Torrential rain pounded against the glass. I let out the breath I'd been holding. Thank the stars it wasn't more gods and flaming goddesses. As lightning lit the black skies overhead, a shot of power burst through the room. As if I were walking outside in the storm, I felt the crackling electricity of it surge through me as it raised every hair on my body. I gasped as I felt the wounds on my body close and the pain slide away like water down the window panes. Tag and Tove jerked me to my feet and crushed me between them. Another crash of lightning and magic pulsed through the air as I reached out for Thane. As my hand landed on his scales, the room lit up like it was high noon instead of the dark of a storm. My eyes were blinded for a brief moment. Bright stars flickered in my vision as I blinked rapidly. When my sight was finally clear, there was Thane. Naked. Human. Hunger in his eyes. He pulled me from the sandwich his brothers had made of me and up into his arms. I s

I came back to myself in the dark. A soft beam of light came from the side of the room. It was also fully black outside. Rain still beat against the wall of windows, but it was softer. Slower.As if the weather had learned my mood, read my memories, it commiserated with me. It wept as I had wept that day. No tears had washed me clean. Nothing but the love from the man, the men, I'd crashed into. Barreled into their lives as if I were a gale, and they were the innocent trees of my forest.I was in the giant bed. Alone. Were all beds this comfy?"Hello?"The room was empty except for me. The bathroom light was on. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of Thane doing that so I wouldn't wake in the complete black. He'd watched out for me ever since that first night.Hello? I called out with my mind.Three knocks sounded on the bedroom door."Who is it?" I asked, even knowing who stood outside. My men. The knob turned, but the door didn't move. "Thane, sweet girl. Tag and Tove

I blinked as I tried to figure out what was happening. My father was in the room. He'd just shoved his magic into my body, causing me the most horrific pain I'd ever experienced-which he said wasn't supposed to hurt, and now he wants to train me to take down his brother. Could my life get any weirder?"If you're so strong and powerful, why don't you just take him out?" Tove asked. "Why do you need the help from a daughter you refuse to acknowledge?"I jolted back at the stab of a different kind of pain. I'd never known my father. My mother had only mentioned him a couple of times as I was growing up. She'd always been kind when she mentioned him. Never a bad word to say about who he was. Over the years, bringing him up had caused her great pain and heartache. Since he wasn't there, and I had been, I'd learned to keep my mouth shut. She was mine. Not his. I would protect her to the best of my ability. We'd had each other. We hadn't needed anyone else. Until I'd killed her. I w

I looked around. This wasn't like the other places I'd been. Those dark holes had been fathomless voids. Nothing could touch me there. No nightmares. No fantasies.No. This time it was different.I blinked a few times, tried to make sense of what I was seeing. As my surroundings came into focus, I could tell it wasn't dark at all. It was full of light. An odd blue-tinged white that was both comforting and energizing. Trickles of power soaked into my body as rivulets ran over my skin. I inhaled and the air smelled of hope and bright summer mornings. I lay in that comfort for moments on end. "You must be waking now, lass. No time to dally or dawdle," a husky feminine voice said. I opened my eyes again and looked around. Outlined in a silvery glow, a dark haired, fair skinned woman stood off to my right. Her even and pleasant features reminded me of my mother although they looked nothing alike. I sat up, felt whatever I was laying on dip and sway under my weight. I spread

I winced as the burning and tugging in my belly raged to new levels. I looked down at my belly, sure I'd find blood or fire. There was nothing. Just the same smooth skin I always saw. "What was that?" I asked Ari. She didn't answer. I looked up. Gone were the mists and the summer air. I was standing in the living room. My spirit twitching deep inside me at the anguish that soaked the room.Looking over, I found my men. They knelt around an empty spot on the floor. Tove was curled in on himself. His head buried under his arms, his face obscured against the floor. He looked like he was barely breathing. Thane looked as if his heart had been shredded inside his chest. His expression was hollow and empty. Like someone had taken a giant spoon and scooped out his insides, and left only the dregs of his soul behind. And Tag-my Grumpy-was rocking himself. His hands gripped his hair, pulling at it. I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like he was talking to himself. Angry muttering