by Ciana Stone
C I A N A S T O N E
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Ciana Stone
Cover by Syneca Featherstone
Craving
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
(Title) Copyright © 2017 Ciana Stone
Cover art by Syneca
Edited by Mary Harris
Electronic book publication May 2017
This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Syneca Featherstone
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
DEDICATION
As always, to the man who owns my heart.
Chapter One
It was the sound of a multitude of voices, singing in a harmony more beautiful than anything she’d ever heard. Shivers danced on her skin, and she turned her head to look at the man standing beside her.
“My King, I implore you, do not make the crossing alone. Too many of our enemies have breached the Portal. Your life will be at risk.”
“I must.”
She accepted that he was not going to alter his decision, but she did not like it. Her attention returned to the sound that rose around them, a thousand voices in harmony, so beautiful it brought tears to the eyes. Sung in their native tongue, it repeated over and again:
“I call upon magic, upon the powers of light.
Dispel the darkness that steals our sight.
Restore the magic; bring back our might, so that once more the Fae may dance by night.
Beneath the sun, beneath the moon, in forest and stream, give back commune.
As daughter of king and the child of mage, I call you now to hear my plea.
As I wish, so mote it be.”
Why were they singing this? It made no sense.
“Open the Portal, my Warrior.” The King’s command pulled her back from the thought.
For the first time in her life, she wanted to disobey. She’d had the dream; she knew the future. If he made the crossing, he would meet his doom. She did not think her heart could take the grief of losing him. Protecting him was her reason for being.
She and the others of her Clan devoted their lives to the service of protecting the Royal Family. The Scythe were special among the Fae, endowed with great strength and agility; they were capable of remarkable physical feats, along with the ability to harness and control energy and to see into the minds of others.
The greatest Warriors of all the Fae, they were dedicated servants of the King. Only the smartest and strongest among them, however, ever were honored to serve the Royal Family personally.
She’d been King Whitehorse’s personal guard since shortly after she received her Warrior’s brand, that symbol of honor denoting her status. A sword and a bow with an arrow, the brand displayed the weapons of a Warrior.
Being the direct descendant of the Mistress of her Clan, she was endowed with power held only by those of her direct line. She could control dimensional travel. In short, she could phase between dimensions or open the Portal between them. Aside from her family’s ability to achieve this, only strong Fae magic could open a Portal.
Now she was called upon to use that ability for a task she knew to be ill-fated. Yet, refusal was not an option. With her arms to her sides, she then raised her hands in front of her, fingers spread. Energy sizzled through the air from all directions, striking her palms. Her skin absorbed the energy. Her hands, then her arms radiated with energy, and the glow spread until her entire body was ablaze.
She pointed one hand in front of her, took in a breath, and upon its release, directed the energy outward. It emerged like a powerful stream of water. And like water impacting a wall, it smacked the air three feet from her and splatted out, becoming a pulsing circle of light.
The circle exploded with such brilliance that she winced and stepped in front of her King, shielding him with her body. It required no thought; it was simply what she was born to do. As a member of the Royal Guard, she’d protected the King of the Fae and his family since she’d been old enough to fight.
When the flare subsided, there was the Portal before them. It appeared like a puddle of water suspended in midair with lights dancing inside its border. Beyond it was a forest clearing.
“Stand down,” the King said gently.
She obeyed but offered one last plea.
“Please, take me with you, my Lord.”
“I need you to safeguard my children,” he said, and in an uncustomary act of familiarity, took both her hands in his. “Their safety is paramount.”
“As is yours, my King.”
His smile should have eased her fears, but even his powers of persuasion could not tame the unnamed anxiety that lurked at the edge of consciousness. She’d seen his death, knew it awaited him on the other side, and it ripped her spirit to shreds to contemplate such a thing. “My fate is my own, dear Guardian.”
She nodded in surrender. Arguing with him was fruitless. And there might yet be a way to protect him and the child he sought to save and bring home. She lowered herself to one knee. “As you wish, my King.”
He gave her hands a squeeze and then looked at Eldric, the man who stood beside her. “Rule well in my absence, my son.”
“Be safe, Father, and return home soon.”
“By the will of the Universe,” the King said and stepped through the Portal. He paused, turned, and performed an intricate motion with his hands. After uttering words too softly spoken to be heard, he raised his hand in farewell and turned away.
She rose and turned to the Prince. “I beg you, give me leave to follow. His life is in grave danger.”
