Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

by C. M. Stunich

  “We better start working that spell,” Marcus said.

  “No need to,” Lucius said, walking into the library, three swords dangling from his hands. “The bastard is already in our back courtyard.”

  12

  Keti

  I swiped the dagger from the desk and dashed out of the library, not waiting for my guys to react to Lucius’s remark. I wasn’t waiting on anyone today. Not with the one shot to get back my scarab standing out in the courtyard. And I knew Marcus, Lucius, and Horatio, especially after that little stunt they’d pulled about not telling me about their pact to sacrifice themselves for the Cat’Hu. They’d first want to protect me or give me a lecture about the most level-headed way to handle this. But I wasn’t waiting on my guys today. Of course they weren’t far behind as they’d never let me do this by myself. And not because they didn’t think me capable, but they just weren’t the sort not to be by my side.

  Running through the hall, I skidded into the mudroom, my hand grabbing the door jamb before I’d land myself flat on the floor.

  Once steady, I reached forward and flung the back door open.

  A burst of cold wind met me. I gasped as it took away my breath and blocked my mouth with a clasping hand of air.

  Selene followed up her lovely little greeting with a round of bombarding ice pellets. The small bits of frozen snow nearly blinded me, but I didn’t care anymore. Nothing was going to stop me from getting my scarab and saving the Cat’Hu.

  I didn’t even bother with grabbing my coat. The heat of both anger and excitement flooded my veins to the point I didn’t need external wrappings to keep me warm.

  I charged into the courtyard dressed in nothing but jeans and a thin blue sweater. Snow sifted into my sneakers as my legs sunk into the two plus feet blanketing the yard.

  I froze and searched for the Praetorian.

  His blue body faded in and out as if it were working on locking into more substance.

  Solar flares instantly ignited from my palms. Despite the fact my grandfather hated me for having been half-human, and half-Roman at that, his energies still flowed through my blood. And tonight I was taking full advantage of that lineage.

  Around me, snow melted, my now warm feet taking a lead from my hands, shooting off sparks as I followed the still visible trails of feline blood left behind from the dead Cat’Hu who’d laid in my yard earlier. Their blood granted me the courage to go on.

  “Easy, Keti,” Marcus said from somewhere behind me.

  I clenched the dagger in my right hand.

  Lucius appeared at my side, but remained silent.

  The Praetorian stood exactly three feet in front of me. How I knew the distance, I hadn’t a clue, but it was fact, my feline depth perception registering the space between us.

  My vision shifted.

  Horatio must have flashed across the courtyard because he now stood against the brick wall behind the ghostly Selenian, a broadsword raised in his hands. A gold glow pulsed from the blade.

  Lucius’s curses. There was a reason Lucius spent so much time assembling his armory of cursed weapons. Tonight was his chance at revenge as well. This was his opportunity to help me slay the beast who’d desecrated his mother’s mummy. While the hexed swords from our basement dungeon wouldn’t kill the Praetorian, they would harm him, slow him down, stifle his powers long enough for me to attack with my dagger.

  My fingers flexed. I craved satisfaction. Hungered for it like never before.

  The Praetorian stepped forward. A swirl of blue energy circled his gossamer body. My broken scarab dangled from the gold chain around his neck.

  I glanced up to my right, then up to my left. “Khepri,” I said, calling to the scarab-headed god. “Unleash the beetles.”

  In a flash, thousands of blue-backed and yellow-backed beetles scurried along the wet bricks of the courtyard floor and crawled up the sides of the buildings that overlooked my private little piece of heaven. The shuffling of their scampering legs clicked through the cold air. “Now the neighbors will be safe.” They’d also never notice anything as the beetles acted as the perfect shield to block out the battle that was about to take place. My cursed little bugs were invisible to the human eye, so no one on my block would have even the slightest clue I’d activated them.

  “Now the real fun can start,” I said, traipsing toward the Praetorian.

