Adonis shivered at the mention of the primordial crocodilian monster that the Kingdom of Mu had been built upon—literally. “Don’t remind me, please. I still see those pits in my nightmares, the giant mouth at the bottom with the gnashing teeth…”
“What kind of sacrifice?” Patricio shifted on his feet, blue eyes lighting with interest.
Saamal gave a small smile. “A drop of blood will suffice. Just enough to let the land recognize him, to show respect.”
Etienne snorted, finally abandoning his self-imposed post as Saamal’s guard and accepting a glass of bourbon from Adonis. He threw it back in one gulp, drawing disapproving stares from the rest of the room. “And who will tell him of this requirement?”
“Tell his wife and let her tell him,” Adonis advised. He held his glass of bourbon up in front of Etienne and made a show of sipping it slowly, savoring the flavor. Etienne rolled his eyes.
“Let’s move on, shall we?” Saamal suggested. He lifted his glass to Kirill. “Kirill, do you have a new name for us?”
“Actually,” Adonis interrupted. “I have one.” He beamed, eyes glittering with specks of hot cinnamon, sharp teeth splitting his smile. “And you’re all going to love him…eventually.”
THE END
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Preview of BEFORE MIDNIGHT, book one in the Blood Prince series
Prologue
“The werewolf, the vampire, the demon, the angel, and the god. Oh, Blessed Goddess, I have my work cut out for me.”
Cocooned within the World Tree, Eurydice peered through the knothole that provided a portal into all the worlds the tree passed through. Heavens and underworlds, hidden sidhe gardens and dark goblin kingdoms, all were pierced by the eternal trunk of the World Tree, each one visible to Eurydice as she peered out the knotholes. But tonight, the hamadryad was interested in only one world—or rather, one space. It had taken some working and the help of a powerful witch, but Eurydice had managed to create a space where the five kingdoms would overlap. She could now summon the ones who would help her finally reach her goal. The Blood Princes.
Struggling to swallow past her excitement, Eurydice stared out into the magical clearing. Darkness had fallen, but the full moon cast the entire area in a bright whitish-blue glow. It was a crisp spring evening and the air was full of the fragrant perfume of earth and new life. The perfect time and place for new beginnings.
Energy signatures pulsed against the leaves and boughs of the World Tree. They were fast approaching, finally, all five of them together. Eurydice laid her spectral forehead against the smooth wood of the inside of her tree. It had not been easy luring them all here. It had taken time and patience, careful planning to ensure that one would not arrive before the others. How many nights had Eurydice stared into the night sky, resisting the urge to force them here, to drag them to the tree whether they were ready or not. No, waiting had not been easy. But this was the moment she’d been working for, waiting for. They would all finally meet one another. She allowed herself a moment of self-congratulation.
“What are you doing in my kingdom, vampire?”
The voice rode the edge of a lupine growl. It vibrated down Eurydice’s spine, the age old warning that a predator was near. She shivered, fighting a tinge of fear as she lifted her head and peered out the knothole once again.
Prince Etienne had arrived at the same time as his vampiric fellow royal. The lycanthrope glared at the vampire, his normally dove-grey eyes now the bright gold of his wolf. He stood not more than ten feet from the other prince, naked as the day he was born, glowering with an authority that most men couldn’t have managed dressed in full battle regalia.
The vampire, Prince Kirill, gave the werewolf a slow, appraising once-over. His clear blue eyes held all the warmth of an ice sculpture and all the confidence of a well-fed dragon. Long white-blond hair shifted in the wind, catching on the folds of his long black cloak.
He raised his hands to part his cloak and throw it back over his shoulders, baring a black velvet tunic laced with silver. The silver embroidery outlined a rampant lion and the cut of the tunic complemented the vampire’s lithe form. He had less muscle mass than the werewolf, but Eurydice had seen the vampire in action. Many enemies had fallen at those hands, dead before they knew enough to be afraid. His black boots didn’t offer so much as a creak as he straightened to his full six-foot-two frame.