Prince Eldric looked from her to his father beyond the Portal. King Michael was walking through the sunny clearing, his face lifted to the warmth of the sun. “He cast a spell. I do not know what might ensue were you to try to make the crossing. You could be injured or killed.”
“My life has always been an offering to the King. Do not deny me the reason for being. Please, my Prince, I beg you.” She quickly told him of her dream.
Eldric cut another look at the Portal and then agreed. “Very well. But you must vow to follow my orders.”
“I so vow.”
“Then first, maintain your distance and do not make him aware of your presence unless it is necessary to protect him. Also…” He took her hand, stretched her arm out straight and then passed his free hand over its surface. Symbols appeared, ancient and indecipherable to all but the oldest of their kind.
“What’s this?”
“Something my father instructed me to give you in the event you decided to disobey his orders.”
She smiled. “He knew I would disobey and that you would allow it?”
“The
re isn’t much that gets by him.”
“ But what is this?”
“Your link home, should your own powers fail. If you require assistance, you must find someone who can read this and help you return.”
“Yes, my Prince. Thank you.”
With that, she stepped into the Portal. She had one fleeting moment of agony and felt herself fade.
Iliana sat straight up in bed, her heart hammering in her chest and sweat causing her hair to cling to bare skin. That damn dream. She’d not had it in several years. Why had it returned?
The dream always left residual emotions in its wake, feelings of impending doom and a sense that she had failed. She hated the way it made her feel and not just the idea that she had somehow failed, but also the fear she felt for the King. She’d never had that kind of protective urge in real life, the willingness to give her life to protect someone else, and it made her feel a bit inadequate.
She climbed out of bed and walked outside onto the small deck. The night air carried a hint of cool, and she welcomed the gust of wind that made gooseflesh rise on her wet skin.
Her thoughts turned to memories more than a decade old. She’d just graduated high school and had used the money she’d saved working part-time to take a trip to the Grand Canyon.
She joined a tour group to raft down the Snake River and while on the trip, fell into the water. She didn’t remember it happening. She didn’t even remember the trip. But she’d been told what happened by her grandmother.
From witness accounts, she struck her head when she fell, and by the time they got her out of the water, she was not breathing. Her first memory was waking up in a hospital bed with an elderly woman sitting beside her, talking softly in a tongue foreign to Iliana’s ears. Fear flooded her when she realized that not only did she not know the woman, she didn’t know herself.
Who was she, where was she, and why was the woman with her?
It had taken her nearly a year to become comfortable with being someone without a past. She had papers showing that she’d been accepted into a very prestigious Ivy League school on a scholarship, so off she went to college. At least there, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t remember her past. She was just another face in the crowd.
Those years passed quickly, and she ended up earning advanced degrees in virology and biology, but in all that time, no memories of her life before the accident ever returned.
All she knew of her life was what was given to her by her grandmother. Even her name. Iliana James. What an odd name. She’d been raised by her grandmother, Oma James. Her parents had died in a car accident when she was only months old.
She accepted the history she was given. There was no need not to. It was clear from her birth certificate, pictures, class records, and memorabilia that she’d grown up with Grandma Oma.
She listened to the fanciful tales Oma told her of Amazonia warrior women, the Fae, and a host of other fantastical beings. Iliana never believed any of it, of course. She was a scientist. Facts were her religion, what she clung to. Things that could be proven were the things she believed in. She loved her grandmother, so she never discounted the tales to Gran’s face, but she knew them for what they were. Fantasies.
That had to be what had originally inspired the dream. She’d had it as far back as she could remember, which, admittedly was not long, but still it was a familiar presence in her mind.
Why? She didn’t have a clue. Did she just need to cling to it because it came from her grandmother, the only person who had ever loved her? Was it because Gran was no longer with her and she felt alone in the world?
Whatever the case, she didn’t like the feeling it left behind. As if she should look out, scan the horizon, seek a King that did not exist to protect him from a fate she’d seen in a dream—in a life that had never existed.
With a soft curse, she turned and went inside. It was a given that she’d not sleep anymore, so she might as well get to work. There was still a lot to be done to get the Legacy Research Center ready for its grand opening tonight.
And that’s where her attention needed to be. On what was real. Her work. It was what mattered and all she really had.
Chapter Two
John Luke walked down the stairs to find his entire family gathered in the front room.
“Well, look at you,” his sister Mysti said and raised her drink glass. “Nice to see you in a suit again, little brother.”
“Thanks. You look pretty amazing yourself.” John Luke smiled at her. She was a beautiful woman who’d inherited the best characteristics of both their parents. Along with being gorgeous, she was also very intelligent.
