than a distant master for under two months, you insolent child. You have no idea what I am or what I can do. You have no idea what my motives are or why I chose to help your male rescue you.”

“You’re right. I don’t. And I don’t ever want to.”

With an angry move, I shoved the chair back and out from under me. It flipped over, crashing onto the wooden floor, but I didn’t care.

Snapping around, I marched out of the room, through the rotunda, and out the door of the temple.

I had so much anger that I could scarcely believe it. I had to walk almost violently through the massive gardens around the temple.

Where was this coming from? I taught children, I didn’t have a mean bone in my body—at all. I didn’t want to be angry. It took too much energy to be angry.

Dorian had been noble in helping Elex save me from the carriage. What purpose did it serve to diminish that with his own agenda? I was honestly grateful for his efforts until he turned it into a ‘Dorian Festival.’

The man had a past, he had an agenda, but to dismiss my thanks as he would dismiss a servant really chapped my ass. To turn my danger into his gain?

“Kimber, wait.”

Danai was trying to catch up to me on the path. I realized how fast I had been walking and brought my pace down from ‘very pissed off’ to ‘I simply need fresh air.’

She was able to catch up in a moment. “My dear girl, you are just showing me that I need to get back into my fitness routines.” She panted for a moment, and my tension was broken with that comment.

“I am sorry, Danai. He just makes me so angry. He’s unfair and mean, and then does something noble, and squashes it in the next moment.”

Matching pace with me, she sighed heavily. “But, Kimber, that’s him. That’s who he is. He’s a brilliant man, a powerful magic master, and a complete asshole to everyone around him. You’re not an exception to his rule.”

“Why, though?”

“Because he’s thousands of years old, my dear. Thousands. He has machinations that have machinations that have plots with plans peppered with more machinations. He sees…well… We see patterns in everything. I am not young, and I see the wheels and cogs of patterns in our society. I am not yet cynical about it.

“Be warned, my dear. Many of us do have secret agendas we do not share with one another. We have lived and served under the same roof for more than a thousand years and some of us much longer. Our lives would be boring without our own agendas. If we did not keep secrets, we would be horrible people. Horrible. Worse than anything Dorian has shown you.”

I listened to the gravel crunching under our feet as we kept pace with each other. “I don’t wish to be a pawn in these games.”

Danai nodded. “I understand that. It’s noble.”

“I won’t be.”

Her hand landed on my arm. “But, my dear, you already are.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

~ GWYNNORE ~

Dia de los Muertos.

Day of the Dead.

The name was deliciously appropriate.

The Spanish sounded so romantic as it rolled off my tongue.

“The overlords moved the Blood Rite to coincide with the festival nearly a century ago.” Adelie fussed in my closet searching for something. “Everyone agreed it was just too marvelous a festival to not take advantage of. Mostly, it’s celebrated in Mexico, but there are a lot of people all over the world who love it, so we use it.”

I folded my arms. “They just up and moved the Blood Rite?”

She peered at me through the clothes. “Please. Is anything in our world done that simply?” She ducked back down. “Of course it wasn’t just up and moved. It took years of petitions, and causes and revisions, and arguments and proofs… It’s like, come on, you ancient assholes. Just realize this is a good thing. This is just another way to hide. If our Blood Rite were at the same time as the humans held Dia de los Muertos and Halloween, it was just another level of protection.”

“Halloween. Hmm. That’s the Christian usurpation of Samhain, right?”

“It is. The human witches still observe it, but most human children in the New World dress up for Halloween. It’s just so much fun that we can go freak people out during Blood Rite and not be feared.”

“They don’t fear us—”

“Perfect.” She lifted a long black shift and held it out. “And no, they don’t fear us on that one day. Show up a week later, and you’d have humans pissing themselves. But that one day, we can go out, show everything about ourselves, and they love being terrified by it.”

“Interesting.”

Adelie shook her head. “Humans are so damn weird.”

I laughed and took the dress as she held it out for me. “What the hell is this? Am I dressing up as a nun?”

“No. This is part of the celebration. Everyone wears formless black clothes and paints their faces like a skeleton. But not a regular skeleton.” Opening the computer on the desk, Adelie typed in a few words and the images of painted faces popped up. They were magnificent and colorful while still looking like the dead. “Like this. Now, the only requirement as a vampire at the masquerade is that you have to wear a red hood, but as a candidate for queen, you can do what you like as long as it’s red. I have ideas. That’s how the humans know we live in the castle. They all—”

“The humans? What?” My eyes widened. I had to have heard her wrong.

“The one day a year we invite the locals in and host a party.”

“The villagers? But it’s such a small town. Do we replace the residents every year?”

“We don’t kill them anymore. It’s not efficient. All the drinks are spiked, and the humans are delirious most of the night but happy and high. We use a drug called Molly. Ecstasy. They love it, and they are smiling and… well, you’ll see.”

She gifted me a grin that made my stomach flutter.

I had a feeling this was going to be a wonderful night.

Adelie’s makeup for my face was amazing. Using only red, black, and white, she turned my already pale skin to true white which made me look just like one of the women on the screen; I adored the symbolism. She put a black-black wig on me and tied it back with massive red satin roses, making it look as if I were wearing a crown. That, I really loved.

Helping her dress, I had to step back and let her do her own makeup since I wasn’t as good as she was. Adelie was amazing as she transformed herself into a skeleton with turquoise highlights. She managed it, so we looked nothing alike and nothing like ourselves.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

During the time we were getting ready, the castle had been transformed—I was sure by vampires who were using their speed. The walls and ceilings, draped in streamers, flowers, and balloons of vibrant shades of orange, red, and black. Little light-up ghosts in orange and purple were hung in various places. If it didn’t have a purpose, it was draped with black cloth. I had to say, the hewn rock castle stronghold, typically frightening on a bad day and depressing on a good one, was transformed into a palace that reveled in the magic, strength, and death it harbored inside its walls. Celebrating it, making it something to enjoy.

And enjoy it we would.

The humans from the nearby village, as well as some from farther away, started arriving at dark. There were impressively close to two thousand when it was all tallied. There would be plenty of food along with even more drink for them. Drinks with the concoction in it were labeled in a way the humans wouldn’t suspect.

The vampires mingled with the humans, talking, chatting...and measuring.

This was our Blood Rite.

When I was young, the Blood Rite was gory. The vampires would lure hundreds of humans to a hall or a temple and hold them in Thrall. Every vampire in the area joined in, and the night became an orgy of feeding.

The humans slaughtered and buried by the time the sun came up, while we spent the next day sleeping and recovering. It was a ritual the vampires had always performed to cull the local population and to reinforce the idea humans shouldn’t approach our strongholds, our enclaves. They didn’t know what we were or what we really did; they just knew when you found our homes, our hiding places, you were dead.

In most cases.

Some humans were brave enough to endure and capture the heart or soul of a vampire. Some of us had sought permission to turn those. If the Council denied permission, their vampire lover had to kill them that night.

We showed no mercy.

We put our victims in Thrall to shut them up. Simply to keep them from screaming.

Humans were lambs.

We were the slaughter.

As we moved through the flock of fresh warm blood, it was hard to control the desire to reach out and grab a neck. I had been warned it wasn’t like that anymore for the Blood Rite.

It was better.

What was better than being blood drunk on the night of Blood Rite?

I waited. I was nothing if not patient.

They had promised there would be a signal.

By using the flowers in my hair the way she did, Adelie had marked me as the candidate for queen. There was no mistaking the crown I wore. Several people—humans and vampires—laughed and bowed. I nodded at them as I passed, making a note of the delicious necks I saw around me. There were half a dozen large rooms for me to walk through, observing the people around me and how they interacted. There was one room for the food, another for the tables, one for dancing, one for mingling, and one with dozens of plush couches, chairs, and chaises. Vampires and humans were everywhere.

I laughed in delight at the situation.

Before my Rest, there wouldn’t have been mixing. It would have been brutal drinking, gorging on blood. This was far more entertaining, and I was quick to understand why they had all fought to change the Blood Rite from a messy, gory affair to this subtle dance.

I waited.

All of the humans were drinking. Someone was chugging the punch they had been offered. It didn’t take long for me to start seeing the drink take effect on the humans. They were smiling, giggling, touching. The sense of affection notched up and up in the rooms where the party was held. There were fewer and fewer humans in the dining room.

The five overlords appeared at the entrance, wearing all black. There was no mistaking their arrival as they filled the room with their presence, washing over everyone with a not quite Thrall feeling for the humans.

Adelie found me standing in the doorway seconds later, and smirked.

A moment later, she let her fangs drop.

She pounced on the neck of the human she had been talking to and teasing.

The signal was given, but to my delight, the vampires didn’t strike at the humans as one. It was far more drawn out. I realized, as a people, the vampires had become more subtle, wielding their thirst and power as a precise tool, a surgical instrument. The Blood Rite had been gory and grossly sexual without the sex. This Dia de los Muertos was meant to be lascivious, a dance of seduction and satisfaction for both human and vampire.

There was no more death associated with the Blood Rite. The name was now fanciful.

I watched for a while, the vampires waiting for their human companions to start falling further under the spell of the drugs. It wasn’t long before a lot of them were sipping from wrists as well as necks.

Adelie led her choice human by me. “The part I didn’t tell you earlier was there is something about the drug in the human system that affects us through our blood.” She turned and pulled the handsome man down to kiss him hard. “The sexual desire goes through the roof, and it just fucking feels amazing. Get yourself a human, Gwen. Take them for a ride. This is so much better than killing them.” She pulled the man along, and I could see he was completely erect behind the shapeless robe.

Well.

Scanning the room, I found a few of the very handsome men I had spotted earlier and headed for my number one choice. He was of medium height with a dark complexion and light hair. An unusual combination with his night black eyes, but I could see he was well hung, and while I didn’t plan to use that, it was good to know.

Grinning as he saw me approach, he gave me a serious full-court bow. “Hello to you this evening.” His Spanish was a delectable sound as it rolled past his lips.

I stepped into him and wrapped a hand around his neck. “Good evening to you, too,” I answered in kind. “Are you enjoying the party?”

“More now that I’ve got you here. I was watching you all night, thinking about how much I would enjoy your lips…,” he leaned down to my ear, “...and your breasts.” He grazed over the top of my nipple, and I felt it pucker. How my nipples hadn’t been erect already with the scent of sex in the air, I didn’t know.

Pulling him down, I kissed him. Soft and sensual and liquid—he was a damn good kisser. He tasted like the punch, sweet and bitter at once. I let him enjoy my mouth as I took my light pleasure from the kiss.

I nipped his tongue with my fang. He didn’t seem to notice, but the taste of blood danced across mine, and I waited for a moment to get a proper taste of him. Once I had a little mouthful, I swallowed.

The shock rolled through me. Adelie had been right. There was something in their blood that transmuted the drug for us and made it taste sweet, succulent, and sexual. It dropped right to my pussy, and it was going to take a miracle for me to stick to my ‘not having sex’ pledge.

I drove a fang into his tongue, piercing him enough to feed myself, and pinned him there against me. I waited for a mouthful of his blood and swallowed. And again and again. It was deliberate and careful, and the consuming feeling of ‘fuck him’ drove through me with each taste.

Even better, he was nonplussed by the fact I was drinking his blood. He smartly had kept his throat closed, tipping his head toward me. All the wonderful, sweet liquid dripped into my mouth.

I couldn’t use only this man. I needed more of the sweet wine of blood they had created in the humans here. It wasn’t fair to hog him, either. Some other male or female deserved to taste him and ride him and give him his release.

So many to choose from…

A swipe of my tongue over his sealed the fang puncture and I pulled back.

“Graçias, señor. There are many others here who should have the pleasure of your company. Find one, and let them enjoy you as thoroughly as I would.”

He took my hand and kissed the back of it, leaving a little imprint of the blood on his lips. “If you have need of me later…” He smiled and moved away.

The scent of sex was in the air, and I walked toward the room with the couches. I hadn’t truly understood why it was there. I assumed it was much like a renaissance parlor, where there would be discussion and flirting. I also suspected I was wrong. My suspicion was confirmed when I walked in and witnessed every single body in the room writhing in the pursuit of climax.

Holy yes.

It was heady, and I was ready to just pin someone against the wall and have him take me and get this over with. But I wanted to show I was better than the base instincts of our race.

Proving that was going to be a real bitch.

There was another one of the men I had picked out. He was sitting on a couch watching his friend as a vampire was riding him. He was clearly enjoying the show they offered him, and I thought how this would be a good place for me to take my next drink.

Walking up behind him, I smiled at the woman mounted on the human. She bowed her head and then rolled her eyes as she clearly hit a good spot. “He’s yours for the taking,” she managed to whisper a moment later. “I have my toy right here between my legs.”

“I see that.” I smirked and wrapped my arm around the watcher. I used my other hand to turn his head to the side to make my access easier. Mesmerized by the show, he barely acknowledged me.

I sank my fangs into the tender flesh. The first mouthful almost drove me to orgasm, and I pulled harder, but then I forced myself to let the blood drip down my throat. I would be blood drunk and stuck with a dead man if I gave in to it.

It was easy to see, as I sipped this perfect man’s blood, why they didn’t want to kill anyone anymore. There were males and females throughout the room who clearly waited for this night to reconnect with a human whose blood had called to them. The Blood Rite was the chance for people to resample the tastes of those who had intrigued them. It wasn’t unusual for a vampire to find a human they found particularly tasty. In ages past, those humans were captured and turned into blood slaves. No more—this was the replacement for that. Blood freely given tasted better than chained chattel, even if we did still have those.

This man was wonderful on the palate. I could feel the slight tingle of actual drunkenness slipping through my veins. He groaned as I drank—and that didn’t help me, especially as I felt him grinding against the couch arm where he was perched.

I pulled back from his vein and whispered in his ear, “Go ahead. Take your cock out. Pleasure yourself.”

He eagerly pulled his hard cock out and fisted himself. I paid him no mind and went back to just tasting him, taking my pleasure from his flavors. I could feel his body moving, and it took all I had to not hop up on the couch arm with him and grind myself to orgasm. His body sparked hot a few moments later as I gifted him a particularly deep draw from his vein.

He shuddered as he came, and the flavor of his blood changed again.

This drug was marvelous.

Trying to turn his head, I held him still and sealed my bite. “Thank you. Quite tasty, young man. You’ll find another tonight who will bring you more pleasure. Put your cock away, and enjoy yourself finding her.”

How debauched could I get without actually finding my own dick to ride? Could I hold out the whole night? Or would I end up riding the couch arm…or maybe a convenient hand?

I made it a personal challenge.

Adelie was on a couch in the far corner, her costume disheveled and hiked up. It wasn’t quite enough to show her off to the world, but the world wouldn’t have cared at that moment. Most of them were doing exactly the same thing she was. She had picked a very good specimen, and she was enjoying herself. Thoroughly.

“Oh, Gwen.” She sighed. “You should taste this one. I waited for him this year. The way the punch makes him taste…” Her undulations over this man never stopped as she spoke, and for someone who could be shy—for a vampire—about her sexual proclivities, I wondered how much of the drugged blood she’d had.

I smirked. “Save him for me.”

She put a hand on my arm to stop me from walking away. “No, taste him. Now.”

“You’re…” I raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

“Mmm. He’s tasty, and he needs to come. I’ve finished three times up here.”

I giggled. She was very, very drunk.

I sat next to the man on the couch and checked him out. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but there was something about the strong features that was highly appealing. He had a lustful look in his eyes, stuck there almost. He was enjoying Adelie as much as she was enjoying him.

I stated conversationally, “My friend tells me your blood is delicious.”

He smiled. “She said the same to me. I do know her pussy is amazing.”

I took his arm and put it on my lap, deciding I would wind him up first. Lazily tracing circles around the skin on his wrist, I sought out the pulse with my finger first, and then slowly stroked my thumb over it. Bringing the wrist to my mouth, I changed from circling with my finger to using the tip of my tongue to create the same pattern. His breath beat in his chest as he watched me, his eyes wide.

Moving from the tip of my tongue to the broader part, I licked the salt from his skin. Even that tasted good, and I suspected I’d had a lot of blood, as well. Dropping my fangs as he watched, I scraped across his skin to where my thumb hadn’t stopped stroking his pulse and then pressed them down to the vein just below his skin. I wrapped my lips around the small wounds and pulled lightly on his blood.

“Sh-sh-shit,” he stuttered, and his eyes rolled back and closed. “Oh, shit. Again.”

With the taste of his blood, I had no problem complying. He was the flavor of perfectly prepared chocolate soufflé. A raspberry cream. A chocolate sorbetto. A hint of the finest figs, all with an underlying scent of male and man. This one probably had a vampire sire in his family somewhere, and they were long, long down the line, but the spice there was unmistakable.

“Oh, fuck yes,” he hissed.

I licked between each hard draw. He gasped and thrashed anew. This one liked a touch of pain with his pleasure, and I was happy to help. Adelie’s breathing sped up with her fourth approaching orgasm, and I wanted him to give her the best climax.

I drove my fangs in deep and drew on his vein as hard as I could without breaking him.

He screamed and thrust upward.

The blood taste altered once again to let me know he had come.

Adelie yelped with her own climax.

I sucked at his wrist as the two of them wrung the sex from each other.

This time, I sealed his wrist for good and laid it across his chest.

Adelie collapsed on top of him. “Mm. Gwen. Isn’t he wonderful?”

“Oh, I can see you enjoyed him.” I patted her on the shoulder as she made herself comfortable. “Don’t forget to go to bed at some point, Adelie. We have a Challenge tomorrow.”

“Mm.” She groaned as she looked at the man underneath her. “Get hard again, Rinaldo. I want to go again.”

I laughed as I walked away. Poor Rinaldo. He would be so sore tomorrow and have very little to remember for it. Adelie would probably leave him some nice memories, though. She loved her little human pets.

I meandered through the rooms, looking at the faces of the humans and vampires, some engaged in simple drinking, other in more torrid sex acts. There was nothing short of an orgy in another corner of the room. I started to count the bodies and laughed when I got to ten, and I wasn’t done. I gave up trying to count. They were moving too much and were enjoying the pile they were in.

When I spotted Cato in a different corner, with a woman who looked frighteningly like my mother, I had to leave the room before my night was spoiled.

I walked through the now virtually empty dining room to the dance floor. More humans and vampires to watch, and I did revel in this. Adelie had been right. This was a much better version of the Blood Rite. Everyone, even the humans, was enjoying themselves.

I wanted to throw myself into the utter debauchery of the show, but I had a Challenge the next morning and waking up still drunk and probably sore, was a bad idea. I permitted myself one more human, though.

Watching the bodies swirl and loop, I spotted a few men who interested me. They were all starting to look tired, and it was going to be time to either bed them for real or send them home. I wanted one that was not overly tired.

A man on the other side of the dance floor caught my eye. He wasn’t tall, and he wasn’t breathtakingly handsome, but as Adelie’s Rinaldo, something was interesting and alluring about him.

Crossing the dance floor, I took his hand. “A dance, sir?”

He spun me out onto the floor and pulled me back into his arms. “With a gorgeous woman like you? Of course.”

I smiled, humored by his flamboyant words.

“You are utterly beautiful.”

I laughed. “I am wearing makeup.”

“I can see it in your eyes.”

I let them spark red. “Can you?”

“Mierda, that’s hot. How did you do that?”

“Come closer, I’ll tell you.”

I quirked my lip in a smile as he lowered his head to my mouth.

Sinking my fangs into his neck, I drew on his vein—

I jumped back away from him in the next instant, and spit the blood all over his face.

Poison.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

~ GWYNNORE ~

The human was poisoned.

I stared at him, horrified.

In the next second, he fell to the floor dead. Someone had been controlling him, keeping him alive until someone took a taste.

No, I corrected myself as I could still taste his blood on my lips, not just someone. Me. They’d found a man they knew I would find attractive and made sure he was in my path.

Moving to the wall, and keeping it to my back, I stared at the melee. There had to be someone in here who hated me or wanted me dead. The blood had been made with killing me in mind, I just knew it. It would be my luck. And they kept the human alive for me.

Were they still here?

I stuck to the edge of the room, my vampire senses as acute as I could force them—with all the drunken blood in my body. I was glad I hadn’t thrown myself into the revelries. I’d be dead if I had. Moving quickly into the mostly empty dining room again, I put my ass in a chair and my back against the wall.

Poisoned human. They were trying to kill me.

Who were they? Who would try to kill a candidate when they were still in the trials? More than one of us had failed and died, or failed and been sent away, so it wasn’t as if the possibility of me dying wasn’t a factor already.

I wanted to enjoy this day.

I wanted to win my own personal challenge—and now it had all been tainted.

“Where the hell did she go?”

Somehow, I knew the whispered question just on the other side of the wall was about me.

“I don’t know! She slipped away. I expected her to go toward the door, and instead, she disappeared.”

Did I know these voices?

“We have to find her. She has to die.”

“I fucking know that, asshole! I don’t know where she went. She spat the blood back out, and now she knows we’re here. Come on. Let’s check the rooms outside the celebration. Fuck, why didn’t that work?”

I heard their footsteps as they started to walk away, and I stood to follow. But with the way my hair was styled, there would be no mistaking me for anyone else. I pulled the wig off and grabbed a human close by, stripping her cloak off and shoving the mass of hair into her hands.

Putting her in Thrall for just a moment, I had the woman put the wig on as I pulled the cloak on and swished away after the footsteps. I could see the two people who had been talking moving quickly away from me, sweeping and searching the crowd. Lifting the side of my shift, I pulled out the short sword I carried when I was leaving the stronghold.

The two figures, weaving through the oblivious crowds, met up with a third and fourth person.

One snapped, “Where is she?”

The woman, who had originally been looking for me, turned around and scanned the crowd, glancing right over me because I was wearing the black cloak and had lost the hairdo. I stifled my gasp and turned to watch from the corner of my eye.

Hortensia. I knew her. She was the candidate prospect one step below me. If I had said no to the trials, then she would have been the candidate. She was a horrible hag, no matter how beautiful she appeared.

I never considered the other potential candidates would want to kill me. But it made sense. Kill me off, and they moved up to a candidate. They’d be closer to being the queen.

Hortensia, though? She was just pathetic.

I glanced again and caught a flash of another pale face in another cloak.

It was her daughter. The nasty child named after the goddess of wisdom. Athena.

Well, well. Her daughter wasn’t so pathetic. She was ruthless and intelligent.

This was double bad.

Even if I won the throne, Hortensia would never stop trying to win. She was going to try to kill me. Either I could walk away and hide in my room, or I could take care of my business right here, right now.

This was a show of my own strength.

Someone had to die for this transgression. Going after Athena seemed wrong because she might just be her mother’s pawn in this. So I had to go after her mother, then.

The four offenders were on the move again.

Athena veered in a different direction with one hooded figure.

Hortensia stayed close to the other in a cloak.

I moved closer to hear over the music what they were saying.

“Your daughter fucked this up.”

“Shut up, Umar. She’s nothing without me, and you know that. You sent her off to control the human, and you didn’t tell me. I would have insisted one of us keep an eye on her. She is still young, no matter how smart she is.”

“You think she’ll do whatever you tell her, Tensia?”

“Yes, she will. She’s my creation, and she knows it. She doesn’t care for the crown, but she understands I do. All I have to do is kill that twat and mate with Nial.” Her head moved again, scanning the room for my flowers and hair. She gave a pouty stomp of her foot. “Where the hell did that bitch go?”

Umar snorted. “You’ll never control Niallan. You know that. He will string you up by your toes and drain the blood from your groin so you can drown in it as it fills your nostrils.”

Her face twisted. “Must you be so gross?”

“I’m a vampire, you stupid cunt. Lest you forget, I regularly rip throats for pleasure.”

“Hunting.” She shivered in revulsion. “Oh, there! There she is!”

The two of them marched into the parlor where there were a lot more vertical bodies around to hide my smaller stature. I saw the hair and flowers moving happily through the crowd, stopping to say hello to people, and bobbing on.

Hortensia and Umar were watching and closing in on my wig and flowers. They were careful and stuck to the darkest shadows. They got very close before they made their move to grab the woman wearing my hair.

