Guardian by Blood

Name your terms of surrender.As a lieutenant to a ruthless vampire prince, Eva is used to difficult jobs. This mission seems pretty straightforward: enter a conquered territory, relocate the survivors and destroy their base of operations. But what she discovers when she arrives in the remote Northwoods Territory challenges all her expectations. Instead of nest of rogues, she finds a unique race of vampires who live out of time and by their own rules. She never counted on feeling sympathy for their cause--or a forbidden attraction to their reluctant leader, Wat. Can she save Wat and his people without betraying her oath to her prince?Wat is prepared to die rather than submit to relocation. He doesn't trust Eva-she's the epitome of everything he distrusts about city vamps, and she seems hand-picked to tempt him. Somehow he has to keep her close, charm her and convince her to change the terms of the treaty--all without surrendering to temptation, or worse, revealing the secrets of his people.Crafting an uneasy alliance, Eva and Wat try to find a solution to an impossible problem, contending all the while with princes and gods, ghosts and politics, and most difficult of all, the call of their own unruly hearts…Author's note: Guardian by Blood is a freestanding book as well as the start of a new series. However, the roots of this book are found in Damned by Blood, the final book in my Faustin Brothers trilogy. Guardian by Blood refers to events in Damned by Blood and features cameos from some of its characters. I do not believe it is necessary to read Damned by Blood first to enjoy this story, but some readers may prefer to do so. Product warning: Avoid this book if you just want more of the same ol' vampires--or if you have a morbid fear of snow--or if you disapprove of big, soft spoken men and sex hot enough to bring on the spring thaw early. In all seriousness, though, there are hunting scenes in this book. Some of the vamps in this story feed on animals, so a boar and two rabbits meet their demise onstage. I thought I'd mention that for folks who would like to avoid such depictions.