by Tara Maya, Elle Casey, J L Bryan, Anthea Sharp, Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, Alexia Purdy (epub)
“What just happened? We’re home! How the…? What the…?” Soap was spinning around, looking at the landscape, absolutely petrified. Shade ran, hugged him tight and pulled back an inch to see his face. He grinned back to her and nodded. “This can only mean one thing. You did it; you actually did it, and without us to aid you, at that! You made it to the fountains, didn’t you? Incredible; how did you do it? How did you get us all home? One minute we were searching for you around the base of the Santiran mountains; we had just picked up your trail, and now here we are, home sweet home.” He sighed and hugged her again even tighter.
“Okay, let go; I can’t breathe!” she cried happily. He let go abruptly but caught her as she stumbled backward.
“Sorry!” He grinned and laughed. She laughed along with him, feeling elated.
“Do you have the water, then?” Shade nodded at Sary, who had worked her way up to her. “You did it, Shade. You saved our people!” Sary hugged her and joined the laughter.
“Let’s go home, everyone. It’s been a long journey, and it’s time to celebrate! Queen Zinara will be absolutely delighted. We will win this war against the Unseelie after all! We have new allies joining us for victory!” Jack smiled widely as he hugged everyone in the group. Everyone agreed and nodded. The stairs to the underground opened and they each descended, laughing and chatting with each other, all the strain of the journey lifted at once.
“Who are our new allies, Jack?” Shade inquired.
“Oh, sorry, you probably haven’t heard about it yet, but, on our way to the Santiran fountains, we ran into a group of villagers who proclaimed that Prince Lotinar had returned and sided with Queen Zinara. This will prove most useful to our cause.” Shade pondered what he had said, not really knowing of whom they spoke, and suddenly thought of something else.
“Wait, um, was Sylphi with you guys? Where is she?” Shade asked, not that she really cared.
“Sylphi? She ran at the battle with Lady Blythe. She probably returned to the Teleen Caverns. She most likely got too scared to fight,” Ewan chuckled.
Shade wasn’t the only one not missing Sylphi.
Shade approached the first step to the mound but turned to see Dylan watching her.
“The blood bind is still in place. I thought it might be fulfilled at journey’s end, but it’s not,” he whispered as his eyes stared off into the forest, glazing over. His face was serious and contemplative.
“I’m sorry, Dylan; you know I would break it if I could. What do you think has to be done to end it?” Shade placed her hand on his arm to pull him back into the present. He returned his gaze to her and smiled through the sadness.
“It’s all right, Shade, I know now that this is my destiny. I’m not meant to be captain of the Teleen guard anymore. I’m glad I met you, Shade. Changes are good.” His eyes sparkled in the dimming light of the dusk. The orange glow spread across the sky and dimmed the forest floor as the sun crept away to slumber.
“I’m glad we met, too. Come on, let’s get some real food and rest for once. After we give the flask to the Queen, I can go home and see my family.”
Dylan’s face darkened in gloom as he stared back at her. “Home? You’re leaving? Well, I guess you would want to go home, wouldn’t you. I won’t be returning home, probably not for a long time.” He pressed his lips together and stepped forward toward the stairs. “I have to warn you, Shade. I have to stay close to where you are, or my blood burns inside me.”
“I know. You could come, you know. You could meet my family. I’m sure I could think of something to tell my mother. You could definitely pass for a teenager. I could say your family is moving out of town, and you need a place to stay so you can graduate at our high school. What do you think? We do have a guest room; my mom rarely uses it, but I’m pretty sure she’d agree to letting you stay with us.” She stood before him, staring down the stairs of the faery mound.
He suddenly turned, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Yes, that would be good. I think that since our blood bind is still in place, I will have to stay near you somehow. I guess that would be best, at least until the bond’s requirements are fulfilled and it lets me go home.”
Shade beamed. She could feel his anxiety pulsating out toward her. Something about the fountains had linked them even closer. She flushed red as she remembered the burn of his lips against hers. She hoped for Dylan’s sake they wouldn’t be bound for too much longer. However, as they descended into the faerie court and out of sight, she knew she wasn’t ready to let him go.
About the Author
Alexia currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada–Sin City! She loves to spend every free moment writing or playing with her four rambunctious kids. Writing has always been her dream and she has been writing ever since she can remember. She loves writing paranormal fantasy and poetry and devours books daily. Alexia also enjoys watching movies, dancing, singing loudly in the car and Italian food.
Alexia Purdy’s Blog
Alexia Purdy’s Facebook Fan Page
Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale) Facebook Fan page
Reign of Blood Series Facebook Fan Page
Goodreads Author Page
ALSO BY ALEXIA PURDY:
Novels:
Ever Shade ( A Dark Faerie Tale #1)
Ever Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #2)
Ever Winter (A Dark Faerie Tale #3)
Reign of Blood
Disarming (Reign of Blood #2)
Short Stories:
Evangeline (A Dark Faerie Tale #0.5)
The Cursed (A Dark Faerie Tale #3.5
The Faery Hunt
Never Say Such Things
Poetic Collections:
Whispers of Dreams
Five Fathoms
Anthology:
Beyond the Never
Soul Games
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
TARA MAYA has lived in Africa, Europe and Asia. She's pounded sorghum with mortar and pestle in a little clay village where the jungle meets the desert, meditated in a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayas and sailed the Volga river to a secret city that was once the heart of the Soviet space program. This first-hand experience, as well as research into the strange and piquant histories of lost civilizations, inspires her writing. Her terrible housekeeping, however, is entirely the fault of pixies.
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Blog: http://taramayastales.blogspot.com/
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ELLE CASEY is an American writer who lives in Southern France with her husband, three kids, Hercules the wonder poodle, and Monie the bouvier. In her spare time she writes women's fiction and young adult novels (you can find her Women's Fiction work under the pen name Kat Lee.)
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JL BRYAN studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories. He is the author of The Paranormals trilogy (Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare, and Alexander Death), the biopunk sf novel Helix, and other works. Fairy Metal Thunder is the first book in his new Songs of Magic series. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, one baby, two dogs, two cats, and assorted attic squirrels. His website is http://j
lbryanbooks.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
ANTHEA SHARP spent most of her childhood summers raiding the library shelves and reading, especially fantasy. She now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes, plays the fiddle, and spends time with her small-but-good family. Contact her at [email protected], find her on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AntheaSharp and visit her website – www.antheasharp.com
Anthea also writes historical romance under the pen name Anthea Lawson. Discover her acclaimed Victorian romantic adventures at http://www.anthealawson.com.
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JENNA ELIZABETH JOHNSON grew up and still resides on the Central Coast of California, the very location that has become the set of her novel, Faelorehn, and the inspiration for her other series, The Legend of Oescienne.
Miss Johnson has a degree in Art Practice with an emphasis in Celtic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. She now draws much of her insight from the myths and legends of ancient Ireland to help set the theme for her books.
Besides writing and drawing, Miss Johnson enjoys reading, gardening, camping and hiking. In her free time (the time not dedicated to writing), she also practices the art of long sword combat and traditional archery.
For contact information, visit the author’s website at: www.jennaelizabethjohnson.com
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ALEXIA PURDY currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada–Sin City! She loves to spend every free moment writing or playing with her four rambunctious kids. Writing has always been her dream and she has been writing ever since she can remember. She loves writing paranormal fantasy and poetry and devours books daily. Alexia also enjoys watching movies, dancing, singing loudly in the car and Italian food.
Website/Blog: http://alexiaepurdy.blogspot.com/
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