Umar wrapped an arm around the waist of the woman and pulled her back into the dark. I could still see the flash of steel, a dagger at her throat. He hissed, “Hello, Gwynnore.”

The poor woman was startled and terrified, and I made my move.

I wrapped my arm around Hortensia’s shoulder. “Why, hello, Tensia. How are you?”

I poked the sword into her back, delight spreading through my blood as she gasped in shock.

Umar spun, dragging the woman around with him. He was clearly stunned.

I grinned at him. “Did you really think I would be that vulnerable after tasting poisoned blood and watching the man die on the dance floor?”

“You bitch,” Hortensia ground out.

“Me? You sent a poisoned human into the Blood Rite. How many vampires are now dead because they tasted him before the poison was fully bloomed, huh? You don’t deserve the crown you covet, and you sure as hell haven’t earned it.”

“Let her go,” Umar demanded. “I’ll kill this little human bitch.”

“You mistake me for my friend.” I snorted. “I don’t make pets of humans.”

He drew the knife across her neck, and she dropped to the floor, gurgling her last breath through her gouged throat. I stared at him standing there, licking the knife as he smirked. Umar asked candidly, “And you’re not bothered by that?”

“Not even remotely.” I wasn’t sugary sweet and shit.

He pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. “How about this?”

I twitched an eyebrow. “I don’t know… How about this?”

I drove the long knife up into Hortensia’s back, up through her heart, and out through her breastbone with a shattering crack. Umar pulled the trigger when the knife poked out of her chest, but I merely moved Hortensia’s limp body into the trajectory, and the bullet lodged in her brain.

I proceeded at vampire speed, yanking the knife out, letting her nearly lifeless body fall to the ground. I spun and whirled the blade up at an angle at Umar. I sliced clean through his neck before he even released his finger from the trigger. His head just sat there on his shoulders, his permanent expression in death one of surprise.

I grinned and nudged his head off his body, watching as it fell and rolled away from me, stopping with dead eyes staring at me.

Grabbing Hortensia’s body, I lifted it up at an angle and sliced her head clean off in an easy move, and kicked it over to rest next to Umar’s—side-by-side, their lifeless eyes gazed up at me.

Failures. The both of them.

Athena and the other companion stood mere feet away, their mouths agape.

The companion lifted his hands as if he were going to move against me.

I whipped the bloody knife up. “Try it. The aesthetic would be even better with a third head staring dead at the ceiling.”

The room erupted in applause. The humans watching had thought it was all a show for their entertainment, so I whipped around and bowed to them, accepting the praise for something they didn’t even understand. As I turned to leave again, I found Lord Otto and Cato standing in the shadows, three body lengths away, their expressions void of any emotion.

Apparently, they had been spying.

And they had let me handle it.

I threw the knife on the floor in front of them. “Clean up on aisle ten.”

Someone’s muscled arm wrapped around my waist from behind, lifting me off my feet.

Then I was yanked away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

~ KIMBER
~

Jallina sat at our usual spot in the coffee shop.

She jerked her head up when I sat down and gave me the biggest grin I had seen from her in months. “Kimber? That’s really you?”

“Certainly is, Jallina.”

She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “I’ve missed you these past few weeks.”

Nodding, I squeezed her hand back. “I have missed you, too. It’s been a while since I’ve had time to do…anything.”

A small, proud smile danced across her lips. “You are quite the celebrity around here.”

Laughing, I sat back in the chair and shook my head. “I don’t mean to be.”

Once I ordered my coffee, Jallina sat forward and wrapped her hands around her mug. “Are you still teaching?”

I shook my head. “No. They took me off that duty a while ago. I train with magic most of the time now. I don’t even know why. And you? What are you doing?”

“Same thing I’ve always done. Organize the shelves and books in the library. Though they have me checking the returns now as well, for damage, so life got a little more exciting.”

“Baby steps, Jallina. You’ll get to director eventually.”

Her eyes were fixed on the coffee foam in her cup, and she grunted. The mood at our little table changed immediately.

“Is something wrong?”

“No…”

My head tilted in curiosity and I waited.

A deep sigh preceded Jallina’s explanation. “Everything has changed now, Kimber. You and Elex are not around because you’re off being important at the temple, but the rest of us have splintered apart. And not for the reasons you think. Not because you and Elex were the glue of the group—”

I laughed. We weren’t. We so very much were not.

“But we have changed. Our group has…morphed.”

“Morphed?”

She swirled the coffee this time and nodded slowly. “Morphed. Like rock under pressure. I guess none of us ever saw it because we were young and used to each other. Once you and Elex disappeared up to the temple, we all came to odds.” A little chuckle escaped her. “Drez and Milgran came to more than odds. I think they are both still sporting black eyes.”

“What on S’Kir happened?”

“The temple, if, she looked through the coffee shop before looking back at me. “Let’s talk elsewhere. There are ears here.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t reassured. There were ears everywhere. I didn’t understand why she was so worried about being overheard, either.

Passing a dozen other little shops after paying for our drinks, Jallina stopped in front of a door that had nothing more than a mark in the corner.

I knew the mark well. It was the mark of the temple.

Jallina gave a furtive glance up and down the street before she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It was as though I had stepped back into the temple I had walked away from angrily just an hour ago. The smells, the sights, the lighting. Everything was familiar. “What is this place?”

My friend didn’t answer right away. She swept her coat off her shoulders and hung it up before motioning for me to do the same.

She led me, still quiet, into the depth of the room and sat at a table. I sat down across from her, the question still hovering between us, unanswered.

A young man, dressed as an acolyte in the main temple, hurried over.

He gasped when he saw me and dropped into a deep bow.

“How may I serve you, Lady Raven, Mistress Topir?”

“Two coffees,” Jallina answered, and the acolyte disappeared.

When had I started thinking of acolytes as separate from myself?

Jallina finally answered my question. “This place is an outlier temple. It is a safe house, a place where people come if the temple is too far for them to walk or they fear something between here and there.”

My face must have given me away.

“You didn’t know about these, did you?”

“No. Not at all.”

Tracing a pattern in the wood of the table, Jallina took a moment to gather her thoughts. “When they call us infants, Kimber, they are right. We may be closing in on our first century, but we do not know the ins and outs of this world. There are still a lot of things we won’t know for a long time.”

I put a hand to my head. “I just had this conversation.”

“What?”

“With Mistress Danai. It’s why I walked away from the temple for a while. I needed to clear my head.”

“She’s right if that’s what she told you.”

The acolyte placed the mugs of hot, rich coffee on the tabletop between us and left a plate of sugars and creamers.

In companionable silence, Jallina and I made our coffees the way we liked, the way we had left them at the coffee shop.

I took in the room around us a little bit more.

It looked a lot like the temple but was clearly not meant for dedications and prayers alone. The room was more functional, more welcoming.

Certainly, much more versatile, as evidenced by the delicious coffee.

“What happened?” My quiet words didn’t seem to break our pleasant silence too uncomfortably.

“There were arguments. When Milgran realized you were the one at the temple and spreading the news of the Breaking Times, he was… angry.” Jallina snorted in the coffee impolitely. “Well. Perhaps angry was an understatement. He was furious. He was at a loss for words, and he wanted to…”

She cleared her throat, trying to put off what she was about to say.

I waited.

“He wanted to go there and…kill you. At first. He calmed enough within a few moments to amend that to take you away from the temple, but Drez and I heard the words leave his lips.”

A week before, a day before, I would never have believed that Milgran would say such a thing. Either sentiment, killing or kidnapping.

I was now a day older and wiser.

What a difference a day made.

I stalled, then took a sip of the coffee, enjoying the warm, delicious drink as it spread through me. I savored it for just one moment longer, relishing everything that was innocent and pure just one more time as I got ready to admit that my own innocence and purity were ending.

“None of that surprises me.”

Jallina’s head snapped up, then hung a moment later.

“So they did try to take you last night.”

This time, my head snapped up. “What do you mean? How do you—”

“Mil wasn’t quiet about his plans and where his ideals were aligning. And they weren’t with you and the temple, for sure.”

I was aghast. “You knew he was going to try to kidnap me?”

Was one of my oldest friends lying to me?

Was she baiting me?

Why had she not come and told me they were going to try that?

Disgusted, I stared at the coffee.

It lost its taste suddenly.

My taste for my company was also lost.

Jallina’s head shook in the negative. “Not him. The group he has been showing more than a passing interest in. He was…enthusiastic about the idea that they were going to take you from the temple and teach you how the temple is wrong.”

“Why would I ever be convinced the temple is wrong? I am…was an acolyte. I serve the Lost God. I have since we were children, and he’s known me since I was a child!”

Another pregnant pause filled the air. This one was not uncomfortable, merely long and laden with things Jallina wanted to say.

“Remember I said we were children and really didn’t have a clue? It all comes down to that. We don’t know this world as well as others do, and we certainly never knew about Antithesis.”

My hand flew up to a hold position.

“Who?”

“Antithesis. They are the ones who tried to take you last night. The one Milgran has joined.”

Working my jaw, I puzzled out the name as I stared into the coffee. Finally, I looked up. “That’s a stupid name.”

Jallina burst out laughing. “Right?!”

“They also missed.”

Still chuckling, she gestured to me sitting there. “Clearly. What did they do? How did you get away?”

From that question alone, I knew that she had not had enough prior knowledge of the attempt. My stomach settled quickly. “They danced me out the door.”

Her face froze in a blank expression for just a moment, and then her whole countenance exploded in laughter.

“They did what?”

“Danced me off the floor.” I smirked. “Honest. They cut in on Elex and me, and I was slowly danced over to the opposite doors and then dragged from the room.”

I relayed the night’s excitement to my friend, the new knowledge of who they were shedding new light on the whole incident.

One of my own friends associated with these people.

“Are you all right now, though?” Jallina asked.

“I am. I was fine just moments after Elex and Master Dorian had me away from the carriage. I wasn’t really frightened, just confused. I mean, one minute I’m dancing and the next…”

A sigh left her lips. “You and Elex?”

My cheeks flamed red when I realized how obvious I’d made it to her that Elex and I weren’t merely friends. “Me and Elex.”

“I’ve heard he’s an animal in bed.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

She smiled. “I’m jealous, really. I’ve always had a soft spot for him… and I had hoped.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

She shook off her reverie. “So, let me continue. After Milgran lost his mind about you and joined up with Antithesis, Drez and I wanted to get away from him without actually losing contact in case he did have a big mouth. I do wish I had realized he was quite serious when he told us they were going to try to steal you.

“In any case, Drez and I found that, after some introspection, we preferred to trust that which we know well. The temple.

“Someone in the coffee shop we were just in overheard us and introduced us to this place and others like it around the city.”

“That’s why you wanted to get out of the shop.”

Jallina nodded. “Yes, because as he, Seforin, explained, both the Outlier Temples and Antithesis use the shop to recruit.”

“And if they knew I was there—”

“They might come after you. Here, they won’t. And if they do, there’s a door at the back where we can get you out.”

“This is too much intrigue for me.”

“And we are just at the tip of the iceberg. Infants.”

I inclined my head, realizing that the word was not so much an insult as a warning that we didn’t have enough experience to understand everything yet.

Her hand rested on mine a moment before she spoke again. “We trust the temple. Milgran has no idea that we’ve chosen a side different from his.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “You want to be a spy?”

She tipped her hand. “Maybe a little. Maybe not go out on difficult missions, but I would not be opposed to slipping you and the temple a note to let you know we’ve heard something.”

“Having a note from my friend show up at the door wouldn’t be suspicious.”

A grin spread on Jallina’s face. “Exactly.”

I tapped a finger on the tabletop. “This could be dangerous.”

“Did you ever even suspect such an underground in S’Kir? It’s no more dangerous than the Breaker clearly aligning with the temple immediately, and seemingly, without thought.”

My lip twitched. “The Breaker?”

“The Breaker of the Spine.” Her eyebrow went up severely. “You teach the stories, Kimber. You must know about the Breaker of the Spine.”

I had never heard the phrase. I didn’t want to tell her that. It was a terrible omission in my education if I hadn’t, and it was this important. “Oh, yes. Of course. Sorry. I was focused on Antithesis.”

“So you won’t make it publicly known to Milgran that you’re aligned with the temple.”

“Not at all.”

Wrapping her hands around her mug of coffee once more, Jallina took a deep draught, and I could see the warmth comforted her.

I took on all the chill of the room at that moment.

A sigh escaped before I gave her my firm answer.

“Yes, then. Yes. Please send me information on them. And Milgran. But never at personal risk to you.”

“We must be seen together occasionally. Coffee, shopping, even visiting one another.”

My eyebrow went up this time. “You’ve thought about this.”

Trying not to smirk, she couldn’t quite school her expression. “S’Kir isn’t exactly the most exciting place. We’re happy, we’re content, but even a calm soul like mine needs an adventure once in a while.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “This is probably more adventure than you really want to experience, Jalli.”

She waved me off with a flick of her wrist. “Feh. I’ll grow old and stale like my books if I don’t do something to help you and the temple.”

I let the words hang there a moment. In the next, I gave her a warning. “Just remember, we don’t know the game, never mind all the players. This is for keeps now.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

~ GWYNNORE ~

I somehow pulled my gun out and attempted to bring it up to the head of the person dragging me away.

Master Niallan slapped it away. “What the hell is your problem?”

“Someone just tried to kill me, you assbag.”

He dropped me to my feet and pushed me out the door of the celebration rooms and into the foyer. “You just beheaded two influential vampires in front of all of the castle and two thousand humans!”

Ugh. The Original was talking to me.

I tried to play nice. It wasn’t going to get any better with him, the situation not changing. He was the possible candidate for King.

So I acted like I gave a damn what he had to say.

Holstering the gun, I shrugged. “They thought it was a show. They’re all drunk and horny anyway. What do they care as long as they get laid and get more of the punch?”

“You should be more concerned about the vampires who just saw you behead an old vampire and her companion—possibly friends of theirs.”

“Then they chose the wrong friends.”

“Don’t be fucking flippant!” He jerked a finger at the room. “Those vampires are going to want retribution.”

I stared him dead in the eye. “That was retribution. They fed me and who knows how many other vampires poisoned blood. Blood, dying blood from laudanum. If the corrupted blood doesn’t get them, the poison will.”

He paused. “Fuck. Why didn’t you lead with that?”

“Because I’m positive Lord Otto and Lord Cato knew what was happening. I didn’t need to tell anyone. They already knew and wanted to see how I would handle it. And, besides, everyone in that room is blood drunk and screwing whatever they could grab!” I tore my arm out of his grip. “I should have done the same. I should have had a nice dick in there, got drunk off the blood, and had a good night instead of trying to keep myself sober and rational for my Challenge tomorrow.”

My feet pounded hard against the rock floor as I turned to march away from him.

Growling, he caught up with me. “Regardless, you caused a scene in there that didn’t need to happen. If the overlords knew, then you should have let them handle it. So what the hell is your problem?”

I glanced at him. “Back there? Hortensia. Now? You.”

“What kind of bullshit answer is that?”

“There’s nothing bullshit about it.”

“Are you drunk? Or just this childish?”

I ground my teeth together, a fleeting embarrassing flush staining my cheeks. “I was surrounded by two thousand willing humans! You think I didn’t partake?”

“Didn’t anyone—”

“For shit’s sake, Master Niallan—”

“Call me Nial.”

“Whatever. As you wish. But, like I was saying, I’m not childish like you said. I just didn’t expect to have an attempt on my life during the Blood Rite. So, yes, I enjoyed myself.” I growled under my breath, conceding one issue. “Maybe a little too much.”

“You’re a stupid girl, you know that?”

“And you’re an asshole. And now, I’m probably not even going to find a couch arm to rub off on thanks to this mess.”

“Why the hell would you rub off on a couch arm?” His anger was gone, replaced with confusion.

“Because I’m a candidate, and I’m not just going to sit and spin on any old unknown dick that points my way, no matter how blood drunk and horny I am!”

“Are you horny?”

“Oh for—” I started to walk away and then trudged right back. “I had one guy come while I was drinking, and I helped another come while my best friend rode him. Do you think I’m horny?”

“You really want to take a ride on a dick, don’t you?”

I muttered, “Go away.”

Lifting an eyebrow slowly, he considered me. “I wouldn’t mind getting laid.”

I tripped over my own feet, barely catching myself from taking a header into the floor. With my arms braced out away from my body, steadying myself, I cast a glance at him from the corner of my eye.

Oh. My.

Play it cool, Gwen. Play it cool.

I choked on a laugh and started walking. “Be careful. I might have taken that as an offer.”

He followed, his hands shoved into his pockets. A little smile curved the edges of his mouth as he stared at the ground. Quiet. Oh so quiet. He asked with casual curiosity, “And if it was?”

Although I still couldn’t stand this asshole, if I were ever looking for an opening into his life…

I muttered, “I think it would make for an interesting fuck.”

“That’s very true.”

I peered in his direction, not hiding the direction of my gaze as I blatantly checked out his impressive form.

“You’re thinking about my dick.” He smirked.

“Oh, you think about that enough for everyone in the stronghold. You don’t need my help.” I turned my regard back to where I was walking.

A magical cool breeze tickled my neck, which was one thing, but when it focused in and pinched my nipple, I turned and growled, “Keep your magical mitts off my tits, you shit.”

“She’s a poetess!”

“Fuck off.”

His voice was right in my ear. “I’d rather fuck you.”

With a sidelong glance, I sized him up again. I was still wet and wanting from the Blood Rite. But I couldn’t stand this arrogant buffoon. “You’re serious?”

“If you’re interested in finding a bed and not a hallway.”

“And what if I like fucking in hallways?”

“I’ll have to reconsider my offer and find a hallway.”

Oh. He wanted me.

This was a motivating development.

I hummed softly. “Find me a bed, then.”

I could do this. I could.

He magically tweaked my nipple again, but this time didn’t let go. “I think I can manage that.”

The magic continued to caress my nipple, flutters of sensation curling my toes. I wiggled my shoulders. It tickled, and not in a horrible way either.

“Stop that.”

Grinning, Nial took the lead, his magic finding the second nipple as we walked.

I didn’t mind walking behind him.

He had very nice broad shoulders.

His attitude, though, left a lot to be desired.

It took me only a moment to realize we were heading to his bedroom. That was a bold move, but if it meant I wouldn’t be bent against a wall, I was all for it.

I waited silently behind him as we stopped in front of his door. Though, my eyes flicked in the direction we had walked from when a flash of darkness caught my eye. My attention stalled for a heartbeat.

At the end of the hall…

Lord Belshazzar rested against a doorframe.

Was he following us?

What…had he overheard?

Did he know this was Nial’s bedroom?

His arms were crossed over his muscular chest.

His eyes slowly glanced between the druid and me.

Gradually, he pushed off the doorframe.

The overlord winked at me, a measured grin curling one side of his plush lips. His light eyes scanned my shocked features once more, holding my wide gaze. Then he was gone before I could breathe.

Unlocking the door, and holding it open, Nial turned back in my direction, inviting me into his room. “Are you coming?”

I blinked ever so slowly, then nodded quickly before the druid could question my behavior, brushing away the overlord’s peculiar, spying actions.

I couldn’t see anything except the clock on the nightstand. He had to have some weird druid bullshit spell going on to keep the room dark. He shut the door behind us, and the dark completely overwhelmed me.

It was disconcerting.

As a vampire, I wasn’t used to being robbed of my sight.

A shiver ran up my spine, freezing cold air rushing around my feet and ankles, slithering up my calves.

Pressing against my back, Nial’s hand took hold of my chin and turned me toward him. His breath passed over my eyes, and the room immediately lightened up, gifting me with the magic to see through his spell—as his magic also kept my breasts entertained.

Although, the gold mist slithering around his floor didn’t disappear. It covered the entire area in its freezing touch. Nial didn’t appear to mind it, but it was entirely unpleasant to my skin—unnatural and magical.

“Undress, Gwen. I don’t want to waste time doing it for you.”

“You’re bossing me around?” I shivered again, rubbing my arms. I was dawdling. I knew it.

Dammit, I could do this.

“Do you want to get laid or not?”

“You’re crude.”

“Because asking for a fuck is so haute?”

“Will you stop with my tits? Goddamn it!”

I tried to swat the magical fingers away as I also attempted to unbutton my shirt. The magic stopped there, but a second later, there was a caress on my pussy.

“That better?” Mocking laughter filled Nial’s voice.

“Are you naked yet, Niallan? You talk about wasting time…”

Strutting around in front of me, he provided proof he was, indeed, naked, and already aroused. I had a moment to admire his physique, and he was nicely made.

He caught me looking, and grinned.

“You’re so damn smug.”

“I can smell your sex, Gwen.” He took a stride toward me. “I could smell your sex in the hallway. Are you always this horny, or is this just for me?”

I huffed, stepping out of my pants, finally free of my own clothes. “Blood Rite. Get over yourself.”

Reaching out a hand, he caressed my breast without his magic. “Mm. A perfect handful.”

His cock was reaching for me, and I reached back, wrapping a hand around him. I wasn’t going waste any more time, leading him over to his own bed by the erection. I really could do this, and I needed to get laid, as he said. Most vampires sought a good bed partner at least every night. I’d been fucked only once since my last Rest, but what Lord Belshazzar did to me that night...left me looking at every other eligible male as lacking.

Which really sucked.

I needed to find another way to get some.

Overlords were not on the regular menu.

But for now, I had an impressive cock in my hands.

That was all I needed to remember. Nial was a man. He had all the male parts I needed to get off tonight. I would try to forget that he was an asshole druid.

I slid my hand over the delightful cock that was ready, willing, and able.

Nial didn’t give me a chance to get on the bed and drag him with me. I found myself horizontal with his very large body nestled between my legs, his mouth on my tit sucking as if his life depended on it.

“Men and boobs.” I sighed. “What is it with that?”

“Tasty, soft,” he mumbled around my nipple in his teeth. “Pliable, fun, sensitive.”

Arching up a little, involuntarily against the press of his mouth, he started a journey that involved licking, nipping, and sucking his way across the valley between my peaks. But as he got to the other breast, I noticed the first wasn’t left alone. The magic fingers were back, and they were working in tandem with his mouth.

This druid with the weird magic was talented in the sex department.

I went with it. I was here, and I was getting some. I needed some. I needed more of… Well, of this apparently.

And the sexy play of Nial’s tongue and body over mine was pleasurable, no doubt.

His lips and tongue started a trail to where his body was lodged between my legs. Moving down the bed, inch by inch, he made his way to my pussy and started to kiss and suck and lick the sensitive flesh that hooded my clit. The bright green of his gaze seemed to glow as he caught my eyes in his stare.

I hadn’t realized how clear green they were, or how intense. I allowed myself to keep contact with those eyes until the dance of his tongue and lips pulled me away and made me toss my head back, rolling my eyes in pleasure.

I arched, my shoulders pressing into the mattress. The druid knew how to work his tongue. I groaned long and heavy, his mouth grinning against my intimate flesh.

But there was a new, soft heat on the skin of my stomach.

Confused, I peered down.

A warm yellow flame danced on my flesh.

My entire being froze.

I was on fire!

Fire could kill me—kill the whole stronghold.

Nial reached up, and the fire leapt into his hand as though it were a pet. It twisted, the fire…pleased with itself.

I bared my fangs. “If you’re trying to scare me, Nial, you did a damn fine job.”

Without moving his mouth off my pussy, he put his hand down on my stomach and let the flames dance off his palm and onto my stomach again. Laying tense beneath him, he traced a finger over my skin, creating a trail for the fire to follow. And it did. It followed him around the flesh of my stomach, up my ribs, over my pearled, excited nipples, and down to the valley of my sex.

Nial controlled it, and its heat on my hot skin was an entirely new level of sexy.

My body melted under the bizarre, intimate attention.

The druid whispered, “Someone likes it.”

I didn’t trust myself to talk, so I nodded instead.

Nial split the flame in two, the little yellow licks of heat racing up my skin and focusing on my nipples, heating them, dancing softly on and over the taut skin.

Shit, I was so bothered. I felt like if anything even remotely sexual happened, I would come.

