Doppelganger Dirge
Amy Sumida
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
More Books by Amy Sumida
Playlist
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter One
Pronunciation Guide/ Character List
About the Author
Copyright © 2019 Amy Sumida
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781655188732
Legal Notice
This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part of the content within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.
More Books by Amy Sumida
The Godhunter Series (in order)
Godhunter
Of Gods and Wolves
Oathbreaker
Marked by Death
Green Tea and Black Death
A Taste for Blood
The Tainted Web
Series Split:
These books can be read together or separately
Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest
Into the Void & Out of the Darkness
Perchance to Die
Tracing Thunder
Light as a Feather
Rain or Monkeyshine
Blood Bound
Eye of Re
My Soul to Take
As the Crow Flies
Cry Werewolf
Pride Before a Fall
Monsoons and Monsters
Blessed Death
In the Nyx of Time
Let Sleeping Demons Lie
The Lion, the Witch, and the Werewolf
Hear No Evil
Dark Star
Destiny Descending
Beyond the Godhunter
A Darker Element
Out of the Blue
The Twilight Court Series
Fairy-Struck
Pixie-Led
Raven-Mocking
Here there be Dragons
Witchbane
Elf-Shot
Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings
Black-Market Magic
Etched in Stone
—Completed Series—
The Spellsinger Series
The Last Lullaby
A Symphony of Sirens
A Harmony of Hearts
Primeval Prelude
Ballad of Blood
A Deadly Duet
Macabre Melody
Aria of the Gods
Anthem of Ashes
A Chorus of Cats
(Doppelganger Dirge)
Spectra
Spectra: A Cynical Superhero
A Gray Area
A Compression of Colors
Blue Murder
Code Red
Erotica
An Unseelie Understanding
Fairy Tales
Happily Harem After Vol. 1
Including:
The Four Clever Brothers
Wild Wonderland
Beauty and the Beasts
Pan's Promise
The Little Glass Slipper
Happily Harem After Vol. 2
Including:
White as Snow
Awakened Beauty
Twisted
Codename: Goldilocks
Historical Romance
Enchantress
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Playlist
A list of the songs referenced in this novel in the order they appear. You may find this playlist on Spotify, under the title of Doppelganger Dirge or through this link: Doppelganger Dirge Playlist
“Running From the Night” by GAITS
“Paralyzed” by David Archuleta
“Hollow” by Olivia Millerschin
“Man or Monster” (featuring Zayde Wølfe) by Sam Tinnesz
“Keep Holding On” by Avril Lavigne
“All Fired Up” by Pat Benatar.
“Trøllabundin” by Eivør
“The Dismemberment Song” by Blue Kid
“Breathing Underwater” by Emeli Sandé
“Sleepsong” by Roxane Genot and Karliene
“Let Go.” by Judah & the Lion
“Down in Flames” by Daughter Jack
“I'll Be (Your Crying Shoulder) by Jeremy Kay
“Landmines” by BELLSAINT
“Slow Like Honey” by Fiona Apple
“No Rest For the Wicked” by Klergy
“To Make You Feel My Love” remade by Mathilde Holtti
Chapter One
“Wicked,” he whispered.
His body moved against mine; sculpted muscles beneath soft skin. His hands slid through my hair. Over my breasts. Lower. He pulled my hips against his rising lust. Thrust into me. My head rolled against silk, the scent of him filling my world as he filled my body.
“So wicked.” The words whispered hot in my ear.
Kisses along my cheek. He lifted onto his forearms as I slid my hands over his broad shoulders. Up his throat. Over his divine jaw. Into his glorious hair, sparkling like a star.
“Lucifer?” I went still.
“I should have called you 'my wicked,'” Lucifer growled and slid a hand around my throat. “Traitor. Murderer. Whore!”
Lucifer started to squeeze, and I bucked and kicked, flailing to get him off me. He was still thrusting, his pelvis grinding against mine and his shaft stretching my sex. As I gasped for air, pleasure rose, giving credence to his accusations.
“No!” I shoved him off me at last. “I'm not a traitor or a whore. I was drugged when we were together. That wasn't my fault.”