“This is my kingdom, wolf.” His voice was like a gust of wind over an icy mountain peak, cold and unforgiving.
He raised his left hand to tap his chin and rested his right arm across his waist, right hand dangling at his left side. Eurydice gripped the inside of her tree a little harder. There was no doubt in her mind the vampire had a weapon of some kind hidden at his side.
“Perhaps you’re lost?” the vampire added, his voice lilting in question.
The werewolf’s eyes widened briefly then narrowed to golden slits. He took a small step in the vampire’s direction and opened his mouth to bare a mouthful of sharp teeth too sharp to be human. Eurydice held her breath. It was a sign of power as much as aggression. Only an alpha werewolf had such perfect control over his form. She knew from her studies within the World Tree that the werewolf had already been on edge lately and she sent a quick prayer up to the Goddess that the vampire wouldn’t push him too far. She’d worked too hard for too long to have her plan fall apart now.
“If he’s lost then I must be lost too, because I’m quite certain this is my kingdom.”
The werewolf and the vampire both whirled to face the direction of the new voice. Eurydice sagged with relief as the newest arrival broke the mounting tension. He sauntered around the trunk of the tree, the bulk of his over six-foot frame giving him a rambling gait. He wore nothing more than a loincloth fashioned out of some sort of leather. A cigarette dangled from his lips, enveloping him in his own personal cloud of blue-grey smoke and filling the air with the scent of cloves. His hazel eyes sparkled with mischief, one of them slightly obscured by a rebel lock of brown hair that fell into his face.
“Who are you?” Kirill demanded, the command in his voice tempered by curiosity.
He didn’t drop his hand from his side. Eurydice was betting the weapon was a blade, something slim that could be hidden in an extra pocket sewn into the tunic.
“What are you?” The werewolf’s nose wrinkled as he sniffed the air.
“Prince Adonis of Nysa.” He swept into a low, yet mocking bow and grinned at the werewolf. “Demon. Incubus, to be precise.”
Eurydice shook her head, an amused smile dancing on her lips at Adonis’ complete nonchalance. The demon had always been easy-going. On the surface at least.
“What fresh hell is this?”
The three men tensed as a fourth man appeared from nowhere. Eurydice rolled her eyes. If ever there’d been a solution to levity, it was Prince Patricio. The most tormented of the princes appeared out of the sky, gliding gently down until his bare feet touched the forest floor. A mop of windblown blond hair brushed the top of bright blue eyes. Attractive features, but completely overshadowed by the glory of the giant white feathery wings towering over his back.
“An angel,” the demon guessed, jabbing his cigarette in the newcomer’s direction. “Am I right?”
Patricio shot the demon a withering glare before focusing on the other two, his hand hovering near the hilt
of a large sword strapped to his hip. At an even seven feet tall, he had to crane his neck and look down. “Please tell me you aren’t demons as well?”
“Vampire.” Kirill smiled enough to flash fangs for emphasis.
Etienne crossed his arms. His golden eyes assessed each of the other men in turn, sizing them up like a predator trying to decide if a new creature was a threat or prey. Finally he huffed out a breath and dropped his arms. “Werewolf.”
“Well what a merry band we make,” Adonis joked. He gestured around at the gathering. “A werewolf, a vampire, an angel, and a demon. Now all we need is a—”
“God?”
All four men searched for the source of the disembodied voice. The branches of the tree rustled. It tickled and Eurydice fought not to giggle as a fifth man dropped down to the ground. Her smile remained as she observed the oldest prince, the ancient entity of her little band of princes. Slowly, the god stood, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders. Short black hair and drowning black eyes gazed out from a lean face with no lines to give away his age. He wore a simple black shirt and snug-fitting black pants underneath a plain grey tunic. He would have been hard to see hidden in the branches even if the others had been searching for him.