  He held firm. “You can’t win, Keti.”

  “Says who?”

  “The gods.” He pranced to the side.

  I followed the bastard.

  Horatio shadowed him from the edge of the wall, while Lucius and Marcus flanked me.

  As I navigated the puddles of now melted snow, blood splashed my sneakers and legs. I knew only because I’d felt Cat’Hu energy cling to my calves and shins, then get sucked in through the pores of my skin. My body warmed.

  I gripped the dagger tighter.

  The Praetorian lunged for me. He came down fast and hard, reached for my neck and despite his ethereal body, choked me good.

  I dropped to the floor. The world spun as I struggled to get air into my lungs.

  Marcus brought his sword down hard on the Selenian’s arm.

  The beast roared as he swiveled away from me, his pale blue eyes now glossed over like a lake frozen in the dead of winter.

  Marcus leapt away.

  The Praetorian’s ghostly limb bled beads of ice. They fell to the ground and bounced on the brick.

  Horatio jumped from the wall and hacked his sword straight through the Selenian’s waist.

  Lucius cut the beast down at the knees.

  I gasped and sucked in a deep gulp of air. Breath returned to my lungs. I bounded up, the dagger still in my possession.

  A flash of blue caught my eye.

  Lapis.

  I froze.

  Crap. The broken piece of scarab must have slid from my pocket when I’d gone down. I had to get it back before the Praetorian noticed it or he’d have my whole scarab once again along with the energy contained in the fragment.

  I prayed to the gods the beast would continue to be distracted by my guys.

  Inching forward I slowly dipped to my knees.

  With my free hand, I reached for the jagged chunk of lapis. My fingers missed it by millimeters.

  I scooted a tad to my right.

  The Praetorian swung around. His ghostly foot stomped at my hand.

  I pulled back. “You won’t best me, beast.”

  He smirked, then swooped his left arm to the ground.

  Lucius shifted form and dove for the hunk of stone. He clasped the lapis with his sharp, tiger claws and lifted it from the brick. He hissed as he pranced past the Praetorian, then tossed the scarab fragment my way.

  I caught it and slipped it down the front of my sweater to rest in my bra. I wasn’t taking another chance with losing it.

  The Praetorian growled. “What do you think you’ll achieve by killing me?”

  “For one, I’ll get my scarab back. Plus, I’ll get vengeance for you having murdered my mother.”

  “Do you really believe two wrongs will make a right?”

  I didn’t understand. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was defending my race, trying to save an entire colony of Bastet’s felines.

  The ghost floated closer.

  Marcus and Horatio stabbed him with their swords, while Lucius, still in tiger form, lunged for the beast’s throat.

  The Praetorian shook off all three like they were thin sheets. My guys fell to the ground.

  “I’ve had enough, Keti,” the Praetorian said. He eyed me with disdain, his froze gaze stripping all heat from my body.

  I shivered.

  He flexed his biceps and made like a bodybuilder, then he roared as he’d brought his pumped-up arms down and clashed his fists together. Bolts of blue energy emitted from his body like huge waves of electricity just pouring out of him.

  Bricks popped from the courtyard floor.

  The multi-paned kit
chen window shattered behind me, glass raining down on my shoulders and back.

  I hunched.

  The Praetorian made like a bull.

  He scraped his sandal-clad feet over the ground, then came in for the kill.

  I stared him square in the eyes, refused to take the coward’s way out.

  Lucius, Marcus, and Horatio lunged for the ghost. H and Marcus stabbed him with their cursed blades, while Lucius ripped him with sharp claws.

  I held steady.

  The Praetorian trekked directly toward me.

  I raised my hand and thrust.

  The dagger cut straight through him.

  He crumbled to a million little pieces, blue wisps of Selenian energy evaporating through the air.

  My scarab fell to the floor.

  I bent and retrieved it as many more scarabs fell from the sky and hit the pavement. I could only assume they were the ones Selene had recently stolen from the dead Cat’Hu.