What happened was more than remotely sexual—it was delightfully so. While I lay there, trying to stay even and keep breathing, I heard a soft buzzing sound. A second later, my curiosity was satisfied when a cool, buzzing sensation tickled the entrance to my sex.

A vibrator.

I didn’t know where the hell it had come from, but it merrily buzzed between my legs.

I started to squirm, a lot.

“You like?” he asked, resting his chin on my mons.

The slick silk from my depths glistened on his chin, and that was also wantonly delicious to me. I had to answer, but I didn’t trust my voice at that point. I had a vibrator in my pussy, a tongue on my clit, and magic fire playing with my nipples.

Shit.

It was the only word my brain came close to finding.

I nodded at Nial, who immediately went back to licking me to the heights of orgasm.

Come I did, this time, not holding back my scream of pleasure. It echoed off the walls, and I was shocked to hear the heights of pleasure in my own voice. The climax didn’t just disappear this time either. Slowly, Nial coaxed more of it out of me and had my body shaking and sweaty in the throes of delight.

He was above me a moment later, and I hadn’t even realized he’d moved.

The big blunt head of his cock waited at my entrance.

When he leaned down, his breath tickled my neck. “You have such a fine, fine cunny to bury my cock in.”

“Do it,” I whispered, trailing my sharp nails over his chest and finding his own peaked nipples. I pinched, and he gasped, shoving into the depth of my sex. He found the end of me, and my body shivered in the not quite pain of him as he seated himself fully into my depths. “Damn, you feel good.”

The man needed a compliment, right?

I think he did. It seemed warranted for the time.

“I hate you so much, Gwen.” Pulling himself back out and thrusting back in, he crushed my breasts as the heat of the little flame disappeared. “I hate what you are. And I especially hate your pussy because it’s fucking perfect.”

I almost laughed.

I guess the gifted compliment was well-timed.

“Shut up, Nial. I’m here for you to fuck me, not make conversation.” I reached up behind me and grabbed the bars of his brass headboard. “I hate you too—so just take what you need, and give me what I’m here for.”

Wrapping his elbows under my legs, he pushed my legs back and up and opened my sex like a flower. Cooled air flowed over me, helped by Nial’s magic, and heightened the contact of his hot skin slapping and plunging into me.

His cock glided over my clit at this angle—and I was glad for that. I was busy playing with his nipples and getting little purrs and moans out of him as I did. He was rewarded with my bellows and shouts as he continued to try to thrust himself deeper and deeper.

Hell, it did feel so good. His delightful erection sawed in and out, in and out of my entrance. His dark skin glistened with a sheen of sex sweat and was magnificent above me.

He closed his glorious eyes and his strokes shortened, harder. I twisted and pulled on his nipple, scraping my nails along his chest this time. Popping his eyes open, his gaze bore into mine, burning me with the lust and desire in the bright, green, fiery depths.

“So wet, so hot,” he managed to grunt. “How does a tiny little thing like you manage to take so much of my cock?”

I grinned, and with a push, rolled us so I was on top of him. It was time for me to dominate him and finish this.

I dropped down hard, my head dropping back. “Oh, fuck! That’s deep!”

He had no answer except a long, guttural moan.

Also, I didn’t care about any inhibitions at that moment. I was taking my climax out of his cock. I started rocking myself over him, sliding his shaft against my clit as it left and returned to my depths.

I dropped myself hard on his cock, over and over.

I squeezed the muscles that caressed him, holding him tight inside my pussy. I panted, “I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come.”

Hands found my bouncing breasts, my tight, excited nipples. Erotic sensation passed through me from his calloused hands. I was driving us both to the brink as fast and as hard as I could.

“Keep going, Gwen. God, that pussy’s so tight.” He grabbed my hips, shoving his own up against me hard. Again and again. “So damn good. So damn good.”

I squeezed him as I bobbed up and down on his shaft.

He grunted the whole time, each time.

“I’m coming!” There was no stopping it as I shoved him deep inside again. With an unexpected brush of his finger over my clit, I flew.

The climax took me hard, and I snapped my eyes open, catching his gaze at the moment his own orgasm took hold and rushed his cum up into my cunt.

My body shook as I landed hard on his chest, my breathing labored. My eyelids fluttered as reality settled down onto my shoulders. I had done it.

And it hadn’t been terrible…not at all.

Shit.

Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this.

* * *

He was snoring next to me.

I stared at the ceiling, wide awake and naked.

It felt…good.

Warm. Almost…cozy.

How much of that was the Blood Rite, how much of it was me, and how much of it was the insufferable asshole who had fucked me—I didn’t know.

And the damn overlord. The man had fucking winked at me, as if he were proud of my actions. Proud to see me slipping into another man’s room for devious purposes—because he damn well knew what I was doing. I had thought… What the hell had I thought?

That the overlord and I had a special connection?

Fuck me.

I was screwed in the head for even thinking that.

Sitting up, I swung my legs off the bed. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror. I still had on the stupid makeup, now smeared and gruesome. I wanted to laugh, but I had to stay quiet. I extracted the shift from the golden, weird magic on the floor and dropped it over my head, grabbing the rest of my clothes and carrying them. Trying to get dressed in the freezing, clinging mist snaking up my legs was not appealing.

There was no way I could stay here and roll in for the Challenge from his room. No way. Some of them already wanted to pair me with him, and I didn’t need to encourage that.

Naked under my shift, I walked out of his not-nearly-as-dark room into the hallway and made my way back to my apartments through the dozens of drunken bodies in the corridors, sleeping, fucking, giggling—all hung over or still partying from the Blood Rite.

I closed the door to my room and sat on the edge of my bed. The sheer lust and fulfillment the druid had given me passed through my mind again. I flopped back.

Different ceiling. Same thoughts.

Oh, to hell with that.

I rolled out of bed almost immediately and took a long, hot shower, erasing the druid’s smell from my skin and scrubbing off my makeup. A cup of hot tea would be nice right now. It would—hopefully—go a long way to soothing my runaway thoughts about opposing men.

Once patted down with a plush towel, I dressed quickly in a pair of black, fleece pajama pants and an oversized black sweater, and then proceeded to slink through the royal corridors. My nose wrinkled, noticing all the guards outside the different overlords’ bedroom doors. They pretended to ignore me, so I pretended to ignore them.

I started pulling my wet hair up into a ponytail and stepped into the shared private kitchen. A long sigh flew past my lips as my gaze ran over the two individuals inside the room. Apparently, the kitchen was never empty in the late hours. My muscles tensed, waiting to get harassed yet again.

Their kitchen from Hell. It wasn’t the place to be.

Lord Xenon glanced up from the white, round table where he sat. He sipped on what smelled like coffee from a red porcelain mug. His gaze traveled over my features while he drank. He watched as I finished yanking my hair into a ponytail, then he set his cup down gently on the table. With a wave of his hand toward the counter, he stated simply, “There’s coffee brewed already.”

My shoulders sagged, relaxing.

There would be no fighting tonight.

Cato snorted, also perusing my features. He placed his cell phone down on the table and tapped his fingers on the hardwood. “I don’t believe coffee is what she needs right now. There are tea and whiskey on the lower shelves.”

I must look as wonderful as I felt if my long lost asshole of a father could read my expression that plainly.

I didn’t even bother disagreeing.

I merely searched the bottom shelves until I did, indeed, find a bottle of whiskey and tea bags. I set about boiling water and then dropped a tea bag inside a mug with the scalding water. Then I rested with my forehead on one of the white cabinets, my back to the two overlords, and stared…stared…stared at the black speckled counter as if it had all the answers I searched for.

Maybe if I stared long enough, I’d figure this out.

A voice, a voice I knew too intimately, asked gently at my ear, “Are you hogging the whiskey?”

I screamed, jumping in place, like a damn child waking from a nightmare. I twisted in a blur, my hands gripping the counter behind me, my knuckles white. My chest heaved in enormous, labored breaths, pumping up and down as I stared at the new overlord who had joined the “party” in the kitchen. Eyes wide on my face, my cheeks paled under the blue and direct regard staring right into my soul.

From his perch at the table, Lord Xenon groaned and rubbed his temples. His voice was dry and not amused. “It’s too late for screaming. Please don’t startle her again.”

Lord Belshazzar took a step closer to me, our bare toes almost touching. An even tone flowed past his lips, even while his gaze held mine without mercy. “Scared, not startled.” His head cocked, his long, black hair slipping over his naked shoulder, the man barely dressed in only black dress slacks. “Did I catch you deep in thought about something?”

I swallowed. Or tried.

My fist flew up in front of my mouth as I coughed through my attempt to wet my dry throat. I peeked at him from under my lashes.

Caught glancing at him, his remarkable gaze never left mine.

I rubbed my forehead while we eyed one another. He was not a man I wanted to see tonight, a man who was plaguing my whacked thoughts.

In the end, I threw my shoulders back, finding my backbone—finally. I grumbled, “Yes, you did.”

His head was still cocked. He asked plainly, “I’m intrigued. What was it about?”

I ground my teeth together, not pleased with his line of questioning. He knew damn well what was upsetting me—some of it, anyway. But I kept my answer smooth. “I found pleasure tonight with someone, and that wasn’t the plan. I actually had…fun.”

“Ah.” Lord Belshazzar took a step back and crossed his arms. A tiny smile began to flirt with his lips. “Just to be clear, you’re only talking about sex, correct?”

I nodded.

Now I was curious what he would say.

He was older.

He had more experience than I had.

The overlord shrugged his right shoulder, his arms still crossed over his perfect chest. “Would it have been easier if your partner was bad in bed?”

My mouth opened. Then snapped shut.

My black brows puckered. “No. That would have been terrible.”

“And you expected it to be terrible?”

“Yes.”

His eyes flared red for a beat, then turned normal once more, unseen by the other overlords. Pleasure flittered over his features at my answer but swiftly disappeared, hidden behind his normal persona. He chuckled quietly under his breath. “Then you—”

Cato, the unwanted, cut him off, leaning on an elbow, grouching, “Why the hell would you have sex with someone if you thought it would be terrible?”

I instantly held up a stopping hand in his direction, not even glancing at him. I kept my eyes on the overlord in front of me. “Please continue.”

“I was saying that you got off easy.”

I blinked in instant confusion. “Huh?”

Lord Belshazzar unfolded his arms. He pointed at himself, then jerked his left thumb over his shoulder to the other overlords. “Do you know how many times we’ve had horrible sex with someone? Just so we would benefit in some way in the long run? Too many times to count, that’s how many. It’s part of the life we lead—its many deceptions as a leader—and your partner or partners will know that. Or they should if they’re halfway intelligent. What is best for me? What is best for the crown? What is best for our people? If you actually had good, fun sex, then you got off easy. If you’re not mated, hardly any sexual acts are for pleasure alone once you become a ruler.”

Lord Xenon’s eyes glazed over, quiet in his response. “He speaks the truth. There have been…,” he visibly shuddered, “…well, be thankful if it was pleasant.”

Even my asshole father sat back, peering off into the distance. “Be very, very thankful.”

I almost gagged, quickly turning my head away from my father and his sexual memories. “Okay. Okay. I get it.”

But he didn’t stop talking!

“No, listen, my sweetling—”

“I’m not your anything,” I spat.

“You see, my sweetling, Lord Belshazzar forgot to mention the most important part.”

My nostrils flared.

Though, I waited. Silent.

Cato continued, “The most important part to remember in sexual intrigues is to never let your heart get involved.”

Gradually, I turned back around to my tea and scratched at my cheek in thought. Curious advice.

I lifted the little string on the tea bag and pulled it free of my mug. My tea should be ready by now. I tossed the tea bag in the trash, firmly ignoring the extending silence—and a specific overlord who hadn’t moved from directly behind me, his heated stare blazing on the back of my head.

I could literally feel their disappointment in me.

Cato eventually cleared his throat, stating ever so carefully, “She has much to learn yet. Give her time. We didn’t have it all figured out either when we were candidates.”

I sighed and glanced over my shoulder, glaring at each of them in turn. “I didn’t say I had feelings for this man.”

Lord Belshazzar returned, “You didn’t deny it either. That’s why it really bothered you that it wasn’t terrible. You wanted it to be horrible, but it wasn’t. It was…fun.” He shook his head, rubbing his chin roughly. Then he pointed with a fast finger at the whiskey. “I have no patience for this tonight. Hurry up and pour what you want so I can have the damn bottle.”

My forehead scrunched in revulsion. “I’m not some lovesick woman who can’t keep her feelings in check after sex—even good sex. I’ve used sex before to take down men and women. Hell, I’ve taken down a kingdom once with it. Sex is easy. I just didn’t expect to have fun, that’s all.”

His eyes flashed red, and his response took a good long moment like he was considering each word. He finally growled, “Like I said, then you got off easy.”

I crossed my arms and eyed him.

Cato’s lips twitched, breaking the tension in the room. “Ignore Lord Belshazzar’s surliness. He did the same as you tonight, and, apparently, it wasn’t as pleasant as your experience.”

“Fuck you.” The overlord glowered at him.

“And I thought you preferred redheads.” Cato raised his hands, laughing softly. His eyes returned to me, faking a whisper, “Normally, he’s not this grumpy after a work-fuck with a beautiful woman with red locks.”

My eyelashes fluttered as I blinked. Twice.

Lord Xenon and Cato started chatting together about Lord Belshazzar’s exploits with—many—redheads in the past, tossing bantering comments at him every so often.

“Do you want me to remind you of your exploits?” Lord Belshazzar growled quietly in warning. “Because there have been just as many. Some of them have been damn memorable too, you twats.”

I turned, my shoulders stiff, and poured whiskey into my drink until the liquid reached the top of my mug. With my mouth shut and my eyes down on my drink on the counter—while the three continued to badger each other—I merely shoved the bottle over my shoulder.

When it wasn’t immediately taken, I wiggled it in irritation.

The bottle was jerked from my hand…and a blue-eyed demon’s voice, barely audible, rumbled in my ear, “You still smell like him. His cum is leaking out of you right now.”

I turned my head to the side, sniffed once, inhaling deeply. I snarled with quiet fury. “At least I took a shower. Her pussy juice is still on your face.”

My mouth snapped shut. My eyes flew wide.

I stared in utter shock at the white cabinet in front of me. My entire body didn’t move, no air entered or escaped my lungs. I might as well be in Rest right now.

Whereas the overlord had simply been informing me, helping keep my time tonight a secret, I had just reacted like a jealous harpy.

Was I jealous?

Was I?

I digested my feelings, nibbling on my bottom lip.

A redhead. His magic damn cock inside her…

His sculpted body moving over hers, glistening with sweet sweat. Each muscle bulging as he moved.

My eyes flashed red…

Oh. Fuck.

I was jealous. And I had no right to be.

Overlords were not on the goddamn menu.

I grabbed my mug in a hurry, and quickly skedaddled from the kitchen, barely managing a wave over my shoulder to the others. Once out of their sight, I was racing down the hallways to my bedroom.

What the hell had just happened?

I never thought this day would come, but it was quite possible I needed to take my jackass father’s advice. I never imagined he would be right—on any subject. But the squishy, stupid heart had no place in politics. And Lord Belshazzar and I were definitely in the political arena together, as were Master Nial and I.

I slammed my door behind me and rested my back against it. My gaze caught on the mug I had in my hand. I’d managed to keep from spilling even a drop of the liquid inside. I exhaled a shaky sigh and took a large gulp from my cup, allowing my head to fall back against the door. I closed my eyes, attempting to calm my racing heart, letting the alcohol warm me from the inside out.

I needed to regroup. To focus on my mission.

Lord Belshazzar was off limits.

One night of pleasure, no matter how fantastic…and perfect…it had been, did not make his cock mine.

Master Nial had no hold on my heart.

An embarrassing past crush turned into a night of sex as adults, no matter how fun it was, did not give him a piece of me.

My mission here was to be queen.

Not to further my love life.

I would be quee—

Knock. Knock. Knock-knock.

I stifled a groan and pushed off my door.

As I turned, I took another large drink and glared daggers at the offending door. I was not in the mood for company tonight, not even from my best friend. Perhaps if I ignored the person they would leave.

I took another sip. Silent.

Knock.

Just one.

And clearly pissed off since my entire door shook.

I sighed and pulled my door open.

My jaw dropped slightly, not at all prepared.

Lord Belshazzar leaned against my doorframe, still in his black dress slacks, no shirt, no shoes, and tapping the bottle of whiskey against his right leg. While glaring directly at me.

He hissed in irritation, “Are you going to let me in?”

The overlord glanced either way down the hall.

I stood like a statue, until I shook myself internally, and then opened the door wider. I gestured with an arm for him to enter, shutting my gaping mouth at this surprise.

The vampire growled quietly under his breath, then waltzed inside my room. He grabbed my door from me, shut it, and locked it right afterward. The man stood glaring at me. The overlord watched me stare back at him.

He snapped, “What?”

“Why are you here?” I sputtered.

What. The. Hell.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No.” I shook my head in slow motion. “No, it’s not.”

He waved his free hand up and down his frame, motioning at his attire. “My room shut down before I was able to get back to it tonight. I’m locked out unless I want to raise the alarm to get in there. I need a shower, as you not so politely told me. And I’m not in the mood to sneak around my own damn home until I can find a free bedroom.”

I blinked. Stunned. “You should really get the security system on your room changed.”

“No shit,” he grumbled. He glanced around my apartment, eyeing the feminine clothes flung around here or there in the living area of the suite. “So, may I?”

My brows furrowed. “May you what?”

“May I stay the night?”

My lips thinned, remembering my mental focusing from only minutes ago. “I don’t…think that’s wise.”

I wasn’t sure if I could stay strong in my conviction if all of him were to stay with me tonight.

His regard snapped back in my direction, and his eyes flared red. I stood extremely still as his furious gaze ran down my body, and stopped full force on my crotch hidden behind my black pajama pants. His nostrils flared, and when he peered up at me, his fangs were slightly lowered.

He snarled, “I don’t take a druid’s sloppy seconds, so you have nothing to worry about.”

My jaw started to slacken again in embarrassed shock.

Then my blood warmed in anger, my hands curling around my mug, and I hissed, “Good. I don’t take another cunt’s sloppy seconds either.”

We eyed one another in the awkward silence, both of our eyes glowing a warm, furious blood red.

His fangs lowered to their full intimidating length, glistening in the light. “We both had business to take care of tonight. Let’s just leave it at that.”

My nostrils flared, but with his truthful words—and his attempt to defuse a slippery situation—I nodded in jerky motions. He was giving us an out, which was needed.

I flicked a finger to the side, speaking as nicely as I could, regaining my inner calm. “You said you wanted a shower. It’s over there.” I glanced up and down his frame, really taking in his apparel. “Are those all the clothes you have access to?”

The overlord snorted and took a drink straight from the bottle. It wasn’t a large one, but it was enough to make my throat burn just by watching it. He winced as he swallowed, his fangs now retracted, relaxing too. With a slight scowl marring his masculine features, he muttered, “You don’t want to know what happened to my clothes this evening. I’ll sleep naked after I shower.”

I gulped, my eyes wandering down to his crotch.

We were both crotch-ogling fools tonight.

He rocked back on his heels, a reverberating chuckle sparking from his chest. All male. Confident. “My eyes are up top, Gwen.”

My gaze snapped up to his with my head tipped back so I could hold his sexy eyes with mine. I lifted one eyebrow, not bothering to deny my actions. I kept my words blunt, the disgust only noticeable if you listened hard. “And your dick is still covered in her cum.”

Apparently, he was listening.

Lord Belshazzar sneered and turned his back to me, sauntering to my bathroom. The overlord glanced over his shoulder, grousing, “And if you ever want to have sex with me again, never ask while you have another man’s cum dripping out of your sweet cunt. I find it rather repulsive.”

My mouth bobbed, but before he slammed the bathroom door closed behind him, I growled, “I wasn’t asking for sex! I already had my fun tonight. Good, fun sex. Remember?”

Boom.

The door closed with a wobble.

I rubbed my forehead.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that last bit.

I tipped my drink back and finished it off.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Glared at the door. Set my empty mug on a table.

The water sprinkled on the tiling in the shower, loud to my sensitive ears. I moved on slow feet, my gut churning with pathetic, weak guilt. I knocked on the bathroom door, then opened it just a crack. The slap of fabric hit the floor—his only clothes, his pants—and I froze, not looking inside.

“What, Gwen?” he growled. Exasperated.

I cleared my throat, my voice raspy. “I apologize. That was wrong to say.” There. I had taken the high ground.

“Fuck off,” he snarled.

My head snapped back as he slammed the door closed. That was close. I almost got my head bashed by an extremely solid door.

Apparently, he wasn’t taking the high ground too.

I sighed, knowing he could still hear me. “Look, I am sorry. I knew it would irritate you, so I said it. I shouldn’t have.”

Though, why it would irritate him, I wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t like the overlord was jealous.

My brows puckered. “Actually, why did it irritate you?”

Splashes in the shower. After a second, he finally responded, “This is why I don’t let women in my room. I can’t even enjoy a peaceful wash without being pestered.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is my room.”

“Same concept.”

More splashing. More water hitting the tile.

“Answer my question.” And since he was an overlord, I added a little respect. “Please.”

His sigh was profound. “Can we not stray to this topic tonight? I doubt either of us would handle it well.”

I snorted and rubbed my forehead again.

Could I handle anything else right now?

Probably…not.

I lifted my eyes skyward. “You’re right. I’ve got my hands full, and you’ve got your hands full too.”

He grunted in agreement. But he did add eventually—his tone gentle and teaching, “Gwen, business is business. We do what we have to do—no matter what. You know that.”

I nodded slowly, hearing the water shut off. I responded just as softly, picking at the doorjamb with a fingernail, “Agreed. Our people are all.”

I walked into my bedroom and grabbed clothes off the bed that I had thrown there without a care, folding them meticulously while he finished in the bathroom. I was pretty sure I heard him brushing his teeth—and only my toothbrush was in there. I rolled my eyes and pulled the comforter and top sheet down on the bed, fluffing each pillow hard as he entered the bedroom behind me.

He walked around to the other side of the bed. Thankfully, he was still wearing a white towel around his waist. He pulled the cover down further on his side…

I slapped my right hand over my eyes. “Goddammit! Couldn’t you have waited until you were in bed to remove the towel?”

A naked overlord was just too much right now.

He snickered, his evil smirk clear in his humor. The bed creaked as he got in. It sounded like he freaking bounced a few times as he got comfortable. “I’m sorry. Did that bother you?”

I turned my back on him, lowered my hand from my eyes, and marched to the light switch. I grumbled with bite, “You are a jackass.”

More confident laughter until he hissed softly, “What? Two dicks in one night are too much for your innocent eyes?”

I flicked the light off and closed my bedroom door, only the light from the living room beyond shining around the cracks in the doorframe illuminating the room—even if I could see just fine in the dark. I slid into bed, curling the blanket around my body—ignoring how he hadn’t even covered his delicious naked body with the blanket yet—grumbling, “That was a low blow, my lord.”

“No lower than yours earlier.”

I closed my eyes. “Fine.”

Neither one of us seemed to know what to do with each other. Passion and duty were warring with one another, battling it out without our permission, making confusion the emotion of the hour, smacking us in the face when we least expected it.

A good fifteen minutes later, he murmured in the quiet dark, “What Lord Cato said, about not involving your heart, it’s true.”

I didn’t pretend to be asleep yet, but I did keep my eyes shut. “I know.”

He hummed in thought, his tone quiet and intrigued. “Then what is it about the Original that has your panties in a bunch?”

I punched my pillow a few times, fluffing it again. “I’d rather not talk about that.”

He lost his cool.

A quiet growl. “So you do like him.”

“No,” I argued easily. “I think he’s an asshole. But it’s complicated. On the flip side, it’s nothing I can’t get over.”

He turned on his side, facing me. Even with my eyes shut, I could still feel him staring at me, his potent gaze a tangible touch across each of my features. I didn’t think he was going to say anything further he was quiet for so long, but he surprised me, finally mumbling, “Be careful until you get your shit figured out.”

I yawned, my teeth flashing in the night. “I know that too. Already working through it.”

“You are still so young.” He sighed. The blanket on his side finally moved as he slid under the sheets, and he switched topics of conversation. “Do you think you can handle staying on your side this time?”

