Page 24 (2/2)

She clutched the dagger sheathed in her knee-high boot and looked into the sky at the fiery redness of the sun, so powerful it suppressed the malevolence of the demon embedded deep inside her Tehdra tried to find its essence and frowned The void was utterly fascinating

Until thisaccess to her beast’s powers It lay beneath her surface like an elusive glimmer of heat

She peered into the convoy searching the shadows for the presence of Darkans, but there were none Her body frozen on the tree liround as their Kuns crawled past on the narrow, cobblestoned cliff ledge Each rider was dressed in battle ar on the hilt of their sword The wraiths screech

ed, dipped and circled above the warriors, providing protection from the air

A snarl hummed low beneath her skin as her beast stretched A smile curved her lips A deep red splashed the sky as the sun sank Rage uncurled inside her, and she shivered as the savagery of her darkness lifted its head

As the last wraith flew by, her heart lurched Raer andAjali Haddin He rode one of the wraiths with lethal grace

His warriors preceded hie that he did not need their protection They returned from Boreas without Princess Saieke Shyokara Tehdra had felt through the connection with her brother Drac that he had soht he would have done after their older brother Vlad had betrayed everything they stood for, because he lost his mate, but Drac felt more at peace, and adored his princess with a visceral intensity Tehdra had once hoped to find herno weakness, until her clan had atoned for Vald’s hters

Tehdra flared out her darkness towards King Ajali, deeply sinking into his essence, seeking and ferreting Strangely, no negativity leaked from him The royal, who had travelled to Boreas to claim the princess as his blood oath queen, did not seeressively Perhaps they had misconstrued his interest in her

Rage howled beneath the surface of Tehdra’s skin as the sky darkened, effectively distracting her She inhaled deeply, her breath hitched at a scent that teased her, rily Tehdra held her breath when, with a flex of his thighs, the king stopped the wraith midair He tipped his head and stared directly into the tree where she perched

Tehdra held herself absolutely still Shadows cloaked her form—it was her Shenkiri to wield, to control; it was ih her at the startling green of his eyes The olive darkness of his skin shined like ha e combination

Her beast shifted and lunged In the dark rance rode the air, enrapturing her Her chakra pulsed, fangs burst fro of Nuria in sheer fascination Her heart pounded with hard, driving beats within her chest

Mine

Fear tightened in her gut Ihed when he whipped the wraith around, and they soared towards his kingdoraceful power Her de, sibilant hiss scraped against her mind

Mate

Chapter One

Nuria—the kingdom of eternal Fire

Adara—the main city

A harem…I will need to be in his harem

Taunting laughter echoed from her demon With ruthless will, Tehdra closed off the miniscule psychic connection she allowed The beast was pleased it would be near the Nurian King She was not She had to join King Ajali’s harem to enjoy the freedom of movement needed for her mission His haris, the concubines, possessed that which Tehdra desired—free reign of the castle

She had spent days trying to infiltrate the castle Shelah Several ti past the king’s warriors—a feat she had thought i one with darkness She had breached the inner walls several times, and tried to enter the castle to no avail

Somehow the warriors sensed her presence in the shadows, so each other if they sensed a witch—powerful beings who used spell incantations—or a Serangite, at work She had assessed those who had detected her presence Their chakra level had been stronger, and so else had buzzed within them