Table of Contents
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
Epilogue
The Eternal Edge Of Aether
Elemental Awakening Book Five
Nicola Claire
Copyright © 2017, Nicola Claire
All Rights Reserved
© 2017 Cover Art by Cora Graphics
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
ISBN: 978-0-473-42512-8
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Contents
About the Author
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Also by Nicola Claire
Definitions
Description
1. And Then I Turn Away
2. She Does Not Smile
3. I Want Nothing Of It
4. Nutcases
5. That She Will Forgive Me
6. Then Go
7. Who Was That?
8. At His Peril
9. I Think That Is Enough For This Evening
10. Just Don’t
11. Who Then?
12. I Smile
13. It Is Too Late
14. Do Your Worst
15. It Should Have Been Filled With Ouzo
16. I Guess You Can Flip For It
17. Enough!
18. May Aetheros Be With You
19. My Blade Is Sharp And It Is Precise
20. And With You
Epilogue
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About the Author
Nicola Claire lives in beautiful Taupo, New Zealand with her husband and two young boys.
She's tried her hand at being a paramedic, bank teller and medical sales representative, (not all necessarily in that order), but her love of writing keeps calling her back.
She has a passion for all things suspenseful, spiced up with a good dollop of romance, as long as they include strong characters - alpha males and capable females - and worlds which although make-believe are really quite believable in the end.
There's nothing better than getting caught up in a compelling, intriguing and romantic book.
When she's not writing or reading, she's out on her family boat at Lake Taupo, teaching her young boys to fish, showing them the beauty that surrounds them in nature and catching some delicious trout for dinner.
Creating rich worlds with dynamic characters and unexpected twists that shock and awe has been pure bliss for this author. And just as well, because there's a lot more story yet to tell...
For more information:
www.nicolaclairebooks.com
nicola@nicolaclairebooks.com
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Also by Nicola Claire
Kindred Series
Kindred
Blood Life Seeker
Forbidden Drink
Giver of Light
Dancing Dragon
Shadow's Light
Entwined With The Dark
Kiss Of The Dragon
Dreaming Of A Blood Red Christmas (Novella)
Mixed Blessing Mystery Series
Mixed Blessing
Dark Shadow (Coming Soon)
Sweet Seduction Series
Sweet Seduction Sacrifice
Sweet Seduction Serenade
Sweet Seduction Shadow
Sweet Seduction Surrender
Sweet Seduction Shield
Sweet Seduction Sabotage
Sweet Seduction Stripped
Sweet Seduction Secrets
Sweet Seduction Sayonara
Elemental Awakening Series
The Tempting Touch Of Fire
The Soothing Scent Of Earth
The Chilling Change Of Air
The Tantalising Taste Of Water
The Eternal Edge Of Aether (Novella)
H.E.A.T. Series
A Flare Of Heat
A Touch Of Heat
A Twist Of Heat (Novella)
A Lick Of Heat (Coming Soon)
Citizen Saga
Elite
Cardinal
Citizen
Masked (Novella)
Wiped
Scarlet Suffragette Series
Fearless
Breathless
Heartless (Coming Soon)
Blood Enchanted Series
Blood Enchanted
Blood Entwined
Blood Enthralled (Coming Soon)
44 South Series
Southern Sunset
Southern Storm
Southern Strike (Coming Soon)
Lost Time Series
Losing Time
Making Time (Coming Soon)
For:
Romantics at heart... thanks for loving Theo & Casey as much as I do.
Definitions
Aeras - Air; one of five elements
Aether - Quintessence; one of five elements
Aetheros - Elemental God; otherwise known as the God of Upper Air & Light
Anaisthetikos - Anaesthetise; a Gi ability to channel the essence of a plant, in order to remove a person's sentience
Athanatos - Immortal; or near immortal
Basilissa - Ekmetalleftis Queen
Ekmetalleftis - Elemental; can control one of five elements
Elysium - Heaven
Gi - Earth; one of five elements
Hataera - Courtesan; a level higher than a Pallakae, educated in all acts of companionship
Hederin - Hallucinogen; a Gi ability to channel the essence of a plant, in order to manipulate what a person sees/experiences
Mitera - Mother
Nero - Water; one of five elements
Oraia - Lovely; term of endearment
Pallakae - Concubine; a Nero sex slave
Pateras - Father
Pyrgos - Castle
Pyrkagia - Fire; one of five elements
Rigas - Ekmetalleftis King
Stoicheio - Element; five power-filled elements exist
Strychnos Toxifera - Paralytic; a Gi ability to channel the essence of a plant, (Curare), in order to immobilise a person
Thisavros - Treasure; someone precious, an Elemental mate
Vasilissa - Hataera Queen
Yios - Son
Zoste Patrikia - Lady-in-waiting
Description
For those fans of the Elemental Awakening series who wondered just what Theo got up to in Pyrkagia when Casey was busy growing trees. This one is for you.