“Forgive my eavesdropping, but I thought I heard you introduce yourself as Adonis of Nysa?”
The demon inclined his head. “Well met.”
The man inclined his head slightly. “I am Prince Saamal of the Kingdom of Mu.”
The vampire raised his eyebrows, glancing at the other men with renewed interest shining in his eyes. “Prince Kirill of Dacia.”
The werewolf shifted on his feet, golden eyes gleaming a little brighter. “Prince Etienne of Sanguenay.”
The angel’s wings twitched as he settled them against his back. His hand drifted away from the hilt of his sword. “Prince Patricio of Meropis.”
“Ah.” Prince Saamal’s voice was a soft exhalation in the suddenly silent clearing. “We are all princes then.”
“Yes, but this is my kingdom.” Prince Etienne gestured behind him with the annoyance of one talking to particularly slow children. “I can see the towers of my castle from here.”
“And I would offer that I can also see my castle from here,” Prince Saamal said calmly.
The god glanced at the angel. Prince Patricio bowed an affirmative and Prince Adonis grinned. “Can we all see our respective kingdoms from here? I don’t see yours, only mine. Can anyone else see more than one?”
They all shook their heads.
“There we are.” Prince Saamal nodded once, a certain satisfaction in his tone. “This is no ordinary clearing then.”
“If this is indeed some sort of magical shift in reality, and we are all standing in some sort of…overlapping space,” Prince Etienne mused slowly. He faced the vampire and bowed slightly, the motion tense and overly formal. “I was wrong to accuse you of trespassing. I would not have reacted so aggressively if I had possessed all the facts.”
“A wolf with manners?” The vampire’s eyes glittered, faint sparks of red amidst the icy blue. “This is a magical place.”
Like a snowball cast into a bonfire, the genteel veneer melted away from Prince Etienne, revealing a glimpse of his other, more primal half. He bared his teeth, golden eyes beginning to glow with an eerie intensity that spoke of impending violence. Eurydice pressed her lips together in consternation. Prince Kirill was going to be difficult. The undead royalty’s sense of humor was far too cutting to go over well with the hot-tempered werewolf—especially if he was going to deliberately bait the lupine prince.
Dismissing the werewolf with an insulting abruptness, the vampire redirected his attention to Prince Saamal. “Did I hear you insinuate earlier that you are a…god?”
Prince Saamal lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Yes.” His voice was deep and calm, not a trace of arrogance or threat.
The vampire’s eyes grew distant, as if his mind was wandering ahead to various possibilities. Eurydice didn’t have to read his mind to know Kirill was filing that information away to see if he could take advantage of it later. The vampire prince was always seeking out ways to build his power, and meeting a god would not go unnoticed.
“Fascinating. If I may ask, how did you come to be here?” he pressed.
Another half-shrug. “I am here because I am meant to be here.”
“That’s not an answer.” With the vampire’s attention diverted, Prince Etienne’s eyes lost their glow, his attention once more returned to his current predicament.
Eurydice smiled to see the grey of his human eyes again. As interesting as it was to see a wolf’s hungry golden eyes in that chiseled face, she preferred the cloudy grey. It made the werewolf prince appear…happier.
The god shrugged again.
“If you keep shrugging like that, I’m going to start looking for strings and a puppeteer.” The demon blew out a puff of smoke, the tendrils curling around his face and framing the wicked gleam in his eyes.
Adonis was definitely the bad boy of the group—an impressive feat considering the company. Still, Eurydice could see he had a heart of gold…even if it was a bit tarnished. She already had a plan to make it shine again.
The demon shot a glance at the angel. “What brought you here?”
The angel’s wings bristled as he contemplated the demon. Eurydice didn’t know which was going to present the bigger problem, the bad blood between the vampire and the werewolf, or the old blood between the demon and the angel.
