Crusader
Page 27
He picked her up and kissed her with all the love overflowing his heart. Regardless of the pressures demanding my time, angel, I will always make time for you.
Book Two
Kotto and Raina’s story
Coming later this year!
Find out how it all began.
Shadow Assassins, Book One
Royal Obsession
Cyndi Friberg
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Radical separatists, created at the onset of the Great Conflict, have been made obsolete by years of peace. They live in their subterranean Shadow Maze and only emerge when it’s time to breed. For Varrik, that time is now.
Varrik, current leader of the Shadow Assassins, knows his people are on the verge of extinction. If they cannot adapt, they will die. Yet if his son were a direct descendant of the High Queen it would secure a place for future generations. Protecting his people is his first priority, so Varrik assembles a hunting party and kidnaps the royal twins. He is determined to claim the eldest for his own.
Echo, the younger princess, knows her pampered sister will never survive the sexual appetites of their virile captor. Echo doesn’t understand the powerful attraction she feels for Varrik, but drawing his attention is a far better choice than allowing him to overwhelm her twin. She doesn’t expect to find him fascinating or to crave the demanding passion he ignites. Can a dominating warrior and his willing captive bring light to the Shadow Maze?
Royal Obsession
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyright © 2013 Cyndi Friberg.
With concentrated effort, Echo eased out of her sister’s mind and shielded her end of the link. She collided with Lor dar Joon and gasped. His large hands clasped her upper arms, steadying her until she regained her footing.
“Your face is flushed and your expression dreamy.” A knowing smile parted his lips. “Either you were having very naughty thoughts, or E’Lanna is with Zane—again.”
Lor had been her father’s apprentice until he completed his training four cycles ago. Echo had spent half her childhood enamored with him, yet she had come to think of him as a close friend by the time she saw male appreciation in his eyes. Her mother, High Queen Charlotte, would doubtlessly welcome a match between them. The House of Joon had resented the House of Aune for centuries. The hostilities escalated with frustrating regularity, despite Charlotte’s best efforts to establish lasting peace.
“Did Father send you after me?” She smoothed the heavily embroidered material of her bodice against her ribs, her senses still humming. Strolling to a nearby tree, she leaned against the trunk, needing the stability at her back. Her teasing tastes of passion had never produced the sort of emotions E’Lanna enjoyed with Zane.
Lor moved closer, the wind playing through his curly blond hair. “As a matter of fact, he did. You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
“I’m not alone.” She glanced up at him and offered her best flirtatious smile. “I have you to protect me.”
He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders, his turquoise gaze searching her face. “What makes you think you’re safe with me?”
“You would never do anything to displease Father.” A note of disappointment bled through in her tone.
“Unlike Zane?” He brushed her cheek with his knuckles then reluctantly stepped back. “Are they out here, or were you entertaining wicked thoughts?”
“I was enjoying the sunset,” she claimed with innocent bravado.
“But you’d rather be enjoying passionate kisses and bold caresses?” A strand of her hair flitted against her check. He tucked it behind her ear, his fingers lingering against her skin. “Will you stop moping if I kiss you?”
“I am not moping!” She averted her gaze. Lor was handsome and experienced, intelligent and kind. She had often wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. With a deep chuckle, he pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth over hers. She wrapped her arms around his back and parted her lips, waiting for the first brush of his tongue.
He took his time, nibbling at her lips and tracing her mouth with the tip of his tongue. When he finally delved into her mouth, she was panting and restless. His tongue stroked hers, traced her teeth, then stroked hers some more. She waited for the knee-melting heat, the rush of tingling fire E’Lanna felt each time Zane kissed her. Lor’s mouth was warm, his body strong, but the kiss was no more than pleasant.
Some unseen force slammed Lor forward, knocking Echo against the tree. She yelped. He groaned then sank to his knees. He was jarred sideways and flipped onto his stomach. He went wild, kicking and thrashing as unseen hands restrained him. Echo screamed, reaching out with her mind. Lor bucked and heaved against the ground. Fire erupted around him, triggered by his pyrokinetic gift.
E’Lanna’s mind reflected Echo’s fear. Was the same thing happening to E’Lanna, or was she reacting to Echo’s terror? Lor’s hands were trapped beneath him, while the grass around him sizzled. Did the assailants know he could throw fire?
She was dragged away from the tree, her attackers vague distortions against the coming night. Invisible arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight against a tangible body. They were real. She just couldn’t see them.
E’Lanna’s emotions prevented Echo from reaching farther. She screamed again, but they were far from the visitors’ hall.