I am Aether’s sword; my blade is sharp and it is precise. I am the eternal edge of Aether and no one and no
thing shall be free of my justice.
The Right of Rule is a fight to the death and Theo Peters has just challenged his father for one. Alone, without his Thisavros for support, he faces the hardest battle of his life.
For although his father may be crazy, he is an Ancient. And Theo’s chances of success are pretty slim. But don’t count the Prince of Pyrkagia out just yet because he has a formidable group of allies.
If only he could trust them.
This novella is set at the closing of The Tantalising Taste of Water and is for those curious readers who have already read the series to its end. A little extra…Just because!
Chapter One
And Then I Turn Away
Sounds slowly reach me. Flashes of light attempt to break through the darkness. I hear someone saying something. I sense Pyrkagia flare at my side. Images flicker before my eyes. Casey; dirt smeared and blood stained. Casey; softly stroking her rounded belly, her smile so wide it encompasses all of her face. Casey; her Fire tangling with mine.
I know I must move. I know I must address those people watching me. I know I must be the Pyrkagia Prince I was born to be. Protect my family.
But all I can do is stare at the place where Casey had been standing, and now only the scorch mark of Aetheros’s lightning remains.
“Theo,” my cousin says at my side. “People are starting to get concerned.”
How long have I been standing here? How long have those present watched my mind and body and heart decay? How long will it take for my soul to recover?
“Theodoros,” Isadora says. Then her face appears before me. Her hair unusually dishevelled, her clothes ripped, her golden eyes narrowed; not showing an ounce of pity only rage. “Snap out of this!” she demands.
I suck in a breath and sense more than see those closest to me relax.
I stare a full minute longer at where Cassandra had last been and turn away.
More than two hundred people look on with poorly disguised interest standing on what was once Auckland City. I glance towards Pyrgos and feel a stab in the centre of my chest at what remains. The earth beneath our feet rumbles as if Cassandra is talking to Gi and the Element is replying.
But Cassandra is not here, and the rumble is only the volcanoes settling after the End of Days.
“How many have we lost?” I ask.
Isadora lets out a relieved sigh and checks something in her hand.
“Four deaths, fourteen wounded,” she reads. “That leaves…” she clears her throat softly. Isadora is not one to show emotion at the best of times, but lately, her defences have been shattered. “Seventy Pyrkagia.”
Seventy.
Seventy of my people remain. From a once thriving caste of close to one-hundred-and-twenty.
For a moment, I am simply unable to think, to move, to comprehend what Genesis has wrought. What the Alchemists have done. What my father has allowed to happen.
For a moment, the ache in my heart is for something other than the loss of my Thisavros.
I rub at my chest and swallow past the lump that has formed in my throat. Then take in those people still watching.
We are on Pyrkagia soil. But there are Nero and Aeras here. Alchemists, too. Once, this would have meant an immediate response to the threat they all presented. And as much as my hand flexes with the need to grip a sword and rend them all to pieces, Cassandra would never forgive me.
Her sacrifice was for all of us. For peace and harmony.
For balance.
“We need shelter and sustenance,” I announce.
“I’ll organise the food,” Nico offers and disappears.
“I’ll take care of the shelter,” Isadora adds.
I am left standing alone, apart from the rest. Cut off from my heart and surrounded by strangers.
“Well,” a voice drawls off to the side. “It’s a brave new world, your High-and-Mightiness.”
I sigh, then run a hand through my hair. Dust and little pieces of debris rain down all around me. I look at the ground for a second and then lift my gaze to stare Marcus right in the face.
“Why are you still here?” I demand.
“Someone’s got to keep an eye on you.”
