by Shania Tyler
“Sure,” Meg said. She turned to Piper. “Are you coming?”
“If His Majesty doesn’t mind,” she said with heated sarcasm.
Ethan frowned. “I don’t know what’s up with Theo, but he’s usually a really nice vampire.” Ethan grinned. “Maybe he just… doesn’t like you.”
Piper punched him in the arm. Hard.
“Ow!”
Meg laughed and rubbed Ethan where Piper had hit him. “You asked for it,” she said to her man.
Ethan gasped dramatically and knocked on the door. “Hey, I’m your boyfriend now. You two can’t gang up on me anymore.”
Piper laughed.
Meg grabbed his arm and said, “Ah, the good old days.” But she was grinning up at him just as hard as he was grinning down at her.
A well-dressed servant opened the door to the mansion. Piper took in everything as she stepped inside. The marble floor made the thousands of lights that hung from the golden chandeliers flood the entryway with light. Walls the color of coffee with two milks made Piper immediately feel warm and welcomed.
The only thing that didn’t make her feel welcomed was remembering Theo’s face at their meeting.
She wanted to knock herself out for finding him attractive, but there was no way around just how gorgeous he was. The moment Kelly had pointed him out, Piper had thought Theo was by far the hottest, sexiest guy she’d ever seen in her life.
His dark hair was pushed back and cut short, but a slight wave kept it from making him look too serious. His face, however, had looked cut from stone by a skilled sculptor, and his eyes had been onyx, like black gems shining from the depths of his soul.
He’d worn a black suit over his tall frame with a black shirt underneath. A small gold chain peeked from underneath, but its end was hidden from sight.
If Piper hadn’t just left Earth to travel to another world, she would have said Theo was a mob boss, like a young Al Pacino in The Godfather if he’d been pale, sexier, and a vampire.
That would have been a twist for the movie.
But this wasn’t Earth and so she had no idea how the mob worked here, but one thing was clear. Theo was loaded. Very hot and very loaded. And very rude!
Piper’s eyes moved to the dark carpeted stairs that flowed out to the center of the room. The wooden banisters looked so polished they might as well be wet. She had no problem assuming they’d pass the ‘dust check.’
A few servants passed between one room to the other and her eyes were drawn to their pointed ears and the burn marks around their throats. They were freed slaves.
Kelly had told her about the vampire government called the Evaness that had put the elves into slavery, locking them into silver chains that blocked their power and scarred their flesh. It was why they’d gone to war, to free the elves, and though they’d won, the freedom part, she said, was taking time.
Kelly had told her that Theo funded the Rebel army, a group made of both vampires and elves who were fierce abolitionists, which was a point in Theo’s favor, but his score for personality was still in the negative.
Because she didn’t want to appear impolite, she turned her eyes away from the staff and looked at the house once more.
The doors to all the other rooms around her were open, making the house seem open concept, but a room could easily be closed off for privacy, which she liked. She could make out a dining room and a living from where she stood, but the urge to know the house inside out grew.
Ethan led them down one of the back hallways, which was lit with hanging lanterns. Kelly had warned her that there was no electricity here and being without her cell phone for two months seemed like suicide, but the more she explored, the more she had the feeling she wouldn’t miss the latest episode of Grey’s.
There was a massive library and a banquet hall.
“This is Theo’s office,” Ethan said as they passed the first pair of closed doors she’d seen since arriving. She wondered if Theo was hiding in there. He’d run off so quickly after meeting them. Her hand ached to grab onto the knob and see for herself, to see what he looked like while sitting behind his desk. She was sure he’d exude all that great power he gave off while standing at the front door.
Her eyes widened when she realized her hand was around the knob. She let it go and turned to find both Ethan and Meg were gone. She was at the end of the hall and wondered where they’d gone. Her eyes caught sight of a flicker of light outside the window and she looked out.
Then she stepped closer and stared at the men fighting one another. They stood around a large field surrounded by torch lights that went far into the distance. There were hundreds of fighters wielding swords. Her heart raced until she caught sight of the men on the sidelines of the large field. They were talking and looked to be laughing. One man from the fight seemed to come out and tag a sitting man. They switched places.
It was a mock fight, practice for something, but what?
She stepped away from the window, turned, and jumped. “Oh, I didn’t know you were there.”
Theo stood by the same door she’d thought to open. He was leaning against its jamb with his hands hidden inside the pockets of his dark slacks. One foot was cross over the other and though his body didn’t completely face her, his dark eyes were glued to her.
His Majesty, as she was calling him now, said nothing as he openly stared at her with a look that seemed to be both interest and disgust.
She reached up to touch her hair, but then stopped. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed a man to make her feel self-conscious. Not a single moment came to her recollection in the last twenty-two years of her life. She would not let this... vampire, make her feel any less than the great woman she knew herself to be.
Kelly had told her that all the vampires in Morwen were really nice, but apparently, she’d forgotten to warn her about her host. If Piper could ignore him for the next two months, she would, but just as she’d never been self-conscious, she’d also never backed down from a challenge.
This was his home. The least she could do was be nice.
She put one foot in front of the other and closed the space between them.
His body stiffened, but he didn’t move. His eyes stayed with hers.
“Hello,” Piper said for the second time that day and smiled when his cologne touched her nose. It was amazing and like nothing she’d ever smelled before with a natural undertone that was very… male. She blinked and jumped back when he pushed himself back into the door jamb even more. His eyes were wide.
She’d been leaning toward him, following that delicious fume coming from him and hadn’t even known it. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize what I was doing.” But wasn’t she supposed to be afraid of him? He was the blood sucker.
His eyes looked pensive again.
She chuckled. “Oh, that’s right. You can’t understand me.”
