by Zoe Parker
Everything was simply perfect; no words would ever be enough to express how perfect.
When I closed my eyes later that night after making love again and again with each of my dragons, I felt happy and complete, as if everything was finally exactly as it should be. Cuddled between my lovers, I recalled the words of our oath, letting them resound in my brain, lulling me to sleep like the sweetest of melodies.
I brand your flesh. My half becomes whole. My soul nourishes yours. Your spirit kindles mine. Let your heart burn for me, as mine burns for you. My Twin Flame, my sweet half, my all.
Epilogue
Five years later…
Jacob
She was an exact copy of her mother. I held her tightly in my arms, completely lost in her enormous gray-blue eyes. She looked at me as if studying me, trying to understand who or what I was. She was extraordinarily alert for a child only a month old. We’d called her Emma, in honor of Victoria’s mother. She would be a great queen one day, like her grandmother and her mother, but for now, it was enough for me that she be a happy child. Kyle, Jason, and I had been worried during our Flame’s pregnancy. Victoria had grown very weak during the nine months she’d carried Emma in her womb. But there were no words to describe our joy the day she was born. She made us complete. We were a family. Soon the world would learn of her existence and the fact that the Queen of Faery had a harem of three men who were her consorts.
In the five years following the defeat of the regent of the Winter Kingdom, Faery had returned to its former glory. The seasons had resumed their natural order, following each other regularly, and the land flourished once again. But the conflicts between the Fae and the dragons hadn’t decreased. We’d been forced to hide our love for fear that some of the nobility who opposed Victoria would take advantage of the knowledge to undermine the Queen’s position.
And the dragons . . . They’d formed bands of rebels and were beginning to engage in open conflict with the Fae nobility. This put them at odds with the Crown. Yet whenever my fellow Flames or I attempted to talk to Victoria about a solution to the problems afflicting our society, she only smiled at us and said that everything would work out, that she trusted her visions and those of her mother before her.
Now, looking into my daughter’s eyes, I knew she was right. Emma was the future, a creature who was half dragon and half Fae. I smiled as she tried to grab my nose with her tiny hands.
“Hey, stop monopolizing our daughter!” Kyle said, entering the room and giving me a slap on the shoulder.
“And you stop monopolizing her mother.”
A smirk appeared on his lips. “You’re not going to lay a guilt trip on me, bro. I spent the whole night with the little rug rat.”
I laughed as Emma turned to her father with a frown, as if to make him understand that she didn’t appreciate being referred to that way at all. In response, he stroked her cheek, murmuring to himself how beautiful our daughter was—and what a quick temper she had. An exact duplicate of her mother.
We’d developed an unusual routine: we took turns taking care of Emma so Victoria didn’t have to do everything by herself. We were a strange family, but I wouldn’t have traded my life for anything.
My beautiful Flame came into the room hand in hand with Jason. Her silk dress fell softly around her hips, hiding the more rounded shape of her body after her pregnancy. But her face was distressed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. Something terrible is happening.” She shook her head and the words died in her throat. There was a sudden thud and an explosion outside the room, followed by the shouts of men and women in the castle. Emma began to wail. Victoria ran towards us. She stroked our daughter’s cheek as a tear fell from her lashes and made its way down her face.
“I thought I would have more time,” she murmured. She raised her eyes to mine, stood on tiptoe, and kissed my lips.
“What are you talking about, Vickie?”
“You have to bring her to safety, Jacob. She’s all that matters now. You must protect her.”
“Vickie, what—”
“Swear it, Jacob!”
I nodded. “I would give my life for her, you already know that.”
“Vickie, what’s happening?” Kyle echoed Jacob. She ignored him and turned her back on us, raising her arms. A blinding light streamed from her hands and a faint, glowing crack appeared in the air in the center of the room.
“I can’t keep it open for long. You have to go, Jacob. You must save her.”
“I won’t leave you,” I protested, moving closer to her to make her see reason.
Her face was wet with tears. “I thought I would be the one to change the future of Faery. But I interpreted the prophecy wrong.” She shook her head and continued to mutter indistinct words, all the while holding the portal to Earth open with her hands.