Sound swelled, building from a distant buzz to a deafening roar as a transport conduit swallowed her whole. Light blinded her, then oppressive darkness closed in, compressing her chest and weighting her limbs. She trembled in her captor’s arms, lacking the breath to speak, much less fight.
The pressure eased, but the darkness remained. She blinked rapidly, struggling to bring anything into focus. Hands pushed her to her knees, and a gruff voice activated a row of firestones set high in the barren walls.
Light flashed again, and E’Lanna appeared, trapped between two burly men. She was forced to her knees beside Echo. The men took up positions within easy reach of their prisoner.
Are you hurt? Echo sent the question directly to E’Lanna’s mind.
No. Are you? E’Lanna covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders shaking.
Don’t speak out loud, and don’t react to my thoughts.
One of the villains materialized in front of E’Lanna. Tall and lean, with rawboned features and fierce eyes, he took E’Lanna’s chin and forced her to raise her face. “Which one are you?”
Don’t answer him!
His dark head whipped around, and his gaze collided with Echo’s. Pitch-black, his pupils and irises were separated by an intense blue ring. Blue strands threaded through his long black hair. Rodyte! They’d been kidnapped by the Rodytes.
“I can sense telepathic communication.” He strolled toward her, his expression insolent. “If you have something to say, say it out loud.”
She raised her chin and looked away, her lips pressed into a mutinous line.
Warm and unexpected, his deep, rumbling laughter rolled across her senses. He curved his fingers around her chin and turned her head until she looked into his eyes.
“Hello, Echo. Silence can’t disguise that fiery temper.” He motioned toward E’Lanna without taking his gaze from Echo’s face. “Take that one to my room.”
“No!” The word burst from Echo before she could stop the impulse.
He arched one dark brow and pulled her to her feet. “Are you volunteering to take her place? I hadn’t expected you to be so eager.”
Echo, don’t. At least I know what to expect. I won’t let this beast be your first.
Before she could correct E’Lanna’s misconception, their captor spoke again. With his hands still encircling Echo’s upper arms, he looked at E’Lanna. “If we hadn’t arrived when we did, some blond Mystic would have been her first. She was all but begging him to take her when we found them in the moonlight.”
Echo gasped. He couldn’t just sense telepathic communication, he could hear every word.
&nb
sp; “This one was with a man as well,” one of E’Lanna’s captors volunteered. “From the way they were going at it, I don’t think it was her first time.”
The fierce-eyed man nodded. “Then take E’Lanna to a holding cell. She can’t be mounted until after she bleeds again. Pass the word. No one is to touch her.”
Echo felt the blood drain from her face. They wanted to make sure E’Lanna wasn’t pregnant before they “mounted” her? That meant they intended to keep them for weeks, perhaps longer. Echo couldn’t succumb to the terror surging through her mind. She had to think, strategize. Where were they? Why had they been taken? The last question sent a shudder down her spine. Why was pretty damn obvious—they were here to be “mounted”.
E’Lanna was dragged from the room by two of the men who had abducted her. Could all of them create invisibility shields?
“Let’s go.” The leader nodded toward the doorway.
Echo laughed. Let’s not. It was irrational to think she was going to stroll off to his bedchamber to be raped. He didn’t react to her laughter or the accompanying thought. Apparently it was only telepathic transmissions he could intercept.
“You’re going to be a lot more trouble than your sister, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
About the Author
Anything-but-Ordinary is Cyndi’s creed and her writing reflects her dedication to the concept. She writes in a variety of genres, but seems happiest in outer space. Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, and Taken by Storm was named Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Romance of the year by Romance Reviews Today.
She lives in Colorado with her high school sweetheart turned husband of many years. With a pampered cat curled on the corner of her desk, she dreams of fascinating words and larger than life adventures—and wouldn't have it any other way!
Website / Blog: http://www.cyndifriberg.com
Other Titles by
Cyndi Friberg
Beyond Ontariese:
Taken by Storm
Operation Hydra
City of Tears
Mystic Flame
Fire Pearl
Consort
Shadow Assassins:
Royal Obsession
Mystic Militia
Alpha Hunter
Fallen Star
Unique Ink
Rebel Heat
Rebel Angels:
Rage and Redemption
Echoes and Embers
Splendor and Darkness
Non-series:
Tears of the Dragon
Tainted Hearts
Therian Heat:
Therian Priestess
Therian Prey
Therian Promise
Therian Prisoner
Therian Prize