My lips twitched. “No promises, my lord.”

“That’s what I thought.” He snorted. A second later, he hedged, “As you know, I’m not allowed to say anything to a candidate about the Challenges. But I am allowed to say this: get some sleep.”

My eyes did fly open then.

I blinked at the overlord across from me.

His eyes were closed as if he had never spoken.

Gently, I closed my own. I whispered, “Thank you.”

Morning would be here too soon.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

~ GWYNNORE ~

A folder landed on the desk in front of me with a crash.

It was too early for this bullcrap.

Turning up a lip, I poked at it and looked up at the overlord who had dropped it.

Cato. Of course.

I growled. “What the hell is this? Is my Challenge to clean up your mess?”

Snorting, he turned and walked back to his seat with the rest of the overlords.

Lord Pippin slapped his forehead from the ridiculousness of Cato’s gesture. I finally felt some connection to the arrogant ass at that moment.

Lord Belshazzar yawned.

Lord Otto and Lord Xenon were rolling their eyes.

Did they find Cato to be as big of an asshole as I did?

Interesting.

Leaning forward in his chair, oversized and ridiculously ornate, he grinned. “Well, my little candidate, are you ready for me to issue your Challenge?”

“That’s why I’m here, overlord.”

He didn’t like me addressing him without respect, but he had to earn mine as well. And he most assuredly hadn’t. He narrowed his eyes, and leaned on his knees, steepling his fingers.

“I have a bit of political intrigue for you, my sweet. There is a human who is running for a powerful political seat. I want him destroyed. That folder,” he swept his hand toward the case file he’d dropped on the table, “has all the information you’ll need to find and destroy him. I’d adore you if you could humiliate him and leave him alive, but I’ll also understand if he’s dead at the end.”

“A human? You want me to track and kill a human?” Trying to stifle the derisive snort, I pulled the file closer. “You’re kidding. Did you forget that I’m a vampire and tracking humans is what we do? All the time?”

“I did not say I wanted him necessarily dead,” he reasoned. “I said I want him destroyed.”

I gagged. “You want me to meddle in human affairs?”

“If you can’t meddle in their affairs without being found out, how will you learn to manipulate them to your will?”

I opened the folder, and the picture of the man was staring at me. He was a handsome human, the kind I would toy with before draining him and leaving him for dead. I smiled, licking my lips, thinking about how good he would taste…

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nial raise an eyebrow.

I wondered if he knew what I was thinking.

But, in any case, I looked through the file. The target was a very wealthy man, and there were many things to imply that he had ripped off and lied to Cato about financial matters.

“You’re worried about your gold, overlord?”

He chuffed at that. “I’m worried about you completing this task, my dear.”

I continue to thumb through the pages. This was easy. Really. I didn’t see this as a challenge. I had brought down people more powerful and wealthy than this man. Kings and princes. Cato was up to something with this one.

“What are your stipulations, overlord?”

“Take him down. He must be humiliated. Dead and used is also acceptable.”

“I cannot refuse your challenge. Please finish.” I waited. There had to be more.

His teeth gleamed in the light as he grinned, a flash of fangs against his pale white skin, with lips the color of a blood-red moon.

It was his smirk that made me decide my conceited father was going to die. I would send my own warriors against him, drain him of the blood in his body, and leave him in the hot noon sun of the Atacama Desert to turn to the dust he was composed of. His bones would bleach and crumble, and I would have him cast into the sea, to scatter him to the four winds for the pleasure of seeing him destroyed. And I would excise his name from the Council of Overlords, much as my grandfather had done to Akhenaten in the days of the 18th Dynasty.

His eyes roamed my features, and his smile merely grew. “You have forty-eight hours.”

The audience behind us gasped.

It was only because of my expectations of his horrid nature that I didn’t join them.

Niallan leaned forward. “That is unreasonable.” His voice was even, maybe bored.

“That is my challenge.”

Lord Belshazzar, as the leader, could not speak against the limitations or the Challenge itself. He could, though, see the raging anger in my eyes and nodded in acknowledgment of it. “Lord Cato, are you sure this is the Challenge you wish to issue?”

“I am,” he said. “A true queen must be able to act quickly and without hesitation.”

Nial cleared his throat and sat back, mumbling quietly, “He’s gonna regret that.”

“Something to say, Master Niallan?” Cato tossed an evil eye in his direction.

“No, your lordshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“Mind your place.”

“I’ll try.”

I swore I heard him mumble something else, but I didn’t have time for his snide attitude. I grabbed the folder. This was a Sisyphean task, like all of these stupid fucking Challenges. Something seemingly simple crammed into a box of impossible.

I wanted that throne. I would have it.

I slammed the folder shut. “I assume you will be watching?”

“Of course.” Cato nodded.

Standing, I grabbed the folder off the desk and pushed my chair back. “Then mark the clock. You will have your Challenge completed in forty-eight hours.” I stepped out from behind the table and marched to the hallway that led to my apartments.

This was ridiculous. I could just hunt the guy, kill him, and leave his legacy in a shambles. I could do any number of things and be done with this in just a few hours. There had to be something to this. Cato was the biggest, most arrogant asshole I’d ever known.

“What are you thinking, Gwen?” Adelie asked as I passed into the hall, away from the overlords.

“I think I need to feed and think more on this.”

“He’s a deceptive son of a bitch.” She threw a look at the chamber where the overlords were addressing the crowd. “He’s not being upfront about what this really is—”

“I know, Adelie.” I adored her, but she was stating the obvious and would be doing so for the next hour if I didn’t shut her up. “I know. I have to go through this file. I need you to go to the library and look up as much information on this...Timothy Ginter as you can.”

“I can use the computer in the study,” she said. “The library has restrictions on it, and I don’t want to fight those.”

“Why are there restrictions on the computers there?” I cocked my head, curious.

“Because God forbid the masses get their hands on information to overthrow the Council.”

“Overthrow?”

“You really think they rule with honesty?” Nial asked.

I jerked at the sound of his voice, my shoulders tensing.

Once again, he had snuck up on me. Fucking druid.

“Am I supposed to believe the masses don’t know about the lies?” I looked him up and down—and suppressed the intimate shiver that tried to claw up my spine. “And what the hell are you doing here? I need time to read this junk.”

“I am your Monitor for this Challenge, Gwynnore. Lord Belshazzar ordered it just now. I shadow you everywhere.”

Fucking jackass!

Why was he doing this to me?

My blood boiled, wanting to throttle the overlord.

But, my asshole father’s advice flittered in my mind.

Don’t let the heart get involved. This was business.

I breathed through it. Breathe.

I attempted to hedge, “Good, you can—”

“Do nothing.” He held up his tan hand. “I can do nothing. I’m merely here to make sure that you follow the rules of the Challenge. Stop the act.”

I was going to have this son of a bitch following me the whole time.

Now, I wished I hadn’t fucked him.

I didn’t need easy temptation hanging around. Just more complications. I pushed through the door to my apartments and tossed the file on my desk in the study.

“I need to feed, Adelie.”

“Of course.” She scurried out of the room to find me a suitable source of blood.

Nial settled into the chair, grabbing a book off the shelf. He tossed his legs over the side and started paging through. “Remember, they’re watching.”

“Remember, you’re a pain in my ass and need to just stay quiet, you prick.”

“Mmm. You didn’t think that last night.”

“Shut up, Niallan.”

I soundly ignored him and turned away, walking over to my desk. I would allow him to live—right now—because I didn’t want the overlords too pissed at me. I flopped the idiotic folder open again and stared at the human. He’d be tasty. I could do this easily. Find him, fuck him in full view of the public, and leave him to rot in the aftermath.

Humans and their fragile sexuality.

They were so shy about taking their pleasure, making sure no one else could see them.

Caught on camera, that would be enough humiliation to do him in.

So what was this? What was the catch?

I started reading through the file.

Timothy Ginter, millionaire. Entrepreneur. There were lines and lines of paperwork describing transactions that read like fraud, embezzlement, laundering. Money had become complicated. People didn’t hoard gold and gems anymore. There were some who still did, like Lord Belshazzar and Lord Pippin, but there were others who had moved along in their financial savvy and no longer held those.

I was not going to be one of the individuals who gave up her hoard, either, to this new investment style or to anyone who was looking for it.

But if this political hopeful was embezzling, why would Cato want me after him? Why specifically humiliate him? I tapped on my computer, running a search on the Internet for this man. Hundreds upon hundreds of articles appeared. Interviews, articles, more financial advice.

Cato was after him because of money. He had to be.

But what about the money? Why specifically this man?

I didn’t have much time. I knew the other overlords would want to see cunning and insight put into this. I couldn’t just go there, fuck him, and let the press handle it. I had to be smart about this.

The cell phone on my desk pinged, and I picked it up.

Adelie was ready for me.

I stood to head where I would partake of the fresh blood—and stopped. Glancing over at Nial in the chair, I reconsidered. We held humans in the dungeons as chattel—some willing, some not. We snacked on them like they were cookies and pastries. We dined on them, draining them to the point of death. We had preferred locations, necks or wrists.

Was it any wonder these vampires around us were pathetic? Where was the hunt? Where was the prize? Where was the pure sexual release in taking nourishment from the prey we had tracked and coaxed to remember nothing and to live only if we chose?

Where was the kill anymore?

I texted Adelie. Never mind. I’m going hunting later.

I sat down to read more of the file I had, needing to tease out what was going on here.

Seconds later, the door burst open. Adelie stumbled inside. “You’re going to hunt?”

“Later. I need to—”

“Hunt what?” Nial asked, disinterested.

I snorted. “My dinner.”

He peered over his book. “Dinner, eh?”

“Master Niallan, tell her she can’t. A queen would never hunt her dinner. It’s—”

“I’m not the queen yet, am I?” I snapped.

“But you are the candidate.”

I slammed my hand on the desk. “I am not the queen yet. I don’t want to be fed. I want to hunt. I want to go out and find blood that will sustain me on my own.”

“Gwen has a point.” Nial yawned, bored with her argument.

Adelie looked at him. “She needs to stay here, safe.”

“Nowhere that creep Cato roams is safe.”

“Master Niallan!”

He sighed and held the book up, his tone full of false pleas. “Oh, Gwen, please don’t go out and find your own food—like the hunter you are.”

In a fleet movement, my best friend was in front of Nial’s chair and flipped him up and over in it. “You ass! If she goes out and hunts for her meal, who knows what will happen!”

“She might, I don’t know, eat?” He mocked, picking himself up off the floor and brushing off his pants. Then he took one step forward. Nial placed his intimidating body directly in front of hers, dwarfing Adelie’s tiny frame. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as his gaze ran over each of her features. On the quietest growl, he hissed, “And if you dare to touch me again, vampire, no one will find your remains. Understand?”

Sizzling energy crackled inside my apartments, his power trickling out.

I held still, locking my legs.

My lungs seized, no air flowing.

I wanted to bow down to that power.

Uncontrollable. Untamable. Immense and raw.

Dark and disheveled. Hungry. Barbaric.

An Original’s power. Only a pin drop of it.

And I was ready to lick his feet. Lick each of his toes to clean off any filth.

I ground my jaws together, my frame vibrating.

Do not move. Do not move.

Adelie’s forehead hit the floor as she knelt, unable to do anything else.

She sputtered on a gasp, “My apologies, Original.”

Still…he stared down at her.

Contempt radiated from him.

I heaved in a lungful of oxygen by mere force of will, then I flipped the table next to me with shaking muscles. All to gain his attention. “Cut the shit, Nial.”

Smoldering eyes flicked in my direction.

One second. Two seconds.

Gradually, the power dissipated.

I breathed a wobbly sigh of relief.

My eyes landed on the mess I’d just made in my study. Anything not to look into his powerful eyes. Eyes that could steal all my power. Sinful and indulgent…and terrifying as hell.

I walked around the table and picked up a sheet that had spilled out and across my floor. Unbidden, a small smile flittered across my lips. Here was my ‘in.’ Here was the way I could destroy the human. I looked over to where the two idiots were pulling themselves together.

I stated, calmly, “Get my weapons, Adelie. Nial, go do whatever it is you need to do. I know where to start, and I only have forty-seven and a half hours to make Cato happy.”

*  *  *

The house in front of me was a grand affair, and I was only looking at the structure from the back. There were dozens of windows and doors, most of the rooms beyond dark and shuttered.

The only lights were in the kitchen and the living room, where a solitary figure walked between the couch and the refrigerator with predictable regularity. I stood leaning against a tree where even if the woman could see me, I could easily make her forget I was there.

“What are you doing?”

I looked up.

Nial was sitting on a tree branch above me, book in hand, utterly disinterested.

I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell are you doing? Reading on a stakeout?”

“I can’t help. I can only follow.”

“Sheep.”

He glanced down at me. “Rules. Nice view from here though. I’m not complaining. Did you wear the bustiest bra you could find?”

I ignored him. I had hoped he could be somewhat quiet and helpful, but clearly, his idea was to be as annoying as fuck while imitating a chimpanzee. And reading.

“Hello, vampire? My original question went unanswered.”

Rolling my eyes, I responded without looking away from the window. “I’m here because the woman in Ginter’s house is his fiancée. With any luck, I can get her under my Thrall, take a little sip and control her for the next few dozen hours, then find out what I need to know from Ginter to bring him down.”

“Not bad.” I heard him turn the page. He was clearly not impressed.

“Nial, you can’t help me. Just shut up and let me do this.”

A whisper of his magic trailed over my skin and slithered into the top of my shirt.

Down the skin of my breast…

Gathering some strength, I kicked the tree hard enough to rattle the branch, and the book tumbled out of Nial’s hands as he grabbed the branch to hold on. I looked up at him, hissing, “If you try to distract me, Niallan, I will slice your head off your body.”

His lips tilted up at the corners, pure male arrogance. “You could try.”

I ground my teeth together. “And learn to use your magic for something other than copping a feel of my tits.”

He chuckled quietly. Evilly.

“Stay here. You’re my Monitor, so monitor.”

I walked down the hill toward the home in the dark night. No bright moonlight shone down on the earth tonight, which worked out—moonlight could disrupt my Thrall, but most humans couldn’t resist even on a full moon. However, as this was a Challenge, I didn’t want to take a chance. My feet glided soundlessly over the crisp, fallen leaves, and I didn’t even feel the need to conceal myself in any way. Ginter’s house was in the middle of nowhere, and there was no one around. There were a few deer in the back and a sleepy bear, but that was all.

The woman in the house, his fiancée Haley, was my target this evening. She was an unremarkable woman, with a liberal arts degree, poor housekeeping skills, too many shoes, and a standing nail appointment every two weeks. She was a socialite darling, seeming to know exactly what to say to all of her friends in all the right places.

I could see why Ginter had picked her. She was easy to look at.

Glancing back, I eyeballed Nial. He was taking her in.

Males and their dicks.

I walked right up to the kitchen door and made sure she couldn’t see me standing there. I watched as she twirled and twerked her way through the kitchen, making what looked like a peanut butter and jelly…and pickle sandwich. I hoped to God that I was wrong because I wasn’t in the mood to vomit.

Dancing her way back to the couch, she flopped down and started munching on small pieces of the sandwich she had made. She flipped through the channels a few times, and settled on a reality television show—women bitching about their husbands, by all appearances. Popping open a beer and taking a drink, she let out a rousing belch before giggling at her show.

This woman was going to make my eyes roll into the back of my head.

I watched her a few minutes.

Haley texted while half paying attention to the show. She would be the perfect go-between as soon as I could get her Thralled to me. My lips twitched, starting to enjoy her childish silliness with the pickles and the beers. She kept waving the small gherkin pickle and snickering madly.

It took only a small push from my power to get her under the start of Thrall. A very simple mind, more occupied with her shoes and beer. I envied the simplicity to some degree.

Stand. Come open the door for me.

Without hesitation, she put the plate, the phone, and the remote on the table and headed to the back door. Flicking the lock open, she pulled it open fluidly and seemed to smile at me.

“Good girl,” I praised. “Are you ready to play my game?”

“Of course. I like games.”

I leered. “Excellent. This game is lots of fun. First, we need to have snack time, and then I’m going to explain to you exactly what we’re going to do.”

I stepped close to her curvy body and wrapped my right hand around the nape of her neck. With a sharp glance into her eyes, calling my power to the front and capturing her gaze with the burning of Thrall, she collapsed in my arms limp as a rope.

I sat her down on a white and black checkered kitchen chair.

With a gentle touch, I tipped her head back, letting my fangs drop.

As I pierced the skin above her vein, I saw Nial in the tree watching me, his attention focused on my teeth. I sank my fangs deeper into her soft flesh, sealing my lips around the openings, evaluating him. He wasn’t looking at her. His heady gaze was all for me.

After the first mouthful of her hot, sweet blood, I didn’t care if he was watching. I didn’t care if he whipped out his dick and started jerking it. Mouthful after mouthful of fresh, clean, live blood slipped down my throat and warmed my entire being, down my chest and flowing out to my tense limbs. It was magnificent, feeding on a human that hadn’t been captive, unwilling, or used a thousand times by other vampires. Her soft, honeyed taste spread through every part of my body, revitalizing me, reconnecting me to the world around me.

The soft little thing’s memories slipped through.

Fun, silly sex she and Ginter often had, the garden parties she loved, the car she drove too fast, almost with reckless abandon. The friends she had, the courses in college, the charities she helped, high school, losing her virginity, her first kiss, her grammar school sweetheart.

I pulled back, allowing the flow to slow and close down.

If I went further, I would kill her, and that was not the plan. The plan was Thrall and control for the next day or so. There was nothing offensive about this girl. She was perfect for my plan. With a lick of my tongue over each puncture wound, the magic in my saliva sealed her skin.

I took a moment to lick the last of her blood from my teeth.

Exquisite. Innocence always tasted so scandalously delightful.

I lifted my own wrist and slashed a vein there. Holding it against her lips, I let a few drops slip down, onto her tongue and down her throat. Just a bit, just enough to hold the Thrall lightly and know all that she heard and saw. I could influence her actions and questions. There were ways she could get Ginter to talk and react that no one else could.

I sealed my wrist and carried her over to the couch.

Haley would be out for a while—an hour or two.

I leaned down to her ear and planted some suggestions. “You’re curious about Timothy’s money. Where does it come from? Who handles it? Who is he beholden to? I want you to find out who he associates with, who would bring him down if they had the chance. What would destroy his reputation.”

She opened her mouth and let out a breath. “Samson.”

Ooh, she already knew things?

I searched her memories that I’d shared from her—and sure enough, there was a gentleman there named Samson. He was handsome, tall and had tried to rape her after trying to bargain with Ginter for a night with her. Disgusting human.

He needed a visit.

I walked out of the house through the door, pulling it closed behind me. I strolled toward the woods where Nial was feigning disinterest. I tried not to grin at the asshole as he turned the page of his retrieved book.

“Tasty snack?” he probed.

“Oh quite,” I answered. “I’d offer, but I need her alive. For now.”

I waved and walked back into the trees the way we had come.

He dropped out of the tree and followed me. “Where to?”

“Need to find a man named Samson. He knows things.”

“Because that narrows it down.”

I tapped my temple. “I have his address.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

~ GWYNNORE ~

Samson’s house was nothing like the gorgeous, well-kept grounds of Ginter’s.

Stuffed between two older homes, there was quite literally six inches of space between his walls and the property lines. The monstrous faux-Italianate disaster glowed an incandescent yellow, with too many lights and too much gold for the accents. The small piece of property had no way for anyone to squeeze back behind it with the fences on either side. A fence I was sure his neighbors had erected to stop the spill of gauche into their yards.

“Ugh,” Nial grumbled, launching himself up onto the first branch of a tree on the neighbor’s property. He sat and pulled out his book. “If a neighbor did this to my property, I’d gut him and drain him, and destroy the house just after.”

“Hideous,” I agreed. “And it looks overpopulated this evening.”

“Good luck.”

I gave him the middle finger as I moved closer to the back door.

Standing in the shadows, I stood on the massive deck peering in. Men sat around a table, smoking cigars and laughing and gambling. My lips curled back from my teeth. I despised the tobacco habits of modern men. These in particular probably sported small cocks that they were trying to compensate for. I was positive if I went around front, there would be very flashy, very overdone cars.

I spotted the one named Samson. Overly plump and, unfortunately, not much to look at. No wedding ring that I could see, but that didn’t mean much with a man like that. Anyone can take a ring off, to go to a strip joint and to take advantage of the complimentary strippers or prostitutes. He seemed to be the type to accept that as well.

I listened to the conversation at the table, but it was all typical misogynist shit that some men bantered back and forth. Bored stiff with their topics, I wandered back to where Nial was perched in the tree.

I mumbled, “Too much testosterone and light in there. I’ll have to wait.”

A hmph escaped past his lush lips, and he turned the page of the book again.

I couldn’t stand the smug bastard.

Leaning against the tree, I concentrated on the connection with Haley back at Ginter’s.

She was just starting to come around, and her senses were clearing rapidly.

Someone was in the house with her. A non-threatening person, familiar, and she was delighted. A moment later, I recognized Timothy Ginter had come home.

I left them alone. I didn’t need to know about dinner and jobs.

Too bourgeoisie for me.

Great. Stuck between a hausfrau and a fatass.

I sat. What could I do? I had to wait out these asses so I could get in there and talk to Samson. I contemplated walking back to the car and taking a quick nap—that’s how boring this was, but I also didn’t want to waste time like that.

Damn, damn. I hadn’t brought the file. Or anything to occupy my time.

Big fearsome, awesome, Queen Novitiate, and I was plucking grass under a tree in some miserable suburban shithole in back of a pseudo-Italianate mistake. Oh, and my Monitor of Challenge was sitting up in a tree probably staring down my shirt—as usual.

I was not feeling the bad ass.

A half a second after, I leaned to the right to look up at Nial, and something whizzed by and embedded itself in the tree next to me.

I gasped and found a bullet lodged there, as four more quickly followed.

“What the fuck?” Nial whispered, jumping down and narrowly missing getting shot.

“They aren’t aiming at us.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to the house, hoping for a little protection from the bullets under the massive, useless deck at the back. “They’re shooting at each other. Or it’s someone else.”

The slam of car doors out front and the pound of boots up the front stairs attacked my sensitive hearing. A portion of the fence was ripped apart, stomped down into the ground, and a half dozen men came flying around the corner with guns drawn. Their aim was at the back door, shooting at will.

That much firepower would injure even Nial and me if we took any measure of it at once. We ducked back into the shadows, and my eyebrows rose as Nial cloaked both our forms so they couldn’t see us.

The amount of wasted ammunition these fools were using shocked me.

Didn’t they ever learn how to aim?

“Lost art of marksmanship,” Nial mumbled as if reading my mind. “If this is a mob hit, they’ll be done in a moment.”

“If this is a hit, we’re going to lose whatever information Samson has. I can’t take his memories if he’s dead.” My fists clenched.

“We could lose our heads with that much spray. And I can’t technically help you win this Challenge.” His hard gaze met mine. “Think, Gwen. If you can’t figure this out yourself, you don’t deserve to be their queen.”

I took a deep breath. I would be the queen. I should have enough power—enough influence, to take them all in Thrall at once. I was freshly fed, and I was well rested. It shouldn’t be hard at all. I just had to get in there and look at them. I couldn’t do it from the shadows under the deck.

“Wait here.” I ran to the far side of the house where there was another set of stairs.

Nial wouldn’t help. He was just there to monitor me.

I leapt up the stairs into the shadows at the top and moved along the back wall of the house. The Mafioso were shoving and stumbling through the back door, two men dead at the main back stairs. Waste of blood. One of the men trying to push glanced over at me, and I caught his eyes.

Mine. Easily.

His mind was clay, and I easily backed him up.

Another man glanced over at the one I had controlled, his brows furrowing.

I threw a touch of persuasion, and he looked at me. Another was mine.

He joined the first by the back railing.

I crawled in closer and let out a low whistle.

Two men glanced over at me, and I grabbed them. Mine.

Over to the railing with them.

Rapid gunfire was coming out of the house, and I still didn’t want to be hit with that many bullets. I pulled my own gun out, and shot one of the men closest to the door, through the window. He dropped dead.

