Of Flame and Promise

by Cecy Robson

  Gem flipped me onto my back, stripping out of his sweatpants, his bare skin warm and ready to push inside of mine.

  This wasn’t about sex. Not this time.

  It was simply my turn to be claimed.

  Reader’s Guide to the Magical World of the Weird Girls Series

  acute bloodlust A condition that occurs when a vampire goes too long without consuming blood. Increases the vampire’s thirst to lethal levels. It is remedied by feeding the vampire.

  call The ability of one supernatural creature to reach out to another, through either thoughts or sounds. A vampire can pass his or her call by transferring a bit of magic into the receiving being’s skin.

  change To transform from one being to another, typically from human to beast, and back again.

  chronic bloodlust A condition caused by a curse placed on a vampire. It makes the vampire’s thirst for blood insatiable and drives the vampire to insanity. The vampire grows in size from gluttony and assumes deformed features. There is no cure.

  claim The method by which a werebeast consummates the union with his or her mate.

  clan A group of werebeasts led by an Alpha. The types of clans differ depending on species. Werewolf clans are called “packs.” Werelions belong to “prides.”

  creatura The offspring of a demon lord and a werebeast.

  dantem animam A soul giver. A rare being capable of returning a master vampire’s soul. A master with a soul is more powerful than any other vampire in existence, as he or she is balancing life and death at once.

  dark ones Creatures considered to be pure evil, such as shape-shifters or demons.

  demon A creature residing in hell. Only the strongest demons may leave to stalk on earth, but their time is limited; the power of good compels them to return.

  demon child The spawn of a demon lord and a mortal female. Demon children are of limited intelligence and rely predominantly on their predatory instincts.

  demon lords (demonkin) The offspring of a witch mother and a demon. Powerful, cunning, and deadly. Unlike demons, whose time on earth is limited, demon lords may remain on earth indefinitely.

  Den A school where young werebeasts train and learn to fight in order to help protect the earth from mystical evil.

  Elder One of the governors of a werebeast clan. Each clan is led by three Elders: an Alpha, a Beta, and an Omega. The Alpha is the supreme Leader. The Beta is the second-in-command. The Omega settles disputes between them and has the ability to calm by releasing bits of his or her harmonized soul, or through a sense of humor muddled with magic. He or she possesses rare gifts and is often volatile, selfish, and of questionable loyalty.

  force Emme Wird’s ability to move objects with her mind.

  gold The metallic element; it was cursed long ago and has damaging effects on werebeasts, vampires, and the dark ones. Supernatural creatures cannot hold gold without feeling the poisonous effects of the curse. A bullet dipped in gold will explode a supernatural creature’s heart like a bomb. Gold against open skin has a searing effect.

  grandmaster The master of a master vampire. Grandmasters are among the earth’s most powerful creatures. Grandmasters can recognize whether the human he or she turned is a master upon creation. Grandmasters usually kill any master vampires they create to consume their power. Some choose to let the masters live until they become a threat, or until they’ve gained greater strength and therefore more consumable power.

  keep Beings a master vampire controls and is responsible for, such as those he or she has turned vampire, or a human he or she regularly feeds from. One master can acquire another’s keep by destroying the master the keep belongs to.

  Leader A pureblood werebeast in charge of delegating and planning attacks against the evils that threaten the earth.

  lone A werebeast who doesn’t belong to a clan, and therefore is not obligated to protect the earth from supernatural evil. Considered of lower class by those with clans.

  master vampire A vampire with the ability to turn a human vampire. Upon their creation, masters are usually killed by their grandmaster for power. Masters are immune to fire and to sunlight born of magic, and typically carry tremendous power. Only a master or another lethal preternatural can kill a master vampire. If one master kills another, the surviving vampire acquires his or her power, wealth, and keep.

  mate The being a werebeast will love and share a soul with for eternity.

  misericordia A plea for mercy in a duel.

  moon sickness The werebeast equivalent of bloodlust. Brought on by a curse from a powerful enchantress. Causes excruciating pain. Attacks a werebeast’s central nervous system, making the werebeast stronger and violent, and driving the werebeast to kill. No known cure exists.

  mortem provocatio A fight to the death.

