Despite her promise, Luna shivered. She was too shaken to know whether it was from lust or fear. With him, it was always a mix of both.
“Everything I’ve ever done has been to protect them.”
His fingers tightened painfully on her chin, and his eyes of swirling black flashed. “Maybe you should have been more concerned with me.” His expression cleared, and he looked almost giddy. “No matter. I’ve decided to forgive you.”
“Forgive me?”
He released her chin and nodded, his smile rapturous. “Oh yes, darling. You see, I’ve finally managed to even the playing field as it were.”
Closing the distance between them, he brushed his lips over hers. Her body reacted immediately; her nipples hardening and her breath coming out in shallow gasps. It was just as it had always been. She was helpless to resist the feelings he lured to the surface.
Her eyes fell closed as a tear splashed down her cheek.
“Ah, Luna. I’ve always loved the sight of your tears,” he whispered, licking the salty bead off of her cheek. “But there’s no reason for them.”
“How can you say that? You’re going to destroy everything that I love.”
“No, wife. I am merely teaching you a lesson. Really, you’ve brought this on yourself.”
“You are underestimating my children.”
“Perhaps you underestimate mine.”
Luna scoffed. “The Night Stalkers won’t turn on the Chosen because of this. If anything, it will only strengthen the ties that bind them.”
The Lord of Death smiled, and it was both cruel and terribly beautiful. “Ah, but you’re already forgetting, wife. You might have your Vessel . . . but now I have mine.”
Deep within the bowels of the Palace, the Dreamer opened his eyes.
Note From Meg
Thank you so much for reading Effie and Lucian’s story. I hope you were as pleased with the outcome as I am! Effie was originally just supposed to play a small role in one book, but I kept finding excuses to weave her in as much as possible. She’s been a special character for me from day one, and I knew she deserved an amazing story. It’s been quite the journey for both of us, sometimes painfully so, but I could not be more pleased that she found Lucian.
I’m a little gutted to have to say goodbye to her and her Guardian, and for those of you that feel the same, I have some good news! Effie and the Chosen crew will be back (maybe you guessed that by the epilogue) sometime in the next year or so as they hunt for Reyna. Yes, Ronan is finally going to get his own series.
In the meantime, if you aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to the Guardians just yet, you can check out what Nord’s up to now that he’s on his well-deserved vacation. Read on for an exclusive excerpt from Shade of Danger, a novella in the Monster Ball Anthology. Nord’s and Lina’s story will continue in May 2020 in Hint of Danger, book 1 in my new paranormal romance series Undercover Magic.
Until next time, happy reading!
XOXO
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Shade of Danger Exclusive Sneak Peek
Nord
Holding the piece of parchment in his hand, he eyed it as if it were a snake. He trusted the bloody thing about as much as one of the venomous creatures and preferred to be holding it even less. A snake he could strangle. This . . .
Turning the invitation over once more, he scanned the elegant script. Moonbeams and bullshit if you asked him. The hell he’d be going to a ball.
Crumpling up the invitation, he chucked it into the aluminum basket beside his desk.
“What’s that?” his brother-in-arms asked.
“Garbage,” Nord answered.
“Mmhmm,” Finley murmured, moving around the recliner Nord was sprawled in and plucking the crumpled ball of paper from the bin.
Nord knew better than to try to stop him. No one told a Guardian what to do. Not without a lot of fists and unnecessary bloodshed.
Raising a brow, Finley looked back at him. “What’s The Monster Ball?”
He shrugged. “Fuck if I know.”
“Where’d you get this?”
Nord remained silent, not wanting to explain how it just appeared after the moonlight played some kind of trick on him the night before. Finley would send his ass back to the Brotherhood faster than he could blink, and Nord was enjoying his vacation after several centuries of servitude.
Not that he minded being a Guardian or what it entailed, but sometimes a guy just wanted to enjoy a beer—or ten—and a pretty girl.
Shaking his head, Finley placed the invitation on top of Nord’s cluttered desk. “You, of all people, should know better than to try to ignore something like this.”
“You go, then.”
“I’m not the one who got the invitation.”
Nord shot his brother a dark look. “I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are. Do you have something appropriate to wear?”
Rolling his eyes, Nord hit the volume button on the TV remote, trying to drown out the sound of Finley’s pestering.
“You can borrow something of mine.”
Snorting, Nord replied, “As if I could fit in one of your puny shirts.”
Finley was fit—all those who served in the Brotherhood of Guardians were—but he was easily dwarfed by Nord’s bulk. It would be like trying to wear a child’s shirt.
Smirking, Finley gestured to Nord’s black t-shirt and jersey shorts. “So you’re going to risk showing up in that?”
“I already told you I’m not going.”
“I don’t think you have a choice, mate.”
Nord snarled, which only made Finley laugh.
“Not even your bluster is going to get you out of this.”
“How do you know so much about the damn thing when you hadn’t even heard of The Monster Ball ten seconds ago?”
Finley’s eyes shone a brilliant silver, the color replacing their usual deep blue. “Some serious magic brought that to you.”
Unease ran through Nord’s veins as he watched Finley release his power. “You can sense it?” Nord asked, annoyed that he hadn’t thought to check himself. He’d been on vacation for three weeks and had already forgotten the basics.
Finley nodded. “Not the source, but it’s brimming with power. Nothing I’ve ever seen before. Whoever sent that to you isn’t going to accept your regrets.” Glancing at the clock, Finley shot him another half-grin. “You should probably find something to wear. You’ve only got forty minutes before midnight.”
Muttering under his breath, Nord pushed himself out of his chair and stalked into his bedroom. Finley tried to follow him, but Nord stopped him with a dark look and a palm to the chest.