Marksmanship. I smirked, thankful for the humans the overlords had sent to me upon waking me from my Rest. One of those tasty meals had prided themselves on the art of a direct hit. No need to be wasteful or messy.

Three more turned by the back door. I was able to Thrall them and had them dropped to the floor a heartbeat later, curled into a fetal position. The other men inside were getting confused, and it was all I hoped for. They were all turning to the window to see what was going on as the gunfire started to die.

I stepped through the hole-filled window and dropped five more into Thrall.

A bullet ripped through my shoulder, jerking me back and pissing me off.

I had two of the men turn to release a hail of bullets at the ones still firing, mowing half of them down, leaving the other half screaming and disorganized.

Perfect. I sauntered into the house with my gun pointed in the general direction of the men left not under my power. As they noticed me, each fell into Thrall and moved out of my way.

Samson lay on the floor, nursing a wound in his leg.

I didn’t Thrall him. Instead, I let my fangs down and smiled.

He shouted, “Wha...what the fuck are you?”

“I’m asking the questions, Mister Samson.”

“Jesus Christ, lady…”

Annoyed by the wound on my shoulder, I grabbed the closest piece of shit I had Thralled and tipped his head back. I sank my fangs into his neck and took a long pull from his vein. His blood was foul, full of drugs and greed. But, at the same time, it accelerated the healing to my shoulder.

I let him go without sealing the bite; they were all dead anyway.

Samson had tears running down his face, staring at the useless blood bag standing there.

“Why are you after Ginter?”

“D-don’t...don’t kill me.”

“Answer the question!”

“I...he…”

I cocked the gun and shot the donor in the head. “Why are you after Ginter?”

“Holy shit.” He choked, more tears wetting his face.

I shot another nearby scumbag in the head. “I don’t care for your hesitation.”

He pissed himself. Fab.

But he finally opened his mouth to do something aside from stutter. “They want me to blackmail him, humiliate him. He can’t have a seat in the Senate. He’ll fuck everything up. Problem is, the fucker is clean, honest. Won’t take money or threats. He’s got to be killed off if he won’t take the cash.”

“Who?”

“What?”

I took aim at his head. “Who wants him dead?”

“I don’t know!”

I shot the mostly dead human next to him in warning.

“Fuck, lady, I don’t know! He only comes around once in a while. Drops off a folder and a bank bag. No names. Just, corrupt Ginter.”

I was about to demand more information when a lightning bolt of lust shot through me and almost made me lose the massive Thrall I had cast. I staggered against the wall, and managed to fend off the desperate need for an orgasm…but only just.

Fuck. The influence on Haley.

She and Ginter were having sex, and that lust was rolling through to me.

Another shot of want slammed into me, and I had to close my eyes to bear it.

The Thrall floundered for a moment, but I grabbed it back.

The idea of trying to work through this did not appeal to me.

I was absolutely disgusted at myself for forgetting that strong emotion could also come through the influence link. I needed sex immediately, and at that moment, my only good option was Nial, which wasn’t an option at all. Or…

The cowering figure of Samson trembled there, surrounded by several dead men. He stank of fear, sweat, shame, and piss.

He also happened to be full of the blood that would stave off my need for sex.

Reaching down and grabbing him by his shirt, I yanked him up to his feet.

Samson let out a piercing scream of pain when he put weight on his wounded leg. Unfortunately, he had no idea what pain was. Yet.

Wrapping my hand around the nape of his neck to hold him in place, I didn’t bother to put him in Thrall. “You were dead anyway.”

I yanked his head back and drove my fangs into his vein, scoring deep and tearing the flesh free. The rich red blood poured from his jugular, and I nearly came from the blood as it flowed from him. His screaming was becoming annoying, and after holstering my gun, I slapped my hand over his mouth to muffle the disgusting shrieking that served no purpose but to piss me off even more.

As I drank the free-flowing blood, another shot of lust pulsed through me. This time, with so much blood at my disposal, I was able not only to hold onto the Thrall that I had more than a dozen men clenched in, I was able to allow the massive orgasm to roll through my body.

This was living.

As the climax receded, I had to wrap my lips around the pulsing vein to pull the rest of the blood from his body. There was no reason to hesitate draining him to his last drop. Samson had served his purpose, and I needed the face that went with the bank bag.

I swallowed the last of his blood as his body turned limp, dropping at my feet.

“What did you do?”

I whipped around, my gun out, and nearly pulled the trigger before I realized it was Nial. I shouldn’t have stopped the impulse to shoot him.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you got it all over you. Gross, Gwen.”

I shot him.

The impact on his thigh jerked him backward, and he was barely able to catch himself. I was hoping he’d at least fall on his ass.

“What the fuck?! Damn it. Now I have to drink.”

“Take one, there’s plenty,” I muttered, kicking Samson’s body away from me. He was right, I had blood all over my shirt, but the orgasm was worth it.

Bleeding but wanting answers, he looked around the kitchen and back deck. “Are you holding all these?”

“I am.” I was quietly impressed with myself.

Perhaps my recent Rest had been beneficial—even if cut short. There was just over two dozen still alive that I was holding in Thrall. This wasn’t even pushing what I could hold, my power not even peaked.

Shaking his head, Nial took the closest neck and drained him dry.

The bullet squeezed out of his leg, dropping to the floor with a quiet clink.

I was going to enjoy the memory of shooting him for a good long time.

“Johnny?”

We both whipped around at the shrill scream from the front door.

A woman came tearing into the room.

“Oh mah gawd! Oh, gawd! Johnny!”

She never had a chance to realize we were there. I put a bullet through her brain.

Nial snorted and then chuckled deep and rough. “You know, you could have just erased her memories.”

“Whatever. Useless.” I shoved the gun back into my holster and started sorting through the memories I’d taken from Johnny Samson. That was a terrible name, but he was an endless source of good memories. The guy never forgot a face.

Especially Cato’s.

I didn’t know if I was shocked or resigned to it at that point.

I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head at Nial standing there.

He looked around then finally peered back at me. “What? What’s going on?”

A movement flashed beyond the door, and it was too fast for me to bring the gun around.

I darted to a broken window and stared through the dark.

Only to find that whoever it was had already vanished.

“There was a vampire here,” I whispered. I growled in frustration, unable to even have a glimpse of the person. “He was hiding, and he’s going back to Ginter’s. Cato wants them.”

“Cato? What exactly did you learn?”

Cato was using me to do his dirty work. He was behind all of this. This wasn’t a Challenge, this was a chance for him to keep his hands clean, and have all of his manipulating hidden behind another layer of secrecy so they’d never trace it back to him.

“We have to go to Ginter’s.” I raised the gun and put down all the men on the back deck, and turned to take out the rest standing in the kitchen.

Nial caught my arm. “Slow down. Answer my question, Gwyn.”

“Cato.” I yanked him close, and hissed my words in his ear, “You’re sworn to secrecy, or I’ll have your balls on a platter when I’m crowned. Cato is behind this. He wants Ginter dead. I don’t know why, and I don’t care, but if Ginter is against whatever the hell Cato is doing, I want Ginter alive—and we have to stop that vampire.”

He had nothing to say. Letting go of my arm, he stepped back, and I watched as his lips twisted in disgust. He raised his own weapon and helped me take down the rest of the humans milling about like drunken zombies. They were all down in less than a few seconds, and we holstered our guns, marching out of the house and back to the car.

I had the engine of my Lamborghini purring by the time we walked up, grateful for the remote start—and the driver’s manual I’d gone through. I wasn’t a fan of the cold, so I wanted that inside warm.

We slid in on the softest leather and pulled away from the curb—and I used the full measure of the engine to get us through the streets as fast as I could. We were nearly forty miles from Ginter, and I really hoped the vamp I had barely glimpsed had some shitty car that mine could overtake.

“Are you sure this is Cato?”

“Yes. From Samson’s memories, that’s who delivered the money.”

Nial stared straight ahead and didn’t say anything. He was lost in thought.

“Are you Monitor of Challenge right now or don’t you believe me?”

“Monitor.”

“You broke that back there, putting down those men and cloaking me earlier.”

“Self-preservation and I’m assuming secrecy works both ways.” He raised an eyebrow. “You have your reasons to be queen. I have my own, too, for being king.”

It was quiet again, and I used that time to take the car even faster down the winding back roads. Cato had always been a pain in my ass, even before my Rest, and before he rose to the Council. Now, he’d moved from manipulating the vampires to manipulating the humans? I didn’t want to rule humans. I wanted to rule the vampires.

“This doesn’t seem like Cato’s work to me, despite the evidence. Vampires would destroy the humans if they entered politics—I heard what Samson told you,” Nial mumbled over the engine. I tossed a glance at him and didn’t say anything. Resting his right arm on the door, he leaned back and closed his eyes. “My advice? Be careful, Gwen. There’s always more to the story. Always.”

I thought it through silently. Contemplating and evaluating.

“One of the problems is, we don’t technically need to rule the humans. We practically already do. We are the predators, and they’re the prey. Even if they don’t know it,” I said. “We don’t hunt. We order up a fresh meal.”

“All someone would have to do is ensure a breeding program for the vampires, and then they could destroy the rest of the humans.” A glance in my direction with a teasing smile. “No hunting for you then.”

I pressed the pedal a little harder.

I didn’t know what was going on in my father’s head, but I knew I didn’t like it.

*  *  *

Haley’s panic rushed through our bond, just as I had a bonus orgasm from her halfway to the house. Mere minutes before we could be there, her panic had taken over.

As soon as I slid the car into the driveway, I knew we were too late. The lights were on in too many rooms, and the two security guards at the front were face down on the stairs, bleeding out. Utter waste.

I ran up the stairs without even turning off the car. I followed the panic that plowed through my brain, grateful for the massive amounts of blood I’d taken. I wouldn’t have been able to hold back the emotion from the connection otherwise.

But this was helpful as I was able to find her in the house right away.

It wasn’t what I wanted to discover, though.

The vampire was already there and had Ginter by the neck with his fangs buried deep into his neck. Eyes rolled back, blood dripping out of the vein, sucking every last drop of life out of the man. Haley was frozen in terror on the bed, covered in the blood of a fight between Ginter and this vampire.

My claws unleashed, and I drove them into the vampire’s spine.

His high shriek pierced the night air as he let go of Ginter’s neck, dropping the man to the floor, not quite dead.

The vampire turned to me…and it was a female.

A female vampire I didn’t know. One I had never seen before. She smelled new.

Hissing at me, she tried to spin away off my claws.

I shoved them in harder and drove my fangs into her neck, ripping the flesh open.

She screamed and desperately tried to crawl away from me.

I pulled on her blood, trying to pry her memories from her. If she were new, it wouldn’t be hard, but I couldn’t find them. She was holding onto them desperately, pushing them back from her blood again and again.

If she wasn’t going to let me have them, she wasn’t going to live.

I was going to be hungover from all the blood I’d taken tonight. But I didn’t mind. I drained her, using a single claw from my other hand to slice the matching vein on the other side. I didn’t even care if it was wasteful at this point. She just needed to die.

The last of her blood crossed my tongue, but she wasn’t dead yet. With her fresh intake of blood, she could still survive. I reached behind me and yanked out my sword.

My blood-red lips pressed against her ear. “Keep your memories then. Your life is mine.”

In an easy move, I stepped back, retracting my claws from her back as my other hand, wielding the sword, swung in an easy arc. Her head hit the floor and rolled a half dozen times before her body joined it. I snarled and turned to where Ginter lay dying at my feet.

Nial was in the doorway. I motioned to the terrified woman on the bed. “Take her. She’s yours.”

He struck instantly, grabbing her in Thrall.

Much to my chagrin, she had yet another orgasm as he drained her.

I was going to turn to jelly with all this climaxing and feeding.

Kneeling next to Ginter, he was just as handsome as his picture. A shame. I would have liked to keep him awhile to drink from before killing him or sending him to the dungeons for others to use.

“This will be fast. If I had known using you against Cato’s plan was an option, I would have. Your little machinations in your human arena mean nothing—not when it comes to the vampires. But we will not let him wipe you out. You’re too much fun to taste and chase.”

I yanked him into Thrall and took the last of his blood, which wasn’t much really.

A quart, maybe. He had been very close to dead.

I stood and looked over at the bed where Nial was letting the woman’s body fall back to the bed. He stared at me a moment, his druid eyes shining yellow in sated delight.

“Innocent.” He managed the word as his eyes slowly turned back to their real green. “You knew. That’s why you gave her to me. She knew nothing.”

“Nothing. But thanks for that last orgasm. That was nice.”

“You are a bitch.”

I grinned then looked around the room. “I learned a few things tonight. Cato’s Challenge has too many layers to peel back. He wanted a hired hand to do his dirty work. He’s up to something, because that,” I pointed to the female’s body, “was a newly made vampire. She knew almost nothing except how to keep her memories. And Ginter was an innocent as well. Strong principles. He was offered a lot of money to walk away from his politics.”

Nial stared at the beheaded body. “No one makes a vampire without the approval of the Council.”

“Yeah, and?”

“None have been approved.” His head cocked in hesitant thought. “Not that I know of anyway.”

“What about when the one who is making them is a Council member?”

He raised an eyebrow but stayed silent.

I put a hand on my hip. “I won the Challenge as it was issued.”

“Monitor of—”

I held up a finger. “I’m not done with the Challenge yet. Give me an hour before you call it closed.”

Nial’s eyes roamed my face, considering my request. Then he nodded. “I’ll be outside. Probably with a bottle of some foul liquid I can find in the cabinets downstairs.”

He walked out, and I got to work.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

~ KIMBER ~

I tossed another ancient volume on the desk in frustration. Jallina had mentioned the Breaker of the Spine, and I had never heard of it.

My newest question was, how had I never heard of it?

Books upon books were here, in the library, in the public section, about the Breaker of the Spine.

I had never heard this part of our legends.

I put a hand to my head and stared at the desktop.

“Tymon told me you’d be here.”

My head jerked up to find Elex standing over the desk. “I asked him to let me in. I’d hope he knew where I was.”

Elex pulled a few of the books toward him and flipped through the pages. “What are you looking for?”

“Jallina—”

His head snapped up this time. “You talked to her?”

“Yes, yesterday after I walked out on Dorian. I ran into her at a coffee shop in the market. We talked and caught up and…”

Pulling a chair out, he sat next to me and moved the books closer. “And what?”

“It seems we have enemies. And we should have known about them all along. As much as it pains me to say, Dorian was right. We don’t know everything there is to know about this world. Not by a long shot.”

He rested his head on his fist, letting out a breath. “How could we have known we had enemies when we didn’t even know what or who we were supposed to be.”

The oldest book of the lot sat closest to me, and I flipped it open, turning the pages carefully. “Does that mean you’ve heard of the Breaker of the Spine?”

“Yes. You haven’t?”

“No.”

“How…”

“Don’t know.”

Elex was thoughtful as he turned the pages in the book in front of him. “The Breaker of the Spine is the one who must not only mind the spine as it falls back to the earth but mind all of S’Kir as it does. There’s a lot of magic in that, and it’s not an easy thing to be in charge of.”

“Jallina called me the Breaker.”

With his finger tracing the drawings on the page, Elex was preoccupied with the designs on the page for a quiet minute.

After several false starts, he finally found his voice. “I suspected you were the Breaker when the mountain called you. I was nearly sure when we entered the cave. And after the kidnapping attempt, I’m not the only one who thinks you are.”

A deep sigh left me. Suddenly, I felt resigned to this fate. “You think that I’m going to break the spine?”

He pursed his lips, trying not to answer the question, but eventually, Elex gave in. “Yes. I do.”

The slam of the book echoed through the empty library hall. “Shit. Dorian was right.”

The laugh that bubbled up in Elex wasn’t as full of mirth as he wanted it to be. “That pains you?”

“Elex, he’s an asshole.”

“We’ve established that, yes.”

“I don’t want him to be right.”

His fingers caressed my chin and turned me to look at him. “He’s so much older than everyone else. He’s going to be right more than you can possibly imagine.”

His beautiful black eyes sparkled in the dim light of the library.

“Jallina is going to spy for us.”

“You asked her to do that?”

“No. She offered. She’s part of the Outlier Temple in the market, and Milgran is a big mouth who hasn’t realized she’s not on his side.”

A pleasant chuckle passed between us as he studied my face. The dark olive tones of his skin were softer than I remembered from our interlude the other night.

I could feel the heat between us rising. In a move to deflect the growing sexual tension, I tried to ask a question. “If I’m the Breaker, who are you?”

He drew in close. “The man who gets to fuck you.”

My resolve to stop this got up and left the room, abandoning me, happily, to his advances. “Does that have an official title?” I teased.

“Mm. We’ll have to come up with one.”

My hand found the rising shaft in his pants. “You have no trouble coming up, do you?”

He lost his voice for a moment and then grabbed my hand to still my motions over his erection. “I wanted to show you that last night, Kimber. But you never came to my apartment.”

“You could have come to mine.”

Cocking his head, he considered me a moment. “Oh, can I?”

Leaning in close, I let my breath dust over his ear with a suggestion. “I don’t care to sleep apart from you, Lord Everettson. Why don’t you move into my apartments?”

“Does this mean that I get to fuck you every night?”

“And every morning.”

At the same time, we turned, and our lips found each other. The kiss that ensued was pure fire. His tongue sought mine, and curled around, stroking and sucking, teasing and finally leading me into his mouth.

It was only our need for air that broke us apart, and I grasped his cock again.

I pulled him to standing, and I tried to lead him away. “Let go—”

“No.” His grip was strong as he yanked back, leaning my whole body against his.

His fierce erection pressed against my stomach.

My knees were weak. So was my will. “No?”

Shaking his head, and again moving my hand from his erection, he confirmed his statement. “No. Right here. Right now.”

“In a library?” I was actually scandalized.

“There’s no one here.” A heated hand found my breast through my shirt and squeezed just this side of softly.

My nipples hardened and answered his call. A second more and they were aching for his touch.

We were not going to make it anywhere.

His lips seared another kiss across mine. Those black eyes grew even darker with the heat of lust and damned if my thighs weren’t already soaked and ready for him.

“You are mine, aren’t you, Kimber.”

“Yes.” The word was drawn out as his hand found and rolled my nipple through the fabric.

“I’m going to fuck you right here, right now.”

“Oh, gods and stars, yes.”

Hands were at the neck of the tunic I was wearing, and before I could utter a word, he ripped the top down the center to my waist, revealing the bra I was wearing.

“Kimber, oh Kimber. If I do move into your apartments, I don’t want you wearing these around the house. I want your tits natural so I can enjoy them anytime.”

Why did this dominant play make me so wet for him?

The magic gathered at the front of my bra. My momentary confusion was gone when Elex used it to snip the front of it open, and my breasts spilled into his waiting hands.

“So wonderful, my sweet. So ripe.”

The same tongue that had seared my lips now tortured my nipples as he suckled and sucked and nipped at me.

I shoved my hands into his hair and held on as he ravaged them. Lust spiked through me, and nothing could have stopped the moan that snuck out of me.

“Elex, shit.” That was as much as my mind could muster for words.

“One day, when I don’t need to be inside you right away, I’m going to spend a long time just sucking on your nipples, and I’m going to make you come.”

My legs were shaking now.

What a wonderful threat that was, but I needed something else, and soon.

“Elex.” I glanced down and what a magnificent view of his lips on my skin I had. His dark, dusky complexion was a perfect complement to my pale pink cream.

“Not today, sweetness. Not today.”

Trailing his lips up my chest to my throat, he nibbled on the column of my throat.

I couldn’t take much more. Elex knew it.

I felt his hand pushing its way up my thigh, gathering the bottom of my tunic, moving it up and up, until it was at my thigh.

His hand wrapped around my arm. I didn’t have a moment to protest or even realize what was going on before I found myself pressed onto the table with the books on it.

The move was smooth and calculated, lifting my tunic skirt up over my ass.

The moan that escaped me as he caressed the naked globes of my ass echoed in the library.

I couldn’t even bother to be embarrassed.

He had a cock, and I wanted to be on it.

Now.

To encourage him a bit, I lifted one leg to rest on the tabletop, opening me wide for him.

“Oh, that’s nice. So very nice.” Fingers dipped into my pussy and ran circles, tracing the walls of my sex.

I drew a hard breath, trying to slow my heartbeat. He was going to kill me. I wanted to die without him inside me.

He offered no warning. His cock slammed deep into my channel, stealing my breath and mind at the same time. He seated himself deep inside my pussy, pushing my whole body into the table with his.

It was fucking hot.

He leaned forward, trying to press even deeper. Again, the moan filled the library, and I still didn’t care.

“Move, Elex, oh, shit move.”

He didn’t speak. Instead, he withdrew slowly until he was just barely inside of me and slammed back inside.

“Fuck!” He forced the word out of me.

“Mmm, yes.” Sliding his hands under me, he found my breasts and lifted me just enough to wrap his greedy hands around the tender flesh.

“Beg for it, Kimber.”

I gasped as he made his demand and withdrew again. I waited for him.

When he didn’t take my pussy hard again, I knew he wasn’t kidding. He wanted me to beg for it.

“Please, Elex,” I managed. “Please.”

“No. Beg me for it, lovely woman. Beg me.”

“Elex, please give me your cock.”

He pinched a nipple. “Not good enough.”

One hand left my breast and found my clit very quickly. His finger dusted over me, enough to torture me, but no more.

“Beg, Kimber.”

“Please fuck me.”

Each time I begged, he barely touched my bundled, excited nerves. It was enough to keep me enthralled, but not enough to take me closer to my climax.

I needed to come.

He was driving me mad.

“Beg, Kimber. Beg me to fuck you.”

“Fuck me, please.”

“No.”

“Fuck me, Elex.”

“Try harder.”

His wicked finger danced and danced over my clit. I couldn’t deal with it. My mind was gone. I wanted him deep inside, and I wanted him to come too.

“Elex, please!”

“No.”

“Fuck me, Elex! Fuck me! Drive your cock into me!”

His answer was the piercing of his cock into my pussy again. Harder this time, relentless, driving in and in again and again as Elex commanded me.

I was wound so tight—too tight!—I was sure that I was going to pass to the next world before I could actually come.

I didn’t need to worry about that after all.

Elex’s finger left my pussy for just a moment and returned with a slap.

It broke me.

I screamed my orgasm to the empty library hall. There was no mistaking the sexual delight as it echoed through the room or the slap of his balls against my heated flesh.

Following my climax, his was upon him, and he yelled it into the same space as mine. Pumping himself once, twice, three times, I lost count, his cock exploding with his cum, painting my channel with his release.

He collapsed on top of me, his heart hammering against his ribs. His weight pressed me harder against the table, but I didn’t mind.

His body felt so good, so hot against mine.

We breathed together, and after just a few seconds, he realized he was on top of me, and lifted himself up.

Dragging a chair close, he collapsed into it and pulled me onto his lap. Exhausted and still recovering from my massive orgasm, my eyelids fluttered trying to stay open. Gentle fingers brushed the hair from my eyes.

“I was going to hesitate about moving in with you.”

I managed to make a questioning noise. I was curious what he was going to say.

“Yeah, I think I need to. I can’t fuck you in the library like this.”

I grinned. “You can try.”

*  *  *

Elex’s hand spun small circles on the skin of my back.

“Anything?”

I turned the page of the book I was leafing through. “Nothing. I keep trying to figure out how I don’t know this, but there’s nothing.”

Dropping a kiss on my cheek, Elex climbed out of bed where we had finally made it hours earlier.

Sneaking around the temple grounds in a ripped tunic and my legs still trembling from the amazing fucking I’d just had was more excitement than I had needed.

Naturally, as soon as we got into my apartments, Elex pushed me against the wall and made me come again.

Then again in the shower.

And at least twice more in the bed.

I delighted in the feel of him, fully inside of me. And, thankfully, there would be no children until we’re ready.

With the way we were fucking, it was a very good thing.

The volume we were reading in the bed was one of the most concise, most recent books on the Breaking Times and the Breaker of the Spine.

I still didn’t remember reading this story. Ever.

Shortly, I lost interest in the book as Elex’s naked glory moved around the room. I was falling for him and his animalistic bedroom persona, hard.

