Beyond The Sun

by Sandra Bischoff

  Tears flooded her eyes and ran down her cheeks. “Always.” Her voice was no more than a raspy whisper. She wrapped her arms around him, holding on for dear life. Zephyr froze. His arms circled her and pulled her close. He kissed the top of her head. Her breath caught in her throat before she spoke again. “I love you.”

  She felt him shudder, and one of his arms shifted. His hand wiped at his face. She pulled back to see him crying. “Wow, I made the mighty Zephyr cry, really?”

  He laughed. “Don’t think you will be sharing this with anyone. You will keep this between us. I have to keep up appearances.”

  “Of course you do. Just between us, then.” She nodded.

  “Now, if I may, I think I should be delivering you back to Jared. I wasn’t lying when I said you should be resting, draguta.”

  “Draguta, what does that mean?”

  “It’s Romanian, for sweetheart.”

  “I think I like that.”

  “I’m glad. It’s been a very long time since I’ve said it to anyone.”

  She gifted him with a bright smile. “I would love for you to say it more often.” She held up her hand to him. “Now, I promise, right to bed. Scout’s honor.”

  Zephyr took her hand in his. “Get ready.” Before Alex could blink, she was standing in the hallway outside Jared’s bedroom door her hand in Zephyr’s. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Make sure you tell him if he hurts you in anyway, I will kill him. I don’t care if he is the King’s son.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry. Good night, daddy.” She kissed his cheek and slipped inside the bedroom, closing the door quietly.

  Zephyr placed his hand on the white washed wood. “Good night, draguta.”

  Epilogue

  Six months later…

  JARED STOOD IN THE SHADOW OF THE FOYER TO the great hall. The amber stone walls around him gave off a warm, welcoming glow but did nothing to ease his nerves. He had made many trips to the castle during his life. All of them with Julian about Conservator issues. He never had the opportunity to meet with the King privately, until recently. He had always been sent to the courtyard to see the dragons. Now he understood why.

  Jared tugged at the collar of his shirt. A feminine hand came up to pull his hand down, tucking it in the bend of her arm. “You’ll be fine. I’m right here with you. Stop worrying.” Alex beamed, her eyes glowing with her love for him. “Your mother and Zephyr have taken their places inside. Everyone is waiting for you.” She smoothed his tux.

  He continued to fidget. “I feel like a peacock. You know this isn’t me, Alex.” He gave her a frown, pulling at the tight collar again. The whole getup was suffocating.

  “You didn’t seem to mind at the gala.”

  “That was different. I wasn’t the center of attention then.”

  “I know, baby, but it’s only for a few hours. Besides, I think you are the handsomest of all the pompous egotistical peacocks here.”

  He smirked. “What if I told you we should blow off this whole shindig? It’s a new moon, and the dragons are itching to fly. Let’s go with them.”

  Alex tossed her head back, laughing. Her petite fangs glittered in the candlelight. “You would throw all this away for those beasts, wouldn’t you?”

  He chuckled, pulling her to him, his arms encircling her waist. “Not for them. But for you, always.”

  She cupped his face in gloved hands and pulled it down to hers. “I was once told you were my destiny. Well, Jared, this is yours. Embrace it, my Prince of Darkness.”

  He gazed deep into the chocolate depths of her eyes. Jared closed the distance between them to feast on her lips. When he finally came up for air, he raised a brow. “You are too persuasive for your own good.”

  Lance cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt, but the crowd is getting antsy.”

  Glancing over his shoulder, Jared let out a low whistle. The shifter was dressed in a uniform for the royal guard, black with blood red embroidery. Its gold buttons were polished to perfection. Even the sword hanging at his side gleamed.

  “Man, Lance, you clean up well.”

  “Yeah, I’m not the only one.” Lance’s lips formed a grim line. “Jared, I have a bit of news you should know before we go in there.”

  “Tell me Tony’s here. Really don’t need that now.”

  “Um, no. But it does concern him. Early this morning, Tony’s body washed up in Hoboken. He had been mauled. Hit throat ripped clean out.”

  Jared’s brow rose and Alex gasped at his side. He wrapped an arm around her. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Yeah, I was there; saw him with my own two eyes.” Lance rested his hand casually on the hilt of his sword. “It seems, from his girlfriend’s account, you know that vamp Chandi? They were walking his pit bull on the river front at Cornwall Landing on Thursday night. The dog apparently turned on him. Tony and the dog fell into the river and she took off screaming. He turned up today but the dog still hasn’t been found.”

  “A dog did that. Seriously?”

  Lance shrugged. “Everyone knew he was into illegal dog fighting. It only stands to reason he got what he bargained for.”

  “Really, and you expect me to believe that?”

  “Absolutely. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

  “Uh-huh.” Jared gave his friend another once over, looking for any sign of a lie. The shifter was good at hiding shit.

  Tears formed in Alex’s eyes and she whispered, “So, it’s over?”

  Nodding, Lance took her hands in his. “Yeah, it’s over. He won’t hurt you again, Alex.”

  She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close. “Thank you.”