  North American Were Council The governing body of weres in North America, led by a president and several council members.

  potestatem bonum “The power of good.” That which encloses the earth and keeps demons from remaining among the living.

  purebloods (aka pures) Werebeasts from generations of were-only family members. Considered royalty among werebeasts, they carry the responsibilities of their species. The mating between two purebloods is the only way to guarantee the conception of a were child.

  shape-shifter Evil, immortal creatures who can take any form. They are born witches, then spend years seeking innocents to sacrifice to a dark deity. When the deity deems the offerings sufficient, the witch casts a baneful spell to surrender his or her magic and humanity in exchange for immortality and the power of hell at their fingertips. Shape-shifters can command any form and are the deadliest and strongest of all mystical creatures.

  shift Celia’s ability to break down her body into minute particles. Her gift allows her to travel beneath and across soil, concrete, and rock. Celia can also shift a limited number of beings. Disadvantages include not being able to breathe or see until she surfaces.

  solis natus magicae The proper term for sunlight born of magic, created by a wielder of spells. Considered “pure” light. Capable of destroying non-master vampires and demons. In large quantities may also kill shape-shifters. Renders the wielder helpless once fired.

  surface Celia’s ability to reemerge from a shift.

  susceptor animae A being capable of taking one’s soul, such as a vampire.

  Trudhilde Radinka (aka Destiny) A female born once every century from the union of two witches who possesses rare talents and the aptitude to predict the future. Considered among the elite of the mystical world.

  turn To transform a human into a werebeast or vampire. Werebeasts turn by piercing the heart of a human with their fangs and transferring a part of their essence. Vampires pierce through the skull and into the brain to transfer a taste of their magic. Werebeasts risk their lives during the turning process, as they are gifting a part of their souls. Should the transfer fail, both the werebeast and human die. Vampires risk nothing since they’re not losing their souls, but rather taking another’s and releasing it from the human’s body.

  vampire A being who consumes the blood of mortals to survive. Beautiful and alluring, vampires will never appear to age past thirty years. Vampires are immune to sunlight unless it is created by magic. They are also immune to objects of faith such as crucifixes. Vampires may be killed by the destruction of their hearts, decapitation, or fire. Master vampires or vampires several centuries old must have both their hearts and heads removed or their bodies completely destroyed.

  vampire clans Families of vampires led by master vampires. Masters can control, communicate, and punish their keep through mental telepathy.

  velum A veil conjured by magic.

  virtutem lucis “The power of light.” The goodness found within each mortal. That which combats the darkness.

  Warrior A werebeast possessing profound skill or fighting ability. Only the elite among weres are granted the title of Warrior. Warriors are duty-bound to protect their Leaders and their Lea
ders’ mates at all costs.

  werebeast A supernatural predator with the ability to change from human to beast. Werebeasts are considered the Guardians of the Earth against mystical evil. Werebeasts will achieve their first change within six months to a year following birth. The younger they are when they first change, the more powerful they will be. Werebeasts also possess the ability to heal their wounds. They can live until the first full moon following their one hundredth birthday. Werebeasts may be killed by destruction of their hearts, decapitation, or if their bodies are completely destroyed. The only time a were can partially change is when he or she attempts to turn a human. A turned human will achieve his or her first change by the next full moon.

  witch A being born with the power to wield magic. They worship the earth and nature. Pure witches will not take part in blood sacrifices. They cultivate the land to grow plants for their potions and use staffs, amulets, and talismans to amplify their magic. To cross a witch is to feel the collective wrath of her coven.

  witch fire Orange flames encased by magic, used to assassinate an enemy. Witch fire explodes like multiple grenades when the intended victim nears the spell. Flames will continue to burn until the target has been eliminated.

