by Abigail Owen
“We are here at King Ladon and Queen Skylar’s insistence.”
“I know this.”
“We leave tomorrow.”
“I know this as well.”
The black dragon beside him sighed, his chest visibly heaving. “What bothers you, then?”
“Our people are exposed, like an open wound, and yet we sit here.”
“At our allies’ request.”
“Right. Allies that don’t entirely trust us after we lost their phoenix.”
Gorgon gave a low snarl of warning, given that he was the one who lost Skylar, but Samael wasn’t worried.
Their relationship was one of mutual trust, and his king expected his honesty. “I’m just saying what the hell are they making us wait for?”
They reached their destination, and Gorgon flared his wings wide to land on the outcropping of stone. Samael hovered, waiting for his king to shift and move away, then landed and shifted himself. Deliberately, he preceded his king into the room.
But no hailstorm of fire or bullets greeted them. Instead, gathered inside were both their allies—Brand Astarot and Ladon Ormarr—along with their phoenix mates.
“I didn’t know you’d arrived,” Gorgon said, skirting Samael to shake hands with all four.
He directed the comment to Brand and Kasia, who exchanged a glance. Kasia merely offered a pleasant smile. “We wanted to thank you for your help, not only with the Gold Clan, but with my sister as well.”
Skylar stepped forward. “I wanted to add my thanks.”
Gorgon dipped his head in a nod of acceptance, but Samael kept his own council, watching all four closely for any signs of suspicion, blame, or otherwise. The Black Clan had helped hide all evidence of the fight in Russia. Afterward, half of Gorgon’s people had headed home, taking some of the prisoners with them. Brand and Kasia’s people had taken another group of prisoners back to Norway. Meanwhile, the other half of Gorgon’s people had escorted Ladon and his clan back to Scotland…at the Blood King’s request.
The question was…why?
“I know you must be wondering why we asked you here,” Ladon said. “I apologize that it took us a little longer to get organized.”
Gorgon and Samael both said nothing, waiting.
“As our closest allies, we have information that we’d like to share with you,” Brand said. “This is something no one else in either of our clans knows yet. Not even our Betas.”
What next?
Both kings looked to their queens. Kasia stepped forward. “Skylar and I are not the only ones.”
Samael stiffened as shock tore through him. He glanced at Gorgon, noting the small tic at the edge of one eye, a sure sign of his king’s own shock.
“Not the only phoenixes?” Gorgon asked slowly.
Both women nodded. “Our mother gave birth to quadruplets, and all four of us survived.”
Fuck. Four phoenixes? How was that even possible and what did it mean? Samael narrowed his eyes. Or was this a lie to—
Two women stepped out from the bedroom. One he’d seen around the mountain with a bunch of wolves, which would take some explaining. But he didn’t focus on her. Instead, his gaze sought the other. She had the same big eyes, wide and wary. The same color as her sisters’, though he could’ve sworn they were darker the first time he’d seen her. The same stubborn chin, too.
The woman from the mirror.
As soon as her gaze landed on him, the phoenix hesitated. Only a fraction of a beat, but he still caught it. She definitely recognized him, if the slight widening of her eyes was any indication before she jerked her gaze away, focusing on Gorgon.
Holy shit. He hadn’t been seeing things that day. She had been in that reflection at the Gold Clan’s mountain…watching them.
Tormenting him in his dreams every night since.
“I’d like to introduce you to our sisters—Meira and Angelika.”
Meira. Hebrew for “one who illuminates.” The name suited her unusual beauty.
Meira stepped forward and addressed Gorgon directly. “As the only other king allied with my sisters and their mates…” She paused to swallow, then tipped up her chin. “I would like to…offer myself to you as a mate.”
No.
Everything inside Samael clenched in rejection before cold logic shut him down hard. He had no choice in this matter.
Mine.
The thought clanged through his mind, and he had to clench his fists to keep from stepping forward and claiming her. Thoughts bombarded him even as his dragon pushed to be released.
He wasn’t royal. The clans would never allow him to mate her. Fated mates was more for humans, and she wasn’t human. A phoenix had to choose, and she’d made her choice. Only kings could mate a phoenix. He’d have to challenge his king for her. A man who’d given him everything.
His dragon roared inside his head, a wail of longing and loss that he’d experienced only once in his lifetime—and had vowed never again. With all the strength of will of the warrior inside him, he contained the beast within. Shut it down. Shut himself down.
Meira turned her gaze his way. A gaze now more blue than white, darker. Almost as though imploring him to understand, which she couldn’t be. Wishful thinking on his part. Samael hardened his soul and looked away.
He could never have her.
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Acknowledgments
I get to do what I love surrounded by the people I love—a blessing that I thank God for every single day. Writing and publishing a book doesn’t happen without the support and help from a host of incredible people.
To my fantastic, equally dragon-obsessed readers… Thanks for going on these journeys with me, for your kindness, your support, and generally being awesome. Ladon and Skylar took me on quite a ride. I mean talk about the epitome of rock meeting hard place. Stubborn versus more stubborn. But they somehow just fit. I think their equal strength put them on an equal footing, and that’s the only way they could be with a mate. I hope you fell in love with these characters and their story as much as I did. If you have a free sec, please think about leaving a review. Also, I love to connect with my readers, so I hope you’ll drop a line and say “Howdy” on any of my social media!
To my editor, Heather Howland… This series is as much yours as it is mine. Your support is something I will always cherish, and the way you fight for my dragons makes you one of them. And we really should try to avoid the phone, because we only get each other deeper in trouble. Lol.
To my Entangled team…I don’t know how you guys do it, but you’re awesome. From the various stages of editing, to production and packaging, to marketing and my publicists, I’ve had nothing but support and help along the way. (And the most gorgeous, drool-worthy covers! I stare at them daily. Seriously.) Y’all rock!
To my agent, Evan Marshall… Thank you for your belief in me and guiding me through every crazy idea and new opportunity and my inability to say no to any project because I want to do all the things. You are a delight to work with!
To my writing partner and BFF, Nicole Flockton… You keep me sane and worry over me and help me brainstorm and edit things for me and rein me in when I’m getting too crazy. Love you!
To my support team of beta readers, critique partners, writing buddies, reviewers, RWA chapters, writer’s guild, friends, and family (you know who you are)… I know I say this every time, but I mean it…my stories wouldn’t come alive the way they do if I didn’t have the wonderful experiences and support that I do. And that’s all because of you.
Finally, to my own Fated Mate…I love you so much. No woman has ever been loved the way you love me, and that’s what I try to give every heroine who crosses my path. A hero who lifts her up and inspires her every day to be the best version of who she is. To our awesome kids,
I don’t know how it’s possible, but I love you more every day. I can’t wait to see the stories of your own lives.
About the Author
Award-winning paranormal romance author Abigail Owen grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.
www.abigailowen.com