“Vickie—”
“There’s no time to explain!” She stamped her foot in desperation. “Jacob Jones. From this day forth, I banish you from the Kingdom of Faery.”
“No!” I cried, but the power of her words was already dragging me toward the portal. Pressed against my chest, Emma wailed in desperation.
“Protect her, Jacob. Keep her safe, no matter what happens.”
Her final words echoed in my ears as I passed through the light.
I found myself far from the room in the castle where I’d been. I fell to my knees. The grass beneath me was damp and cold. A frigid wind hit my face. I held Emma tighter, trying to cover her with my cloak. I’d been exiled by decree of the Queen, and only she could lift my sentence.
What had just happened? What would I do now?
Emma howled louder. Powerless, I broke down and wept with her, beseeching the Goddess to help me. Without her help, I had no idea what to do.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my editor, Anne Crawford. As always, she’s done an excellent job understanding the craziness of my thoughts and helping me give voice to my story. Sometimes I think she's more of a psychic than a normal editor.
I also want to thank my loving readers who continue to accompany me on this magical journey.
Finally, a big thank you as always goes to my Twin Flame, Gabriele, who wakes me out of my stupor with a cup of hot coffee after a sleepless night spent working, and loves me despite all my follies.
About the Author
Angela Camilla Pontone lives in Italy, in a town between Rome and Naples. She’s been an avid reader since childhood. She prefers romance, but will gobble up pretty much anything that’s available. She’s always loved history and literature, so she obtained a Master's Degree in the fields of Italian and Romance Languages, Literatures and Philology, Historical and Musicological Studies, Latin Languages and Literatures, Ancient History, and Archaeology.
Camilla’s secret desire was always to be a writer, but she never had the courage to pursue her dream until her life experiences led her to seek a way out of reality. The publication of her first novel, Flames of Truth, was met with international acclaim on Amazon. Her dream is to continue to create great stories that her readers will love.
For all the latest news about her books and events, sign up now at http://eepurl.com/dNpCVU to receive Camilla’s newsletter.
You can also find her on social media:
https://author.acpontone.com
https://amazon.com/author/acpontone
https://www.facebook.com/acpontone
https://www.facebook.com/groups/923832141156483
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14253731.A_C_Pontone
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/a-c-pontone
https://www.youtube.com/acpontone92
Copyright © 2019 by Lashanta Charles
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
a book review.
For all the dragon lovers…
Ve·tur
/vetr/ /vɛːtʏr/ /veːtʊr/
Faroese, Icelandic, Old Norse
noun meaning winter
“on the outskirts of Sault Ste. Marie, lives the most powerful Vetur wielder”
~Cyan~
Groomed to be pure perfection in the eyes of a never-satisfied mother, Cyan struggled to find her place within her clan. She knew her responsibility to them, but she had yet to deliver. They accepted her, failure and all, they still loved her. But love and acceptance are futile in the eyes of time. And time is something she can’t take for granted because soon, it will run out.
Refusing to tempt fate, and for their own selfish gain, those closest to Cyan betrayed her in the worst way possible. Secrets. Lies. Absolute deception. She didn’t break though. She snapped.
And when she snapped, time no longer mattered because she would end them all.
The following story is Paranormal Shifter Reverse harem.
Chapter One
“Please don’t make me do this again. You know how it’ll end. I don’t feel anything for him,” I pleaded.
The woman who birthed me, The Queen—no one dared use her real name—didn’t even spare me a glance. She just crinkled her nose, as if smelling something rotten, and continued to fiddle with the tray of food set on the table in the center of the opulent room. I’d only had minimal input on the décor, but I liked it. From the mound of decorative pillows on the couches to the heavy drapes covering the windows, shades of purple from soft lavender to dark eggplant were sprinkled everywhere the eye touched. I waited, anxiety ridden, wondering if The Queen would respond.
