Frost and Flame
Page 34
Whoa. What was that?
Aveline had placed her hot hands on Nola’s cheeks. Pain spread, followed by frigid cold.
Understanding dawned. She’s draining me to death.
Nola attempted to teleport. Failed. Simply too weak. Need strength. How?
Bane!
She retreated into her mind, found their link, as well as her link to the hybrids. She began to draw from their strength. Something I can do, but she cannot.
Aveline had made a huge mistake, coming to Earth. She couldn’t draw from her warriors back home, couldn’t draw from Nola’s warriors, either.
Nola grinned. Before she fed Aveline any more energy, she executed a perfect teleport—behind the wicked witch of the hive. The other queen crashed to the floor. Before she could teleport herself, Nola punched into her back, through her rib cage, and ripped out her still beating heart.
As hot blood coated her hand, Aveline went lax.
Nola fizzed with power. I did it! I won!
She didn’t think about her next actions, just followed those hard-won instincts that had guided her so well and bit into the organ.
The taste was foul, but she didn’t care. New bolts of power slammed into her, and she threw back her head to scream.
But all too soon, the power and strength got used up, her body burning through it like fuel. Everything she’d done, everything that had happened had taken a massive toll.
She wheezed and panted, darkness returning to envelop her mind. “Bane,” she whispered, her voice slurred. “Heal quickly.”
The darkness swallowed her whole.
* * *
SHE’D DONE IT. Nola had won! Awe sang within Bane, a melody he would carry for all time. She’d even healed his shoulder before passing out.
He lifted her into his arms, holding her close. Her heart raced against his.
“Will Nola recover?” Zion asked, concerned.
“Yes,” he replied, pushing the word through clenched teeth. She must. Aveline had drained much of her lifeforce, so she had much to recover.
“What about the other queen? Can she regenerate a heart?” Zion stalked to Aveline’s body.
“Let’s not take a chance.”
“I like how your mind works.” The male swung a sword, chopping off Aveline’s head with a single blow.
A wondrous sight to behold. Once, Bane would have insisted on performing the action himself. Now, with Nola in his arms, he had better things to do.
“I’ll give you two time alone,” Zion said, opening a portal.
“Thank you...friend. For everything.”
The other male nodded, then strode through the doorway.
Bane carried his precious bundle to a wall and eased down. Rocks propped him up as he cradled his love close. “Draw from me, love. Take whatever you need.”
How much time passed before she fluttered open her eyes, he didn’t know. But it wasn’t long, and her wounds healed right before his eyes.
“Bane?” she said. Memories must have flooded her, because she gasped and jerked upright.
“I’m here, love. I’ve got you.” Bane urged her back and kissed her brow. “Never letting go.”
“We did it. We won!”
“You won. I love you, Nola Lee, my forever queen.”
She sagged against him, puffing out a breath. “You do? Still? I mean, I’m a queen now, and I can order you around, like, big-time. That isn’t going to change.”
“I’m not complaining. I meant what I said. I love you, all of you, even your orders.”
With a moan of surrender, she snuggled closer. “I love you, too, Bane. So much. I want to rule with you, and be with you, always and forever. Nothing less is acceptable.”
“Then we will rule together. Always and forever,” he parroted. When he’d come to Terra, he’d been eaten up with hate and vengeance. Darkness had shrouded his soul. But this feisty female had teased and tormented him from minute one, steadily pushing him into the light.
“I can’t believe Aveline is dead. Can’t believe how close I came to losing you forever.” A sob left her, causing her entire body to quake, but no others followed. “I can believe we did it. We’re amazing!”
“You keep including me, but it was you. You did it, I watched. And a more spectacular sight I’ve never beheld.” He laughed with unfettered joy and jumped to his feet, taking her with him. “You are amazing, love.”
He planted a sizzling hot kiss on her lips. “I can never thank you enough.”
