Prince of Shadows

by Tes Hilaire

  “Oh yes. How blind indeed.” Lucifer reverently placed the black knife down on the arm of his throne before turning back and descending the stairs.

  “Father?” Christos implored, his hand still clenched tight against the seeping wound. Surely his lord master would see to him now. Surely he would forgive him this simple mistake.

  A flicker of annoyance crossed Lucifer’s face, his steps faltering, but then he grumbled something under his breath, waving his hand negligently at his son as he stopped before him.

  The pain eased, the skin knitting back together beneath Christos’s hands. “Oh, thank you, thank you, my lord,” he gasped, struggling back to his feet despite the dizziness that still swept over him.

  “Come, my son,” Lucifer said, stretching his right hand out to Christos. “There is much work to be done.”

  The significance of Lucifer offering his right hand was not lost on Christos. Elation rose in his blackened heart, giving him the strength to grasp the offering. It wasn’t until Lucifer’s hand closed over his own, dragging him to him, and a second knife drove into his newly healed wound that he thought, perhaps, he should have questioned such a gift.

  “Fear not, my son,” Lucifer attempted to soothe as he drew out the second blade and raised it over their heads. “I have finally discovered the purpose of your existence, don’t you see?”

  And as Christos lifted his eyes he did see…Unfortunately, what he saw made him weep. Five blades after that, he’d stopped, but only because his efforts had changed to something new: wishing he’d never been re-born.

  Read on for an excerpt from book one in the Paladin Warriors series

  Deliver Me from Darkness

  Shouldn’t have opened the door. Roland instinctively knew the fragile-looking burden draped over Calhoun’s arms was going to wreak all kinds of havoc on his well-ordered life.

  To hell with the door; he shouldn’t have answered the damn phone. Then he wouldn’t have been swayed by the rare frantic tone in Calhoun’s voice when he’d called begging for a favor. ’Course, even if Roland hadn’t picked up the phone, Calhoun would have assumed Roland to be in at this time of the afternoon and come pounding anyway. And yeah, Roland could have ignored that too, but doing so went against every ingrained fabric of his being. At least the being he’d once been.

  This is what I get for remembering my manners.

  “Thanks for this.” Calhoun brushed by Roland, twisting so as not to bump the head of his precious cargo on the master bedroom door.

  Roland grunted and moved into the bathroom in search of a towel. Best to keep his opinion to himself. Get that scrawny thing and your sorry ass out of here would not go over well.

  Mumbling a string of curses, Roland yanked on the faux-antique glass knob of the teak cabinet and searched the handcrafted shelving for a sacrifice. All his towels were new. Everything in his loft was new. He liked new. Crisp, clean.

  Unsoiled.

  The tension in his shoulders crept down his back. With senses as heightened as his, any tainting of his personal belongings made relaxing difficult. It was going to take him weeks of cleaning and nighttime airings to remove the urchin’s scent: like a friggin’ garden…fresh-bloomed lavender, dewy mornings, and dirt. The dirt would only ruin his sheets, but the other smells had him spiraling down toward crazy.

  Eyeing his choices, he grabbed one of the pristine white towels that didn’t still have a tag on it and headed back to the bedroom. His efforts were wasted. Calhoun had already pulled back the sleep-rumpled blankets and was laying the filthy jumble of scraped elbows and dirty denim on Roland’s clean sheets. Roland sighed and tossed the towel on the nearby dresser.

  The bed was officially ruined. He hoped the cost of his newfound kindness would be limited to the bed. He hadn’t even been here a week and his new sanctuary was being unsanctified. It had taken him months to find a New York City loft without any stains of violence, another to have it remodeled to his exact specifications, and still another to purge it of the stink from the contractors who had redone it. He suspected the lingering presence of this…girl…would take far longer to expunge.

  “How long are you going to be?” Roland asked, trying to keep his displeasure from sliding into his tone. Calhoun was right; Roland did owe him a favor—a big one too. Roland just wasn’t sure if this qualified. This wasn’t big; it was colossal, and not only because of the cost of his Stearns & Foster.

  Calhoun glanced up at him absently from where he’d been carefully tucking Roland’s new, unwanted guest into the vast California king bed.

  Damn. I loved that bed.

  Calhoun blinked as if he had to think about what Roland had asked, his concentration obviously still on the woman currently soiling Roland’s new silk sheets.

  “I hope to finish by dark. If not, soon after,” Calhoun finally said when he got his head out of his ass—or maybe that was his head out of his dick.

  “Make it dark,” Roland said, his breath hissing through clenched teeth in an effort not to inhale anymore of her scent. Not that it mattered. All he succeeded in doing was altering the girl’s heady pheromones into candied sugar on his tongue.

  And this was why he didn’t allow humans, especially females, into his home. The seductive scents, the gentle whoosh of blood pumping, and the soft murmurs she’d make as she tossed and turned in his sheets. Roland fisted his hands. The call to rut, to feed, was like a rabid animal clawing at his insides. He’d kept that animal carefully caged, would keep it caged. Yet something of his internal trauma must have shown in his eyes. Calhoun’s gaze snapped from Roland to the skinny slip of a girl he’d so lovingly tucked in bed, and then back to Roland again, his expression becoming increasingly alarmed.