  Lance eased away from her. “Like I said, I am only the messenger. It was his dog that did it. Karma is a bitch that way.” He jerked his chin toward the closed oak doors. “You two ready to make your entrance?”

  Jared held out his arm. “Shall we?”

  Alex wrapped her gloved hand around his arm and smoothed her white gown with the other one. “How do I look?” She patted her hair lightly.

  “You are more beautiful than anything else you might find beyond the sun.” He gave her one quick kiss.

  Jared inclined his chin to Lance who promptly pulled the doors open. Arm-in-arm they entered the hall for the coronation ceremony, Lance following in their wake.

  THE CLOAKED FIGURE REMAINED IN THE REAR OF THE hall. She watched Jared and Alex make their way through the throng of people. Nobles and Dignitaries of their world bowed and scraped before the half-breed Prince. Bile rose in her throat. The whole thing disgusted her. One big happy family. Everyone accepted the bastard as one of the family while she was thrown to the curb.

  This should have been hers. She should have been the heir to the throne, not him. Now all she had was a scarred face and a life in exile. Soon enough she would gather her forces and take back what was hers. Only then would she finally have her revenge. They hadn’t seen her wrath, not yet.

  Absinthe gave the ceremony one more hostile glare before dematerializing to her new home. She drifted through the halls until she arrived at a door covered with anarchy signs and a skull bearing fangs. She knocked lightly and pushed the door open. A blonde head lifted from whatever he was writing. Bright blue eyes met hers, his fangs glowing in the black-light illuminating the room.

  “Did you need something, Absinthe?” He unfolded his lean teenage body from the overstuffed chair in the corner and approached her. He slid the hood of her cloak back and regarded her cheek thoughtfully. Placing a hand over the scar, her skin glowed for a split second before the puckered scar vanished completely. “There, much better.” He sauntered away from her and draped across the black silk comforter on his bed.

  Absinthe touched her cheek in awe. “Thank you, Drakkar. You have no idea how much this healing means to me.”

  He shrugged it off. “You give me so much. Who am I to make you continue to suffer for what he did?” His eyes bored into hers. “I take i
t, it’s done then?”

  She unfastened her cloak and tossed it on his bed. “Yes, it is done. Soon you and I will take back what he stole. Will you be ready, my son?”

  An evil sneer filled with lethal fangs spread across his face. “I will be more than ready to see him die by my hands.”

  ###

  Acknowledgements

  WHEN I STARTED THIS JOURNEY, I NEVER DREAMED I’d be sitting here right now. To see five years of hard work, blood, sweat and most of all tears be on the verge of publication is truly unreal to me. The characters in this book have become an extension of my family. Without them and their constant barrage of harassment, even while grocery shopping, I would have just given up and remained an author of fan fiction and role playing. But that seemed to be something they would not allow. They wanted, needed to be heard. Their stories had to be written, and I am happy to say I am completely satisfied with the way they turned out.

  That being said, I would like to thank my loving and extremely patient husband, Richie. Without you and your help I would never have had the time or motivation to finish, rewrite, finish again and submit Beyond the Sun multiple times. I know it was frustrating at times for both of us. Locking myself away to write almost every night with the other men in my life, I know drove you crazy on more than one occasion. But we made it through, and I will be eternally grateful for your support. I love you always and forever.

  To my son, Richie or Junior as we call him, I thank you for inspiring my characters. Your unique personality is infused in multiple ways throughout the book for eternity. I also thank you for the hugs and listening when I vented. Yes, I know you were listening. It wasn’t only the dogs or birds staring blankly at me from across the room.

  For my writing group, Chrissie Bledsoe, Renee Murphy, Quamaine Byrd, Christy Bunnell, Melly McCain-Bruening and Shay Seefong. All of you have been my cheerleaders from the beginning. You have watched Beyond the Sun grow from being a piece of fan fiction to a full-blown novel. You have supported my dream and critiqued when necessary. I value your ideas, comments and criticisms more than any of you know. I am so glad I have you to bounce my ideas off of. Thank you with hugs and love! Oh, and let’s not forget, Chrissie and Quamaine… time to step up your game!

  Last but certainly not least, thank you to my Bayou Brew Publishing family. Monique, Carly, Wendy, Casse, Lacey and Ash you guys have been awesome! I am so glad you saw the potential of Beyond the Sun. You fell in love with it and gave it a life of its own. You gave me the opportunity that I had been waiting for. Thank you so much. I hope this is the beginning of beautiful friendships!

  To my readers, my hope is that you enjoy this book as much as I did writing it. I also hope you join me as this series continues. There are still so many stories to be told, so many characters waiting for their happily ever after. My plan is to share them with you.

  Thank you, always.

  About the Author

  SANDI BISCHOFF LIVES IN THE HISTORIC TOWN OF Cornwall, NY with her extremely patient husband and teenage son, she affectionately calls the Demon. She is a Pharmacist by profession but found her true calling in a simple twist of fate. A friend approached her to write in a forum on a popular networking website. Over the next five years her passion had found its niche. She went on to compose a few poems and short stories which she would post on her homepage at the same networking site. From one of those short stories, her novel Beyond the Sun was born. She is currently working on her next novel and is very excited to share it with her readers.