Reign to Ravage

by Zoey Ellis

  Amara looked at Malloron for confirmation and when he said nothing, she slowly shook her head. Of all her expressions Malloron had loved to see, the horror on her face struck him cold. All color drained from her skin and the eyes he had wanted back so much looked haunted by the idea. "The red dungeon?" she whispered.

  "Amara, you cannot listen to him."

  "I don't need her to," Brecc snarled. "She will do what I say. Loth rayn con farar espeeshaleth mon carr."

  Amara soared into Brecc’s arms. Grabbing her jet black hair, he pulled her against his distended stomach and slobbered a kiss onto her mouth.

  A roar ripped from Malloron’s chest, the sound tearing through the house as his rage almost blinded him. He shot the rest of his visible spears in quick succession, at Brecc and the Talent-crafters who were all protected by the same undetectable shield. He shot spear after spear, orb after orb in a flurry of magic as his eyes burned with the sight of Brecc holding onto Amara. He forced himself to think of his grandfather’s fortification spells, then modified each attack with a counter-spell. With each hit, their shield shuddered and trembled and he was sure he could break through, but he had to have a plan once he did.

  It disturbed him that Brecc had spoken the Ancient Tongue to pull Amara to him. Based on his grandfather’s research, he would have complete control over Amara, with just the need to utter a few words in the Ancient Tongue to get her to do what he wanted. It was unacceptable and he couldn't allow it. Brecc held an unreasonable amount of vengeance for Malloron and he would take it out on the one thing he knew Malloron cared about. No amount of discussion or negotiation could be made. Malloron simply had to find a way to get Amara out of his control. And there was only one way to do that…

  Using the hold he still had on the tenebris, he pulled Amara out of Brecc’s arms and, simultaneously, shot out an incredibly powerful blast to fill the room, blinding and immobilizing everyone in it and destroying their shield. It was temporary, but their disabled shield gave him the opportunity to do what he needed to do.

  As Amara landed in Malloron’s arms, the other men in the room stumbled and covered their eyes, yelling as they tried to grab onto anything for support. Malloron directed spears into everyone in the room, ensuring one sunk into the head of Brecc’s head Talent-crafter. He aimed a spear at Brecc and it sunk deep into his neck.

  Suddenly an eerie stillness fell over the room. All were still, lying on the floor as the magical spears dispersed.

  "Malloron," Amara gasped.

  Before she could say anything further, he lowered his face to her neck, locating the most scented spot and sunk his teeth into it. As he pulled her blood into his mouth and swallowed, something seemed to crackle in the air around him. He pulled again, the coppery, warmth of her blood filling his mouth, everything between them deepened and twisted into something else, something strange and uncomfortable, and on the third pull, a pressure rushed into his head and cushioned his mind.

  "I can't believe you did that!" Amara cried as he lifted from her neck. "Why did you do that?"

  "It is the only way that I could keep control of you," Malloron growled, wiping his mouth. "He has my grandfather’s research. He would have used it to hold on to you for the rest of your life."

  "But you know you cannot bite me first."

  "It is fine if you return the bite."

  The pressure surrounding his mind deepened and he suddenly felt her reluctance. He gripped her tighter, glaring down at her. "You have to soul-bond with me, Amara."

  She stared at him evenly. "Is what he said true? Is the tenebris the souls of the children in the red dungeon?"

  "This is not the time," Malloron said, as he saw Brecc still twitching behind her. "I will explain everything, just not now. I cannot create a portal while—"

  "I need to know," Amara said sharply. "I need to know if all this time I have been holding the souls of the children I’ve been trying to save in my body."

  Anger and determination emanated from her and Malloron was shocked. Did she truly think this was important right now?

  "And I need to know," she said, her voice hardening, "if you are the man who held the souls of children in his body while he fucked me."

  "It is not as simple as that."

  "Just tell me!" she yelled.

  Malloron’s jaw hardened. "It is not their souls."

  "But it is something from the children?"

  Malloron did not answer, but he didn't have to. Within the twisted one-way bond, he could feel her disgust and disappointment pressing in on his mind. It was almost unbearable. "You wanted my trust and you have it," he said. “I just bit you. If you trust me, secure the bond, Amara. Bite me back."

  Amara’s lips pressed together. "Is there any way to return it to them? Is there a way to get the tenebris back to the children?"

  Malloron’s jaw clenched. “This is not the time to have this conversation,” he barked.

  “You just bit me against my will,” she snapped. “This is the only time we can have this conversation. I’m trying to give you a chance to explain it to me, Malloron. You are avoiding answering!”

  “I am trying to protect you,” he thundered, unable to believe her reasoning. “Do you think Brecc will let you have any freedoms at all?”

  She pressed her lips together. “Have you?” Her gorgeous eyes blazed. “Have you ever promised me any freedom of any kind?”

  Malloron growled as displeasure coursed through him. “You cannot truly be comparing me to Brecc!”

  “At least with him I know what kind of man I am dealing with, and anyway you just killed him. You didn’t need to bite me, you just did it to control me and remove my choice.” Her mouth tightened as she glared at him. “Tell me. Would you give the tenebris back to the children? Would you consider giving it up?”

