By the Embers Dies the Fire
Page 1
Triple Trouble 9
By the Embers Dies the Fire
Growing up, Elain Lyall had always wished for a large family.
Be careful what you wish for. Especially when you have a seriously unhinged brother-in-law like Brighton, who’s perilously close to unraveling everything Elain’s trying to hold together. Uncle and mortal enemy, Marston, turns out to be a priceless ally.
Meanwhile, Elain’s mates Ain, Brodey, and Cail, are enjoying fatherhood, even if they are putting a serious damper on Elain’s Triad and Seer duties. Elain, Mai, and Lina are trying to figure out exactly how the cockatrice plan on detonating a nuclear bomb so they can stop it.
The devil’s in the details—and Ryan Ausar is as clueless as they are. One thing’s certain, the evil they’re facing is far older and more dangerous than any of them ever dreamed. If Elain’s going to save lives, she’s going to have to get a handle on her rapidly growing powers.
Even if it means sacrificing someone for the greater good.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 71,127 words
BY THE EMBERS
DIES THE FIRE
Triple Trouble 9
Tymber Dalton
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
BY THE EMBERS DIES THE FIRE
Copyright © 2016 by Tymber Dalton
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-178-1
First E-book Publication: May 2016
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Tymber Dalton’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Tymber Dalton’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
To Hubby, who keeps me going, always. To Sir, who knows why. And again, special thanks to my editor, Pat, for helping me with this monster. Thank you!
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The events of this book pick up immediately following the events of Power of Three (Triple Trouble 8).
The books in the Triple Trouble series are best read in order, including the prequels. This is definitely a series where you need to read the previous books in order to know what’s going on. Including the prequels. (You don’t have to read the Good Will Ghost Hunting or Placida Pod books to follow along, they just give you even more backstory.)
I’ve also put a (SPOILERS!) free Triple Trouble series summary guide up on my website at http://www.TymberDalton.com on the Triple Trouble series page. It is one big spoiler, but if you’ve already read the series and don’t want to take the time to re-read every book to get back up to speed, it’ll help you out.
And to answer the question I get asked a lot, yes, I am writing more books in the series. I don’t know how many more, but there will be more. You can find more of Ryan Ausar in my Good Will Ghost Hunting series.
The books in the Triple Trouble series and the correct reading order, including the prequels, is as follows:
Boiling Point (Tasty Treats, Vol. 3) - Triple Trouble prequel 1
Steam - Triple Trouble prequel 2
Fire and Ice - Triple Trouble prequel 3
Trouble Comes in Threes - Triple Trouble 1
Storm Warning - Triple Trouble 2
Three Dog Night - Triple Trouble 3
Triple Dog Dare - Triple Trouble 4
Out of Smoke and Ashes - Triple Trouble 5
A Wolf in the Fold - Triple Trouble 6
Triple Cross - Triple Trouble 7
Power of Three - Triple Trouble 8
By the Embers Dies the Fire – Triple Trouble 9
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Author's Note
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
About the Author
BY THE EMBERS
DIES THE FIRE
Triple Trouble 9
TYMBER DALTON
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
Before the earliest memories…
The full moon cast brilliant, deep shadows around her. Engulfed in rage, the young woman ran, wishing to burn down the world.
If not for lacking the power of fire generation, she would.
She was the eldest of their siblings, the first-born, nearly twenty-two. It wasn’t fair for her to be denied her birthright just because she wasn’t an Elemental dragon like her younger brothers. She was still a dragon shifter, and she deserved her rightful place at the head of the table.
She was the eldest child of the leader of the Greater Clan of dragons. That meant she should be declared the line heir, not her brothers.
I will show them. I will show them all.
&nb
sp; She’d already decided what she would do. Not that in her heart she believed it would do much good, but a woman bereft of hope is a dangerous creature, indeed.
After running for over an hour as fast as she could, until her lungs burned and ached, she burst into the clearing and found the stones exactly where she’d heard they would be. Dropping to her knees in relief, she now felt in her heart that maybe this would work after all. Had she not found the ancient circle of stones spoken of in the Seer’s book, the place so old its name had been lost to history already, she would have likely burst into tears and admitted defeat.
But tonight…
Tonight was the full moon and summer solstice. Perhaps it was fate, after finding the Seer’s ancient tome from which she’d copied the words that would hopefully do as she asked. She had sneaked it out and back in again in less than a day while the Seer been on a hunt with her father and brothers.
A hunt she was forbidden to take part in by her father’s decree, simply because she was female. He claimed that her presence might distract the males, and since she couldn’t even breathe fire, or use any other element, what was the point in her attending?
She stripped, casting her clothes to the ground before she grabbed her dirk and the piece of parchment and stepped into the middle of the ancient stones. Taking several deep breaths, she began reading the words aloud as she sliced into the meaty part of her left arm, below the elbow, and let a trickle of her blood drip to the ground beneath her as she turned in a slow circle. In the moonlight, the blood running down her arm looked black.
“Mother Earth and Father Sky
Before you tonight come have I
To open wide this portal deep
Within its secrets cannot keep.
I call out to powers great
The moon is high and hour late.
This mortal comes to pierce the veil
Within the powers I do hail.
Come to me and bid my will
My soul my heart my breath and still
I wish to call out loud and true
And what I say thou must you do.
Upon the dark I call to thee
And as I spake so mote it be!”
She stood there, trembling, listening, her heart shattering as at first she felt sure that she had been wrong.
Then she felt it. A humming, tingling sensation, starting at her feet. A warm, foul breeze blew into her face as she saw a dull, golden light begin to coalesce in front of her. As it widened into what looked like a portal, she saw a large being standing on the other side, peering through at her with his head cocked quizzically.