“You should be with your sister,” I respond.
“Casey can take care of herself.”
I scoff at that. Marcus just laughs.
“Have you not learned a thing, your Hoity-Toitiness?”
“I don't need this,” I mutter and start to walk away.
Marcus steps up to my side and keeps pace.
“When she was a baby,” he says, and I shake my head, dumbfounded. “She would get so mad at me if I tried to help her with a problem. It became a bit of a game. She’d try to puzzle something out, and I’d step in and solve it for her at the last second.” He laughs, shakes his own head, his face soft with memories. “Man, she could throw a wicked right hook when she was four years old.” He rubs the side of his arm with remembered pain. “So,” he says, looking at me from the corner of his eyes, “if you want to piss Casey off, then, by all means, rush on over there and help her get things sorted with the Gi. Of course,” he adds, “you’ve got your own problems.”
I follow the trajectory of his gaze and note it has landed on two members of the Pyrkagia Council. They meet my gaze resolutely and then turn away.
I pause in my steps and glance around those Pyrkagia here. There is a clear divide. More, I think, on the right side of it than not. But it still makes for a disconcerting wake-up call. And all it took was an Alchemist to shine a spotlight on a potential problem.
It chafes.
I turn and look at Cassandra’s brother. He holds my stare with an arched brow and a smirk that I want so desperately to wipe off his face.
“This does not concern you,” I murmur.
“Now see,” he drawls, “that’s where you’re wrong, your Macho-and-Moodiness. Casey has a vested interest in what happens here. I’m her representative.”
He looks pleased with himself. I scowl at him. He just smiles.
“Did she ask you to do this?” I finally demand.
“She didn’t need to; I’m her brother. You don't think I learned a thing or two growing up with Casey?” He snorts. I try not to roll my eyes. “I can give you tips if you want,” he adds and grins unrepentantly.
I realise I haven’t felt that hollow ache inside my chest for the past five minutes. Instead, a slowly simmering pit of Fire is burning at my core.
Marcus Eden is an irreverent troublemaker. But, perhaps, I concede, there is more to Cassandra’s brother than meets the eye.
“If I have to put up with you,” I announce, “then make yourself useful.”
“How?” He doesn't even question the suggestion. He wants to help.
I am momentarily taken aback. For the past few months, what has held us together has been Cassandra. Our group a ragtag lot that somehow found itself united in the face of the world’s demise. Held together by the blazing light of Aether.
I can count on one hand who I can trust in this life. Cassandra. Nico. Aktor. Dora. I realise, with what lies ahead, I may have to revise that list somewhat.
Marcus is Cassandra’s brother. An Alchemist by name only. His induction to that group of greedy, long-lived humans only through his grandfather’s betrayal. Cassandra’s grandfather is now dead. The Alchemists are in turmoil. A new leader has to be named.
But I have seen what they can become time and again. Left to their own devices, they will revert to form, I am sure of it. However, balance can only be maintained if we all believe. And cooperate.
That, I reluctantly acknowledge, includes me.
“I need a liaison with the Alchemists,” I say.
Marcus stills.
“Someone who has Cassandra’s best interests at heart.”
“I’m not sure I’m your man,” Marcus says.
“You are an Alchemist, are you not? You are Cassandra’s brother?” I wave a hand at the people milling around on Py
rgos’ hill. “Can you see anyone better?”
“I won’t go to CERN,” he says.
I stare at him. Where will Marcus Eden go when the dust has settled?
“I’m more concerned about the immediate ramifications of what has transpired,” I say. “No one appears to be keen to leave New Zealand right now. Perhaps my imminent demise is too entertaining?”
Marcus doesn’t smile at my poor attempt at humour.
I step closer to him, my eyes darting around us. Pyrkagia flares; a shield to keep my next words from any potential eavesdroppers.
“Right of Rule is a fight to the death,” I say. “My father may be crazy, but he is an Ancient. My chances are slim to none should he refuse to step down as King. Marcus,” I say, “I am cut off from my Thisavros. The sharks are circling. I need to know at least one faction is being contained. Can I trust you to do this? Can Casey?”
He looks up at me, shock making his face whiten. A slow nod of his head is the only answer I receive.
The Pyrkagia shield evaporates. Sounds seep back in. My heart is thundering.