Blood Bonds
Yasmine Galenorn
BLOOD BONDS
An Otherworld Novel
-Book 21-
YASMINE GALENORN
A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication
Published by Yasmine Galenorn
PO Box 2037, Kirkland WA 98083-2037
BLOOD BONDS
An Otherworld Novel
Copyright © 2019 by Yasmine Galenorn
First Electronic Printing: 2019 Nightqueen Enterprises LLC
First Print Edition: 2019 Nightqueen Enterprises
Cover Art & Design: Earthly Charms
Editor: Elizabeth Flynn
Map Design: Yasmine Galenorn
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any format, be it print or electronic or audio, without permission. Please prevent piracy by purchasing only authorized versions of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, or places is entirely coincidental and not to be construed as representative or an endorsement of any living/ existing group, person, place, or business.
A Nightqueen Enterprises LLC Publication
Published in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Welcome to Otherworld
Map
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Playlist
Cast of Characters
Glossary
Biography
Acknowledgments
And so, we reach the end of the road. I had no clue this series would last for twenty-one books, back in 2005 when I first conceived the idea. It’s been a long road, and it’s one I’m both happy to end, yet not without a bittersweet pang. But I’ve told the stories I have to tell for the Sisters, and I have other worlds to explore. I won’t say I’ll never write another story in Otherworld, but for now, it needs to rest.
To those who have remained glued to the adventures of the sisters—thank you for the love you’ve given this world of mine. And thank you for understanding my need to explore new characters and stories and offer you new worlds of adventure. If you love Otherworld, I urge you to give my Wild Hunt series a try—it’s promising to shape up to be another expansive world.
Thanks also go to my husband, Samwise, who has been my biggest supporter as I’ve shifted my career to the indie side. He was there at the birth of Otherworld, and he’s been there by my side through this journey. And thank you to my friends who have cheered me on—especially Jo and Carol and my niece, Jade. Thank you to my assistants Jenn and Andria for all their help. And thank you to my fellow authors in my UF group, who have helped me learn what I needed to learn in order to take my career into my own hands.
A most reverent nod to my spiritual guardians—Mielikki, Tapio, Ukko, Rauni, and the Lady Brighid. They guide my life, and my heart.
And of course, love and scritches to my fuzzy brigade—Caly, Brighid, Morgana, and little boy Apple. I had other furbles at the very beginning of Otherworld, but these four are seeing me through the end of it. I would be lost without my cats.
Bright Blessings, and I hope you enjoy the last Otherworld book. All stories have an ending, and all journeys have a sunset. For more information about all my work, please see my website at Galenorn.com and sign up for my newsletter.
Brightest Blessings,
~The Painted Panther~
~Yasmine Galenorn~
Welcome to Otherworld
They’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae agents of the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Camille is the Queen of Dusk and Twilight. Delilah is a two-faced werecat and the Autumn Lord’s only living Death Maiden. And Menolly is a vampire princess and married to a gorgeous werepuma Amazon. It’s been four long years since they first found out about Shadow Wing…and now, they’re facing the end of the line. It’s time for the D’Artigo sisters to extinguish Shadow Wing’s evil forever, before he goes mad and tries to unravel the world…
Map of Otherworld
Chapter 1
Menolly
I FLIPPED ON the lights as I entered my office, dropping my backpack on a chair by the door. The meeting had been frustrating, and my temper was at a low boil. I decided to hit the gym before I went back to my suite, to work out the irritations of the evening. But first, there was more work.
A glance at the clock told me it was midnight, which meant that I had to answer my email, answer my snail mail, and take care of a dozen other administrative tasks before I could knock off for the evening. I had quickly learned that being a princess of the Vampire Nation wasn’t all powder puffs and tiaras. It was an endless roundabout of diplomacy. I had come to hate the bureaucracy, and I wondered how Roman had managed to put up with it as long as he had.
As I headed toward the massive walnut desk, Nerissa entered the room. Since she had been forced to quit her job with the FH-CSI, she had taken up a position as my secretary. It was well below her qualifications, but it gave us more time together, and now she was on my schedule, at least partially. She woke up at noon, and went to bed around four in the morning, so we had a lot more overlap than we used to have. Luckily she didn’t need as much sleep as a human would.
“How did the meeting go?” she asked, wrapping her arms around my waist.
I leaned up to give her a long kiss. We’d spent a leisurely hour in bed when I woke up, making love and cuddling. The scent of her fragrance still lingered on my skin. Even though I didn’t have to breathe, I could smell her perfume. A quick thought that it would be fun to play hooky and sneak back to bed ran through my mind, but one look at the pile of mail on my desk quashed that thought.