He kept his body toward the door, but narrowed his eyes inquisitively at her as though he were trying to understand her, but couldn’t.
She grinned wider, seeing the advantage in their situation. “You’re know, you’re really hot.”
He didn’t react except for to look at her mouth. His eyes rested there and Piper got the urge to squirm underneath his heavy gaze once again.
She tilted her head and studied his face, liking the arch of his heavy brows and finding that his skin gave off a pale glow. His black eyes returned to hers. She lifted her hand. He flinched. She rested her hand on her chest. “I’m Piper.”
His mouth twitched, the barest of smiles, before he took a step back and retreated into his office.
Piper thought he’d invite her in, but for the second time that day, he closed the door in her face. “Jerk,” she murmured and walked away.
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ALSO BY SHANIA TYLER
A Paranormal Romance Book
Standalone Novella : Falling into Darkness
^ Story of : Amity and Ronan
LINK: Standalone Novella : Falling into Darkness
Blackness Falls
( Series Part 01)
Book 1 : Lord of Shadows
^ Story of : Kelly and Mason
LINK: Book 1 - Lord of Shadows
Book 2 : Obscured Lover
^ Story of : Theo and Piper
LINK: Book 2 - Obscured Lover
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Map of ASEA
“the further west one goes, the more savage it gets.”
Eastern World
2 ~~ Ucrary:
Windy city. Gets extreme colds.
3 ~~ Corena:
Vast hills and open fields, country
4 ~~ Ember’s Woods:
Named after the god, it’s a magical forest of nymphs.
5 ~~ Morwen:
Hideout in the mountains in of Asea. Mountainous.
6 ~~ Pria:
The capital of the Eastern World. Holds court, offices, assembly rooms, and stadiums. Each royal household also has a house in the city.
7 ~~ Estain:
Seaport, city on the sea side
Middle World
1 ~~ Talon Island:
Island of the Gods. Protected by the giants of Glonn, the fairies in Shadesea, and the dragons of Mezzin.
8 ~~ Glonn:
Land of giants
9 ~~ Darcee:
Country, crops.
10 ~~ Trasco:
Jungle paradise.
Western World
11 ~~ Shadesa Forest:
Forbidden fortress of the Fairies. Rumored to hold the Eternal Pool.
12 ~~ Chakra:
Once a part of the larger Hatash. Strong oil economy.
13 ~~ Hatash:
Dry and hot. Ruled by men. Use to be the leader of the west, but now is is not. Trades on metal and stone. Holds little oil.
14 ~~ Salani:
Like Hatash, it is dry. Kingdom ruled by a queen with a quick temper. Once tired to Hatash, but no anymore. Trades on metal and stone. Holds little oil.
15 ~~ Mezzin:
Volcanic, tropical, Polynesian style homes. Known to be the home of the dragons.
Glossary
Asea : Name of their world and the mother that created them.
Asean Council : Council of the world. Representatives from each of the magic bloodlines holds a seat.
Chebar : Magic language of Asea.
Colester : Leader of a city and or larger provinces. Providence leaders rule over city leaders. They are usually The Chosen of their family and usually the most powerful member of their bloodline.
The Chosen : the Asean Council leaders. They are called The Chosen, because their god chose them to be the most powerful of their family.
Evaness : Citizens of Asea who have the blood of a one of the gods. Their blood holds a magical ability related to whomever the god or goddess was that started their line. They are the highest class in the Asea society.
Fairman : They are the doorkeepers of Asea. They are stationed all around the world and even in other worlds. They are appointed by Asea, blessed with the inability to be harmed while in the service of her.
Family Door : Doors created from secrete trees from a gifted family’s homeland. Able to teleport those that share the same bloodline from one family domain to another.
The Scourge : Leaders of the Vampire army.
The Rebels : A group of vampires and elves that lead out the war against the Evaness.
Pavo(a) : Fated one. They are the lovers that help one complete their destiny. Without them, a person’s purpose in life goes unfulfilled.
Year of Blessings : Once a century, the gods bless their children who travel to their temple out of respect.
The Bloodlines :
Elves to rule the day. Vampires to rule the night. All gifts serve a purpose.
God: Seocan
Elf Gift : Illumination
Vampire Gift : Shadowing
Family Providence : Traso
Current Leader: Malcolm
God: Jinn
Elf Gift: Healing
Vampire Gift: Decay
Family Providence: Pria
Current Leader: Yon
God: Orry
Elf Gift: Melody
Vampire Gift: Cacophony
Family Providence: Ucrary
Current Leader: Keller
Goddess: Milena
Elf Gift: Foresight
Vampire Gift: Hindsight
Family Providence: Corena
Current Leader: Isabel
God: Hero
Elf Gift: Pathfinder
Vampire Gift: Vanish
Family Providence: Estain
Current Leader: Berna
Other Species and their Gifts :
Goddess: Chakra
Asean Human Gift: Life
Family Providence: Hatash (Currently Split into three kingdoms)
Current Leader of Hatash: King Zuloc
Current Leader of Chakra: King Tetzin
Current Leader of Salani: Queen Sureen
Goddess: Shadesea
Fairy and Giant Gift: Vegetation
Family Providence: Shadesea Forest & Glonn
Current Leader of Shadesea: Queen: Noria, King: Tabris, Princess Ariel
Current Leader of Glonn: King Salamon
Goddess: Isda
Family Gift: Therianthropy
Family Providence: Mezzin
Current Leader: Cassus
This book is copyright © 2017 by
Shania Tyler
and
ColleenNorman Publishing House LLC
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or deceased, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
Published by: ReedFoster Press HOUSE LLC
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NEWARK, DELAWARE 19711
Cover Designed by: Mia Kinsey
Digital Edition
Manufactured in the United States of America