  To my Weird Girls fans who stood by Celia and who now stand by Taran.

  Acknowledgments

  To my editor Sue Grimshaw for allowing Taran to start her journey, and for her kindness.

  To team Random House Loveswept, who take my story and turn it into a novel.

  To my agent, Nicole Resciniti, who believes in and nurtures my ideas—however scattered, however crazy—all the while offering her support and friendship, and yeah, sometimes a glass of wine.

  To my husband, Jamie, who always takes Nic’s side because, “Hey, that’s a great idea!”

  To Marcelino Morales: Rebecca and Claudine called you “Daddy,” Douglas and I called you “Tío,” all of us knew your love.

  BY CECY ROBSON

  Weird Girls

  A Curse Awakened (a novella)

  The Weird Girls (a novella)

  Sealed with a Curse

  A Cursed Embrace

  A Cursed Moon (a novella)

  Cursed by Destiny

  A Cursed Bloodline

  A Curse Unbroken

  Of Flame and Promise (a novella)

  Shattered Past

  Once Perfect

  Once Loved

  Once Pure

  O’Brien Family

  Once Kissed

  Once Crossed (coming soon)

  PHOTO: KATE GLEDHILL PHOTOGRAPHY

  CECY ROBSON is the New Adult and Contemporary author of the Shattered Past series, the O’Brien Family novels, and the award-winning author of the Weird Girls urban fantasy romance series. A self-proclaimed professional napper, Cecy counts among her talents a jaw-dropping knowledge of useless trivia, the ability to make her hair big, and a knack for breaking into song despite her family’s vehement protests. A full-time writer, registered nurse, wife, and mother living in the South, Cecy enjoys spending time with her family and silencing the yappy characters in her head by telling their stories.

  cecyrobson.com

  Facebook.com/​Cecy.Robson.Author

  @cecyrobson

  https://instagram.com/​cecyrobsonauthor

  goodreads.com/​goodreadscomCecyRobsonAuthor

  The Editor’s Corner

  Bring in the New Year with a new romance from Loveswept—all are specially written with you in mind, so I know you’ll find a story that’s a perfect fit.

  Elisabeth Barrett returns to Briarwood, an unforgettable place where legacy and longing make dreams come true, in The Best of Me. USA Today bestselling author Jamie K. Schmidt follows with the first book in her new Hawaii Heat series, Life’s a Beach, an irresistible tale of second chances. The bad boys of baseball only get better with Katie Rose’s fourth book in the Boys of Summer series, The Heat Is On, where a homegrown baseball star returns to snag the one that got away. USA Today bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly finishes her Dare to Love series with Now and Then, a steamy short novel of lost love, second chances, and hidden dangers.

  New York Times bestselling author Kathy Clark releases After Love, book one in the suspenseful Austin Heroes series. Cecy Robson’s Of Flame and Promise kicks off a sizzling new series in the Weird Girls saga as Celia’s sister Taran fights to have it all. Jessica Lemmon introduces the ultimate bad boy in Forgotten Promises, and Gina Gordon starts her powerful, deeply sensual series Body & Soul where one woman discovers the courage to face life’s greatest challenges in Naked.

  Let’s get sweet with USA Today bestselling author Laura Drewry and her latest, Off the Hook, part of her Fishing for Trouble series, and Zoe Dawson and her first Laurel Falls novel, Leaving Yesterday, for fans of small-town romance. Sidney Halston’s fans will be happy to know another mixed-martial-arts story is en route with Fighting Dirty, and then Claire Kent has you Taking It Off with a male stripper—yum! Adding to this USA Today bestseller list is a fast MC story from Maisey Yates, Strip You Bare. And Sawyer Bennett is bundling her books from her New York Times bestselling Cold Fury Hockey series.