“Who are you?” it asked.
She fought the urge to cry in triumph. “I am Lilith, daughter of Barvyn, head of the Greater Clan of Dragons.”
The being, large and humanoid but certainly not looking like any human she’d ever seen before, stared at her. “Dragon? What do you seek from me, Earth being?”
“I am being denied my birthright. I want a way—any way—to take over and take control. Just because I am not an Elemental, my father will not allow me to ascend the line. I am the eldest and the Clan should be mine. But because I am a woman and not an Elemental, I get nothing. No land, no power, forced to take a mate of his choosing when he decides. I want what is mine. In any way possible.”
She assumed the being was male. His gaze narrowed. “Any way?”
“Any.”
“How did you open this portal?”
“I took words from a book the Seer had.”
He studied her with obsidian eyes, his gaze chilling her despite the warm night. “Who is this Seer?”
“They are a Clan, prophesiers. They advise the shifter Clans. It is said they descend from the original Elders.”
The being snorted. “The Elders are meddlers. Are you not with mate then?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Virgin?”
She felt a blush creep through her. “Yes.”
“You will give me anything I desire to make this come true?”
“Yes. Anything.”
“You, for starters. Your maidenhead.” He smiled. “You will need a race stronger than dragons. I shall make you the queen of them. Will that suffice?”
She gasped. Stronger than dragons? There was no such thing, except in legend.
He stared at her. “Or if not—”
“Yes, fine.”
“And you will bring four more dragon virgins as quickly as possible. You can do that? They do not have to be shifters, only of the dragon bloodline.”
She thought about the house and grounds full of servants, many of them women far less fortunate than she, born to dragon families beholden to her father and forced to serve his house or leave the protection of the Clan and his land. Many of them would likely welcome a chance to ascend to power with her. Especially those who could not shift, or who were born to nonshifting families.
“Yes.”
He held out his hand. “Step through, then. Tonight, I take you. Then you will return with the others and from there you will rule the world.”
Reminding herself this was what she wanted—and being offered the world was far more than she had intended—she stepped through. The portal closed behind her.
This realm was hot, hotter than the harshest summer day, and the air felt dry, arid. She found herself in a large cave. The golden glow had been a fire near the entrance. As she stood before the man, she realized how truly larger he was than she had first thought. He had to be at least seven feet tall, or more. She did her best not to wrinkle her nose at his strong odor, something between wet dog and rotten musk.
He smiled down at her, teeth showing. “On your hands and knees, future queen.”
He unfastened his coarse breeches and the largest penis she had ever seen spilled out. “It will likely be uncomfortable, but you will birth a race to rule the world. Your choice. Or you can return whence you came and spread your legs for someone else with nothing more to show for it than a footnote on a bloodline chart.”
Lifting her chin, she turned and dropped down onto all fours.
* * * *
It was daylight when she stumbled through the portal and collapsed onto the grass. He had not just taken her once, but several times, the feel of his hot seed filling her every time when he came, until she found her body responding in a way she did not know possible, the initial pain turning into excruciating pleasure soon enough as she allowed herself to indulge in it as he used her.
Why not enjoy it? It would make her a queen, right?
Even now, still, she felt the heat within her, churning, and she knew. Yes, it was her fertile time, and she suspected already within her grew the baby that the being swore would be the start of a great race.
Finally dragging herself to her feet, she realized her thighs were coated with his sour, sticky seed, as well as a little blood from where he had pierced her maidenhead that first time. The first time he had claimed her on the floor of the cave, the second and subsequent times with her draped over a rock because her limbs would not support her.
It was like she could feel the power, the magick, already growing within her.
Around her neck she now wore an amulet on a leather thong that he said would allow her to return and summon him exactly there without waiting for the next full moon or needing the spell. Black and greenish with streaks of muddy dark red swirling through it like bloodstone. She would not be able to cross without him being there on the other side, but it would allow her to open the portal to call for him.
All she needed was four more maidens.
She grabbed her clothes, the parchment, and her dirk. Naked, she walked to a nearby stream she had passed earlier. After washing up, she pulled on her clothes and headed for home.
Only once she was home did she realize she had been gone longer than she thought. The scullery maid she passed looked up at her. “The lord’s been looking for ye since yesterday morn. Where’ve ye been?”
�
��Out. Hunting on my own.”
“He said to send ye straight to him.”
She trudged through the halls until she found him in his library. “You wanted to see me, Father?”
He turned from where he stood at his desk. “You look horrible. Where have you been?”
“I decided to go on a solstice hunt by myself.”
“Still angry at me, hmm?”
She thought about the precautions the being, who would not reveal his name, told her to take.
To pretend all was well and normal. “Not at all.”
“I have chosen a mate for you. He will be here in two full moons. Dual Elemental, even.”
“Very well, Father.” She turned to go.
“Not even going to fight me, are you?”
She stopped, not turning back to him. “No. You have decided.”
“I am impressed, Lilith. I expected a heated battle with you. That shows great maturity on your part.”
“I have seen the future and know this is what should happen.” She smiled. The being had assured her that her progeny would be far stronger than any mere dual Elemental dragon. She felt heat churning in her gut, the future already growing, she was certain of it.
“Good.”
She continued to her chambers to bathe and sleep.
When she awoke the next morning, she was startled to feel her belly already slightly rounded. Throwing off her covers, she went to the looking glass. Yes, not much, but definitely a bump.
She laid her hands on it and felt heat roll through her, something moving.
A smile filled her face.