“No, babe. Thank you. You did help. You trusted me. Now you’re giving me the life I’ve always dreamed of having.”
“I trusted you, yes, and I was rewarded for it. You gave me life, period. Before you, I was dead in every way that mattered. But you revived me. You became my heart.” He kissed her again. He couldn’t not kiss her. “You were right before. We will find a way to stop the war so that we all survive. I know we will. Look at all we’ve accomplished so far. Now that we’re working together, we can do so much more. And we will.”
“You’re right. We’ve accomplished so much in a very short time frame. You are free of Aveline’s tyrannical rule. I gained a crown, powers and an army. But I will. Soon. I think the beasts are searching for me.”
“Oh, they are. I have no doubts.”
“Maybe they can help during assemblies and battles. You know, do some scouting for us. Perhaps even be trained to ambush the High Council and their Enforcers? Food for thought, anyway.”
“Excellent ideas. But right now, I only wish to enjoy you, to keep you all to myself.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her wrist, laving her hammering pulse with his tongue. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been this happy, especially during a war.”
With a contented sigh, she kissed a spot just over his heart. “After we stop the war, maybe we can visit Adwaeweth and help our people.”
“Our people,” he said with a smile. “Yes. I’d like that. Wherever we are, we’ll work miracles together. But first, I need more of you. A physical pledge of your devotion. Since I’m your king and all.”
She smiled up at him. “What my king wants, my king receives.”
“What my queen, my treasure wants...” He gripped her hips, grinding her core against his erection. “I will provide.”
They peered into each other’s eyes, and he knew. They would find a way to work those miracles. The All War didn’t stand a chance, and neither did the High Council.
“I hope you’re prepared.” She ripped off her dress, revealing the body he loved beyond reason. “This treasured queen is going to rock your world.”
“You already have, love. You already have.”
Nola grinned. “Baby, you haven’t seen nothing yet.”
* * *
Keep reading for a special preview of
the next book in Gena Showalter’s scorching
Lords of the Underworld series
featuring William the Ever Randy,
The Darkest King.
Coming soon from HQN Books.
The Darkest King
by Gena Showalter
SUNNY FLUTTERED A hand over her heart as she stumbled back a step. “You know what I am?”
“I do. Just as you know what I am.” A ruthless killer.
Terror darkened her features, and he knew why. Her kind had been hunted for centuries and neared extinction. Different immortal species had different reasons for going after her kind, but many cited their dual-sided nature. One loved, one hated. One spread joy, one killed without remorse. You never knew which one you’d get on any given day. And damn if William wasn’t intrigued by the mystery.
His eyes narrowed. “This is the part where you apologize for shooting me in the face,” he continued. “Were you anyone else, I would punish you.”
“I would apologize f
or an accident. I meant to shoot you. By the way, immortals are supposed to regenerate exact replicas when they lose a body part, but you... Your face...” She exaggerated a wince. “My bad.”
Dealing with the dark side today apparently. Noted.
“Listen well.” William crossed the room, closing in on the exquisite female who might be the only person in all the worlds with the power to decode his book and break the curse that hung over his life like a sword of Damocles. “I have a message for you.”
The closer he came, the more Sunny’s breathing quickened, her breasts rising and falling.
Don’t you dare look down. He could not let himself desire her...more than he already did.
Finally, he stood before her, only a whisper away, her maddeningly sweet scent and sparkling amber eyes making his erection throb. Voice low and smoky, he said, “You, Sunny Lane, tried to end my life. Therefore, you owe me a life debt, and I’m here to collect. From this moment on, you are my property. Every breath you take is my gift to you. Meaning, yes, I own you now.”
As she sputtered for a response, William’s darkest instincts surged to the forefront. Punish. Possess. Protect.
Protect? From himself? No. But oh, the things he wanted to do to this woman...
Copyright © 2019 by Gena Showalter
ISBN-13: 9781488085918
Frost and Flame
Copyright © 2019 by Gena Showalter
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