  “Keti?” Marcus called to me, but I barely heard him. All I knew was I had my amulet back, I’d saved the Cat’Hu.

  The ground quaked.

  My legs trembled.

  What the hell?

  I looked up. Khepri’s shields of beetles peeled from the buildings like thawing drapes of ice. The hard-backed bugs smashed as one by one they met with cold brick.

  The ground opened up.

  I scanned the area for my guys, but found only three big cats. They’d shifted.

  The bite of a crocodile’s snapping mouth rose up from the fissure widening at my feet.

  I plummeted.

  And landed square on my ass.

  Gazing above, I peered into the eyes of the green-skinned god of the afterlife, Osiris.

  Two large cats purred at my neck—a panther and a tiger, while another—a lion—nudged my arm as they each sniffed my body.

  Heat filled my palm. I clenched my fingers, the caress of a cabochon object rubbed against my flesh.

  Thank the gods I hadn’t lost my scarab in the fall.

  I’d saved the Cat’Hu and still had my guys.

  But something was off.

  “Welcome to the Hall of Two Truths, Keti,” Osiris said, still looming over me.

  I’d landed myself, and my guys, smack in the middle of Duat. I no longer knew if I was alive or dead.

  And to make matters worse, behind Osiris stood Maahes, his feline eyes glowing with solar flares of orange and red hues.

  I’d fought the moon and defeated Selene.

  I guess I had to take on the sun next.

  The End

  To read Keti’s next adventure, check out

  BURN (Daughter of Bastet 2)

  http://angeliquearmae.com/books/burn.html

  About the Author

  National best-selling author Angelique Armae / J. C. Makk is a native New Yorker who loves all things royal, can trace her Irish roots back to the Scottish Highlands, is half Italian, and is owned by a long-haired Tuxedo feline. As a child her favorite toy was Emerald The Witch, a small doll with green eyes, green hair and purple skin. She spends most days writing, unless her cat deems otherwise.

  Miss Armae's books and novellas have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the Sapphire Award, P.E.A.R.L. Award and Word Weaving Award. Her books have also been featured on Midwest Book Review's Book Watch TV. Angelique's first novel, COME THE NIGHT, made Fictionwise's Best of the Best list, rounding out the top five best selling dark fantasy books of the year. Since the release of COME THE NIGHT, Angelique's books have made Amazon's Overall Kindle Bestsellers List (top 30), Amazon's Hot New Release List (#1) Barnes and Noble's NOOK list (top 10), iBooks Bestsellers List (top 50), Kobo's Romance Bestsellers List (top 10), Kobo's Anthology Bestsellers List (#1), Kobo's Short Stories Bestsellers List (#1), Kobo's Paranormal Romance Bestsellers List (#4), as well as various other bestsellers lists. Angelique is also an Amazon Top 100 Paranormal Romance Author.

  Aside from writing, Angelique also dabbles in digital art. She is the recipient and two time nominee of the Dream Realm Award for best cover art.

  When not working, Miss Armae enjoys traveling, learning about the ancient Celts, exploring history, and learning new languages. After studying design in London, England, Angelique returned to the States and studied history and French literature at Skidmore College.

  Website: https://angeliquearmae.com/

  Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/c6u8g7

  RH Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aarmaesreverseharemgroup/

  Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/AngeliqueArmaeFans

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/AArmae

  BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/angelique-armae

  Queen Takes Jaguars

  Joely Sue Burkhart

  Queen Takes Jaguars

  One vampire queen. Four jaguar Blood sworn to protect her.

  Now all she needs… is the Aztec jaguar god to sire her heir.

  Mayte has spent the last century increasing her power as queen of House Zaniyah by calling more Blood to her side. She loves her jaguar protectors, but even her alpha hasn’t been able to give her a child. Without a daughter to continue the queendom, their line—and the Zaniyah power—will die out.

