Dark Siren Series
Book Two
Eden Ashley
Genre: paranormal romance, young adult
ISBN: 9780989963237
ASIN: B00GTT3RDI
Number of pages: 395
Word Count: 90,000
Cover Artist: Nathalia Suellen
Book Description:
New enemies are made.
New allies must be forged.
Kali is beginning to regain her memories. In doing so, she discovers old secrets and betrayals that threaten to unravel her present and shake the foundation for Rhane’s belief in her innocence. While her maturing abilities present unique challenges, a bigger problem arises when Kali learns her ex-boyfriend has made a misguided deal with the enemy in order to win her back—a decision that may ultimately cost him his humanity.
Keeping Kali safe has become a full time job for Rhane. And struggling to gain control of the immortal Banewolf isn’t making that task any easier. The power to eliminate the growing threat against Kali lies at Rhane’s fingertips, but using it means risking his friends to the insatiable blood lust of a monster. So Rhane is forced to forge a shaky alliance with creatures he has sworn to destroy. Despite these new allies, the danger pressing on their borders intensifies, culminating in a heartbreaking and shocking finale.
The strength of the bond between young and ancient lovers will be tested…and if Kali and Rhane are to survive, they must find a way to be unbreakable.
I Want You to Remember…
After seeing the Cal who wasn’t Cal, Kali’s mind was far too harried to focus on class. Skipping the last block of the day, she went to the swimming pool and sat at the bottom for a long time. Her eyes were closed. Her body was motionless. The pressure of the water became a loving caress, helping to relax everything except her mind. Those anxious thoughts just wouldn’t let go. Even with all Rhane had revealed, the past remained hidden like it had never existed.
But you didn’t forget.
That was right. An entire lifetime…taken. And it wasn’t just her life with Rhane. Kali had lived well over a dozen lives in stolen human bodies. Yet she couldn’t remember a single one of them. Each of those little girls had been stripped from the arms of a family who loved them, only to be replaced by a soul-sucking, fire-setting siren. And for what reason? If Rhane knew, he wasn’t telling. Why won’t he talk to me? I’ve proven my trust.
Well, she amended the thought. I did push him away at first, but only for like fifteen minutes. Then Gabriel showed up and started ripping more of my life to pieces.
Kali took a breath and then another, but not with her lungs. Her skin absorbed oxygen from the water and exchanged it for carbon dioxide waste in her blood. The process didn’t come automatically. It took a lot of focus to make underwater breathing happen. In her two weeks on the lam, she’d discovered this new talent. And it had proven very useful, practically allowing her to live in the water. Holding her breath was certainly easier, but that came with time limits. After twenty minutes, she had to surface.
She was determined to master underwater breathing. Concentrating on the task left her brain severely limited in the number of other things it could worry about. And that was a plus.
Feeling the faintest tremble in the water, she opened her eyes. The lights were flickering. After a few cycles of an ebbing and surging glow, they went out completely. She tried not to panic in the darkness, expecting the underwater lighting to illuminate soon. But instead, there came a muted thud. All of the lights suddenly flooded the pool arena. And Kali screamed.
Bodies were everywhere. Hundreds of them littered the swimming pool floor. Parts of their skin were burned. Charred chunks broke apart from decaying flesh. Tentacles of black liquid snaked into the water. The body of a child rose up, a bloated mass set adrift in a nonexistent current. Kali stared into the film of the corpse’s dead eyes with absolute horror. Black hair floated around his head in a dark halo of death. Even with blanched, greying and puckered skin, Kali saw in the child a startling resemblance to Rhane. Bubbles spurted from her mouth as she screamed again.
She kicked hard, trying to get as far away from the corpse as fast as she could. When her back slammed into solid concrete, she turned to scramble up the pool wall. Fingers slipping on the wet ledge, she finally managed to pull herself out and flop onto her stomach. Trembling with a dozen more screams welled up inside, Kali shook with the effort of not releasing them.
Pushing to her feet, she looked down into the water, needing desperately to believe she was not going crazy. There were no dead people. There was no dead boy. The pool was empty.
#
Icy water pounded from the showerhead, streaming into her eyes as it washed the chlorine from her body. All Kali could see was the boy. His lifeless face floating before hers, dark and grey and distorted in death. It took both hands to smother her sobs. She couldn’t understand what was happening. Was it possible that the vision was a real memory like the nightmares of the horseman had been real memories?
The lights in the shower room flickered and went out just as they had in the pool auditorium. Her breath caught in her chest as she waited for what would happen next. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Kalista,” a male voice sighed into the darkness.
She backed away. She was naked and blind. And in the shower was a stranger who probably meant her harm. The vulnerable state made Kali’s movements very clumsy.
“Darkesong.”
This time the voice was closer. So close, she could feel the whisper against her skin. She knew it was the thing pretending to be Cal. Kali bit her lip. She was too frightened to scream. But screaming wouldn’t have helped anyway.
At first, his touch was light. Kali reacted, flinching away violently. Then “Cal” grabbed her. He was an irresistible force shoving her against the wet shower wall. His hard body pressed against hers. The heat from him completely dispelled the cold that fell around them.
