Phaelyn (The Dark Shadows 2.5) Read online

  Idris flew past her, his large body colliding with the necromancer’s. They slammed into the wall with Idris pounding his fist into the necromancer’s face. Phaelyn turned quickly and grabbed Idris’s discarded dagger from the floor. As she turned back to the battling pair, they crashed to the floor, with Idris on top.

  Necromancer versus vampire.

  Mortal enemies.

  She watched as Idris grabbed the necro’s arm with the dagger still clenched in his hand. They struggled for the weapon, but Idris, being a powerful vampire, slowly controlled the necromancer’s arm.

  “You vampires will die!” Zoreal gasped as Idris forced the knife into the necromancer’s throat.

  “You die tonight,” Idris growled, advancing the knife further into the necromancer’s throat. Gurgling filled the air as blood pooled into the necromancer’s trachea. The necro’s body jerked, still trying to fight off Idris’s larger form. Idris grunted, driving the knife completely into Zoreal’s throat. Phaelyn watched as the fight left the necromancer’s body as the pool of blood spread.

  Zoreal was dead.

  She knew not to interfere. This had been her mate’s captor and torturer and he needed to do this. He needed to extract his own revenge on the person who made his life hell in the short time he was a prisoner. Killing this necromancer would give him closure. She wouldn’t take that from him.

  Idris stumbled off the unmoving necromancer. She rushed to his side as he stepped away from the body.

  “It’s done. He’s dead,” she said, watching the blood continue to seep out of the fatal wound. She wrapped her arms around Idris, wanting to lend him her strength. He crushed her to him as he returned her embrace.

  “I know.” He pulled back and brushed the hair from her face. “I was afraid he was going to take you from me.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked as he tipped her chin up toward him.

  “When we first came home, I froze and I know you panicked. It wasn’t that I had changed my mind, but I was in shock because I had dreamed of this apartment.”

  “What?” she gasped in disbelief.

  He quickly explained the dream he’d had when he was unconscious at the cabin and that the dream played out with her dying at the hands of the necromancer.

  “I would never leave you,” she whispered, making a promise that she knew she would keep forever. They had completed the mating bond and would spend the rest of their natural lives together. “It’s you and me for all eternity.”

  “Love, I’m going to hold you to that.”

  Sneak Peak

  Teague (The Dark Shadows 3)

  Teague

  The Dark Shadows 3

  ~Chapter One~

  Never in all of his four hundred years, would Teague Olaru have thought that his brother would trust him on an ambassador mission. Not just any mission. But a mission to speak with one of the most revered vampire allies, the valkyries.

  As the youngest son of Vladimir Olaru, the vampire king, Teague had fought right alongside his brothers as members of the Dark Shadows, vampire warriors that have sworn to give their lives to protect the vampire nation.

  He had been waiting for the chance to show that he could be taken serious, and maybe one day fulfill his dream to lead his own team of vampire warriors. That day was now here. Currently, he was meeting with his brothers, Nicu, Toma, and Adrian in Nicu’s office.

  “Aven has agreed to help with your passage to Aphadore,” Nicu said, speaking of the strong fae, who has helped them several times in their fight against the necromancers. Nicu, the eldest of the Olaru offspring and commander of the Dark Shadows, sat back in his chair and crossed his feet on top of his desk. His notorious scowl was in place. “You will meet with Queen Sira. I trust that you will be on your best behavior.”

  Teague tried to hold back rolling his eyes, but he failed. “Of course, do you think I would fuck this up? I know how important this is.”

  “It’s not that I think you will fuck it up. I just want to make sure that you are taking this seriously,” Nicu snapped, his unwavering ice blue eyes stared across the room at Teague.

  He bit his tongue to hold back the instinctive response he wanted to say, but he didn’t want to chance Nicu changing his mind and giving the assignment to his other brother Adrian. He knew right now that Nicu wouldn’t be sending Toma on a mission to another realm since he just completed the mating bond with his fated mate, Anika, a couple of weeks ago.

  He still couldn’t believe that Toma had managed to keep Anika’s status as his mate a secret for years. It wasn’t until the necromancers, vampire’s mortal enemies, had turned their attention on Anika that Toma had lost his control.