And there was nothing wrong with the fine, tight ass he had either.

“Are you reading still or are you gazing at my dick?”

“I’m not reading, but I was more interested in your rear end at the moment.”

He angled himself to see his backside in the mirror. “Mm. Yes. I can see why you’re looking.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to the book.

“Put on some underclothes, please. I do want to read some of this. My poor girl bits need a break, too.”

Laughing, he trotted into the bathroom, and I was finally able to turn back to the book.

The Breaker of the Spine was a significant part of the legends. They were more than just a strong magic wielder. They were meant to command the spine as it fell and direct the power of the crumbling stone and keep the people of S’Kir safe.

I felt as though I had failed my students by not telling them the story.

Elex reappeared and sat on the edge of the bed, peering down at the pages in front of me.

“Was there anything ever in your life that would make you forget this legend?”

“You’ve known me how long?”

“Since you were in college. Not your whole life, but quite a bit of it.”

“Then you tell me if there was anything out of the ordinary.”

His eyes bore into mine. There was nothing suggestive or sexual about this stare. “You don’t think there was?”

“No. Why would I?”

He stood and folded his arms. “Your parents are gone.”

“There are a lot of us who have lost our parents.”

The bed dipped as he sat down next to me. “Not everyone loses their parents the way you did.”

“It was an accident.”

“But it’s not something that everyone experiences. Is there anything there that might have caused you to forget?”

My forehead wrinkled. “Forget just one thread of thousands of my life?”

“We live in a world of magic, Kimber. Isn’t it possible?”

I plopped my face into my pillow. “I can’t believe I would lose just that story.”

The pillow partly absorbed my words, but I knew Elex heard me when his hand stroked my hair.

“It happened out in the Great Western Bay, didn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

I snapped my head up. “What?”

“Let’s go. Maybe being there will jog your memory for the story or something else that happened there to rob you of it.”

“It will take three days to get there by horse and carriage.”

Laughing, he stood. “We can take the train. We’ll be there in half a day.”

“The train? I’ve never…”

“We’re part of the temple now, my sweetness, and we can get the train in the morning.”

I rolled to my side and stared up at him. “The morning?”

I knew damn well I wasn’t wearing anything at that moment, and the sheet was down at my waist.

His eyes went straight to my now-bare breasts.

“Definitely in the morning.”

*  *  *

I hadn’t been to the Great Western Bay since the day my parents had died. I had nothing but good memories of the place destroyed by that awful day.

As the blue bay rolled into view, a terrible shiver ran up my spine. I didn’t want to be here.

No, it was more than just not wanting to be there. It was almost a push against me. As strong as when the mountain had pulled.

Elex’s fingers entwined with mine.

“Take a deep breath, Kimber.”

“I’m trying.”

He shook his head. “If I had known that you were going to react this badly, I might not have suggested this.”

“I had no idea I was going to react like this, Elex. I haven’t been here since they dragged their bodies out of the water.”

He sucked a breath in through his teeth.

My words were harsh, but it was how I dealt with the anger that remained from their deaths.

“You’ve never come back?”

“What reason would I have? I can swim in the river or in the southern sea.”

I saw the marina where my father hand launched our boat from as the train passed by it, pulling closer to the station.

I still had their boat docked somewhere in that marina.

My stomach roiled.

“Elex, I’m not getting off this train. I’m not. I don’t want to be here.”

“I’m sorry, my sweet. This was a bad idea.”

I shook my head. “This isn’t your fault. They were young when they died. Younger than we are now.”

“You were not a child.”

“No, but it wasn’t fair and it—”

The words got caught in my throat. I didn’t want to throw up, but I was getting close.

“Do you remember the accident?”

The train track turned, and the sun flashed in my eyes, making me cringe. I didn’t want to remember that day, not today, not ever.

“It’s just a stupid story. Take me home. I’ll read about it there.”

Clearly disappointed, Elex drooped into his seat. “As you wish, Kimber. I was just hoping…”

“I was on the boat when they died, Elex.”

He swiveled around in the seat. “What?”

“I was on the boat when they died. I was in the accident too.”

“I didn’t know that.”

I nodded slowly. “Most people assume that I was sitting on the beach with my nose in a book. But I wasn’t. I was on the boat with them. I loved sailing.”

I froze.

I had loved sailing. Why had I not remembered that until just now? Why was so angry at the boat? The boat did what it was supposed—

Oh.

Gods.

I grabbed Elex’s forearm with my other arm.

“The boat did what it was supposed to, Elex. It kept me above the water. But my father died making sure I was on the boat, making sure I could get my hands on the topside.”

His eyes searched my face. “Go on.”

The blue ocean flashed in the corner of my vision, and again, it was like someone unlocking vaults deep in my brain.

“It was a good day for sailing. There was a substantial wind, but nothing outrageous. We weren’t all that far out but around a cove. I was on the boat because we had come out for the weekend. Mom insisted and said I spent too much time tucked in a book.

“Something rammed the boat. I remember the main mast shaking wildly and the sails losing their billow. Mom screamed and…disappeared over the side. Dad went after her.”

I gasped and snapped my head around to the water.

“They were soul mates, Elex. Bonded soul mates. He would never have been able to live without her. That’s why he went after her. He didn’t care if he lived or died, just as long as he followed her. And when the… ropes…nets came and pulled me off the boat...

“I saw my mother dead on the bottom.”

Elex barely had time to get the bag over to me before I vomited.

My mother’s dead body was caught in a fishing net, and she floated in the kelp there.

“My father swam over to me and used every ounce of his magic and energy to get me out of the nets. He swam me back to the boat and shoved me up out of the water and onto the dive platform on the back of the boat.”

I smeared the tears off my own face.

“He never came back up. Why didn’t I remember this? Why was all of this missing from my mind? Someone murdered my parents!”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see for the tears that were crowding my vision.

Someone had murdered my parents.

Why?

I didn’t know what happened in the next few moments, but somehow we were on the platform for the train, and I could smell the fresh ocean air tinged with salt.

“Breathe, Kimber. Breathe,” Elex whispered

“I’m trying.”

I was, desperately.

It wasn’t easy, though, after thinking for forty-five years that my parents had died in a boat accident, and they hadn’t.

Elex had me tucked into his side on the bench and just waited for my hysteria to clear.

It did, eventually. Only took about three more hysterical outbursts.

“And you were never able to remember that until now?” Elex’s voice was low and kind.

“Not until we just got here.”

“Someone suppressed the memories and left this area as a trigger if you ever came back.” He smoothed my hair carefully.

“Why? Why did they kill them?”

“We don’t have to figure that out right now.”

“They were only twenty-five years older than I am. They were young. They were so lucky…”

“Please breathe, Kimber.”

It hit me that he was horribly worried about me, and I sucked in a few deep, slow breaths to steady myself.

“Back to the city, Elex. Take me back. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be near this place.”

Nodding, he helped me stand, then we walked toward the train, and he helped me on. We ambled to the seats.

“I didn’t remember my parents’ death.”

This was a nightmare.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

~KIMBER~

Dorian ran a hand through his hair.

Danai offered me another cup of tea. “Are you feeling a little more collected?”

“I am.” I accepted the cup.

Elex hadn’t left my side in nearly twelve hours, and he looked just as frazzled as I felt.

We both needed to sleep.

Tymon walked back into the room holding a folder with dozens of papers inside that he paged through.

“The police dug up the reports for me, as quickly as they could,” he said, sitting down next to me. “They had archived them, so that’s why it took so long.”

“Anything interesting?” Lunella asked.

“Curiously, it’s obvious in these reports they were murdered. There’s no question about what happened.”

I dropped my face into my hands. “They messed with my mind.”

“I’m afraid so.” Tymon flopped the folder onto the table. “So the question then would be who had access to you immediately after their deaths?”

“And what was their motivation to keep those memories oppressed?” Danai asked.

I didn’t know how to feel or what to think. Someone had been in my brain, as a grown woman, and messed with my memories.

“Would you like one of the doctors to come and give you something to calm down?” Lunella considered me.

“If I need that, I’ll have a drink, instead,” I answered.

“Let me just take her back to her apartments.” Elex’s eyes had a pleading in them, and I knew he was worried about me.

Dorian’s finger waved a ‘no’ in the air between all of us. “All he’s going to do is take her home for a romp.”

“For your information, Master Dorian, this poor woman needs a long nap, and I’m the only one here who seems to actually care that she’s exhausted. She won’t be vertical much longer.”

Nodding, I curled into him. “Yes. He’s right. I need to sleep. Please. This has been open for forty-five years. It can wait another day or two.”

After a long pause, Dorian nodded to the others.

“Yes, it’s fine. We’ll deal with this later.”

“Thank you.” Elex stood and offered his hand to me so I could stand more easily.

I didn’t know what happened in the few seconds between his hand reaching out for me and the next time I opened my eyes to see the sky above me filled with billowing dust and the smell of rancid fire.

Coughing and trying to sit up, I discovered that I couldn’t hear much more than ringing in my ears.

Slowly, carefully, I turned my head to scan the area.

My neck was stiff, but nothing seemed to be broken in any way.

I could see parts of buildings still standing, and other parts collapsed into themselves. There were a few fires around here and there, and the bushes on fire were the source of the stink in the area.

Everything came together in the next moment.

The building had been bombed.

I was sitting in the rubble and breathing in the dust of the collapse.

“Elex!” His name was the first one off my lips. “Elex!”

“Kimber!”

The voice, not Elex’s, came from my right and under some bricks. I scrambled over some of the rubble and started throwing bricks off the piles

Just a few dozen bricks revealed Tymon’s face, cut and bloodied, but alive and relieved.

“Thank you,” he gasped.

Pulling more bricks back, I freed his arm, and with that, he was able to help me start to free him as well.

“What happened?”

Tymon tried to shrug. “Building was bombed. We’ll have to figure out by who.”

The next brick I pulled off revealed a very distinct lock of hair.

I froze.

Tymon rose from the brick tomb he was in and saw me standing with the brick in my hand. He looked down and nearly leapt to his feet, yanking me away.

“Go find Elex. Go.”

I wasn’t about to disobey. Not when I was almost sure that Danai was lying there dead below the remains of the Rotunda.

Picking my way carefully but quickly over the rubble, I kept calling for Elex.

Fear gripped me as I did.

I didn’t want to find him in the same position as I had just seen Danai.

I needed him in my life.

I wanted him there.

He might not have been my soul mate, but I loved him.

I loved Elex.

“Elex!”

I saw a little firework of magic pop above a brick, and I rubbed my eyes. I had to be hallucinating.

Another one popped up.

“Elex?”

Another.

My feet carried me to the source of the magical pops. I fell to my knees on the rough cement in the area. I dug through, heaving pieces of concrete and plaster out of the way, physically and with my magic.

Elex’s face appeared in the rubble.

I saw his face clearly for just a second before the tears crowded in.

“Don’t cry, gorgeous,” he whispered.

“It’s the dust, asshole. It’s in my eyes.”

He chuckled.

At least we still had our sense of humor.

“Kimber!”

Grabbing Elex’s outstretched hand, I turned to see Dorian practically flying over the detritus of his now-former home.

He landed on his knees next to Elex and me, nearly ripping my hands off my arms as he pulled me away.

“Go. You have to go. You have to get out of here.”

“What? No! I have to stay!”

He grasped my hands in his, letting his eyes bore into me. “You must go. This was to kill you, to weaken the temple. Go.”

“Elex—”

“Will be cared for and safe here with us.”

His grip was careful, but firm, and his eyes shown with something new, something…

“Go!”

“Where?” The word tore from my throat and rent the air.

“To the cave. Go to the cave. It is there for you. It’s meant to shelter you. Get out of here!”

The urge to lean back and kiss Elex for reassurance nearly broke me, but I managed to pull away.

After just a few steps, my feet found their strides, and I ran like the wind, hoping that I could make my way to the Cave of the Breaking before someone tried to snatch me away.

They needed me safe as much as I need them to be safe.

I would see Elex—and Dorian—again soon.

CHAPTER THIRTY

~ GWYNNORE ~

I stood before the Council again, barely 24 hours after the Challenge was issued. I had showered and napped before calling them to the chamber.

Nial was sitting back in his chair, flipping through some inane human magazine once more. He had showered as well but had disappeared for a few hours. I’d had to wait for him before I could call the meeting.

“Back so soon, Gwynnore?” Lord Belshazzar showed no emotion.

“I trust you didn’t just gut him like a fish?” Lord Otto was definitely smirking.

“No, my Lords. I didn’t gut them. I resoundingly defeated the Challenge as Lord Cato had issued it.”

“Master Niallan, what say the Monitor of Challenge?”

He flipped a page. “She beat the snot out of it.”

“Could you please be a little less flippant?” Lord Otto sighed.

Nial pointed to the television monitor, and it flipped on. He never let the overlords forget his druid power. I watched as the current news came up, and the handiwork I had put in was on full display a moment later.

“Ginter, his fiancée, and a third unknown woman were found dead at his estate this morning. Preliminary reports from the police and the coroner’s office are pointing to a suicide pact the three made. A note left for Ginter’s brother stated that they could no longer handle living in a polyamorous lifestyle and hiding it constantly from public eyes. The note directs his brother, Paul, to take up the torch of justice and run for the seat in the Senate this coming fall. There is no evidence of foul play and the—”

A flick of Nial’s wrist and the screen shut off.

He closed the magazine and laid it on the table as he stood. “Monitor of Challenge is satisfied that the conditions of this Challenge were met above and beyond satisfaction.”

Nial snatched the magazine back up and walked away.

He was so damn arrogant.

“Candidate Gwynnore, we have heard the Monitor’s words,” Lord Pippin said. “Your remaining Challenge will be sent to you soon.”

I glanced at Cato. He’d said nothing. He only stared at me. I wondered if he had a clue how much I now knew. I nodded at the males and left the chamber.

Nial was standing just outside the door. “You’re not telling on him?”

“I’m in the middle of trying to win the crown. When I am the queen, I will have his balls in bronze. And I will make sure anyone who thinks he can defy the Vampire Laws loses his head over it.”

He whistled. “You are a royal snob.”

“That, you idiotic bastard, is the idea.” I marched away from him, flipping him one of my favorite fingers.

I headed for the kitchen to see if there was anything good on offer. After all the blood I had taken, I would have thought food wouldn’t interest me. But I was wrong. I was going to need a really long nap, too.

I meandered through the castle lost in my own head. As much as I wanted Cato’s balls in bronze, for just so many reasons, I was bound to those same laws. I was bound to uphold those same laws, and as queen, I would have to exemplify them.

Betraying the Laws was punishable by death. Immediate death. No judge, no jury. Vampires didn’t have the patience for that. We could sleep for a century, stalk our prey for weeks, but had zero interest in taking time to hear about why someone broke the law.

Even after centuries, I wasn’t sure I was sold on that.

I was, however, well versed in the law. How could I not be? I’d spent most of my life making sure I had every advantage in the world I lived in—and while the physical was important, so was the academic. The Law.

That throne would be mine. For so many different reasons.

I found a few odds and ends from someone messing around in the kitchen earlier. There were many gourmet cooks in the stronghold. That happened when food was a pleasure, and you had eternity to eat. But these dishes were Overlord Pippin’s signature blazing inferno wings, jalapeno poppers, and, oddly enough, crawfish étoufée. Since I had never been a big fan of scalding my mouth while I ate, I opted for a bowl of the étoufée.

As always, anything Lord Pippin cooked was amazing.

This was only melt in your mouth, not melt your mouth, too.

“Ayre dare, missus. You reckon I kin cook dat dere crawdads with sum mount of delicacy?”

My head snapped up.

Lord Pippin leaned in the doorway, black pants, white shirt unbuttoned, looking very much like he was out to seduce someone.

It had worked once on me.

I laughed. “My lord, you never lived in Louisiana, so I think you missed the mark on the accent.”

“What fun are you?” He shooed me away.

“It’s exceptionally delicious, and I wish I could cook like this.”

“You could learn. You have time.” Propping himself on his elbows in front of me, his eyes sparkled with mischief and a suggestive promise. “I could teach you.”

My lips twitched. “No offense, but I’m actually older than you, and I have never been able to figure it out. My specialty is burnt chicken ala overcooked pasta.”

He mimed being shot in the heart. “How do you not know how to cook pasta?”

“I have no affinity for it. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

The sparkle was back in his eyes. “Would you like lessons?”

“I should think the queen won’t have time for such things.”

His gaze fell to the tabletop. “Marcielle loved to cook. It was something she and I used to do for fun.” His gaze rose from the table, and I was surprised to see a tinge of red at the edges of his eyes. “If you are awarded the ring, you will need a hobby as well. Something to take your mind off the constant pressure of ruling these greedy, hungry, power-mad beings. It is not just this stronghold you will rule. It is all of our enclaves around the world.”

Chewing my last mouthful of the étouffée carefully, I studied him. I believed that was the first time I had ever heard him speak his queen’s name since her death.

“Lord Pippin, I have no hobbies. I have no use for hobbies. And you know all of this already. I have done nothing but prepare for the throne since the day I was shuffled off to live with Grandfather. There has been nothing since, and there will be nothing after.”

The red faded from his eyes. “You do not know what it is to lose that which you love.”

I could feel the anger in my very veins, and he must have seen it in my eyes. He took a shocked step backward. Watching his retreat, I growled, “You made the choice, Pippin. You chose to be king. You chose Marcielle. And you—”

I swallowed. So long ago, and I was still angry.

“Gwen, it couldn’t be.”

Working my jaw, I managed to keep the ‘pissed off’ under control. “You decided it couldn’t be. And you left me in the bed, alone and didn’t even bother to let me know why you even left. I had to hear it from Adelie.”

This was refreshing, finally telling the truth.

My hurt. My anger.

It was all there in my eyes as I stared him down.

“I am sorry. Truly. I never meant to hurt you.”

“Well, you did.” I rubbed at my forehead, my shoulders tightening in stress. “You were half the reason I chose to take my early Rest.”

“I was?” Honestly shocked, he blinked a few times.

My voice was barely above a vicious, angry whisper. “You abandoned me, Pippin. After my father had done that, and my grandfather was killed, and my grandmother died of a broken heart. I had no one but you. You kept me a secret and then left. I needed a break. From everything.”

“I’ve said I was sorry. I won’t do it again.” His jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared…unrepentant. “It was for the crown, Gwen. You’re no different than me. Don’t pretend you are.”

I let the anger go like blood running down a drain. Because, no, I wasn’t any different than him. Except maybe I would have told my lover what the fuck had happened. I growled a little under my breath and flicked him one last glare. He was still an asshole—an asshole I still cared for.

Being a friend was a pain in the ass.

He surprised me, changing the topic.

His head tipped to the side; his beautiful eyes considered my features slowly. “You know, you look like your mother.”

My shoulders stiffened, and my breath caught in my chest. I plastered a smile on my face, teasing, “How would you know? You were born fifty years after me. My mother died when I was seven.”

“Have you never been in his rooms?” A brow rose. “In your father’s rooms?”

I cleared my throat and set my spoon in my bowl. “Not since I was seven. Why would I have any interest in going into his apartments?”

“He has her portrait hanging in his parlor. There is a single hair clasp sitting in front of it. The simple hair clasp is worn and tired.” A deep contemplative sigh escaped the youngest overlord’s lips. “We live on long after those we pledge to love are ripped from us.”

Honest words tumbled out of my mouth without a filter as I rubbed my forehead. “I was a child. I lost my mother. I didn’t know what was going on. He sent me away and became king after her last breath.”

His nose twitched.

I analyzed my old lover, but I couldn’t understand the expression he wore. As he ducked his head down to scratch at his head absently, I added, “For centuries, I held the belief that her death was my fault and that’s why I was sent away. That’s why he rejected me. My grandfather was appalled at what I thought—no one blamed me for Alaine’s death. I wasn’t even on the same fucking continent.” I leaned forward and pushed the bowl at him. “Cato let a child believe she had killed her mother. I get the mating. I get the love and losing part of who you are. But I was a child. That’s why I’ll have his balls bronzed for breaking the law.”

Lord Pippin jerked his head up.

I mentally slapped myself.

I didn’t want to share what I had on Cato.

Narrowing his eyes, he didn’t break our stare. “There was no law broken by shipping you off to your grandfather’s. What are you talking about?”

I turned around from him, grumbling, “It was a sham.”

“Excuse me?”

Spinning back, I stuck my finger in the overlord’s face. I had my own set of brass balls at this point. “It was all a sham. The trial that Cato gave me was bullshit. It was a smoke screen. He has something going on that he’s not letting us in on. He used me to take care of his business, dirty business. And he’s breaking the rules. So I will have his head and his balls.”

“What rules?” he questioned simply.

Though Lord Pippin’s glare was intense, and I didn’t really want to reveal what I had on Cato, I also knew, as the overlords, they needed to know about broken laws.

“When I was at Ginter’s house, the vampire we killed was newly made. She smelled fresh, clean like she still had a lot of human in her. And with everything else that went on there, it is my best guess that she was Cato’s creation. You can’t go against the Council, even if you are on the Council!”

“Do you have proof that she was Cato’s?”

“No.”

“Of course, you don’t.”

“She withheld her memories. You know that only the strongest can do that. How could she be newly turned and be able to do that, unless she was made by the oldest of us? Someone on the Council. Since it was Cato’s devious plan, it’s a damn good bet that he turned her.”

“Speculation.”

I slammed my hand on the counter, cracking it. “Doubt it all you want. I know he’s up to something. He wants to rule the humans too, you know?”

Lord Pippin out and out laughed at me. “Humans? Who would want to rule the humans? They’re our food, Gwynnore. Food. You don’t rule food. You hunt it, you herd it. You don’t rule it.”

My temper was running too hot—again—at that point. I had to get away from him before I did something extra stupid. Leaning in, I let my eyes spark red. “Cato is up to something. His machinations have always been a problem, and you know it. You had to deal with him as your king at one point. You and Lord Otto. He’s a sneaky dick. Mark my words, he’s up to something.”

I turned on my heel and stormed through the levels of the stronghold, but I didn’t head to my apartments. I was too hotheaded to lock myself in. Instead, I chose to climb the stairs to the peak of the mountain. I pushed the too-heavy door open and stepped outside.

Bone-chilling cold whipped through me. I stared west in the midday sun, watching it play off the water of the fjords miles and miles away. Another thing that made being a vampire amazing: cold didn’t harm us. My skin didn’t even pucker, but I still didn’t enjoy it. The heat didn’t touch us either. My eyes adjusted steadily to the bright, warm sun.

I was almost to my last trial now, and I had no idea which of these overlords could be an ally. I thought Lord Belshazzar at first, but he had to abstain from nearly everything. Cato was a no. Cato had always been a no. Lord Otto appeared to be so neutral he made beige look like it was a radical faction. Lord Xenon was…well, Lord Xenon. My hope lay in Lord Pippin, which sucked in and of itself. The youngest and least influential of the five, he was still finding his place among the overlords.

I’d had high hopes for him as an ally.

And now I had no idea.

I would still need an ally on the Council—that hadn’t changed. With the strength of the power hungry there—physical, mental, financial, and emotional—as queen, I would need someone on my side. I needed them before I even reached the throne, and no one was stepping forward at all. Even Nial was being a perfect ass about all of this.

My temper started to cool to manageable, gone was the ‘grab him and drain him’ feeling I’d had before. I did actually want to cultivate the alliance with Lord Pippin.

Leaning against the rock, I folded my arms and stared out at the glinting Pacific. Being this high up had its advantages… from eighteen thousand feet, you could see very, very far, even without the advantage of vampire-enhanced vision. I needed this fresh air, this view, this time to myself. I needed to find my center. I had been used. I was discarded at birth and used.

And I hadn’t lied to Lord Pippin. Since I was a little girl, since my grandfather started teaching me the laws and the ways of the vampires, I had wanted nothing more, nothing else, than to sit on the throne and wear the queen’s ring, the Black Star, a star sapphire of a blue like the dark of night. I dreamed of that dark black-blue. I dreamed of that crown. Of the thrones. Of people respecting me, finally.

“I wish you were here, Grandfather. Not just your memories. But you.”