“It was a royal pain in the ass. There are problems over in the European quadrant of the Vampire Nation.” I shrugged. “And these are problems that aren’t going to be solved through a Skype meeting. Roman has to make a trip over there. He wanted me to go along, but there’s no way I can get away at this point. At least he understands that.”
“Problems? What sort of problems?” She moved a pile of file folders over to the to-file box and tidied up a stack of letters I was working away at. A number of vampires were so old school that they refused to use email, so we still kept the post office on their toes.
I returned to my chair, leaning back against the soft, supple leather. Nerissa took her place in the chair next to my desk, setting down her tablet. She leaned her elbows on the polished wood, resting her chin on her hands as I swept my braids back to catch them in a ponytail.
“One of the regents over there—Harriman—seems to be going rogue. He’s refused to curtail the attacks against the human population like he’s supposed to, and in fact, there are reports that he’s actually encouraging them. When Roman phoned him a few days ago, he wouldn’t take the call and his valet confided to Roman that he’s afraid for his life. So Roman had a couple of our agents in the area look into matters, and they think that Harriman’s inner predator is out of control.”
“Which means trouble,” Nerissa said.
I nodded. “Yes, precisely that. And it means that we have to take action as soon as we can. We don’t dare let him rile up the vampire populace. The last thing we need is for him to gather an army behind him. We’re still trying to convince a lot of the old
-school vamps that they’re better off following our way, and even though they answer to Blood Wyne, there’s a lot of dissent—especially over on the continent.”
The old-school vampires of the Vampire Nation had resisted Blood Wyne’s decree, which severely curtailed which humans that vamps could drink from, and how much blood they could take at one time. We weren’t exactly fighting an uphill battle, but it wasn’t easy, and we had been forced to put down a number of the vamps who had outright refused.
“Uh-oh,” Nerissa said. “Are you afraid he’s going to start a civil war?”
“I’m not sure, but Blood Wyne’s afraid of that. And with her experience, if she’s worried a civil war might happen, then we all should be on the alert. The Queen has an excellent read on the various regents, and she’s scary smart. And a vampire civil war would be hell on anybody else living in the area.”
Nerissa sighed. “So you think she’ll really take him out?”
“Blood Wyne won’t, but Roman will. He has express orders that Harriman isn’t to walk out of this.” I tossed the pile of letters on the desk and began cleaning my nails with the letter opener. “Blood Wyne is as ruthless as they come. She won’t hesitate to destroy anyone or anything who defies her rule. We can just thank the gods that she has a strong sense of community responsibility. I don’t know how she’s managed to keep her inner predator under control for as long as she has, but I’m just grateful that she has it in check.”
“I suppose we better start going through some of your mail.” Nerissa looked about as excited as I felt. She was qualified for so much more, but the fact that we were married, not only to each other but also to Roman, Prince of the Vampire Nation, meant that neither of us were allowed out in public without a retinue. Our lives had changed drastically over the past six months, and I had a suspicion that she was as uncomfortable as I was with a number of those changes.
I stared at the stack of envelopes in front of me. “I hate this shit.”
“So do I, but apparently it’s part of our responsibility and so we have to do it.” She gave me a steady look. “I love you, Menolly, you know that. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anybody. But if I had known what it would mean for our lives when we married Roman, I would have thought twice. I’ll follow you anywhere, but you need to know that I’m feeling terribly claustrophobic living here. And living with a bunch of vampires isn’t exactly my idea of happy happy, joy joy.”
I pressed my lips together for a moment. Her comments stung, but at least she was honest. That was one thing that we had learned the hard way. Communication was vital if our relationship was to survive. Honesty suited us both, regardless of whether it caused pain.
Setting down the letter opener, I turned to her. “I know. I know you’re not thrilled about our life at this point. I feel the same way. It’s like we’ve been locked away in an ivory tower. I don’t know what else we could have done, though. Blood Wyne could have killed me if I refused. At least Roman’s a good sort.” I paused, dreading the answer to my next question. “Do you want out? Blood Wyne will never let me divorce her son, but I doubt if she’d keep you here if you said you wanted to leave.” I was praying she would say no, praying that our love would be strong enough for her to stay.
Nerissa quirked her lips. After a moment, she shook her head. “I love you more than I hate the confinement. Maybe things will change. But no, I’m not going to ask for my freedom. I’m not willing to give you up.”
Relief flooded through me.
“I’m so glad you said that. I can’t imagine life without you. Maybe there’s some way we can ask Roman to ease up on requiring so many bodyguards and curfews and everything that goes along with this life. I’ll tell you one thing. If this is what being royalty is like, I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.” I paused, thinking. “It must be worse for Camille—she’s the actual queen of her Barrow.”
We started in on the mail again, sorting through the charity requests, the invitations, the thank-you notes, and a dozen other categories of correspondence that came our way.