  "There is no reason for me to," he thundered.

  "If it were between the tenebris and me, would you?"

  Malloron gripped her harder. “Amara!”

  Amara shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. A wild magic similar to the one that had surrounded her when he broke the tenebris began to build again. “Me or the tenebris? What would you choose?”

  The pressure in Malloron’s mind spiked and he let out a gruff groan. "I don't need to make a choice. You are both mine."

  "No, Malloron.” Her eyes glistened as the pressure in his head mounted. “I am not yours."

  "Yes you are!" he roared, suddenly furious. "You told me you were."

  “That was before I realized how far you were willing to go!”

  “I was willing to go far enough to bite you, Amara,” he bellowed. “I was willing to protect you from being in my mother’s situation—the situation you found so horrific. Are you truly going to leave me to go insane?”

  He tried to grip her tighter, but the magic around her was becoming more frantic and wild with every second that passed.

  “These are children, Malloron,” she cried. “They are innocent. They are not your siblings. They are not the twisted and depraved people of the Western Lands. They are not even adults.” She struggled to speak as her tears fell rapidly. “You were just like them in that memory you showed me… How could you do it to them? Do you truly see them as objects? As a means to an end?”

  The pressure in his mind kept pushing in and he found he could not think quickly enough to respond.

  "I thought I would get used to the type of man you are," she said. "I thought there might be a chance to help you understand. But I cannot live with this inside me, Malloron. If this is what you choose, I would rather die than live with it... or let you have it." She stepped back from him, and a feeling so strong and desolate pierced through his mind. He tried to draw magic but it was impossible to concentrate. He reached to grab her, but he found himself uncoordinated.

  Amara stepped back just out of his reach. “You are cruel. I cannot believe I even considered claiming you. All this time the tenebris has been them—” She wiped the tears from h
er cheeks. “All this time you knew. You led me to that casting room knowing what you were doing—knowing I was concerned about them.”

  "Do not leave," Malloron warned. "Amara, do not leave me. You know I will find you and bring you back."

  "How can you?" she said. "You need to feed on the tenebris to prevent yourself from going insane and you need me to secure the soul-bond to stop you from going insane. Insanity is in your near future even though you used those children to try to avoid it."

  "Amara!" he roared.

  She shook her head, blinking up at him. “I could have loved you.”

  “You do,” he bellowed. “You do love me, Amara. Because I…” He grabbed his head as the pain piercing through his mind increased and dropped to his knees. When he looked back up, she was crouched by him, stroking his head, her eyes filled with concern.

  He grabbed her roughly, desperate to have his hands on her. “I will explain everything,” he said haltingly. “Just soul-bond with me.”

  She hesitated, her expression tortured.

  “I am exactly the bastard you think I am, Amara, but you cannot choose who your true mate is.”

  “You’re right, I cannot.” She lowered her head in thought and then lifted those eyes. “You said you wanted to replace my family,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “But you don’t even know what family is. You have no concept of love or sacrifice. You said you would replace my sister and be the positive thing I needed to lighten my mood and make me see that my circumstances are not as terrible as I deem them to be.” Tears trickled down her cheeks again and Malloron’s chest felt like it was tearing apart at the sight of them. “Be that for me now, Malloron. Tell me it’s not as bad as I think.”

  A silence lengthened, and with every moment, the distance between them grew larger than it had ever been before. Malloron stared at her, his eyes hardening as he realized the truth of their circumstance.

  “Loth rayn con farar espeeshaleth mon carr."

  Amara screamed as she flew away from him, yanked out of his grip across the room. Brecc caught her and sneered at Malloron as he dragged her from the room, blood pouring from the large ripped gash on the side of his neck where the spear had hit him. A limping Talent-crafter followed them, no doubt about to create a portal for them to escape.

  Malloron staggered toward the doorway, but did not make it before he dropped again to his knees, wrangling with the raw pain of his Omega’s emotions. He heard his brother groan nearby and his mood darkened even more. He would deal with his brother. He would deal with all of them.

  Brecc no longer had his head Talent-crafter to advise him, so it was unlikely that he would be able to truly control Amara as much as he thought. Amara could potentially escape him, or destroy him—he was not the problem. The problem was his Omega.

  His own emotions roiled that he had made the mistake of trusting her when he knew she did not understand the choices he made in his life. He should have known that her opinion of the children would not be swayed. It was always something he knew she would struggle with. He shouldn’t have tried to explain, he shouldn’t have tried to seek any kind of true connection with her—he should have been satisfied with the limited experience he knew he would have.

  The progression of their relationship had been too slow, too dominated by their instinctual feelings and he thought that would be enough for her to realize the importance of their connection. He thought she would understand enough to know the importance of the tenebris to him, and the importance of her to him, but she didn’t. And he didn’t know if she ever would. But he had taken steps to protect her; he had made himself vulnerable to her, and she had betrayed him. Just like everyone else.

  And it was her betrayal that she was going to have to pay for, one way or another. Because the tenebris still belonged to him. And so did she.

