by Amy Sumida
It hadn't worked out so well for poor Gargo. He was back to slumbering beneath the Oregon Zone; thanks to Slate and I. But the problem was; according to Galen and Odran (both now dead), there were numerous gods who had awakened. The Witches had contacted Beneather Governments on other planets to warn them about the possible uprisings, but there wasn't much else we could do until one of the awakened gods made his or her presence known.
And then there was the little problem of Darc and I having blood that may or may not be able to open god prisons. Just because my blood was able to crack open Gargo's subterranean tomb, it didn't mean that it would work for all of the Gods. Odin Earthshaker, my friend and the Witch Leader of Fire, believes that my blood worked for Gargo because not only am I a goddess, but I had also been born on Earth. I was hoping that was the case. Because if it wasn't, both Darc and I would have all sorts of beneathers gunning for us. There was always someone crazy enough to bargain with a god; someone crazy enough to think it was worth it.
In light of all of these recent developments, certain individuals—Slate, Gage, and me—thought we should postpone the weddings. Certain other individuals—the men I was engaged to—disagreed. We'd been arguing over it for days now.
“You just don't want anyone to have a stronger hold on Elaria than you,” Torin snarled in Slate's face. “Well, let me be the first to inform you; I already have a stronger bond with her than you. All of us do. You crashed this party late, Gargoyle. Get over it.”
“You're the one hung up on hierarchy in our group.” Slate's eyes flashed silver as he looked over Torin scathingly.
Torin was both taller and wider than Slate, but the gargoyle still managed to look superior. Yep; that was my arrogant Zone Lord.
“I don't give a fuck what kind of bond you have with her,” Slate went on. “All I care about is the way she looks at me when I'm inside her. And it's fucking glorious.”
Torin punched Slate in the face and sent the gargoyle crashing out to the balcony and nearly over the railing. I sighed. Slate had that effect on people; I can't count the number of times I've wanted to punch him in the face. But I couldn't have Torin killing my new lover. Since we were in my bedroom at Kyanite Castle, we were incredibly far up. I don't know if Slate could have shifted into his gargoyle form in time to save himself if he'd fallen over the railing, but I didn't want to find out.
Slate shot back into the room; ready to finish what Torin started. I jumped between them.
“All right, that's enough.” I held up my hands and glared at Slate when he started to speak. “You deserved that.”
“He was the one talking about having a stronger hold on you,” Slate pointed out smugly. “I just let him know what my priorities are.”
“In a way that was certain to make him furious.” I pushed Slate's solid chest but he didn't budge. “I need you both to stop bickering. This isn't helping.”
“Then let's end this argument.” Declan got gracefully to his feet. He'd been lounging in an armchair; listlessly watching the other men argue. “You agreed to marry us, Elaria. It's time to follow through on your promise.”
“I don't want to have our wedding interrupted by a war, Declan.” I threw my hands up and stalked back to where I'd been sitting; on my new enormous bed. “I want it to be a day I can enjoy... four days that I can enjoy.” I reached to my right and took Darc's hand. “I won't be able to relax with this god uprising hanging over us.”
Darc lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. “If war comes, my fire, we shall face it together. There is nothing to fear.”
“You're still thinking like a god.” Gage leaned forward out of his casual lounge behind me. “We need to prepare for this.”
“We are Shining Ones; we are prepared,” Darc said coolly.
“The simple fact is; we want to marry you.” Banning came around to stand before me. “Do you still want to marry us?”
“Of course, I do,” I whispered.
“This delay hurts us.” Leave it to Banning to go right for the jugular. He's a blooder; it's kind of their thing. “It hurts me. I question myself; if I'm still what you want. Slate's arrival and the Rooster's resurrection has strengthened us but they've also wounded us. We need these weddings to heal.”
“Fuck,” Slate muttered. He knew me well enough to guess my answer to that.
“All right, Banning; you win,” I said. “We go forward with the weddings.”
Four of my lovers smiled bright enough to banish the bad feeling that twisted in my gut. But Gage and Slate brought me back down; their grim stares reminding me that this could go very badly.
It usually did.
Grammar Giggles
And just for a little giggle, here are some grammar mistakes found during the editing of this book.
Correct Line: I set to work on the food. Days of only bread and water had taken their toll.
Giggle: I set to work on the food. Days of only bread and water had taken their tool.
Correct Line: Look deeper, sweetheart.
Giggle: Look deeper, sweatheart. (I laughed so hard at this one)
Correct Line: He'd taken a significant amount of time out of his busy, zone lord schedule to take me shopping.
Giggle: He'd taken a significant amount of time out of his busy, zone lord schedule to take me shipping.