  Calhoun stood to his full height, which at a towering six foot five put him nose to eyebrow with Roland. The air in the room began to tingle. Roland could feel the gathering of power. See the aura shimmering around his supposed friend. That faint light singed Roland’s skin.

  Roland hissed, hastily giving ground until he was across the room and practically pressed into the panel that hid his walk-in closet. Fury mounted within him and he had to work hard to suppress the vicious beast from awakening. He would never hurt Calhoun. His best friend, the only one who’d stood by him, the one Paladin who’d seen enough humanity left in Roland to take the chance to try and save him…to let him exist. But even Roland had his limits, and even for Calhoun he would not quiver like some cowed dog in a shadowy corner.

  “You’re teetering on the edge, Calhoun,” he snarled, letting the fire spark in his eyes to emphasize his words. It might burn him, but he could have Calhoun’s throat in his hand before the Paladin could draw enough heavenly light to turn him to ash.

  Calhoun stopped glowing, but even so, Roland could sense the barely contained power bubbling beneath the surface.

  “Is this going to be a problem for you?” Calhoun asked, his eyes flint gray.

  “No.” Roland rubbed his face. The skin was tender, but no real damage. “But it’s been days.”

  Calhoun took a step forward, a lion ready to lunge into battle. “You won’t touch her.”

  “I never said I would,” Roland ground out from between clenched teeth. “She’s safe from me.”

  Calhoun’s eyes narrowed to slits.

  “Jesus, Calhoun. I haven’t taken an innocent since—”

  “Since when?”

  “Since you came after me,” Roland finished. A flash of memory: the red haze of the bloodlust, the loss of self. How many innocents had he taken? He didn’t know.

  “She’s safe with me. Regardless of when you return,” Roland said, then curled his lip in distaste. “I have some emergency supplies in the freezer.”

  Pig blood and Red Cross discards. Lucky for him he was immune to illness. Though sometimes he wondered if contracting some horrific disease would have been a better way to go than this interminable hell he lived.

  The tension in Calhoun’s body eased. He clamped a hand
on Roland’s shoulder. “Thank you. After this, I’ll owe you one.”

  “Get back here by dark and we’ll call it even,” Roland told him, annoyance making his voice sound as if it were being dragged over gravel.

  Calhoun chuckled. Turning back to the bed, he gave the slumbering girl one last long gaze. The softening in his eyes alarmed Roland. Calhoun was tough as nails. Hell, even his dry humor was rusty. What was she to him?

  “She’s special, Roland,” Calhoun stated, his awed tone confirming Roland’s fears. Calhoun was already half gone. “Take care of her.”

  “Special how?” Roland hoped Calhoun meant special in the gifted kind of way, not special in the till-death way. Humans and Paladin didn’t mix. It was that whole mortality thing. “You said yourself that she passed out within seconds of showing up on your doorstop.”

  That’s about all he’d gotten from Calhoun. Some woman had shown up at his door and passed out. Moments later the reason for her flight had become apparent as Calhoun’s sensors all went off. Rather than face an army of Ganelon’s underworld fiends, Calhoun had grabbed his new burden and abandoned ship. And come here.

  Why here? Why not to Haven? And who was she that she’d attracted the attention of Ganelon’s minions?

  Acknowledgments

  As always, I’d like to thank the hardworking team at Sourcebooks. Without them, this book wouldn’t have been possible. Extra special thanks goes out to my BETA group and the awesome readers out there who’ve cheered me on and kept clamoring for more. And last but not least, I’d like to thank the great peeps on my Facebook page for their wonderful input, most especially Christina W. for the awesome villain name and Marlene R. for the inspiring sexy line.

  About the Author

  While growing up, Tes Hilaire always wanted to see a ghost. Or meet an angel. Or dine with a vampire. Despite her vivid imagination, none of these things ever happened…yet. In the meantime, she writes about them from her home in North Carolina where she lives with her hero, her cat, a son, and two daughters—one of whom claims to actually have seen a ghost (Tes is very jealous). She hates lima beans, loves spaghetti, and still believes in the impossible. For more about Tes and her books, visit TesHilaire.com or visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TesHilaireAuthor.

  Deliver Me from Temptation

  Paladin Warriors

  by Tes Hilaire

  He may look like an angel, but his touch is pure sin.

  When things go bump in the night, Logan bumps back. Vampires, demons, succubi—you name it, he’s fought it. His job as a Paladin angel warrior is to protect humans. Not fall for one.

  Detective Jessica Waters protects humans too—with her Glock and a good set of handcuffs. She doesn’t believe in fate. But if anyone looks like a gift from the gods, it’s Logan. And he clearly knows more about her case than he’s letting on…

  “Intriguing paranormal creatures and torment abound…The sex is great, and the ending is fun.” —Booklist

  “An enthralling, multilayered story…the passion and intensity of the story will sweep away series beginners and fans alike.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

  “Fast-paced…Fans of the first tale will be delighted to see more of their favorite characters.” —Publishers Weekly

  For more Tes Hilaire, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Deliver Me from Darkness

  by Tes Hilaire

  Angel to vampire is a long way to fall.