  The necromancers had reappeared suddenly a few months ago after disappearing a half a century ago. They had been on a mission to destroy the vampires with a vengeance. Until recently, it was unknown why the necromancers were after their sister Nadira. It wasn’t until the necromancers captured Anika, that they learned that Xalak, the son of the necromancer king, was after Nadira’s memories.

  Teague laughed on the inside, he guessed Toma keeping his love for Anika a secret was no worse than him teaching Nadira to fight. His brothers almost tore him a new one after Nadira showcased her fighting skills to save her mate Cooper.

  Teague thought he would have had to take a stake to his own heart, at the look on Nicu’s face when Nadira showed up on the battlefield brandishing the twin swords that Teague had bought her. In the end, it had worked out; Nadira had helped save not only the life of her mate, Cooper, but that of her best friend Anika also.

  “You’re sending him alone?” Toma asked from his corner of the office.

  “Sira will be a little more welcoming if only one of us went to see her. If I send a group, she may take it as a threat,” Nicu answered. “You have to remember, men are rare in Aphadore.”

  “We need her on our side,” Adrian added from the couch. “Once she hears that Rowena has been freed, she won’t hesitate to honor the long standing agreement between vampires and valkyries.”

  “Men are rare?” Teague asked confused, finding all of his brothers turning to stare at him. How can there be a realm with only women? Really? This mission was turning out to sound better than he ever could have imagined.

  “Please tell me you know something about our ally?” Adrian groaned, his head falling back on the couch.

  “Of course I do,” Teague rushed. He made a mental note to hurry over to the royal library once he left this meeting.

  “Valkyries are among the fiercest warriors in history,” Toma said, his eyes narrowing on Teague. “It is said that they answer directly to the God Adros, the God of all deities.”

  “I can handle this,” Teague said, a smile spreading across his face as he looked around his brothers. “You know the ladies love me.”

  “Well, I’m glad that you seem to have a way with the ladies,” Nicu said. “But I’m going to tell you once, your hands are to remain to yourself.”

  “Why?” he asked confused. Nicu had never gotten involved in his private life before. Why would he start now?

  “These warriors are all virgins.”

  Acknowledgments

  There are just so many people that I would like to acknowledge! Here we go—

  To my husband and children, thank you for your continued support. It means so much to me! I love you all!

  To my editor, Debbie, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to tackle this project!! You are amazing to work with!

  My beta readers , what would I do without you? You always drop whatever you are doing to help me and I love you guys for that. Misty, my proofer, it means so much to have you give my stories a once over!!

  To the bloggers who helped spread the word of my releases, I really do appreciate it! Us, authors, appreciate bloggers who show love to indie authors!

  Ariel Marie’s Screaming Sirens, you guys are the best street team ever! Thank you for sharing every post, book,
picture and event. I can’t thank you enough!

  To anyone else I may have forgot, just know that it was not on purpose and you are remembered in my heart!

  ~Until next time~

  Ariel Marie

  About the Author

  Ariel Marie loves the world of paranormal, action and hot steamy romance. She combines all three in each and every one of her stories. For as long as she can remember, she has loved vampires, shifters and every creature you can think of. This even rolls over into her favorite movies! She loves a good action pack thriller! Throw a touch of the supernatural world in it and she’s hooked!

  She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where she currently resides with her husband and three beautiful children.

  She was inspired one day when she read a quote that said, "Write the book that you would want to read." That really touched her after searching and searching for a new book to read. After looking into self publishing, she decided to put pen to paper and therefor the first book in the Mirrored Prophecy series, Power of the Fae was born! Before she knew Fight for the Fae was here and the Dark Shadows!

  Find Ariel Marie online!

  @the_ArielMarie

  authorarielmarie

  www.thearielmarie.com

  Also by Ariel Marie

  The Dark Shadows Series

  Princess

  Toma

  Phaelyn

  Teague

  Adrian (TBD)

  Nicu (TBD)

  The Mirrored Prophecy Series

  Power of the Fae

  Fight of the Fae

  Future of the Fae (TBD)

  Stand Alone Books

  Summer’s Destiny

  F*ck Cancer: An Anthology