Her, my father, my clan, they all expected me to join with one of the coveted Glacier Warriors and reach the full potential of my Vetur power. I was determined to do no such thing, but as the only daughter of The Queen and King Damon—perfectly fine to use his name—it was up to me to continue the bloodline. I’d been trained to hone my skills and had excelled in all of my learning, but then I’d plateaued and everyone knew why. I needed my mate to balance me, to keep me from being consumed by Vetur. Not just any mate would do though. My power had to choose him. He had to be my equal in strength and cunning. It was up to him to be strong enough to survive a joining, then become a mate who would cherish and protect me—or forfeit his life. That was the part I struggled with. I didn’t want to kill anyone, especially not our warriors.
“Do not ask for things you know you won’t receive, daughter of mine. You know what is at stake here,” The Queen finally replied. She didn’t wait for me to respond before whisking away to the door and calling for my main attendant.
I glanced out the window. Of course, I knew. I also knew how much none of this mattered. I wouldn’t find my mate today. I would just kill another of our men, leaving one of our few women without a protector. Among my people, the Talvine, the women held the most power, we were rare. Those of us with the power of Vetur were even rarer. A girl child being born only occurred every ten years, leaving my people with an unusually high male to female ratio. This forced our men to remain alone for the entirety of their lives or form a household with one woman and multiple men. Even though The Queen was married to my father, she maintained relationships with three others in her royal guard. The other alternative was to mate with females of different races and cultures. Doing so wasn’t frowned upon, but the inherent need to keep the royal bloodlines pure required that the we mated with only our kind. A miserable practice that I wanted no part of. And who could truly blame me? I knew my mate would not be amongst the Talvine. I had already killed three of my clan’s most elite warriors by trying to prove that.
The first time was my 18th birthday, January 29th. Every year since then I’d been forced to attempt a joining. I remembered the last one vividly. Daneth, a highly revered warrior, had staked his claim. He’d been certain that it was he who would break my annual slaughter—his words. He’d been wrong. So devastatingly wrong. I could still remember his eyes as they froze in their sockets. The look a horrific combination of shock, fear, and anger. I hadn’t understood his anger. I’d warned him. Begged him not to touch me, but he insisted. I’d done everything in my power to dissuade them all, even going so far as to try and run away from my home. No one listened. And a small part of me had wondered. Wondered if he could be right. Wondered if he could be the one to end this nightmare. He’d been stronger than the two who came before him, his prowess legendary. I wouldn’t have minded if he’d been my mate. He’d been kind. Handsome. He would’ve made a good mate. A bigger part of me had known though. Known that it wouldn’t be him.
Resigned, I hadn’t tried to fight him when I was discovered trying to secret my way out in the middle of the night through the hidden tunnel at the back of the estate. My parents hadn’t even bothered to go through with the actual joining ceremony. Daneth had been brought to me. I’d let him touch me. If he’d been my true mate, Vetur would have surged between us and combined our essence. He wasn’t and it hadn’t. It registered him as a threat and immediately attacked. I’d watched his eyes as he caressed me. Watched as stark realization dawned in them. The smug smirk he’d worn had begun to fade, but stopped, frozen in place. I’d known without looking at his hand that it had frozen on my neck, the only spot that had been uncovered enough for him to touch. I’d known that as he struggled to remove that hand, his body had already begun freezing on the spot. I knew everyone had seen the frost flow along his limbs, his torso, his face. I’d caught sight of it once it reached his eyes. Eyes that had once been a warm chocolate brown had the color leeched from them until they glistened a light caramel. I hadn’t taken my gaze away from those eyes, not wanting to see the horror that had surely sprung up on the faces of the onlookers.
“Lily, I want her in white when she meets her betrothed. Come now, we don’t have much time.” The Queen’s voice brought my gaze from the snow-covered landscape beyond the window and my attention back to the room. Lily lowered her head in acknowledgement before moving to me.
For the next two hours I sat obediently while I was primped, primed, and made beautiful, all in an effort for me to commit murder. When I was finally deemed perfect by Lily, The Queen appraised me with a critical eye. A few minor adjustments were made before I received approval for my appearance.