  She needs a god to sire her daughter, and for a queen who calls jaguars as Blood… only one god will do. Tepeyollotl is rumored to sleep in mythical Aztlán. Desperate for a daughter, she sets out to find the legendary origin site of the mighty Aztec people.

  Though she has no idea how she’ll bend the formidable god to her will.

  1

  Mayte

  I only ever saw her in dreams.

  If she told me her name, I never remembered it later. The dreams were so real. She smelled like night-blooming jasmine and vanilla, and her black hair was thick, heavy silk that hung down to her waist. Her eyes were a dark, endless blue like a midnight sky. And her power…

  I had never felt a queen like her before, waking or asleep. In her presence, I forgot to breathe.

  She had to be real. Even if I couldn’t remember her name.

  “I am real,” she assured me, drifting through my sleepy mind like a ghostly haze. “However, I’ll be leaving this life soon. My years are numbered.”

  My heart shattered. She was my mentor and friend, as sad as that might be, considering that I didn’t even know who she was. We had talked endlessly through many nights. She had taught me so many things that helped me better understand my power, especially how to grow that power to protect my family.

  House Zaniyah was small compared to the other Aima clans. We were secluded, exactly as we liked it. The powerful Triune houses couldn’t care less about our small Mexican nest, even though I was one of the few queens to be born in the past two hundred years. My mysterious friend had admitted that my birth was why she had sought me out. Young queens were few and far between, and even at my age, I was considered young. The only other queen younger than me had been the New York City queen’s daughter.

  Even here in Mexico, the rumors had still reached us from Keisha Skye’s court, including the news of her daughter’s death. Making me the last living queen born in recent centuries.

  I don’t know how much help I’d actually been to my dream friend. I had no idea who my father was, and my mother had died at my birth. If Grandmama knew, she had refused to tell me.

  “Why are you dying?” I asked.

  “A plan I set in motion before you were born comes to fruition soon. I will invest all my power and love into this spell, so that my daughter may live free, untouched by the political games so rampant in our courts.”

  My throat ached. Was that why my mother had died? To have me?

  I wanted a daughter more than anything to carry on our Zaniyah power, but if I had to die… I had so much to do yet. I couldn’t leave an infant daughter unprotected.

  Like Mama had left me.

  “My goddess calls me to make this sacrifice, and I do so glad
ly. I’ve lived many lifetimes already. Citla Zaniyah proved that a queen can be born, even if you don’t know how you came to be. Your goddess has other plans for your house, and I don’t believe your sacrifice will be required, unless you will it so.”

  “But how can I have a child when I never breed?”

  Ironically, Aima queens fed on blood, but over the millennia, we’d lost the ability to menstruate. We had so few queens left, which meant fewer strongholds where Aima could live under a queen’s protection. Only a queen could breed another queen, but we couldn’t have children at all. Let alone ensure the continuation of our long lineages with a daughter.

  “Your mother accomplished much to have you, and she rejuvenated your family’s bloodline in you, but my guess is you’ll need a god’s power to conceive.”

  A god…

  “Who’s my father?” I whispered. “A god?”

  She sighed softly, swirling around me, her hair a black silken cloud. “I believe so. An ancient god of great power. But how or who she might have found, only you can discover.”

  Mama never had Blood of her own, protectors sworn to guard her as their queen. She’d never even formally been the Zaniyah queen. After a horrific attack when she was a young woman, Mama had barely spoken for days and weeks at a time. She’d only rarely gone anywhere outside our nest. She’d been too afraid.

  Yet somehow, she’d not only managed to conceive, but to also deliver a healthy baby girl blessed with our goddess’s power. While powerful queens like my friend had tried every spell known to Aima courts and still failed to conceive a daughter.

  “Prepare your nest first.” She wrapped her arms around me, flooding me with her sweet scent. I could feel her strength in her arms and the heat of her body. Yet I had no idea who she was. “Call as many Blood as you can. Make your nest as secure as possible.”