“But you are a murderer.” Lucifer grinned and laid back on his lavish bed, crossing his arms behind his head and putting his beautiful body on display for me. “And you want to be my whore, don't you, my wicked?”
“No, I don't.” I tried to scramble off the bed but every movement only brought me closer to Lucifer until I was lying across his body, straddling him.
“Let me go!” I shouted.
“Never.”
Lucifer laughed as he bucked up into me, his arms still behind his head; showing me that it was my choice. My fault.
“Wicked,” he said again in accusation.
“Fuck you!” I screamed.
Lucifer rolled me onto my back and started slamming into me wildly. “You feel it gathering. The pleasure. The heat. It's rising inside you like the Devil once rose in me. Soon, you won't be able to deny either of us.”
Lucifer ground his lips over mine and shoved his tongue into my mouth. My body moved without my permission, undulating up against him, thighs spreading wider so he could go deeper. My tongue licked his. It was like being on Bliss again but this time, my mind was aware. Clear. I had no excuses. I was choosing Lucifer. My whole being rebelled but my body tensed on the cusp of climax. I came, screaming into his mouth.
Lucifer pushed up and declared in a low, rumbling voice, “Something wicked comes.”
Something. Wicked. Comes. Lucifer faded away but his words remained. Wicked.
My love. Kyanite said gently.
So wicked.
Shut up! I'm trying to wake her up. Kyanite snapped.
It rises. Something wicked comes for you, Elaria.
I jolted up in bed, panting and gasping awake. The echoes of my nightmare chased me into consciousness. A cold sweat coated my skin, making me shiver in the breeze that wandered through Torin's open balcony doors. The night outside was full of mist and moonlight. I pulled the velvet blanket up from my feet, where I'd kicked it, and clutched it to my chest. The Onyx King sprawled beside me, sleeping peacefully beneath a silk sheet. Seeing Torin calmed my racing heart, and I started to breathe easier.
The pale sheet was bunched around Torin's hips, giving me a breathtaking view of his tight stomach and chiseled chest while the thin material coated the rest of his body in a gleaming veil. He got his muscular build and impressive height from his Witch blood, but Torin's stunning face was a combination of Witch and Shining One—as in; Fairy. Or Faerie, rather. Those thick brows and that rugged jawline of his would look at home on any Witch male, but his high cheekbones, sensual lips, and regal nose were all Faerie traits; ethereal and a bit alien. Sublimely beautiful, especially in comparison to his sharper features. But there was more to his looks than the slope of his brow and fineness of his lips (the bottom one slightly pouting). Torin possessed an innate strength that seeped through his physical features. Power that permeated his entire being. And that fortitude comforted me even when he wasn't awake.
I stroked a lock of silken, ebony hair away from his face and sighed in relief. My nightmare was starting to fade in the way that dreams always do. In a few minutes, I'd probably forget all of it. At least, I hoped I would.
My love, that was no nightmare.
“Kyanite?” I whispered, suddenly remembering the strange conversation between him and... “Who was that speaking in my mind. It wasn't RS.”
You're damn straight it wasn't me, RS huffed.
Yes, I hear voices. Two, to be exact. One is the voice of my aligned jewel, Kyanite. I'm not a shining one, but I have a sliver of kyanite in my throat, a gift from the Witch Relic I once wielded to save the Realms. That sliver gave me the ability to connect with Kyanite and all of his magic. Since my own magic is substantial, my bond to him made me a Shining One queen.
Then there's the Rooster Spell, RS for short. She had once lived inside an evil witch who had done horrible things to my family. I killed him, and he flung the spell into me as his last act of vengeance. At first, things were rough with RS and me, but we changed each other—mostly for the better—and found a way to coexist. RS had once required multiple sex partners to keep her alive. Just as a side note here; if she dies, she'll take me down with her so I'm vigilant about keeping her fueled up. She still requires me to have multiple lovers, but living inside me has altered her a little. She's a she now, for starters, and speaks with my voice. But the best part of her change is that her magic now revolves around love and not just lust.