  A stranger in the night…

  He had once been a warrior of the Light, one of the revered Paladin. A protector. But now he lives in darkness, and the shadows are his sanctuary. Every day is a struggle to overcome the bloodlust. Especially the day Karissa shows up on his doorstep.

  Comes knocking on the door

  She is light and bright and everything beautiful—despite her scratches and torn clothes. Every creature of the night is after her. So is every male Paladin. Because Karissa is the last female of their kind. But she is his. Roland may not have a soul, but he can’t deny his heart.

  “Dark, sexy, and intense! Hilaire blazes a new path in paranormal romance.” —Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author

  For more Tes Hilaire, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Tall, Dark, and Vampire

  by Sara Humphreys

  She always knew Fate was cruel…

  The last person Olivia expected to turn up at her club was her one true love. It would normally be great to see him‚ except he’s been dead for centuries. Olivia really thought she had moved on with her immortal life‚ but as soon as she sees Doug Paxton‚ she knows she’d rather die than lose him again. And that’s a real problem…

  But this is beyond the pale…

  Doug is a no-nonsense cop by day‚ but his nights are tormented by dreams of a gorgeous redhead who’s so much a part of him‚ she seems to be in his blood. When he meets Olivia face-to-face‚ long-buried memories begin to surface. She might be the answer to his prayers…or she might be the death of him.

  Praise for Untamed:

  “The characters are well-developed, the twists and turns of the plot are well-crafted, and the situations are alternately funny, action-packed, and sensual.” —Fresh Fiction

  “An excellent paranormal romance with awesome world-building and strong leads.” —The Romance Reviews

  For more Sara Humphreys, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Unclaimed

  The Amoveo Legend

  by Sara Humphreys

  She brings out the beast in him…

  She works hard to be normal…

  Tatiana Winters loves the freedom of her life as a veterinarian in Oregon. It’s only reluctantly that she agrees to help cure a mysterious illness among the horses on a Montana ranch—the ranch of the Amoveo Prince. Tatiana is no ordinary vet—she’s a hybrid from the Timber Wolf Clan, but she wants nothing to do with the world of the Amoveo shifters.

  But there’s no escaping destiny

  Dominic Trejada serves as a Guardian, one of the elite protectors of the Prince’s Montana ranch. As a dedicated Amoveo warrior, he is desperate to find his mate, and time is running out. He knows Tatiana is the one—but if he can’t convince her, he may not be able to protect her from the evil that’s rapidly closing in…

  Praise for Undone:

  Spellbinding…This fast-paced, jam-packed thrill ride will delight paranormal romance fans.” —Publishers Weekly

  For more Sara Humphreys, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Prince of Power

  by Elisabeth Staab

  This fight is personal…

  Wizards and vampires have been mortal enemies since the beginning. Now Anton, son of the Wizard Master, has one last chance to steal the unique powers of the vampire king’s beautiful sister, Tyra…and then kill her. But when he meets Tyra face-to-face, everything changes…

  Tyra will stop at nothing to defeat the wizards, until Anton saves her life and she suddenly sees an opportunity she never could have imagined.

  As the sparks ignite between them, together they could bring an end to the war that’s decimating their people, but only if they can find a way to trust each other…

  “Staab’s strong sophomore effort continues the dark fantasy romance series begun with King of Darkness.” —Publishers Weekly

  For more Elisabeth Staab, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  A Spy to Die For

  by Kris DeLake

  Two spies. A hundred secrets. And one true love.

  On opposite sides of a high-stakes game, lust lures two spies together in a passionate encounter. Little do they know that the heat of the moment would bind them, turning their worlds upside down. Hunted by deadly assassins, can the pair and their love withstand the onslaught?

  “This lovely little read will leave you breathless as you turn each page, praying that Sky and Jack stay alive and in each other’s arms.” —Book Loons
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br />   “Inventive and charmingly funny…The emotional connection between the main characters is so heartfelt, and the witty repartee so engaging, that it’s easy to get wrapped up in their story.” —RT Book Reviews

  For more Kris DeLake, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Lord of the Hunt

  by Shona Husk

  Raised in the mortal world, the fairy Taryn never planned on going back to Annwyn, much less to Court. But with the power shift imminent, she is her parents’ only hope of securing a pardon from exile and avoiding certain death.

  Verden, Lord of the Hunt, swore to serve the King. But as the magic of Annwyn fails and the Prince makes ready to take the throne, Verden knows his days as Hunter are numbered.

  When Taryn and Verden meet, their attraction is instant and devastating. Their love could bring down a queen and change the mortal world forever.

  Praise for For the Love of a Goblin Warrior:

  “Ms. Husk outdid herself in this book… Once I got into the story, I couldn’t put it down.”—Night Owl Romance Reviewer Top Pick

  “Husk has an amazing ability to weave a mesmerizing story with a magical dark fairy-tale feel.” —Love Romance Passion

  “An entertaining and unique read. Shona Husk creates a dark yet delightful world where romance and fantasy combine.” —Romance Reviews