A text message on my phone put a stop to the tedium. I glanced at it, at the same time that Nerissa pulled out her phone. We were both included in the group message, from Delilah.
be here at three am. carter’s on his way. he’s found out what the gems are.
And with those words, our lives once again shifted.
ROMAN’S VALET WAS packing for him when I entered his room. Nerissa and I had our suite, and Roman had his own. When we married him, we had insisted on a private living area, and he had agreed. At first, he seemed to feel left out, but now he just seemed relieved. Nerissa and I hated clutter, and preferred a modern look. Roman’s room looked like a Victorian antique shop had exploded all over it.
As I entered the room, I found him sitting on the bed, reading something on his tablet. He glanced up, a smile spreading across his face. Holding out his hand, he motioned to me, and I allowed him to draw me down beside him. He wouldn’t kiss me in front of his valet, it wasn’t considered proper, but he stroked my hand before letting it drop.
“Hello, my love. Did you come to help me pack?” His eyes glinted with laughter. He knew just how much I hated packing and anything to do with boxes and suitcases.
“Fat chance. You’re on your own there, bub. Sink or swim. No, I wanted to talk with you before you left. When are you headed out?”
Blood Wyne owned her own jet. It contained a sun-free cargo space where vampires could travel safely during the day. Several international airlines were starting to offer the same services, but Blood Wyne’s jet was piloted by her own captain and was filled with security guards. While a vampire could travel halfway across the world in just a few hours on their own, providing they didn’t have to carry luggage, Roman not only had a dozen suitcases, but also an entourage. Which meant flying via plane.
“We leave at two am. I have to be down at the airport in ninety minutes. I’m so not looking forward to this trip. Staking Harriman isn’t going to be easy, and Mother wants him to suffer a little first, as a lesson to other regents over on the continent.”
“Translation: you’re going to make him regret defying your mother.” I shuddered, glancing at Rubicon, the valet. He kept his gaze firmly on his job, which was, right now, packing Roman’s clothing. His loyalty had been tested time and again, and he had come through with flying colors, but I still thought it odd that Roman felt comfortable talking so freely in front of him. I was far more suspicious than that.
Roman shrugged. “Mother calls the shots.” But the expression in his eyes told me that was exactly what he was thinking. He didn’t have a problem with torture, not when it came to things like this. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”
I snorted. “I think you know the answer to that. I have no interest in witnessing the…interaction. Besides, I have to stay here. We’re getting close to discovering…”
I paused. Roman might trust Rubicon with his secrets, but I wasn’t about to. The secrets I carried had far too many ramifications to chance them reaching the public. And while I knew that Rubicon was loyal to Roman, I still doubted his loyalty to me. There had been a lot of outcry over my ascension to Roman’s side, and I was never sure just which vampires had disapproved of our marriage.
Roman snapped his fingers and Rubicon turned. “Leave us for a moment, if you will. I’ll text you when to return. Don’t go far.” As much as Roman loved his traditions, he had also embraced technology as part of them.
“As you wish, milord.” Rubicon exited, firmly shutting the door behind him.
Roman waited for a beat, then turned to me. “So Carter’s found out what the gems Shadow Wing carries are?”
I nodded. “Nerissa and I are headed over to the house as soon as I get done talking to you. Finally, after four years, we have an endpoint in sight.”
“What do you have to do? And when are you going to do it?” Roman held my gaze, his expression somber.
“We figur
e out how to destroy them. And then our plans are to summon Shadow Wing through a demon gate. When Shamas returned from the grave, he returned a far stronger sorcerer than he entered it. He can create a demon gate powerful enough to bring Shadow Wing through. After all the battles through all the years, we finally have a chance to end the demonic war.”
“Should I stay? I can ask my mother to send someone in my place.”
Roman was serious, but I shook my head.
I kissed him gently on the lips. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t tell you exactly when we’re going to do this. It could be tomorrow, it could be a week from now, or maybe a month. All I know is that it has to be soon. The longer we wait, the more chance there is that Shadow Wing’s power will grow. Besides, your mother would have a fit if you turned Harriman over to someone else, and even I would agree—you have to be the one to squash his rebellion. It has to come from the throne. No, you worry about him. We’ll take care of Shadow Wing. This is our fight, Roman. Not yours.”
Roman pulled me to him, holding me by the shoulders.
“This may be your fight, but it’s my fight as well because we’re married. You and Nerissa are my wives, and while I know full well that neither of you love me the way you love each other, we are a triad. You two have done so much to fit into my world. I want to help you any way I can.”
Feeling restless, I broke away, pacing the length of the room.
“Honestly, the way this war has run, I’m not surprised that in the end, it’s coming down to us against him. I haven’t mentioned my feelings to Delilah or Camille yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion they feel the same way. Sometimes, turning points in history balance on the shoulders of one person. Or a small group.”