  End of Book Two

  Thank you for reading Reign To Ravage. Discover how if Amara can truly forgive Malloron in their final book, Reign To Rule.

  CLICK HERE for their final book

  Read on for a sneak peek!

  SIGN ME UP!

  Excerpt from Reign To Rule

  “Malloron!” Amara’s voice sent a rush of relief through him, and when she soared into his arms, he couldn't help but grip her close, pressing her against him and gripping her tight. He wound his fist into her thick black hair and held her head securely so that she looked up at him. “Are you hurt?” he asked harshly. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No.” Amara breathed, but there was a hesitation in her voice that made him growl.

  He gripped her hair tighter and she whimpered. “Did he touch you?”

  “Yes,” she said, wincing, “but he didn't—”

  Malloron stopped listening. At his instruction, threads of magic streamed from his powerorb, soared to Brecc, and wound themselves around Brecc's fisted hands, then pressed in on them. Brecc dropped to his knees, his screams becoming wilder and uncontrollable as the magic continued to crunch in on his hands. Malloron relished the sound.

  He looked back down at Amara, locking his eyes with her wonderful blue ones. Fuck, this woman was beautiful. Pride, relief, and disappointment in her actions against him bounded through him in equal measures. He knew he needed her—he had come to terms with that now—but he also knew he couldn’t allow himself to enjoy her the way he really wanted to. Not any more. He couldn’t have her laugh, her comfort, and her kisses. He couldn’t look forward to any more discussions or debates or open and frank honesty. She had proven she was just like all the others who had let him down, and she would deceive him again as they all did. He wouldn’t let her get that close again, but the thought of losing all that, something so special that he’d only had for such a short time, fucking hurt. “You will bite me and bond with me,” he ordered, his voice gritty. “Now.”

  Pick up your copy of REIGN TO RULE

  Remember to join my reader’s group!

  Author Note

  Gah! This book was such a journey. I knew it was going to be longer to fit in all that needed to happen with Malloron and Amara, but soooo much had to happen to get to what I felt was a natural break point, and for me to feel that the couple had gone through a significant part of their journey.

  Malloron and Amara didn’t have what I call a ‘seclusion period’ like Drocco and Cailyn did, so they needed that time together for Malloron to get his ass in gear and show Amara hints of the kind of Alpha he was always supposed to be. And also for Amara to be willing to get to know and understand him after what he had done. Sometimes this made them a little static, but to me, it was necessary for this couple to have that. So their story unfolded a little jerkily and alongside that Emric and Banon’s story needed to play a part in that too.

  The biggest surprise for me in this book is just how much I really enjoyed revealing who Malloron is and the development of his character. As I said before, I plan out my stories in advance but it’s when I sit down to actually write them that the character interactions, decisions, and personal development dictate the direction of the story. Malloron is a more complex hero than Drocco. There’s an enormous amount of pressures in his life and yet he is completely a lone wolf. It was really a joy for me to explore that kind of character.

  I also really enjoyed developing this world further with the tenebris and Gammas, Kardos, and bringing back Drocco and Cailyn. This book is definitely a more balanced book that includes the Fantasy equally as much as the Romance, which was a lot of fun for me!

  Anyway, I could ramble for days! I hope you enjoyed this installment, thanks for checking it out. The next book will conclude their story, and rest assured, everything will come together for what I hope is a satisfying conclusion. :)

  Acknowledgments

  Randie: I am so glad we got to meet and work on this book together! Dinner, drinks, and keeping our voices low while talking about dominating sex was the most fun I’ve had in ages! :D I know I always say that I couldn’t do this without you, but I really couldn�
��t have done this one without you. I was so energized after that evening and was able to attack the story and get it finished. So, erm… I’m gonna need you to move to London LOL! :p I feel like every time I go through edits with you I learn so much. It is an education I know I couldn’t get anywhere else since you have such a great overview of my work from the very beginning. Thank you for all the hard work and time you put into my books. I look forward to our next get-together!

  Margarita: I have to admit, I did giggle a bit when I saw ‘Yuck, yuck, yuck’ on my MS when you returned it! LOL I wasn’t trying to traumatize you, I promise! But it is nice to be able to surprise you once in a while, especially after all the spoilers you get! Once again you have been a steady support for me. This has been a difficult period but I’m so glad you have been a constant support and so willing to deal with my whining and chat with me about all things books, publishing, and Myth of Omega lol. Thank you for being such a great friend and a steady supporter.

  L: Only you can tell me that I work well under pressure and to just “get on with it” when I’m moaning about a deadline *glare* LOL! I can’t really hide anything from you, but you could at least pretend to be sympathetic! Thank you so much for your continued cheer-leading for my writing and for this series. One more Malloron book to go!

  To Dark Halos and readers who are following this series, thank you so much for all your support. I really love all the enthusiasm around the series and its characters and I really appreciate all the messages and emails, keep em coming!

  To my lovely friends and family, It’s not been an easy time but I love that you have all rallied round and made sure I got my ass into gear for this book. Love you all forever x