The Rooster Spell turned me into a polyamorous woman with four husbands, a mate, and a boyfriend but in return, she fortifies all of us, allows us to share that strength with each other, and unites us through me. She can also speak into our minds; collectively or singly.
We had an invader, El, RS reported. An interloper.
“An invader?” I whispered as I eased out of bed and slipped on a robe.
I had gone to the Onyx Kingdom to spend time with Torin, one of my aforementioned husbands. We'd been spending so much time in Kyanite lately that I thought it would be nice for me to go to his place for once. This wasn't a sacrifice. Torin's a king and his place is a castle built of onyx. It's a little dark but very beautiful.
Torin's blatantly masculine bedroom reminded me of my first visit to Tír na nÓg, back when I'd been hired to kill him. I smiled softly as my first memory of Torin surfaced. The King of Onyx had sprawled indolently on his throne as he listened to me sing, his ocean eyes full of magic and focused on me intensely. He had been so brutally handsome then so fucking terrifying when I realized that he was draining my magic. I thought I was going to die that day. Instead, I started a new life; one that opened my eyes to who I truly am. But I'm getting ahead of myself; back to Torin and Onyx.
All Shining Ones are born with a bond to a gemstone. The more powerful they are, the further away they can be from their stone and still access its magic. Kings and Queens can connect with their jewel anywhere in any realm while the lowest ranking—and therefore least powerful—Shining Ones have to physically touch their gem to use its magic. The more jewelry a Shining One wears, the less powerful they look. The only exception is royalty, and even then it's usually just the Queens who adorn themselves in the sparkly stuff.
Torin's aligned stone is onyx and when we first met, he used its grounding power to drain my magic and effectively cripple me. He could also use onyx to protect himself and others, focus his mind, bring stability, and give clarity.
And he has the power of prophecy, Kyanite added to my thoughts.
“What?” I paused halfway onto the balcony.
I'm not the only stone of prophecy, Kyanite said. Onyx has the ability as well.
Yeah, and that stodgy stone butted into your brain, RS grumbled.
“He butted into my brain?” I stepped out onto the balcony and closed the doors behind me. “He can do that?”
Dawn had lit the sky to deep lavender and crimson and the returning heat began to chase away the fog of night, but I ignored the stunning colors of Tír na nÓg to focus on the spell and stone inside my head.
Evidently when you're surrounded by Onyx and someone—I won't mention any names... Kyanite—helps him, he can, RS tattled.
He's had a vision that I wanted him to share with you, Kyanite defended himself. A vision similar to mine.
“What vision?”
Don't you remember? RS huffed. He told you that something wicked is rising. Something that has its sights set on you.
“Something wicked,” I whispered as the nightmare bloomed fresh in my mind again. I shivered as I felt Lucifer above me again. Inside me.
That was our prophecy, Kyanite explained. Just now, we gave you a vision.
“That nightmare was a vision?”
It tried to be, but it was influenced by your... fears.
“I'm not afraid of Lucifer,” I protested.
Ju
st forget that stupid vision and put your damn hand on the wall, El! RS snapped.
I looked at the keep's outer wall—formed of onyx—and swallowed past a dry lump in my throat. Slowly, I lifted my hand and placed it on the stone.
Elaria, beloved of my king, you must beware, the rumbling baritone of Onyx immediately entered my mind.
“Beware of what?” I asked. “I told Kyanite that I wouldn't worry my men with his warning until he knew what was coming for me. Do you know what it is?”
Only that it starts with the God of the Angels and his obsession with you. We've shown you all we can.
“Lucifer is behind this?” I asked in shock.
Not exactly, Kyanite murmured. He's entwined somehow. Connected.
What the fuck does that mean? RS snapped.
“What she said,” I growled. “That dream was... intimate and unsettling.”
Lucifer may have opened a path for this wicked thing to reach you, Kyanite tried to explain. Or perhaps he's simply walking the same path. We're not certain.
“Path? What path?” I asked in frustration. “Is he about to betray me or not?”
That guy wouldn't betray you for all the gold in... well... the Gold Kingdom.
The Morning Star will shine his light upon the Wicked, Onyx intoned.
“Oh, I remember your prophecies now,” I grumbled. “They're more like riddles.”