  Looking for a few historical romances? Lavinia Kent releases a Regency favorite in Ravishing Ruby, Sharon Cullen brings you back to Culloden in Sutherland’s Secret, and Pamela Labud’s Hunt Club series begins with To Catch a Lady—all with heroes to die for.

  That’s it for this month—but February is bigger and better than ever before. Hope to see you soon.

  ~Happy Romance!

  Gina Wachtel

  Associate Publisher

  Read on for an excerpt from

  Of Flame and Light

  by Cecy Robson

  Available from Loveswept

  Chapter 1

  You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up in the morning and the first word out of your mouth is fuck.

  My right arm—or should I say my new arm generated after my real one was chewed off by a psycho werewolf (no, this isn’t a joke)—buzzes me awake. That’s right, buzzes.

  I do my best to hide my limb. Not just because it’s as white as alabaster. Or because of the fluorescent blue veins that run its length. But because it’s doing things I can’t control, like interfering with my magic, glowing like a light saber, and, now, making noise.

  I lift my head, half-asleep, wondering how a wasp nest found its way beneath my pillow, but too exhausted to run away screaming, yet. But the day is young, and a lot can still happen. And, if you were familiar with my life, you’d understand that pissed-off wasps in my bed aren’t the craziest, or scariest, thing that’s ever happened to me.

  My eyes narrow at the quivering pillow as my haze clears. Maybe it’s because I’m tired, or maybe it’s because I’m bitter as all hell, but I can’t help thinking that the arm and the pillow are laughing at me. I pull my glowing and buzzing arm from beneath the fluffy white pillow and swear.

  “Really? Really?” I ask it. “What’s next, singing and puppet shows?”

  Apparently my incandescent light saber arm isn’t a fan of sarcasm and proceeds to flicker on and off like a twisted strobe light. I shake it hard and smack it against the mattress, for all the good it does. “Knock it off,” I tell it.

  It’s not that I think it listens, or that I manage to control it—there’s simply no controlling this thing—but somehow the glowing recedes and so does the noise, and my arm resumes its “normal” deathlike tone.

  The arm is now quiet, still, and no longer casting light, so I should be thankful, right? I should be happy, true?

  Oh, I wish.

  The color is startling, and contrasts horrifically against my deep olive skin. But its eerie tone and its unpredictability aren’t the only things that trouble me. There’s something wrong with this limb. It doesn’t belong on me. And in a way, it doesn’t belong in this world.

  Maybe, like me, it’s something that wasn’t supposed to be.

  I sigh and clutch it agains
t me. It feels like my old arm. It moves like my old arm. But it’s so not—I don’t know—human.

  When I lost my real arm, the Squaw Valley Den Pack Omega created this new one using ancient werewolf magic. If I were a were, I think things would have been fine, peachy keen, and all that good stuff. But I’m not a were, or human, or witch, or vampire, or anything. No, not even a little bit.

  My sisters and I may look human, but nothing like us has ever existed on earth. And because of it, earth’s ancient magic seems to really resent helping a weird girl like me.

  I used to wield fire and lightning with ease, and catch glimpses of the future. I used to be badass. I’m no longer badass, and the only things I catch now are odd glances cast my way.

  “Are you the punishment for my sins?” I ask my arm.

  I don’t expect it to answer, but it does, sputtering light and buzzing before abruptly ceasing its response.

  To anyone watching, it might have been funny. To me, it’s not. Nothing’s been funny in a long time.

  For a moment, I simply stare at it. There’s a part of me that wants to cry, wondering what it will start doing next. But I’ve already cried too long and too hard for what it has cost me.

  Or should I say, who it has cost me.

  I scan the room. Nothing of Gemini remains. Not his clothes, not his pictures. I even deleted and blocked his number. For all my arm disgusts me, I never expected it to disgust him more. After all, this was the werewolf who claimed me as his mate. The same male who swore he’d love me forever.

  I suppose forever only counted so long as I didn’t change, so long as I remained perfect in his eyes. But I never claimed to be perfect, even if many believed I’d looked the part.