The Amagarians: Book 1-3 (The Amagarians boxset)

by Stacy Reid

  “You have no shield,” Talon said, eyes flaring in shock. Tiny embers smoldered in the depths of Talon’s eyes as his beast stirred.

  “I am what I am,” Lachlan said, unable to prevent the dark rumble of menace in his voice.

  His friends watched him, their expressions blanked, but he could feel the coiled readiness and the stirrings of their demons. He inhaled deeply, feeling a queer sense of belonging he’d never felt before.

  “You are not a Senji,” Gidon said, his silver eyes piercing and calculating.

  “I am not lost to the monster.” He was the monster.

  “And your loyalty?” Drac demanded, his eyes cold and flat.

  Lachlan slammed his fist once again across his chest. “To Remelius, then and now.”

  Black chakra burst from Gidon and settled on his skin like a second skin, as the demon in him reacted to Lachlan’s vow.

  “And who is Remelius?” Talon snarled.

  Gidon stepped forward and held out his forearm which Lachlan clasped.

  “My demon,” his king said, his voice a brutal throb of power and savagery as he and his beast accorded. “Hail, Orochi, high king of the serpents.”

  Something inside him contracted to hear his other name on the lips of his king. Talon sent Gidon a sharp assessing look as their king acknowledged the demon bonded within Lachlan, for it hinted of power and knowledge they’d not known their king and friend possessed.

  Lachlan glanced at Drac and said, “And to you Abaddon, hail.” Speaking directly to the beast buried in Drac El Kyn. Immediately the tattoo on his skin—the fearsome winged Dracan shifted, its serpentine eyes opening, and darkness beheld darkness.

  Talon had stepped back. “What are you?” his voice was more curious than wary, but Lachlan could sense the rising cruelty in Talon as he shifted the hold he had on his beast. “We do not know the name origins of demon names,” Talon continued. “How do you know it?”

  Another wave of power crested through Lachlan. “I am what I am.” He met his King’s eyes unflinchingly. “My loyalty is yours then and now, Remelius, and Gidon…” Memories washed through Lachlan of running through the snow of the high mountains of the Darkage, training together and honing their taijui skills, and the many nights they had dined together and spoken of the many ways in which they could lift their people to prosperity and peace. The darkness seeded through his bones and blood tried to bury the memories of how his friend had fought with him atop a mountain coated in black ice as Lachlan tried to find his sanity. But they roiled through his mind, anchoring him, and reminding him of the love and respect he had for his king. “And you Gidon will always have my friendship and loyalty.”

  That seemed to satisfy Gidon for he nodded, a smile curving his lips, his eyes forever filled with cunning glinting with an odd sort of satisfaction. And Talon’s malice receded.

  “Come, let’s break bread, drink wine, and you tell me of the witch Amirah and the Serangite Kala you dumped on us. They were given a chamber each with servants to wait upon them. The Serangite watches us with fear and refuses to speak. The witch is with child, and I can sense the need in her to flee from us, and I can also feel the power in the child. Its origin is of darkness.”

  “I believe the father of her child is the hunter.”

  Gidon faltered, shadows crossing his face. “And she is unclaimed by him?”

  “They may not be mated.” While rare, it was possible for non-mated Darkans to breed with each other, and even others not of their kind. “They met at the Taryllion Inn, and somehow became lovers.”

  “Curious,” Talon said. “The hunter is not known to allow anyone close.”

  For he was an abomination to some of their people, hated by his own kind for possessing two monsters within him, and a force only a few could reckon with. The hunter gave his loyalty to Gidon, uncaring to connect or blend with the society who had cast him aside as a fledgling, and it was for that reason he was the leader of the cadre of five whose sole job was to hunt and kill those Darkans taken over by their demons, the Senjis.

  “It is interesting she got close enough for a bedding,” Drac drawled, falling into step beside Gidon as they flowed from the chamber and out into the hallway.

  “I will send word to him that she is here,” Gidon said, sliding with the shadows, traveling to a high balcony overlooking his kingdom.