“I was looking out over the water and I noticed a star beginning to glow more brightly than its brothers,” Patricio answered finally. “It shone a light down on a small island off the coast where my castle…” He stopped, a flash of pain lighting his eyes. “I followed the star.”
“And you?” the demon asked the werewolf.
“I was in the forest and I caught the scent of heavy magic, heavier than it should have been.” He eyed the oak that hid Eurydice’s form. “I followed it to this tree.”
“Ah, you were in wolf form then. That explains the lack of clothes.”
Etienne crossed his arms, staring pointedly at Adonis’ loincloth. “You aren’t so overdressed yourself.”
The demon thrust his cigarette at the werewolf. “Exactly.”
A chuckle rolled out from the god. Etienne snorted. “So, what about you then? How did you come to be here?”
The demon’s grin grew so wide it nearly split his face. “I followed a couple of randy dryads.” He furrowed his brow and glanced around him. “You don’t look a thing like them, though.” He shrugged. “Must have lost them.”
“Typical incubus,” Patricio muttered. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find another hole to put your dick in.”
Eurydice’s lips parted in surprise. Strong language for Prince Patricio.
The demon smirked and replaced his cigarette between his lips. “Here’s hoping.”
A muscle twitched in the angel’s jaw and Eurydice eyed the incubus again. Prince Adonis certainly knew how to bring out the angel’s temper. Anything to get him to stop sulking. She stifled a sigh. Prince Patricio was a good man, but he was painfully sullen.
“Well, that leaves you.” Prince Etienne turned to look at the vampire, the lines around his eyes tightening and gold lightning flashing in the grey orbs.
Prince Kirill remained silent, observing his surroundings like a painter studying his models. He studied the tree with the same intensity and then peered into the forest behind him at something apparently only he could see. Eurydice waited, biting her lip. Kirill was the schemer. She knew he had information—she’d provided it—but would he share it? Kirill had always believed knowledge was power and he didn’t share power with anyone. Well, she amended, not yet.
Kirill straightened as if coming to a decision and addressed the group. “I discovered a scroll. It gave the location of this tree.”
The other princes waited, but he didn’t offer anything else. Th
e werewolf growled. “Well, what did the scroll say about the tree?”
The vampire tilted his head as if debating on how much to share. The demon reached up and grabbed a branch, surprising Eurydice enough that she had to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. The god raised an eyebrow as the incubus started doing pull-ups. The angel scowled and shifted his weight to lean a little farther away.
Kirill pointed at the branch the demon was using as exercise equipment. Eurydice clapped her hands. He was pointing with the hand that had been going for the hidden weapon. It was official, the incubus could distract anyone.
“This tree is rumored to be the World Tree.”
The werewolf’s jaw dropped. “You mean that this is the tree that passes through worlds? The one that goes from the underworld to the heavens and all the places in between?”
“Yes.” The vampire furrowed his brows as the incubus continued his pull-ups, apparently unaffected by the reputation of the tree.
Etienne turned to the god. “You said you’re here because you were meant to be here. Why?”
Prince Saamal started to shrug, then glanced at the incubus. Prince Adonis grinned and pretended to search the sky for the imaginary puppeteer. The corner of the god’s mouth quirked. “I do not know why. I do not see the future, I merely sense when forces are working toward a goal. I felt my place was here and so here I am.”
The werewolf shoved his hand through his hair. “So you have no idea what brought us all here or what we’re supposed to do now?”
The god stepped closer to the tree, drawing a small dagger as he did so. The blade gleamed black in the moonlight and a surge of energy raised the hairs on the arms of Eurydice’s ghostly spirit form. The blade was obsidian. And old.
“Not exactly,” the god murmured. “I don’t know who brought us here.” He lifted the blade to his palm and drew it over his flesh in one sharp, smooth motion. Blood welled up and filled his hand. “But I know what to do.”
Blue Voodoo: A Romantic Retelling of Bluebeard (The Hidden Kingdom Series Book 2) Page 24