The wind howled, but there was no answer.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

~ GWYNNORE ~

Niallan smirked as he sat at the table the next morning.

I groaned and blatantly walked away from him.

I’d managed nearly twelve hours of sleep, and it felt damned good. I had needed it after all the time I’d spent running around and trying to complete the trials, making new ‘friends.’. The blood-drunk way I’d started to feel at the end of the day was not what I’d wanted to deal with, and sleep was the perfect cure-all for that.

But seeing Nial’s face bright and early in the morning didn’t do a thing for me. The smug fucker. I went to sit down with Adelie at the other table in the dining room.

“Good morning.” She grinned.

Always an ally in this woman. “Good morning, Adelie. You’re looking exceptionally healthy.”

“Oh, a good drink and fuck will do that.”

Locking my gaze on her, I waited. She was no damn good at keeping secrets from me. She could keep a thousand other secrets from a thousand other people, but never from me.

Sighing and slumping in the chair, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. His name is Rodolphe.”

“Is it serious?”

“Seriously good, yes. It’s mutually agreeable. I’m not sure it’s a mate thing—definitely not a soul mate—but man, I didn’t know that screaming ‘Rodolphe’ at the top of my lungs could be so much fun.” She leaned over. “And he tastes good. Like expensive champagne. And pineapple.”

Tossing my head back, I let out a raucous laugh. “Because, of course, you did!”

She chuckled, whispering, “The French say that fellatio is far more intimate than just smashing genitals.”

In the corner of my vision, I could see Nial twist his lips and shake his head. He stood and sauntered out of the room with far too much swagger. But he had left, so I enjoyed that little victory.

Pulling over the orange juice, I gave her serious side eye. “The French?”

“Well, okay. Rodolphe says it is. And holy snacks, Gwen, that man has a tongue.”

Waving my hands, I shook my head in the negative. “Nope. Stop right there. I don’t need to hear this from you. All I’ll get is jealous.”

“He’s more than willing to entertain another lady…”

I snickered. “At the same time?”

Adelie shrugged. “Same time, different time, in a bed, in a closet. Rodolphe is very liberal in his loving.”

“Manwhore?”

“Yup.”

We burst out laughing and settled into breakfast, her mouth going a hundred miles an hour while I quietly enjoyed my eggs and bacon. Bacon had to be one of the things in the human world that came near the exquisite taste of blood on a thirsty tongue. I could eat that damn pork all day long.

While I was enjoying the bacon in its natural and native form of just a slice of bacon and my mouth, Nial was suddenly back in the room and next to the table. He was in full Monitor of Challenge mode, and he was pissy too. “You’re requested in the chamber. Immediately.”

“Just enough time to sleep and eat? I don’t get a break?”

He adjusted his look to one of anger. “Queens don’t get a day off.”

I growled but put down the rest of my bacon rasher and stood. “You finished breakfast already, Master Nial, so perhaps you realized someone had pissed in your Cheerios?”

Adelie giggled, but the glare Nial threw at her cut her off. When he looked back at me, I saw Adelie give him the middle finger. Standing up, Adelie had every intention of following me. Nial put a hand out to stop her. “The last Challenge is not publically given. This one is behind closed doors. Only the Queen Novitiate and the overlords are allowed.”

A queasiness rose in my stomach. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like hiding what the request was from the general public. Still, this whole trial and ceremony thing was older than my own grandfather. I had to play along with the rules. Instead of fighting with the druid, I put a hand on Adelie’s shoulder. “Let me go. It’ll be fine. I can’t expect them to wait more than a day for me to recover.”

She straightened her back, nodded and gave Nial the nastiest look. I wanted to high-five her, but Mister Monitor was halfway across the room at that point, and I had to follow him. I refused to run, but I did power walk to end up just behind him. We strode through the halls to the small chamber where the overlords could hold private audiences if they needed to.

He pulled the door open, and there was no mistaking the anger he was radiating. “They’re waiting for you.”

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“I am Monitor of Challenge and a possible candidate for king. I cannot be present for this issuance. My only instruction as of now is that I will know when you have completed it.”

Well. This was a twist. I knew it was given in confidence, but I didn’t realize even the Monitor didn’t get to know what I had to do. Interesting.

I stepped into the chamber, and Mister Crushed Ego slammed the door.

The five overlords sat in their casual clothes, which were out of place. They were usually all dressed up in for the pomp and ceremony. They loved to remind everyone how powerful they were, waving their dicks in our faces. But there wasn’t a hint of the hauteur I was used to from them. They were gathered around a small, old wooden table.

Stress. Distress. Excitement.

It radiated from them in waves.

My stomach stopped fluttering and started churning hard. They left me standing and waiting for a very, very long moment.

“Gwynnore, daughter of Alaine,” Lord Belshazzar began, standing up. “You have satisfied all of our trials with expediency and enthusiasm. The last trial only barely, when you finally revealed to Lord Pippin that you believed Lord Cato was breaking the law. The truth. That was the true test, whether you would tell us of your father’s possible duplicity—even if the Council did want Ginter dead for our own reasons.”

I blinked. Stared. “Wait… You knew he had created a vampire?”

Lord Belshazzar nodded with ease. “Yes. Any vampire he has created has been approved.”

My mouth bobbed without elegance. “You were testing me. About my morals, and where I would let the law apply.”

Didn’t they know I despised my father?

I wouldn’t have saved his ass from death. At least…

No, I wouldn’t have. I did a little mental shake. I definitely wouldn’t save the bastard who had abandoned me. I had told Lord Pippin about it—even if it was out of unfiltered anger.

“Yes. And the Council is pleased with the outcome. We have reached the last trial.”

Lord Xenon stood. “This trial is law. Your last Challenge is in the Law. We cannot change it. We dare not change it. It has served us well this long. But bear in mind always that this is the law, and we must obey it.”

Lord Otto hoisted himself out of his chair. “Our conditions are this. You must complete this task in under forty-eight hours. It must be done in the public eye. And you must not ever tell anyone the true reason for this.”

Cato rose to his feet. “Tradition is tradition. Law is law. If you want the crown, you must follow this to the letter.” His cold facade wavered a moment then snapped back into place.

Slowly, Lord Pippin stood. “Are you ready to hear your final Challenge?”

I nodded, swallowing back the bile that wanted out.

He continued, “The law states that she who would be queen must to prove her dedication to the law, kill the individual who is her most loved one, be they family, friend or mated—including soul mates. No one can be told of this Challenge. The blood must be left to the ages.”

There was no way I’d heard that right. “Could you repeat that?”

“You must kill the individual who is your most loved one,” Lord Pippin repeated the words.

“You want me to kill my friend?” My voice rose hysterically, his meaning hitting like a sledgehammer to my skull. “You want me to kill Adelie?”

“We do not.” Lord Belshazzar kept his tone even and quiet. “It is the law. This trial is to prove your loyalty to the vampires. This Challenge is to prove you’re loyal to the law. It is the law that issues this Challenge.”

“Find something. Anything else. Want me to wipe out a village? An island? A vampire enclave? I’m all for it.”

Lord Otto sat down. “It is law.”

“Find something else! Adelie is my truest friend. She is my confidant, and I need her help as queen. And you want me to fucking kill her?”

Lord Xenon found his chair as well. “It is law.”

“Fuck your law. Fuck it. Find me another Challenge.”

“You have forty-eight hours to complete this,” Lord Belshazzar explained patiently and then sat his own ass down as well. They were all on their asses staring at me—except for Cato. He remained standing, his expression utterly blank while he watched me. I gave them all the middle finger and turned to walk out, fully expecting that they would call me back and tell me the real Challenge. Or kill me on the way out.

Lord Belshazzar moved and blocked my way. “This is not a lie, Gwen. You are required to kill the one you love the most. If you want to be queen, you must. We want you to be the queen. You are the best, the most suited for this.”

His eyes were soft, but unmovable.

“You’re not kidding. I really have to kill her.”

“Make it quick, Gwen. Don’t drag this out, for either of you. It only gets worse. I can tell you, the longer you let this take, the more horrible it’s going to be.”

I shook my head hard. “I had fucking breakfast with her twenty minutes ago.”

“The law must be upheld.”

My blink was ever so slow and my blood ran cold. “Do…do the male candidate have to perform this Challenge to?”

His ice blue eyes narrowed. “I’m not allowed to answer that. As you know.” He shook his head sharply, entering my personal space with a step forward, when I opened my mouth to argue. “Careful. You’re veering into death territory if you ask me again. The only reason you got away with that question the first time is because it was for the male candidates. One warning can be given. That’s it.”

I pushed him out of my way. To hell with them!

My fists shook, cramping from squeezing so hard.

My gaze landed on Cato.

My father didn’t blink. He held my regard.

My mother… His wife… His love…

The need to flee was overwhelming.

I kicked the door open.

And then shoved past Nial standing there.

“What’s the trial?” He walked behind me with his long legs, easily keeping up with my hurried stalk. “Gwen, what’s the—”

Using my speed, I ran not only through the stronghold but down the mountain and out into the cold air of the Chilean winter. I ran hard and ran fast. I just kept running until I finally exhausted myself, nearly an hour later. There was a small copse of evergreen bushes, and I dropped down under them, wrapping my arms around my knees and rocking madly. Everything but the challenge I shoved aside for later review—my emotions couldn’t handle any more.

I had to kill my friend.

That was the law?

Who makes laws about killing your best friend?

Didn’t they understand that I needed her help?

Sweet and caring Adelie was my right-hand woman, and I needed that. Someone who would remember things for me. Something that would pick out fancy foods and place settings when I didn’t even remotely care. Someone who…cared…about me. And I her.

I had to murder my friend?

How could that be a law? Take away one of the queen’s strengths before she even gets to the throne. The whole vampire law was stilted toward the males, it always had been, but this was the ultimate slap in the face to the females. Hobbling their queen.

How could I kill my friend?

She had been instrumental in shaping me as a Queen Novitiate. Books, training, conversation, devil’s advocate. Adelie had been there through all of it and even got over her habit of keeping pet humans to bring me blood and memories when I woke. I knew that had been hard for her. But she did it. Because she was my friend. She was my heart-sister. She was Adelie. And she wanted me to ascend to the throne as much as anyone could have.

She wanted me to win the crown.

Adelie would have given anything to help me get the crown.

Her life, though? Her life? It was a step too far.

Wasn’t it?

I couldn’t imagine life without her. She was always there, always my friend. From the day I arrived at my grandfather’s citadel outside of Luxor, she befriended me, the daughter of Pharaonic blood and a vampire, her viciousness even at our age then had impressed me. And yet she still kept human pets and had a soft side for them. When she found out I was a princess to the crown, she insisted I needed to take the job as queen one day—when I was old enough to be called upon. It became our obsession. Hers as much as mine.

And now, here we were. At the brink of victory.

The crown hovered above my head…

All I had to do was kill her, and it was mine.

It was law.

If I didn’t kill her, I didn’t uphold the law.

And I didn’t get the throne.

This was the bull that kept the males in power. They cut off their females at the knees before they married them and bred them, so they never had a chance to truly mourn.

Would Adelie hesitate to kill me if we were in each other’s shoes?

Yes. Of course.

Any woman would hesitate to cut off their right hand.

What would I tell her if I knew this was her last test before the finish line?

Kill me.

Of course. Kill me in a heartbeat and take the crown.

I started to regain a sense of balance, calm scratching at the edges of my senses.

I centered my breathing and tested myself once more.

What would I say?

Kill me. Take the crown.

Make the males realize what they are doing. Find a way to change the law so no one has to die for the Black Heart. Make an amazing queen. And kick Nial in the balls for me.

Well, maybe I’d hold back on the last part.

I let out a laugh in the empty forest and wiped my nose of the snot.

Fine. They wanted me to kill her. The law said I had to.

Then I would.

We’d both worked for me to take this crown.

And we would both do anything to put it where it belonged—on my brow.

*  *  *

I found Lord Otto and Lord Xenon in the formal dining room. I stood over them, fists clenched at my sides.

The two other people in the area fled, my wild hair and red-rimmed eyes enough of a warning for them to skedaddle.

I stated quietly, “I have three conditions.”

Lord Xenon shook his head slightly and sighed. “There are no conditions.”

“I have conditions. Will you hear me?”

Lord Otto shrugged. “Fine. Tell us your conditions.”

Glancing between them, I didn’t falter. “I will not have this done in public. I request a small party of witnesses. The overlords, the Monitor, and two other people of the Council’s choosing so that there is no bias.”

“That is not how this is done,” Lord Xenon grumbled.

I leaned in close to the two of them. “Does the law tell me how I am to commit murder?”

Both shook their heads, their brows puckered in thought.

“Then I will choose how I will commit murder against someone who is a sister to me.” I straightened, shoving my shoulders back. I peered down my nose into their eyes. “My first condition is that you give me the space and set up exactly as I said—witnesses and the victim. That’s all.”

With a simple glance, they spoke volumes to each other.

“A small gathering is granted.” Lord Otto’s words were smooth and cold. “What is your second condition?”

“I am left alone for a week to mourn. There will be no contact from the Councilors or their agents.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Nothing from anyone. Alone. To mourn.”

Rapidly shaking his head in the negative, Lord Otto looked ready to explode. “The ceremony—”

I cut him off rapidly, “Unless it’s in the law—that is my demand.”

Lord Xenon put a hand on Lord Otto to hold him in the chair. “It is not in the tradition. The ceremony is usually the day after. We can only accommodate an uncrowned queen for four days. At the most. That is our compromise.”

It wouldn’t matter how many days they could manage. It would never be enough.

My head nodded in a stiff jerk. “Fine. Four. Uninterrupted by anyone.”

“And your last condition?” Lord Xenon prompted me to finish.

“I crown myself. No one places that crown on my head but me.”

Lord Otto nearly jumped out of his seat. “Unheard of!”

The unshakeable, unreadable Lord Xenon cracked. “That’s not right. That’s not the way it’s been done in the past. The queen should be crowned by the eldest overlord. Lord Otto is correct—this is unheard of.”

“Well, hear of it, or you lose this Queen Novitiate.” I wasn’t budging.

Another glance at each other, and they nodded at the same time accepting the terms.

“Set up a dinner,” I said.

“This—”

I slammed my hand on the table. “I’m doing what the law asks. I despise it, and if I could find a way around this, I would. In a heartbeat. So you’ll work with me, or you can find a new Queen Novitiate and hope they can pass your stupid trials.”

Again, the synchronized nod.

“A dinner. Tomorrow night, with the witnesses there. No one else. Set the table, but do not expect to eat. I will not give her a last meal like some pig to the slaughter.” Spinning on my heel, I headed for the exit but paused. I tossed my last words over my shoulder at them. “Tell Lord Belshazzar it will be quick.”

A creeping chill ran up my hardened spine, noting the small smiles they now wore.

Perhaps I should have demanded more.

Cunning fucks.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

~ GWYNNORE ~

This vampire was seeing much of the porcelain god. Lots of time hugging the toilet.

I hid and cried and hid some more. I avoided all contact with everyone. Nial tried to hunt me down several times in the next few hours, but there was no finding me. Mostly because I hid outside the stronghold after barfing for thirty minutes, slinking down the side of the mountain as the day wore on. I wanted the cold to strip me of all feelings, take the flesh off my bones.

Anything not to feel.

I snuck in a few times to see if I could find a bottle of liquor strong enough to do anything to me—but would leave empty-handed, instead. I could have gotten shitfaced, but then that would only diminish the act I had to commit. I had to honor Adelie in some way.

I finally allowed Lord Otto’s second to find me early the next afternoon. I was sitting just outside the rock door at the very top of the mountain, holding my mind silent. Even hunting didn’t help me. I finally just tried to shut my mind off.

A guard stepped up behind me. “Candidate, everyone has been looking for you. Lord Otto told me not to come back until I found you. He instructed me to tell you that dinner is ready, and once I found you, to fetch your—”

“Stop. Fetch whomever you have to. I will be at the table in twenty minutes.”

He bowed and disappeared back through the door.

Pausing just long enough to make sure my legs would actually carry me, I descended into the stronghold. I hefted the sword I’d kept on my lap, eventually letting it fall to the side, held lightly in my hand.

I took exactly twenty minutes to reach the door where I knew the overlords took their meals and tried again to turn off my brain. It was a futile gesture.

I couldn’t open the door, my hand hovering over the doorknob.

I could smell the meal they had laid out inside. It was succulent, and I was sure that Lord Pippin had gone out of his way to create something completely and amazingly mouthwatering. I didn’t want to know what was on that table, but it was easy to tell he had cooked pheasant and wild rice. Neither of which I would ever have again—this moment scarred into my brain.

The door still didn’t open by my hand.

Voices floated, buzzing in and out.

I could hear the easy conversation between Nial and—

I pulled up short, my fingers now digging into the doorknob. He was speaking to her.

I hated Nial even more at that moment. I didn’t think that was even possible, but I did. I ratcheted up to loathing and made a note to extract my anger from his hide at some point in the near future. Even if this weren’t his fault, I’d take it out on him.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

Quick. I promised Lord Belshazzar quick.

I owed it to all three of us.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the room. The sounds and smells overwhelmed me for a moment. Just for a heartbeat, I almost turned and ran and became rogue. Just one heartbeat.

“Nice of you to finally show up,” Nial said.

“I told you Lord Otto’s man would find her,” she said with a grin. “Come on, Gwen. The food is going to get cold.”

Everything felt as if I were underwater. Doubt and confusion swirled around me, tripping me. I caught myself, slamming the door and circling the table as if to take the seat next to her.

The overlords watched me keenly, and their two witnesses, Felicia, a general of the warrior forces, and Melchior, the chief strategist—both clearly confused as to why they were there.

Nial peered at me, and it was almost as if he could see what was in my heart and mind.

His eyes cracked yellow for just a flash of a moment.

Speak her name. One last time.

I opened my mouth, and choked, “Adelie, this is what we wanted. I love you always. Please forgive me.”

I didn’t hesitate. The time now.

My blow…was swift and sure.

Adelie didn’t even have a chance to turn and look at me before my sword cleaved her head from her shoulders. It was a stroke I’d learned years ago, to make sure that death was instant, none of that lingering bullshit. The head of full, beautiful red hair, curly and styled, dropped forward and landed on her own lap. The blood flowed from her neck, covering her favorite shirt with horrid crimson. I couldn’t see her face as the life flowed out of her, soaking the hair.

I held my stance for entirely too long, watching the last of my friend drip to the floor.

Blood is life.

Blood was also death.

I stabbed the sword into the table and finally broke my numb stare, pinning each overlord with a red glare that I wished could pierce their flesh.

I hissed, “It’s done.”

I marched out. I slammed the door.

I ran.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

~ GWYNNORE ~

“Gwynnore,” Nial stated, cool and unruffled.

I wasn’t answering. It wasn’t enough time.

It would never be enough time.

“Gwynnore.”

I needed time. So much more time to deal with what I had done because of the law. I knew Adelie would have approved, but I would never know for sure because I wasn’t even allowed to take her blood. All of her memories, all of her knowledge, flowed out of her, on to her clothes and dripped into pools on the floor.

I hoped each one of those assholes sat there and stared at her dead, headless body.

Hiding in my apartments, stealing through the halls, running through the mountains, hunting in the forest, none of it quelled the guilt that I bore. Adelie had been my best, and sometimes only, friend my whole life.

And I had chopped her head off.

Maybe in the afterlife, she understood what I had done, why I had done it.

The crown was my everything.

Had it been worth her life?

Had I passed their fucking trials?

“Gwynnore.”

I turned my head and found Nial standing with Cato and Lord Belshazzar behind him.

“Go away,” I growled.

Lord Belshazzar explained with cool calm, “The Monitor of Challenge is satisfied that the conditions of this Challenge were met above and beyond satisfaction.”

“Oh, fuck you!” The scream echoed through the rooms. “Screw you. Screw your Challenges. I’ve proven what I’ll do. Don’t come at me with your Monitor of Challenge shit.”

Couldn’t he be a little caring?

I didn’t understand the ancient lord at all.

“You’ve passed, Gwynnore,” Cato said. “You’ve won the crown.”

I swallowed all the words I wanted to hurl at him.

This was what I wanted.

This was what I had fought for my whole life, trained for, sacrificed everything for.

I won.

I was the queen.

I could almost hear my friend’s voice through the dead silence of the rock. We did it, Gwen. We did it. All that work, and it’s finally yours.

The thought of Adelie’s pride was what finally compelled me to smear the tears from my face. I’d had my four days of mourning, and part of me would always remember what it took to get the Black Heart on my hand. An almost ironic name that I fully believed everyone in this room really understood. Steeling myself, I pushed up off the chair I had been curled into, weeping and screaming for the past twenty-four hours.

I was the queen.

I straightened my spine and turned to the door where the three of them stood. And in the next second, they went to one knee, genuflecting to me.

To me.

I’d won.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

~KIMBER~

The emergency teams were rushing toward the temple’s campus as I ran away from it.

I realized I was wearing ordinary temple clothes and that was bad. I could be easily identified by whoever had blown up the building.

Once I was away from the parkland that was around the temple campus, I ducked into a small alley and paused to collect myself.

The building had come down around us.

I’d found Tymon and Dorian.

Elex was going to be fine.

I had to get back to the cave. Even though I still didn’t like Dorian, I trusted him. And I had to trust that he knew what he was talking about with my safety.

This was the second time he had put my life above his.

What was that all about?

Shaking my head, I cleared that thought out. I’d worry later. Right now, I had to lose the familiar temple clothes.

Taking a real assessment of where I was, I immediately had an idea. I was less than a mile from Jallina’s sister’s house. She had always been a steady rock for Jalli, and she had always liked me.

I had to take a chance.

I looked down, and my outfit screamed ‘acolyte,’ and I had to fix that for even this short walk.

I finished tearing off the sleeves. The building had started that for me. I dug my hand into one of the holes in the skirt and pulled down. It tore away, taking the bottom half of the overskirt, leaving me with the underskirt showing.

That would do.

I traveled the length of the small alleyway and out the opposite end where I had entered.

I caught a reflection of myself.

I’d be lucky to make it the mile without a peace officer stopping me for questioning with the amount of dust and disaster on me.

I stayed in the shadows of the afternoon sun, and using a touch of magic, cleaned off most of the dust.

I needed a comb. I looked ghastly.

Jennila’s house came into view, and I could see her on the lawn with her two little ones. She sensed me coming and searched the area to find me.

She waited at the gate for me and opened it.

“Kimber. Gods and stars, what happened to you? Are you coming from the temple?”

The simple gestured of her opening her arms to welcome me destroyed what control I had mustered up. I sank into her welcoming, sobbing.

“What’s wrong?” She held me tight.

“The temple residences were attacked. Master Dorian sent me away for my own safety.”

With a gasp, she called the little ones to her and led us all into the house. The children were unaware of anything bad that had gone on, and it was better that way. They ran off into the house.

Jennila rushed into action once they were away from us.

“You need clothes, and you must wash your hair.” Studying me, she shook her head. “No, we must cut your hair. You have distinct locks, and if you’re trying to get to safety that isn’t nearby, you’ll need to be less recognizable.”

I didn’t want to lose my long hair, but she was right. It was distinct. People knew what I looked like.

“I’ll wash it out, and you can cut it off.”

“Good. I’ll get a few of Jallina’s outfits out of her closet here, and you pick the one that’s most unlike you. I’ll pack something for you to eat so you’re not too hungry.”

Grabbing my arm, she pulled me deeper into the house and led me to the wonderful bathroom they had.

“Quickly. There’s a robe on the door when you’re done, and I’ll have clothes for you in the spare room.”

I wanted to enjoy the shower, but there was no time.

I was just grateful for the warmth and the soap.

Jennila was waiting in the spare room with three outfits and a pair of sheers.

I took the chair in front of her, and without fanfare, she trimmed off nearly a foot of my thick, sandy brown hair. It was a utilitarian cut by necessity, and I was sure that Elex would miss the tickling of my hair as I rode him in bed.

What a terrible moment to think about sex.

All I wanted to do was to find Elex and spend the day fucking each other’s brains out.

Damn it.