Kali felt his face against her skin. His hot breath steamed next to her cheek.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
Strong fingers slipped around her throat, but their hold was gentle. The lights partially returned, and she could see him. Physically, everything was the same…except for the eyes. Gone was the shocking blue of Cal’s stormy stare. In its place were two red orbs that reflected abnormally in the dim light. She would have recognized those eyes anywhere.
“Gabriel.”
He nodded. His body still had her pinned. His right hand grasped her throat, while the other rested idly against the wall. She waited for him to say or do something, but he didn’t. Nothing happened. Open malice and rage emanated from Gabriel’s still form, but Kali wasn’t entirely sure those emotions were aimed at her.
She inhaled a shaky breath. The action squashed her breasts against his chest. “What did you do to Cal?”
Another unnerving smile slashed his face. “He’s still here.”
“What do you want?”
Pressing his nose into the curve of her neck, Gabriel inhaled a dramatic whiff of her scent. Trembling, Kali tried to push away, wedging her body painfully into the wall. When Gabriel’s left hand moved, she went rigid. But the hand never touched her. It hovered next to her head, holding a tiny yellow stone.
“I want to help you remember.”
The events that followed would remain a blur of varying shades of grey darkness for some time. When Kali came to, she was standing in the rain, completely drenched. Rhane stood in front of her, lips moving soundlessly as he shouted, the words swept away by an unforgiving wind. She had never seen his eyes so black or so deadly focused as he leveled a gun directly over her heart.
Character Name: York
Character Bio:
York is a member of the warrior breed from the plains of Golden Mountain. As a youth, York’s lifelong service was conscripted to a young Rhane after York’s father unknowingly struck royal blood in the presence of Rhane’s father, Jehsi. The crime’s true punishment was death, but Jehsi spared York’s sire, trading taking his for the lifelong service of his firstborn. As soon as York understood not to pity or fear Rhane, the two became best friends.
At 6’4 and with the build of a NFL lineman, York is also Rhane’s second in command, giving the orders whenever his warlord is absent.
Describe yourself what is your worst and best quality?
I don’t crack under pressure. Depending on the circumstances, Rhane may development a bit of an anger management problem. But not me. I’m the yen to his yang. And as for bad qualities…nah. I don’t have any of those.
What is the one thing you wish other people knew about you? I wish people knew that underneath this huge, handsome, and seriously intimidating exterior lies a heart of pure gold. (Laughs.) No really, if I want someone to know something about me, I just tell them. The world works easier that way.
What is your biggest secret something no one knows about?
Well If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.
What are you most afraid of?
When Rhane finally loses control, I’m afraid I won’t be able to reel him back in.
What do you want more than anything?
This might sound a bit queer, but I just want Rhane to be happy. I’ve been in a bromance with that guy for nearly a millennium and have seen him suffer through some serious shit. I mean, he really can’t catch a break. He grew up hated just because of the way he looked. His home life was a total clusterfuck. When he finally met a pretty girl who loved him and made a home with her, his entire family was ripped from his arms.
What is your relationship status?
I’m happily chasing whatever skirt that catches my eye.
How much of a rebel are you?
I’m a soldier, not a rebel. In my line of work, rebels only get the people I love killed.
What is your idea of happiness?
A cold beer in one hand and a hot woman in the other…preferably naked.
What is your current state of mind?
I dunno. I guess I’m getting a little tired of all these questions. You’re pretty cute. I could think of other things to do that involve way less talking.
What is your most treasured possession?
My family. I’ll do anything for them.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My sense of humor. It’s a bit off color at times, but I don’t mind.
What is it that you, most dislike?
I don’t care much for being a passenger. It’s a control thing.
Which living person do you, most despise?
That would be River, Rhane’s brother. That guy is an asshole, and if he were on fire I wouldn’t spare the piss to put him out. You know Kali actually did set him on fire once. It was so hard not to laugh when I heard about that…
What is your greatest regret?
There was this chick at this bar one time, man, she was smoking hot. Big tits, nice ass, long dark hair…I think she might have reminded me too much of Kali, and that’s why I didn’t go for it. But I should have. I should have hit that when I had the chance.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
I could pretend be all noble and say her mind or some bullshit like that. But honestly, I’m an ass man. If she’s got a nice ass, I’m all in.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
I wish there were two of me. (Winks.) You can have twice the fun with the best wing man ever.
What is your motto?
Only kill people who you can live without. That’s not really my motto. I just thought it sounded good.
Cynic, realist, and hopeless romantic all rolled into one, Eden was born and raised in a small, sunny town in South Carolina, but thunderstorms have inspired her best ideas. There are few things she loves more than curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee on a rainy day, (except maybe chocolate cake. She loves cake.) often reading into the wee hours of morning when something really grabs her attention. She pretty much loves anything with supernatural elements, so writing paranormal romance and fantasy romance seems to be a natural fit.
http://edenbynite.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/Eden_byNite
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