She blew him a kiss and then turned back to the conversation she was having with their sister, Ravyn.
John Luke turned his attention to his father. Senator John Logan Legacy was still a handsome, strong man, but one who had suffered a lot of hurt in the last year. “Hey, Dad. How’re you doing?” He hugged his dad, maybe a little longer and a little tighter than normal but their family had been through some shit of late, and he felt the need to hold them closer.
Less than six months ago, they had discovered that Genevieve Legacy, John Luke and his siblings’ mother, had been drugging them their entire life with a concoction that inhibited their ability to Shift. As over-the-top impossible as it seemed, John Luke’s family on his father’s side were all Shifters. He and his siblings had inherited those abilities but had never known because of their mother’s so-called allergy potion.
It still griped John Luke that he had been stupid enough to continue to take that crap all these years. Every month a new bottle would arrive and he just swallowed that swill without question. What fools they had all been.
Now they were all learning to adjust to life with those abilities and without their mother. John Luke’s father had started divorce proceedings when he discovered the depth of her betrayal and the horrific torment she’d inflicted on Sabine, his brother Logan’s wife.
John Luke knew his father was strong man, but it still had to hurt that his wife had betrayed him and perpetrated so much harm and pain on others.
“Making it, son,” John said when he drew back. “How about you? Are you settling back into ranch life?”
“Getting there.” At the moment, John Luke wasn’t interested in talking about himself, so he changed the subject. “But tell me about this research center we’re going to see, and what you needed my thoughts on.”
“It’s one of my pet projects. Some state land bordering us on the east and adjacent to the national forest was selected as a viable site for a new Animal Research Center and ranger station so I—or more precisely, the Legacy foundation donated the funding to build it. It will be used for research, rehabilitating wildlife, and as a ranger station for the national forest. One of the specialties of this center will be advanced research into ways of curing disease using naturally occurring bacteria and viruses.”
“Well, that sounds way above my scientific understanding but also a worthy endeavor. Is it already staffed?”
“It is. An impressive young woman, Dr. James, is heading it up, and I believe she’s going to do a fine job and help with serious near-extinction situations of valuable species as well as advance the virology research. She’s in the process of selecting and hiring her team now.
”What I wanted from you is your professional assessment on security. Particularly around Dr. James’ lab. Working with viruses is a serious matter, and there have to be strict containment protocols as well as fail-proof security measures to prevent the lab being breached.”
“Well, I’ll be honest, Dad, I’m not exactly up to speed on containment protocols but can certainly help you with security.”
“I appreciate that. And Dr. James has already consulted with the CDC about containment and would like to model our protocols based on what they use. I’ve contacted the team who put things together for Atlanta, and they will be arriving next week.”
“Sounds like you have it well it h
and. I’m looking forward to seeing the center and to meeting Dr. James.”
“As am I.”
John Luke frowned for a second in confusion. “Hold on. You haven’t met her?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know she’s the right woman for the job?”
“Go with the gut.” His father patted his still flat midsection and then turned as his daughter Ravyn took his arm. “Hey, punkin.” He smiled down at her. “Ready to roll?”
“Yes. Would you ride with me and Wayne?”
“Of course.” He then looked at John Luke. “You want to join us, son?”
“Sure.” John Luke looked at his sister. “If it’s okay.”
“Absolutely.”
“Then let’s do it.”
The entire family left. John Luke and his father got into the back seat of Wayne Garen’s Mercedes. John Luke saw the way Ravyn looked over her shoulder and smiled at their father. He knew that his dad was trying hard to prove to Ravyn that the family had accepted her engagement to Wayne.
It wasn’t easy for any of them, but least of all for their father. Wayne Garen’s father, Harris, had once been his father’s best friend and business partner. A disagreement about a business venture caused them to go separate ways. The, salt in the wound – John’s then-fiancée left him and married Harris.
John couldn’t find it in his heart to hate either of them, but his success had caused envy to take root in Harris that had eventually evolved into a hatred that consumed the man. Harris tried to pass that hatred along to his son Wayne but failed.
John Luke didn’t know Wayne at all. He was forty-two, and had spent maybe a week or two a year in Texas over the last twenty years. He’d been recruited by the FBI while still in law school and had gone to work for them two weeks after graduation. His knowledge of Wayne was second-hand from his brother Logan, Logan’s wife Sabine, and Ravyn. Since he respected and trusted Logan’s opinion, he was accepting Wayne as part of the family.