As we were escorted to the throne room by a retinue of The Queen’s guards I silently considered her earlier warning. I definitely knew what was at stake. The future of the royal line. The livelihood of my clan. The certainty of my life. This year I would be 22-years-old. If I didn’t find my mate soon after, Vetur would destabilize and become unbearable. In the history of the Talvines, there had been two occasions where the princess had not found her mate in time. Both times held accounts of pure destruction, near annihilation. Both princesses had nearly decimated their entire clan before they were killed.
I found myself wondering if death wouldn’t be the better option. I didn’t want to kill another warrior. Nor did I want to become another abhorrent history lesson. If I thought I’d get away with it, I’d try to run again. Unfortunately, since my last attempt I’d been more heavily guarded—for my protection, of course. The heavy wooden doors, inlaid with marble and ivory, and bearing the image of battling Glacier Warriors, swung open on silent hinges, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn’t even heard our arrival being announced, but I caught the end of it as hundreds of pairs of eyes zeroed in on us.
“. . . The Queen and The Princess,” the herald finished with a flourish and a bow. Every male present dropped to one knee, their heads bowed in deference. Those closest to the few women scattered throughout the room offered their hand so the women could half curtsey and dip their heads.
“My name is Cyan,” I mumbled.
The Queen cut me a sharp look, the brown of her eyes glazed just slightly enough to let me know that her Vetur was surging. I considered lowering my gaze, but decided against it. My little act of defia
nce would surely piss her off more, but that was exactly what I wanted. I knew that I was stronger than her. Even without my mate, I was a deadly force to be reckoned with, evidenced by the litany of extra warriors strategically placed throughout the room. They expected me to fail with this joining just as I had at the others, so even here at the revealing ceremony, they’d upped the security. If I could provoke her to lash out, the ceremony would be cancelled.
“Do not tempt me, child,” The Queen warned.
“You insult me, my Queen. I would never,” I goaded, a saccharine smile playing about my lips.
The Queen’s glare could have frozen glaciers. Her mouth opened to lash out, but the clearing of her advisor’s throat curbed her response.
“My Queen, the clan awaits,” he implored, his eyes pleading with me to speak no more.
Forcing a deep breath, The Queen turned and began to move, her dress trailing behind her. Biting back a sigh at being thwarted, I followed at the customary five steps behind and to her left. We made our way to the front of the throne room where my father waited, his First Guard hovering nearby. I kept my head and eyes straight forward, fighting the urge to lift the hem of my dress. Even after years of making this walk, I still felt as though I would trip and fall. It wasn’t enough to have my dress reach my ankles. It had to sweep the floor, never allowing my feet to peek out when I moved. A crock of shit if you asked me. No one asked me though, so there was that.
When I noticed no one other than my father upon the dais, it occurred to me that my betrothed wasn’t present. He should have been there already. No one would be allowed to enter once The Queen had arrived. As if prompted by my thoughts, the doors to the throne room closed with a muted thud. A quick visual sweep of those surrounding the dais, brought me up short. For the first time since I’d come of age, strangers were present for a part of the mating festivities. And not just any strangers. Beautiful, intense, ruggedly handsome strangers, who didn’t seem to get the memo that this was a black-tie affair. All brawny and burly, an air of menace surrounded them, enhanced by the wide berth my clan was giving them. Their eyes remained on me, not once acknowledging The Queen. Well shit. Their eyes were on me. They weren’t kneeling or bowing. Instead they stood as though they didn’t have a care in the world. The fisted hands resting against their chests, right where their hearts would be, was the only sign of respect they showed and even that was directed at me. The one on the right had a shock of red hair and his lips curved slightly when he caught me watching them. The one of the left was as blond as they came. He winked when he caught my eyes. The middle one’s hair was pitch black and while they were all hulking giants, he dominated in height and width. Something about him, called forth a challenging light in me, commanded my attention, but I wouldn’t give it so easily. How dare he think he could command me or challenge me in any way. Vetur stirred and I tore my eyes away. I couldn’t let myself get distracted and I realized how ridiculous it was that I was getting this worked up from his presence alone.