“Pick an outfit, Kimber. One that’s not you. After you are done here, don’t walk. Get a carriage or horse and have them take you close to where you’re going. Don’t walk. That’s what acolytes do.”

I studied the outfits.

One was very much me. A simple white shift skirt and blouse. I wanted the comfort of it, but I couldn’t.

I was running for my life.

I picked a bright green outfit with pants and a shirt that had a crazy green, yellow, and black pattern on it.

Not anything I would ever wear.

I held the shirt against myself and turned to the mirror.

“I don’t think I can call myself an acolyte anymore.”

Jennila looked over my shoulder at the reflection and nodded her approval.

“Definitely not you. Good choice.”

I quickly doffed the robe and pulled on some undergarments and then the pants and shirt.

Studying me, Jennila nodded again. She hesitated on some words but finally got them out.

“What would you call yourself now, Lady Raven?”

With a glance at myself in the mirror, I let out a slow breath, taking in the wild-eyed, short-haired woman staring back at me.

It was time to admit my place in S’Kir.

“Breaker of the Spine.”

*  *  *

The horse was from a local livery, but I liked her.

Steady and strong, even some of the louder noises and utter insanity of the city didn’t faze her.

The news of the broken temple spread quickly. Almost on my heels.

So did the news that I was missing and Mistress Danai was dead.

I choked back the sorrow I felt.

She’d been the first of the temple masters to genuinely try to get to know me. She’d driven me hard with the etiquette and had worked to celebrate our world.

Now was not the time for mourning.

I’d have to do that later when Elex and I were once again together and safe.

I cantered the big bay mare into the Stadia district. There was no one around before supper, and probably wouldn’t have anyone around later, either.

The city would also mourn for Danai.

The mountains loomed above, cutting out half the sky above me. It was a threatening animal, looming above, poised to strike.

The Cave of the Breaking lay just ahead of me.

I dismounted, hoping to bring the horse into the cave with me. She’d be safer there, and I could have company while I waited for…

Well.

I didn’t know what I was waiting for.

Just like most of my life.

I stood in front of the mouth of the cave and looked up.

And up.

And up.

“I am here!” I yelled toward the massive mountain. “I am Lady Kimber Raven, the Breaker of the Spine! What do you need of me?”

The mountain shook.

It was not a meager tremble or a warning.

The ground rolled beneath me, and the rocks screamed above me.

I stood my ground at the mouth of the cave, waiting for the mountain’s tantrum to pass.

A single rock tore loose and hurtled through the air at me. My hand stretched out to catch it.

Lined with the crystals from the cave, the rock lit from within, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. Dozens of colors danced there, and I could hear the cacophony of sound again in my mind.

It was trying to speak to me.

I didn’t understand it yet.

My magic wasn’t ready.

Twisting back, looking at S’Kir laid out before me, I realized terrible truths.

Dorian was right.

“I have no idea what’s coming for us all.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

~ GWYNNORE ~

The ceremonial chamber was huge and filled with thousands of people.

My people.

I hadn’t realized that there were enough vampires in the stronghold to fill it.

After I asked, Lord Pippin told me there actually weren’t.

Half had come from other enclaves around the world to be there to see this.

“You are already a legend.” Lord Pippin lifted an eyebrow at me.

“Not exactly.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “You are. The daughter of a former king has fought her way to the throne. It is the stuff of legends.”

Wonderful.

I flexed the hand that had wielded the sword to secure my crown. The wrist was still sore from the tattoo I had insisted on—the royal seal, reminding me always what I had done. My chuckle was bitter. “I never wanted my name associated with his. Even if he did love my mother.”

“So you do believe he loved her.”

“He must have at some point.”

He grinned. “You will be a queen to be reckoned with.”

He strolled away, heading for the rest of the overlords seated on the dais in the center. They formed a pentacle around the center throne, where the silver crown sat waiting. Lord Belshazzar was at the topmost point, and that’s where I would face when I took the—my—throne.

Their red and gold capes were trimmed with black-dyed ermine, but each was unique, reflecting the era each had become an overlord. Lord Pippin’s was the newest, appearing like something out of the painting “The Coronation of Napoleon,” and when I told him that, he winked and said he was there in the painting. I merely rolled my eyes. Lord Belshazzar’s looked like something out of a bad movie about troglodytes, and I told him that, too. He didn’t appreciate my cracks about his age—too bad, he should start to get used to it.

My own cloak was made of deep red velvet and gold embroidery, with the smallest edge of ermine I could get away with. I hated fur. I didn’t look good in it, and as a queen, I wanted to look really damn good.

I had to for Adelie.

I wanted to for the vampires I was about to rule.

Two days after they pulled me out of my mourning, they had me at the foot of the throne, ready to take my crown. I glanced at the tattoo and balled my fist again. Everything we’d fought for, right here, right now.

Lord Belshazzar stood and motioned me forward from where I was standing. There was very little pomp and circumstance in this ceremony because it was so ancient and so rare. I walked forward, cloak flowing behind, the black dress I’d chosen rustling quietly through the hushed audience. I never wore dresses, but I felt it was necessary this time.

Plus, I was strapped underneath.

A gun on my thigh, a gun at my knee, a garter of ammo, and a short sword strapped to my other leg. Let anyone try anything with me. I didn’t care who I killed at this point.

At the bottom of the stairs, Nial stood, and I couldn’t read him. I didn’t know if he was happy, pissed off, shocked, or exhausted. Maybe all four. On the other side were Felicia and Melchior. The stairs to the dais guarded by those who had witnessed my last trial.

I had been shocked to find out that no one had leaked the last trial, but then Lord Pippin had explained they had taken advantage of Niallan’s druid heritage and had him bind everyone to silence. No one in that room would, or even could, speak of what they had seen, not even to one another if there was a remote chance that anyone could hear them. Their tongues would not work.

They had also carefully crafted a story about Adelie’s unfortunate car accident that cleaved her head from her shoulders. It was easily done, and the pictures were suitably horrific in the local papers the next day.

The assholes had used my Lamborghini.

My beautiful, black estrogen mobile.

I was pissed. They owed me a new one.

I’d had a meeting with Felicia and Melchior when I came out of mourning. I found them to be marvelous allies. Maybe I couldn’t figure out which of the overlords would be a good liaison, but I knew those two were loyal.

Both Felicia and Niallan halted me with crossed swords.

They studied me.

Niallan eventually spoke. “I am the Monitor of the fourth Challenge. It shall be known to the people of the Black Heart crown that Gwynnore of Luxor, taking her grandfather’s name, has satisfied all conditions of the Challenge, as they were presented to her, by my eyes. This is sworn to by my blood.”

Felicia flipped the sword over and sliced down on Nial’s palm, scoring the skin and drawing blood.

“I am a Witness of Final Challenge,” Felicia called out to the massive audience. “It shall be known to the people of the Black Heart crown that Gwynnore of Luxor, taking her grandfather’s name, has satisfied all conditions of the Challenge as they were presented to her, by my eyes. This is sworn to by my blood.”

This time, Nial scored her skin and drew blood.

They held the swords aloft and allowed me to pass, touching the bloodied tips to the edge of the golden embroidered swords designed into the cloak I wore. As good a blessing as any vampire got.

As they mounted the stairs carefully and steadily, the five overlords stood, until one foot in front of the other placed me in front of the throne.

With a rustle, the cloak was arranged, but I didn’t sit.

Lord Belshazzar commanded the audience’s attention with his authoritative voice. “Gwynnore of Luxor, the Council of Overlords, has called you and seen that you have passed all five Challenges, along with the approval of the Monitor of Challenge and Witness of the Final Challenge. Upon this moment, you are hereby the Queen of Vampires, the Queen of Gods. We welcome you to the throne with your crown.”

Lord Pippin ambled up from behind me and held the crown out for me to take.

I grinned. I was sure that everyone watching was thinking I was smiling because I had won this crown and finally had it in my hands. It wasn’t though. It was my personal victory that no one crowned me. Only I was suited to put the crown on my own head as the queen.

I held it aloft and lowered it down until it felt just right on my head.

In fact, it felt more than just right.

It was as if it were settling in and had finally found its proper home.

Which it had. This was who I was meant to be.

Lord Belshazzar spoke again, “Gwynnore of Luxor, as the Queen of Vampires, the Queen of Gods, you are hereby granted the Black Heart Star, the very heart of your subjects. It must always be worn and guarded. Without it, you are diminished, your crown tarnished. So it has been since the beginning of time, and so it shall continue.”

This time, Cato held out a small, exquisite pillow with the ring placed on it. The crown was beautiful but impractical. This ring, with its dark black star sapphire shining from the setting, was the real sign of power, the signet that identified the queen at all times.

Some sick bastard dared to have my father offer this ring and pass the legacy to me, a legacy he had abandoned me for.

I lifted the Black Heart and slipped it on my finger on my right hand.

It was done.

I was the Queen of Gods.

The chamber erupted in applause and cheers.

I marched the curve of the dais once, looking at all the vampires that had gathered to welcome me. There were thousands here, and there were thousands more in enclaves around the world watching me as I walked.

With my head held high, I was finally where I was meant to be.

*  *  *

The goblets of blood were lifted high again, and cheers exploded around the room.

I didn’t totally dislike this gathering, all here to see me crowned and to celebrate. But, in my current mood, I would have preferred to be left alone, to hunt, to brood, to think on what I had to do for these people who would now bend knee to me.

This vainglorious celebration reeked of everything I didn’t want as I rose to the crown, but the overlords were insistent that this was how a crowning was celebrated: a human brought from below, left in Thrall, strapped to an upright board. Each arm stretched out, held there, looking very much like the Christians’ bloodied Savior. Both arms were sliced and left to bleed freely as those in attendance filled their goblets again and again from the veins of this sacrifice.

I was disgusted, come to think of it.

This was how the spoiled and elite acted, and I wasn’t feeling either at that moment. I was also dying to get out of the dress and back into my regular clothes. I stepped out of the room with no one really noticing—they were all blood drunk and on the sixth or seventh human.

Chattel. I couldn’t stand it.

Meandering through the stone passageways of the stronghold, I marveled that this was now my domain. Mine. I passed a few vampires as I walked, all of them immediately bowing as they caught sight of me.

Now that made me happy. I was immensely pleased by their actions.

My apartments had been moved a few days earlier, and I was now installed in the massive suite that allowed a queen to entertain guests and retreat to rest if she so chose. It needed more decorating, but for now, I was content enough to leave what was there.

I made my way to the back and up the stairs to the room that held my now massive closet.

My old wardrobe took up less than a tenth of the space, and I laughed. The dress I quickly stripped out of was going to take up another tenth of the space. I hung it up. It was a gorgeous dress. I would keep it, even though someone had told me along the way that queens never wore the same formal outfit twice.

This queen did if she liked it.

I unstrapped my weapons and pulled on a pair of leggings and a comfortable sweater. Rearranging myself, and the guns and sword, I felt better. I looked in the mirror and laughed. A warrior with a crown stared back. And that’s what I wanted to be, the female staring back at me from the glass.

I wandered once more, this time to the area where the common vampires were celebrating. There was blood, of course, but it wasn’t decadently displayed alive. There were also trays of food of every kind, and it smelled divine.

It smelled like bacon.

Someone in the masses spotted me and held their cup aloft. “To Queen Gwynnore! Live long and rule well!”

The room raised their glasses and repeated, “Queen Gwynnore!”

That sounded amazing to me, the edges of my lips tipping up in an indulgent smile.

“Whatever are you doing down here among the masses?”

I spun, and of course, Nial was standing there. Cocky, confident, arrogant, and self-assured.

“I didn’t like the other party. It was too elitist.”

“Get used to it. They like that party template. Live blood drained for their pleasure.”

“I don’t have to get used to it, Nial. I’m the queen.”

He raised his glass. “That you are.”

Glancing around, I could see the people here were having a genuinely good time. “What are you doing down here. Shouldn’t you be up there kissing asses and making sure they remember you’ve stolen the power of one of their own?”

“Parlor tricks get old. Plus, they’ll all be down in a few minutes. Exciting news and all that.”

I twisted my lips into a grimace. Time to disappear.

I plunged into the crowds, mingling and greeting people. They curtsied and bowed, but no one made a big deal about me being there. It was the way I wanted it. I wanted to be able to go and dance and drink with the people of the stronghold and the enclaves.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

I looked at the door where the five overlords stood, clearly blood drunk and still wearing their stupid capes. How they could walk around with those things on, who knew. I had ditched mine as soon as we were off the dais. A lady in waiting had snatched it and gone off with it. They were ceremonial and kept safe, so I didn’t worry about it.

The room settled, and Lord Xenon raised what was basically a crunk cup filled with blood to toast me. “Ladies and gentlemen, we celebrate our new queen tonight!”

The cheer went up again—I would never get tired of that—and everyone took a drink.

Letting the room settle again, Lord Xenon raised his hand this time. “As is our ancient tradition, starting tomorrow, we shall begin the trials for our next king!”

Another cheer, still a thrill.

But my good mood crashed when I saw Nial standing there, smirking. I’d been so absorbed in trying to win my own trials, I’d forgotten that the overlords had already basically picked my king. I blamed it on the rush of constant adrenaline. I wasn’t that flaky.

“Tomorrow, Niallan of Arranmore will begin his trials. He is the official King Novitiate.”

There was no time to react, to let the hate and disgust boil up.

The mountain shook, and the wall behind me began to slough off into the people below.

“Move!” I screamed at the vampires who were about to be crushed.

Instinct kicked in for nearly all of them, and they sped away from the falling rocks. A few of the younger vampires hadn’t yet figured out how to use their powers, and I darted out to catch a few in a strong grip and pull them out of harm’s way. Felicia, Melchoir—when did they get here?—also did the same. The rescue group was joined by Lord Otto and Lord Pippin.

We all barely made it out of the way of the rocks.

“What the hell?” I demanded.

“Majesty, there’s fighting down below. I don’t know what’s going on,” Melchior said, pressing a headset to his ear. “I can’t—”

“Let’s go!” I snapped and led the way back through the halls. “This better not be some stupid enclave infighting. I will end them all.”

“I don’t think it is,” Felicia said, also pressing her Bluetooth so she could hear better. “There are wounded of all clans and enclaves. There was an explosion.”

“In the stronghold?” I was appalled. No one ever dared to attack this mountain. “Who? Who is doing this?”

“I don’t know, your highness!” Felicia ran her hands through her hair, distressed by her inability to answer the questions.

I ordered, “Get everyone out of the public spaces. Get them all back to their rooms. If they are visiting, have them split among the apartments. Keep everyone out of the hallways! We have to get the security force through them, and I don’t want people getting hurt.”

My attention snapped to the overlords, who were desperately trying to gain their sobriety back from the overabundance of blood at the ridiculous party they insisted was tradition.

First act as queen, that disgusting display of decadence was never happening again…if they let me.

I could see they were going to recover, so I had that for me. As we headed for the deepest parts of the mountain, the very ground shook again. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like that the whole mountain was moving.

What kind of explosives did they have?

Felicia barked commands into her Bluetooth, and we all started running.

Two explosions?

Or was this a mistaken analysis of an earthquake?

We were in the area of the world the humans called The Ring of Fire, and we were subject to both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Was this stronghold about to be consumed by a volcano? We would have to evacuate immediately—everyone would get out, but our lives would be left encased in granite.

I stopped dead, and the half-sober overlords behind us crashed into Nial.

I pointed at Melchior. “Get everyone out of the mountain. Treat this like an eruption. Out. I’d rather let them back in after everything is fine than lose a single life. Go.”

Melchior took off at vampire speed through the hall to implement the evacuation plans I knew existed. Felicia, Nial and I started down the hallway, this time at near vampire speed to where she had said the source of the problem had been.

The chamber, where only hours before thousands of vampires had been housed while I was crowned, lay in shambles. ‘Shambles’ was kind, I corrected myself. It was gone. The mountain had been brought down, crushing nearly three-quarters of what had been open area before, and there was a hint of cold, thin air in the room.

“A breach,” Nial said.

A bullet whizzed by us, embedding in the rock nearby—and exploded.

Everyone ducked into a crouch.

The overlords completely sobered at that moment. Someone had breached our stronghold and was now going to start firing at us, with blast rounds. And those rounds meant that whoever was trying to get in knew exactly what we were.

And how to kill us.

Another bullet and explosion.

“We have to find out where that is coming from. This isn’t a volcano.” Lord Pippin, who had been the least drunk and was the most sober, now crawled up to me. He looked at Felicia and Nial. “I don’t know if it’s smart to evacuate or not, but we’ll let it go for now.”

“They can get away much easier this way if we’re being attacked,” Nial offered.

“Who is properly outfitted for a firefight?” I looked at the others around me and watched as only Felicia and Nial raised their hands. “You lazy ass overlords. No more blood parties.”

I pulled out two of the four guns I had on me, handed one to Lord Pippin and one to Lord Otto.

Felicia pulled out one for Lord Xenon, and Nial lent two of his five to Lord Cato and Lord Belshazzar.

Nial rumbled, “Remember that you only have those rounds and one spare clip. Don’t go walking around like you’re a fucking terminator, shooting willy-nilly.”

“What’s a terminator?” Lord Otto asked.

Nial rolled his eyes. “Oh, for—”

“Never mind!” I snapped the words off. “Just don’t fire at everything, since it seems you’ve forgotten to take care of your military training. Spears and cannons aren’t used anymore.” I glanced at Felicia. “Schedule them all for range time.”

She grinned. “Yes, your highness.”

“Nial, go right and stay low. Look for the breach. That’s where they were shooting from.”

“I suggest we assume that they’re as conservative with ammo as we are,” he said. He pointed to Lord Otto, Lord Xenon, and Lord Belshazzar to follow him. Hunkered down, they walked behind the rocks that had fallen out of what we were all assuming was the line of sight for the shooter—or shooters.

“What are we doing?” Lord Pippin asked, hefting the gun. “This is nice. I’m out of practice.”

Felicia grumbled, “We’re looking for the same thing they are—the person who shot at us and who blew up the side of a mountain.”

Cato looked at me. “You realize this was probably mistimed? That this was supposed to go off hours ago and crush the dais.”

“You think?” I leveled my gaze at him. “That would have taken out the five of you, me, and anyone close by, and left this place in tatters.”

“And the whole damn vampire population with no guidance.” Lord Pippin tapped his nose.

“So we are attacked—”

Another explosion went off, and a hail of explosive rounds followed it in the direction of the others. I moved, running out of the way of the bits of falling debris and following the bullets back toward the origin. Cato, Felicia, and Lord Pippin were right behind me, and we were able to scramble out of what I thought was their field of vision.

More bullets and we moved again.

Closer to where we could see a touch of daylight streaming in.

A body moved ahead of us in the breach.

I took aim and fired.

By the spray and smell of blood from the exploding round, I guessed I must’ve hit whoever was in there.

That was confirmed a moment later. “Bitch!”

I grinned in feral delight.

“So this was an attack,” Felicia said.

Cato snorted in agreement of the obvious.

There was a small hail of bullets aimed at where we were, and they ricocheted off the rocks they were hitting, exploding when they finally found a target. Carefully, slowly, I crawled up the broken walls of the chamber, staying low and remaining out of view.

“You know, as queen, you really should have evacuated with everyone else,” Lord Pippin stated not so helpfully, crawling right along with me.

“As overlord, you should have too. But here we are, trying to sneak toward the gunfire and hoping we don’t get shot by exploding rounds.”

The gunshots were sounding much closer, and I suspected we were close to the source.

Nial’s voice cracked through the air. “Run! Get out of here!”

I didn’t realize he was screaming at us.

I didn’t move.

Almost the last thought I ever made was, damn, his voice could really carry.

Lord Belshazzar’s speeding vampire form darted across our field of vision as he grabbed something out of the air just above us. He hurled it back toward the direction it had come from, and the stick of dynamite lodged into the far rocks…seconds left on the fuse.

Who the hell used dynamite with fuses anymore?

There wasn’t time for much more thought beyond that as Lord Belshazzar grabbed me, triggering Lord Pippin, Cato, and Felicia to kick into high speed and get away from the crack in the rock where the dynamite had lodged.

Speeding away from the disaster, I watched as it unfolded in almost slow motion, the entire group reforming from various locations to escape.

The flash of detonation changed into the fire of rapid expansion. The compression wave it created pushed the rock away from other rocks, cracking them under sudden impact. It blossomed outward like a red flower of death hurling the rocks in its way, with forces hard and strong enough to rip a man’s head from his neck.

What I saw in the next moments rocked me to the core.

Instead of Cato running with us toward the door, to escape the crush of the rock and burn of the fire, I watched as he plunged in headlong into the heat and ash. He found the attackers in the moving debris and grabbed the flying bodies out of the air. All four of them. And in his death grip, he pulled their forms to the side, out of the way of the crushing rocks.

But he wasn’t saving them.

Two of them, he viciously ripped their heads off their shoulders and tossed them to the ground. The third, he snapped his neck, ripping the skin and sinew away to let him bleed out. The last, he dug his fangs into and sucked the blood from his veins as it pumped wildly out of the body.

We turned the corner, and there was no view of what was going on. Just the air pressure of the explosion, the chaos of the sound of crashing rocks. Smashing ourselves into the far wall as rocks, debris, and dust was vomited out of the opening to what used to be a massive amphitheater.

I scrambled to my feet and tried to run for the small opening left to the once cavernous room.

“Why the fuck didn’t you move?” Lord Belshazzar grabbed my arm and pulled me back. He shook me inside his hold, slamming my chest against his to gain my full attention. “You guys could have been killed.”

“We didn’t know he was yelling at us,” Lord Pippin said. His eyes found my struggling form, as I tugged on my captured arm. He muttered, “Relax. We’re all alive. And they should all be dead now.”

Nial rested back against a wall and dusted off one of his sleeves with his free hand and shrugged, agreeing with him.

Lord Otto and Lord Pippin weren’t arguing either.

“That attitude got us here,” I snapped, and I finally yanked my arm out of the Lord Belshazzar’s grip. I did a onceover glance at the lord I’d just escaped from, making sure he wasn’t hurt. Lord Belshazzar appeared fine, so I pretended as if I wasn’t worried for him and hadn’t just checked him out. “There are five overlords here who were basically drunk and useless because of a blasé attitude. Someone attacked our stronghold, and you’re trying to keep me from going back in to make sure all the bad guys are dead?”

Nial crossed his arms. “No, but you don’t need to run into the line of fire.”

“Stop. Now.” Lord Belshazzar growled at everyone. “Lord Cato is taking care of it.”

That exact man crawled out of the hole to the former room. He was covered from head to toe in blood and dust and truly looked like a nightmare in vampire form. Dusting his hands together, he tipped his head at me.

“Kept the crown, eh, girly?”

I walked over and smacked him straight across his dirt-smeared, smug face. I was going to have to find a new way to express my anger at people, but not right now. “What the hell was that hero crap? You’re an overlord!”

Cato’s brows rose on his gruesome features, while he rubbed the side of his face I’d whacked. “Gwynnore, despite your assumptions of me, I can handle myself. And others.”

“Let’s all try to pretend we like each other for a short second.” Nial ran his fingers through his delectable hair, voicing what I really wanted to know. “Anyone want to explain why they think the vampire stronghold was attacked?”

Cato, through the blood, gore, and grime covering him, stared at the filth on his hand, then looked up at Nial and me standing there. One side of his lips quirked up in an unamused grin, and he stated, “You have no idea what’s coming…”

THE BLOOD WILL CONTINUE…

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

New York Times bestselling author and award-winner, Scarlett Dawn, is the author of the Forever Evermore new adult fantasy series, the Origin paranormal dystopian stories, the Mark new adult science fiction saga, and the Lion Security contemporary series.

Website http://www.scarlettdawn.net

Newsletter http://eepurl.com/4X1rv

Katherine Rhodes loves writing erotic romances which are kinky, dirty, and fun. As a lackadaisical laundry goddess, and an expert in the profundities of bad music, terrible cinema and awful literature—thanks to her husband—Katherine strives to find balance in the universe and time to cook dinner. An East Coast dweller, she is the proud servants of three cats.

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http://twitter.com/mistress_kayr @mistress_kayr
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www.katherinerhodes.com
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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

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