COLLECTION SIX
DRAGON CLAIMED by Donna Grant ~ ASHES TO INK by Carrie Ann Ryan ~ ENSNARED by Elisabeth Naughton ~ EVERMORE by Corinne Michaels ~ VENGEANCE by Rebecca Zanetti ~ ELI’S TRIUMPH by Joanna Wylde ~ CIPHER by Larissa Ione ~ RESCUING MACIE by Susan Stoker ~ ENCHANTED by Lexi Blake ~ TAKE THE BRIDE by Carly Phillips ~ INDULGE ME by J. Kenner ~ THE KING by Jennifer L. Armentrout ~ QUIET MAN by Kristen Ashley ~ ABANDON by Rachel Van Dyken ~ THE OPEN DOOR by Laurelin Paige ~ CLOSER by Kylie Scott ~ SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS by Jennifer Probst ~ BLOOD NIGHT by Heather Graham ~ TWIST OF FATE by Jill Shalvis ~ MORE THAN PLEASURE YOU Shayla Black ~ WONDER WITH ME by Kristen Proby ~ THE DARKEST ASSASSIN by Gena Showalter
COLLECTION SEVEN
THE BISHOP by Skye Warren ~ TAKEN WITH YOU by Carrie Ann Ryan ~ DRAGON LOST by Donna Grant ~ SEXY LOVE by Carly Phillips ~ PROVOKE by Rachel Van Dyken ~ RAFE by Sawyer Bennett ~ THE NAUGHTY PRINCESS by Claire Contreras ~ THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT by Darynda Jones ~ CHARMED by Lexi Blake ~ SACRIFICE OF DARKNESS by Alexandra Ivy ~ THE QUEEN by Jen Armentrout ~ BEGIN AGAIN by Jennifer Probst ~ VIXEN by Rebecca Zanetti ~ SLASH by Laurelin Paige ~ THE DEAD HEAT OF SUMMER by Heather Graham ~ WILD FIRE by Kristen Ashley ~ MORE THAN PROTECT YOU by Shayla Black ~ LOVE SONG by Kylie Scott ~ CHERISH ME by J. Kenner ~ SHINE WITH ME by Kristen Proby
Discover Blue Box Press
TAME ME by J. Kenner ~ TEMPT ME by J. Kenner ~ DAMIEN by J. Kenner ~ TEASE ME by J. Kenner ~ REAPER by Larissa Ione ~ THE SURRENDER GATE by Christopher Rice ~ SERVICING THE TARGET by Cherise Sinclair ~ THE LAKE OF LEARNING by Steve Berry and M.J. Rose ~ THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES by Steve Berry and M.J. Rose ~ TEASE ME by J. Kenner ~ FROM BLOOD AND ASH by Jennifer L. Armentrout ~ QUEEN MOVE by Kennedy Ryan ~ THE HOUSE OF LONG AGO by Steve Berry and M.J. Rose ~ THE BUTTERFLY ROOM by Lucinda Riley ~ A KINGDOM OF FLESH AND FIRE by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Table of Contents
Book Description
About Gena Showalter
Also from Gena Showalter
Acknowledgments from the Author
Discover 1001 Dark Nights
Foreword
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Eight
Discover More Gena Showalter
An excerpt from The Darkest Assassin by Gena Showalter
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Special Thanks
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Prologue
Brochan the Undeterred scanned the immortal nightclub and scowled. Too many people. Music is too loud. Strobe lights are too bright. Scents too cloying. He hated this place. Granted, he hated most places.
At the moment, he perched alone at a shadowed table. Alone, always his preference. No one proved foolish enough to approach him. He’d left Nevaeh, the uppermost sky realm accessible only to Sent Ones, and entered the lower sky realms accessible to all, thinking to observe his younger brother. A boy he’d raised as a son for hundreds of years after their parents deemed the troubled, three-year-old McCadden “demon tainted” in order to relinquish all responsibility for him. Considering Brochan and McCadden were born and bred demon assassins, the label came with problems.
Though only fifteen back then, Brochan had moved out and overseen the child’s care himself. The second he’d beheld the tiny, squalling infant, he’d known love for the first time. True love based on a decision more than a feeling. A willing determination to protect the boy with his life, no matter what he thought or what he felt. No matter the cost.
For the bulk of his existence, Brochan had lived for his child’s happiness. At the age of eighteen, he’d even petitioned the High Council for a wife, eager to give the lad a mother.
The Council had agreed and selected a Messenger named Samantha. With high hopes, Brochan wed the quiet maid. But after only three years, she ended the joyless union and left him, never looking back.
Her departure had broken McCadden’s heart just as fiercely as their parents’ desertion. In desperation, Brochan had wed a second female, Rebecca.
She left him two years later.
What should have been a mild inconvenience for Brochan nearly destroyed the boy. Another tragic heartbreak to endure. After that, he’d made a vow. He and McCadden to the end, and only he and McCadden. The two of them and no other.
So why had the formerly ready-to-laugh-at-anything soldier acted so strange lately? Constantly lost in thought. Somber. His smiles, his merriment erased without a trace remaining. His teasing nature? Suddenly nonexistent. Something bothered the lad greatly, but what? Why wouldn’t he admit it? Throughout their centuries together, Brochan had never offered judgment, only solutions.