  They followed, and Lachlan moved to stand beside his king, but not too close. A warning still hummed beneath his skin, and the darkness in him stretched, burning the memories away, inviting him to partake in murder and mayhem.

  As if Gidon sensed the rising demon in Lachlan, his king shifted to face him, and merciless silver eyes ensnared Lachlan.

  “Much has happened in the few weeks you’ve been gone. We’ve learned Emperor Khan is working tirelessly to prevent the Nurian King from consolidating any more power. The Emperor sees Nuria as a threat, and Darkans working with him attacked Nuria. In her fight to save the king, it was revealed Tehdra El Kyn is his mate. We have received a formal declaration from King Ajali claiming her as his consort only a few hours past.” Unholy amusement glinted in Gidon’s eyes. “He found it fit to point out in his missives that he considered all Darkan but Tehdra enemies of his realm and trading between our borders will remain closed.”

  King Ajali had been a powerful stumbling block in Gidon’s vision of changing their kingdom’s wealth and fostering trade with other realms to enhance the prosperity of the Darkage which had seen no economic growth in centuries. A stain of treachery followed their people, and they were reviled. Gidon planned to show the other realms they were more than their beasts and the merciless reputation that accompanied them. And a large part of his plan was contingent on presenting their people as rational beings who desired peace and wealth like the other kingdoms.

  But the prejudice of the other kingdoms was so entrenched, they could not be told this, they had to be shown Darkans were people who loved and laughed with families too. And Gidon vowed to show them that side of his people.

  Lachlan peered over the jungle like courtyard below. Great torches scattered about keeping the darkness at bay and washing the balcony where they stood in white light. The air seemed crisp and fresh, the night a cool blanket. A child’s joyous, and unfettered laughter rode on the air, pulling a curious smile to Lachlan’s lips. A young boy played with a kruwak, a carnivorous bird, whose claws rivaled Lachlan’s own. What would it be like to see his mate’s belly swollen with their child? Something inside his chest twisted, and unfamiliar sensations poured through him. They felt odd, as if they weakened him, for his heart raced in a manner not felt in centuries. “Are we certain King Ajali and Tehdra have mated?” Lachlan asked.

  “Despite how strange it might seem to us, their mating is absolute,” Drac drawled, leaning his hip against the balcony stone edge. “My princess and I were in Nuria ourselves only a few hours past, she said she felt the love the King had for Tehdra, and I witnessed King Ajali’s reluctance to bring her any harm.”

  Lachlan considered him. “In our history, we’ve never seen Darkans finding their mates with others not of our kind.”

  “And now we’ve got two,” Talon said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Our elders are still researching the archives, trying to figure out what changes we can expect from the bonding in the non Darkans.”

  Three, Lachlan said silently, thinking of his woman in the heated cavern waters. How badly he’d wanted to join her. The need to slake his desire in her body was all-consuming, and it had taken every discipline and control he’d learned over the centuries to not take her in the caves. At times, her thoughts spilled over to him even when she tried to keep him out. She thought of him carnally, of him taking her with a tenderness that was foreign to the violence stamped in his bones. Yet she made him want to offer it to her, to strip her naked and worship her with his tongue.

  He glanced down at the wickedly curved claws prodding from his nails. He would rip her to shred touching her with hands l
ike these. He had been indelibly altered. His beast wasn’t a taunting voice in his head, a charka that he had to be careful in how much power he allowed. He and his monster were one in the truest sense, their chakras now inseparable in a manner Lachlan knew no other in their history had ever experienced before.

  He titled his head to the sky, unfathomably at a loss what to do with his all too fragile mate. A large gheelle, with iridescent green wings, flew overhead, echoing a fierce cry through the valley as it hunted.

  “I’ve learned much in the Empire. The Emperor had the lexicon of our beasts’ origins and the various powers they manifested. Someone took it from our archives and handed it to him. For a brief time, I was locked in the dungeon, and three of our people were also there. They were young Darkans unable to fight against someone as ruthless and powerful as the emperor and his army. He has tortured our people without fear of reprisal. He is hiding his vile actions behind your vision of not starting your reign with slaughter and war.”