And please feel free to write me at [email protected] if you spot any grammar errors yourself. Editing is a rough job; our minds often fill in the correct word while we read and mistakes are difficult for even professional editors to spot. Please have mercy on all of us writers and editors and view errors with compassion instead of scorn. All we want is to give you a wonderful reading experience. That being said; I'm always happy to improve my work, and I welcome the help.
Pronunciation Guide/ Character List
I'm trying to limit these to characters who appear in more than one book.
Aaro Devon: Ah-roh, Gargoyle; Slate's brother
Adam MacLaine: Human client
Aoide: E-da, Elaria's aunt and siren
Arnet: Are-net, Knight of Flourite
Ava: A-vah, Queen of Sapphire
Banning: Ban-ing, Gheara of the Kansas Gura
Barret: Bare-it, Commander of Chrysocolla Army
Binx Devon: Binks, Gargoyle; Slate's brother.
Bran: Bran, King of Garnet
Branna: Bra-nah, Duchess of Jade
Carrick: Care-ick, Knight of Onyx
Cerberus: Ser-bur-us, Demi-god dog-shifter
Cyrus: King of Copper
Danyon: A leader of the Coral Court
Darcraxis: Dar-cracks-es Ex-God of Darkness, Water, and Earth.
Declan: Deck-lan, King of Alexandrite
Diana: Blooder of the Sofia Gura
Edmond: King of Jet
Eileen: I-lean, Queen of Copper
Elaria: Eh-lar-ee-ah, spellsinger
Finbar: Fin-bar, Duke of Sapphire
Gage Saeiqa: Gauge Sah-E-kah, griffin
Galen: Gay-lin, King of Sapphire
Garret: Gare-it, King of Topaz
Gerard: Jare-rod, Knight of Onyx
Giovanni Borgia: Blooder gheara
Hugh: Hew, Knight of Onyx
Isandra: I-san-dra, Queen of Diamond
Jack Armstrong: Loup
Jago: Gargoyle; Arena Warden
Jameson: Jay-meh-son, Knight of Fluorite
Janae: a mermaid
Jarlath: Jar-leth, King of Diamond
Jonah Malone: Human gangster
Kalliope: Kah-lie-oh-pee, Elaria's mother and a siren
Kean: Key-in, Knight of Howlite
Lorcan: Lore-can, King of Copper
Maeve: May-ve, Queen of Peridot
Moirin: Moy-rin, Queen of Tiger's Eye
Mrs Chadwick: Adam MacLaine's housekeeper
Niall, Nigh-all, King of Citrine
Odran: O-drawn, King of Howlite
Oonagh: Oooh-nah, Queen of Snowflake Obsidian
Parthalon: Par-tha-l
awn, King of Jade
Quinlan: Kwin-lahn, Alchemist
Riona: Ree-oh-nah, Queen of Malachite
Sara: Sare-rah, pink tourmaline fey.
Shani: female sphinx
Shauna: Shah-na, Queen of Amethyst
Shevaun: Sheh-von, Queen of Chrysocolla
Slate Devon: Gargoyle; Zone Lord
Sorin Iliescu: Blooder King
Teagan: Tee-gan, Queen of Jet
Tell: Asrai of Sgáthan
Tír na nÓg: Tier-nah-n'awhg, Realm of the Fairies, the Land of Youth
Torin: Tore-in, King of Onyx
About the Author
Amy Sumida is the Internationally Acclaimed author of the Award-Winning Godhunter Series, the fantasy paranormal Twilight Court Series, the Beyond the Godhunter Series, the music-oriented paranormal Spellsinger Series, and several short stories. Her books have been translated into several languages, have made it to the top seller's list on Amazon numerous times, and the first book in her Spellsinger Series won a publishing contract with Kindle Press.
She was born and raised in Hawaii and brings her unique island perspective to all of her books. She doesn't believe in using pen names, saving the fiction for her stories. She's known for her kick-ass heroines who always have a witty comeback ready, and her strong, supporting male characters who manage to be sensitive and alpha all at once.
All she's ever wanted to do since she was a little girl, was to write novels. To be able to do so for a living is a blessing which she wakes up thankful for every day. Beyond her books, she enjoys collecting toys, to keep herself young, and cats, to keep herself loved.
For information on new releases, detailed character descriptions, and an in-depth look into the worlds of Godhunter and the Twilight Court, check out Amy's website;
http://www.amysumida.com/
You can join her facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1536008099761461/
On Twitter under @Ashstarte
On Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7200339.Amy_Sumida
On Instagram as; ashstarte
On Tumblr: http://vervainlavine.tumblr.com/