  “The Kingmaker has promised our kingdom my assassination is inevitable, and he has someone waiting to replace me. I will not anticipate the coming of the kingmaker. I will hunt him,” Gidon murmured, savagery flowering through his chakra.

  Lachlan lowered his eyes to Gidon. The Kingmaker was a legend within the seven kingdoms, his identity a mystery, with no recorded pictures of him in their vast archives, yet his existence was undisputed. Whenever he stirred, the terror and bloodshed that generally bathe kingdoms were unmatched. He was lauded in all Amagarie, and it was rumored that the revolution that had nearly decimated Caelum—the kingdom of water—centuries ago, was because the kingmaker had helped Farron Irsa become king.

  “Is this possible?” Lachlan demanded.

  “Our friend has not been idle while you’ve been on your mission,” Drac said, the monster in him humming to life. “It is rumored the kingmaker has a secret, one he would burn all the realms to protect for if this secret were uncovered, it would be the key to bring him to heel.”

  He could feel the dark hunger stirred though Gidon at the thrill of hunting something as dangerous as the kingmaker.

  “What is it?”

  Gidon’s lips curved. “A daughter.” His voice was a rumble of power and something shockingly carnal and predatory. “The rumors my Tensuri has uncovered that the kingmaker has a daughter whom he values above all else. Her name is Sabine.”

  And if the King’s Tensuri had unearthed it, the information was untainted, his team of six were the most merciless female warriors of their realm, their loyalty absolute, their life force bonded to him in eternal servitude. A choice they willingly entered, but whatever fate befell their king, they would also partake. Even now they were in the shadows, a protective force the enemy would have to reckon with if his Archdukes should fall in the bid to unearth him from his throne.

  A burst of wind vibrated on the air, and Princess Saieke appeared on the high balcony. She rushed toward Lachlan and gripped his hands. Her eyes, the bluest he’d ever seen filled with tears, but her lips laughed, the sound enchanting with its happiness.

  The menacing shadow in the corner smiled as he absorbed his woman’s happiness. With her gentle femininity and iron-strong will, Princess Saieke was the perfect mate for the ruthless Drac El Kyn. “I cannot repay the service you have done me today Lachlan. My mind has finally eased that my Queen’s Blades have been found alive. I’ve administered the healing elixir, and they are well. Kamu and Thyon will return to Boreas and their families soon, and it is because of you.”

  “It was my honor to liberate them for you, I trust you will now stop your moping.”

  Grinning she pulled him into a fierce hug, evidently choosing not to comment on his altered appearance. Possibly a difficult thing for her to do. When he’d just met the princess one of the things he’d admired was her fierce inquisitive nature and kindness.

  Something stirred in his mind. “There is a woman in your arms, Lachlan Ravenswood.”

  He stilled at the possessive bite in his mate’s voice. Then he smiled, and his mate’s rueful laughter brushed against their thread with intimate softness.

  Princess Saieke sent him a curious frown before flashing with a burst of speed into the haven of her mate’s arms. Drac cupped her cheeks and kissed her with unabashed hunger, uncaring of their audience. With a breathless laugh, she pulled away, curving more into his side, and faced them. “Princess Kala allowed me into her chamber. We spoke for a few minutes, and she is wonderful. I declare we shall be great friends. I believe she was relieved a non Darkan lived at the castle. She asked of her sister?” Saieke said with a pointed stare at Lachlan.

  Everyone shifted their regards to him and waited.

  Before he could proffer a reply, the walls of the castle shook as a piercing sound trumpeted over the hills from a great distance. In unison, it appeared as if all the winged creatures of the surrounding jungles took flight, reacting to the sonic waves booming across the sky in a shocking show of power, the message heralding the sound waves no one had anticipated. At least not for months, or possibly years to come.

  Princess Saieke glanced at her mate, horror dawning on her face. “Is that what I think it is?” she murmured, swaying slightly.

  Drac hugged her tighter, pulling her into the protective cage of his arms.

  The sound came again, a trumpet blast that echoed in the air for unending minutes, rolling over the seven kingdoms. It was the promise of slaughter and mayhem. A death knell for the weaker nations. A sound of retribution to those who had wronged its greatness.

  The Empire of Mevia had declared war.

  13

  Eyes the color of liquid mercury swirled with rage and power as Gidon overlooked the wild darkness of the land. “Something has pushed Emperor Khan to declare war before any nation anticipated. There has been no indication he would be moved to this. What has changed?”

  “I must return to Boreas immediately,” Princess Saieke said, pushing back her mass of red hair from her face with trembling hands. “The last Great War almost decimated my kingdom. They…we are not prepared for another war so soon.”

  Her whisper was dread-filled and echoed with fury.

  “The kingdom of winds and mountains has an alliance with The Darkage, princess,” Gidon said. “Your people will not suffer the same fate.”

  Denial and pain suffused her beautiful features. “But they will suffer. Thousands will suffer and die. The seven kingdoms have been at peace for years. Why is he doing this?”

  “If anyone should have declared war it should have been King Ajali of Nuria for yesterday’s attack on his kingdom. What madness has taken hold of Emperor Khan?” Gidon growled, pacing like a caged beast.

  “He has lost a key piece in his plot and machinations,” Lachlan said with more calm than he felt, for fury churned in his gut at the threat to his mate.

  Everyone stilled, and the floor of the high turret contracted at the wash of power swarmed the air.

  “Speak,” Gidon commanded.

  As if she had been summoned by his king’s will, the sweet flavor of earth and rain filled Lachlan’s senses. He scented her, and she made no sound as she drew closer. Shilah stepped through the wide terraced window. Everyone on the high balcony stilled, and she hesitated in the face of so many Darkans staring at her.

  She made a breath-taking picture in a dark green sari which bared her stomach and hung alluringly low on her rounded hips. Golden slippers encased delicate feet, and her mass of silver-white hair was piled atop her head. Wisps of hair escaped her topknot and framed her lovely features.

  His snakes were curled around her upper arms like golden bracelets. She held his gaze, her eyes huge and heart-stoppingly vulnerable. There was a fear in her that he would never let her go, and she would be unable to escape and save her people. He was a dark shadow in her mind, and all negative thoughts rushed along their link, even though she tried to shut him out.

  The sparkly depths of her eyes were reflecting so many emoti
ons they took his breath and broke apart something unfathomable inside Lachlan. There was a primal, turbulent need in him to ravish his mate so thoroughly and so completely that she would never hunger to leave his side. He wanted her bounded to him for all eternity

  There have only been two laws identified which have any impact on a beast’s behavior, and they both pertained to mating. The first law is that the demon mates for life. The second law not recorded anywhere and kept secret by all Darkans, a mate cannot be claimed without their consent. Everything in Lachlan could clamor to bind her to him forever, but if she did not accept his claim, he could not force her. Until she allowed the mating, he had no rights to cage her to his will, and even then, Lachlan knew she would fight any claiming that might override her sense of self. And he didn’t want that. Her beauty was fragile, and she didn’t have the physical prowess of Darkans or even Amagarians, but she had the heart of a warrior. Even if it was mystifyingly weakened by mercy and compassion.

  The darkness in him stirred, and violence sang through his blood at the notion of losing her. There would be no light left within him, no reason to feel the warmth tumbling through his chest now, no reason to feel the desperate need to be different…to be gentle.

  “And who is this?” Talon murmured, glancing from her to Lachlan.

  He felt her mind search; it brushed at him like the wings of a delicate creature. “I heard the sound of a gong. The walls of your chamber shook, and I felt along the thread that connected us that you were close, so I followed it…to here.”

  Lachlan knew no one else saw the silver thread that connected their souls. He could reach out a finger and run along the bright silvery white thread with the darkness twisting sinuously over it. The thread led from his chests to hers, and it hummed, a vibration of peace and pleasure as she moved a bit closer to him.

  His mate paused, shy a few feet from him, and glanced at his cadre of friends who did not disguise their unabashed curiosity.