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  Her eyes lowered to the injury on her wrist from Helena’s attack. No amount of her magic had healed it. She’d used every healing spell she knew, but it had no effect. The wound on her neck from her first encounter with Helena as the Living Heart still stung, but it wasn’t nearly as deep as the one on her wrist.

  Sybbyl ignored both. They would heal, eventually. She had the staff, after all, and once she had the second bone, she would be unstoppable. She would be able to heal herself if the wounds hadn’t already mended by then.

  She looked over her shoulder at Hadrian’s Wall. Scotland was going to be a lot of fun. Sybbyl smiled as she focused her magic on the staff and asked it where the next bone was.

  Synne rode through the gates of Braith’s keep, her heart heavy with the news she needed to share with him and Leoma. When she reached the steps and dismounted, she looked up to find the couple at the door.

  Leoma’s smile faltered after she looked at Synne. “Tell us what happened?”

  Braith let loose a whistle, and the gates were closed as guards took up sentry. Someone even came and took her horse. Synne inhaled a breath and took a step toward Leoma.

  In a heartbeat, the Hunter was before her, her arms wrapping around Synne. Synne didn’t think she had any more tears to shed, but they spilled down her cheeks.

  It was several moments before Synne could speak. Finally, she leaned back and looked between Leoma and Braith. “Sybbyl attacked the abbey with hundreds of Gira. Only a few Hunters were out on a mission. The others on patrol must have rushed to the abbey when the battle began.”

  “Thank goodness you like to be the farthest away,” Leoma said as she wiped at her tears. “Otherwise, you’d be gone, as well. Did Edra send you?”

  “E—” Synne had to swallow before she could start again. “Edra and Radnar are gone.”

  “Bloody hell,” Braith murmured as he wrapped an arm around Leoma and dragged her against him.

  Synne looked away, fighting more tears. When she had herself under control, she met Braith’s eyes. “There is much I need to tell both of you involving the Varroki, Jarin, and the Living Heart.”

  “Living Heart?” Leoma asked, sniffing.

  Synne nodded. “Helena is the Living Heart, a descendant of the First Witch. She and Sybbyl fought, and Helena was winning, but Sybbyl ran away.”

  “And went straight for the abbey,” Braith guessed.

  Synne nodded. “We’ve been preparing for the day when we would face off against the Coven. That day is here.”

  “Then we prepare,” Leoma said.

  Braith gave a nod, his indigo eyes flashing with revenge. “Aye.”

  “I was hoping this could be a new base for the Hunters. I’ve left a message for any who return to the abbey to make their way here,” Synne explained.

  “Perfect. Come,” Leoma said and took her hand. “We will plan, but first, we will grieve.”

  Coming Soon

  Look for the next Kindred book

  EVERNIGHT

  Summer of 2019

  Thieves by Lexi Blake

  Excerpt from THIEVES by Lexi Blake

  I’m pleased to give you an excerpt from my friend and fellow author, Lexi Blake. Sit back and read a sample of this Urban Fantasy!

  Thieves

  An Urban Fantasy Series by Lexi Blake

  “Author Lexi Blake has created a supernatural world filled with surprises and a book that I couldn’t put down once I started reading it.”

  —Maven, The Talent Cave Reviews

  * * *

  “I truly love that Lexi took vampires and made them her own.”

  —KC Lu, Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

  * * *

  Stealing mystical and arcane artifacts is a dangerous business, especially for a human, but Zoey Wharton is an exceptional thief. The trick to staying alive is having friends in all the wrong places. With a vampire, a werewolf, and a witch on the payroll, Zoey takes the sorts of jobs no one else can perform—tracking down ancient artifacts filled with unthinkable magic power, while trying to stay one step ahead of monsters, demons, angels, and a Vampire Council with her in their crosshairs.

  If only her love life could be as simple. Zoey and Daniel Donovan were childhood sweethearts until a violent car crash took his life. When Daniel returned from the grave as a vampire, his only interest in Zoey was in keeping her safely apart from the secrets of his dark world. Five years later, Zoey encounters Devinshea Quinn, an earthbound Faery prince who sweeps her off her feet. He could show her everything the supernatural world has to offer, but Daniel is still in her heart.

  As their adventures in acquisition continue, Zoey will have to find a way to bring together the two men she loves or else none of them may survive the forces that have aligned against her.

  Books in the Thieves series:

  Steal the Light

  Steal the Day

  Steal the Moon

  Steal the Sun

  Steal the Night

  Ripper

  Addict

  Sleeper

  Outcast, Coming 2018

  Steal the Light: An Excerpt

  “Vampires and faeries and werewolves, oh my!” the demon said with a smile of great pleasure spreading across his face.

  He was in human form. He appeared to be a tall gentleman with lanky grace and a designer wardrobe. He wore an immaculately cut three-piece suit and the vibrant blue tie stood out.

  “You run with interesting company, little human.” The demon’s accent was crisp and British. I wondered briefly if demons had nationalities. Halfer had a bland Midwestern accent.

  “Did Halfer send you?” I tried to sound more blasé than I felt. I felt like screaming and running away, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any good. The backpack I was carrying suddenly seemed heavier than before.

  “Are you talking about Brix? He’s going by Halfer? That’s so obvious.” The demon rolled his eyes. “Not at all. He would be perfectly perplexed to discover I showed up, which is, of course, the point. Did you enjoy the trio I sent to you at the club? Brix was pissed that I tried to take you. I wasn’t going to hurt you. Much. I only wanted to ask a few questions. Luckily, he’s easily led. He thinks he caught the culprit. For a doubt demon, he is really sure of himself. I like to think of it as his tragic flaw.”

  “Why would you fight another demon?” Dev asked. “Shouldn’t you be on the same side?”

  The demon laughed. “Oh, yes, the Hell plane is a magical place of demonic harmony where we all hold hands and shit rainbows. We’re at war. Always. As for Brix and myself, you could say we’re auditioning for the same part, and I’ve decided to play a little rough.”

  “What exactly are you looking for?” Don’t say the box, don’t say the box, was the mantra going through my head.

  “Dear child, I’m looking for the box.” He dashed my every hope. “Please call me…well, I’m certainly not going to give you my real name. I don’t want to get summoned. Let’s go with Stewart. It fits this meat I’m walking about in.”

  There was a moment of silence as my stomach churned at the thought.

  “You’re in a human being?” Dev’s voice shook ever so slightly.

  I looked at Daniel in the hopes that he would tell me this Stewart thing was lying. The only demon we’d dealt with up until now had been able to change form at will. Daniel frowned and nodded, indicating that everything he sensed was indeed human.

  Stewart rolled someone else’s brown eyes and sighed. “You don’t have to sound so disappointed. Not all of us can do that thing Brix does. It’s impressive, but do you understand the kind of will it takes to completely dominate a human? Even now I can hear this miserable piece of meat screaming in our head. It’s distracting, but I persevere. And I can do things Brix can’t even think about.”

  Neil growled at the demon.

  “Now that’s just rude.” The demon gave him a coquettish frown. “And here I’ve tried to be so pleasant. Vampire, call off your dog if you want h
im to live. Don’t think I won’t do it because the truth of the matter is I’m really more of a cat person.”

  “Neil, you should change now,” Daniel ordered.

  There was that rush of power that always filled the room when Neil changed forms and then he was back to his human body and in all his glory. One minute he was a beautiful wolf, and the next he was a gorgeous man. Neil was utterly lovely. He was smaller than Daniel and Dev, but perfectly formed. His hair had changed back to his normal blond and it curled over his ears.

  The demon stopped, his eyes widening, and I would have sworn there was a hint of drool. "Goodness, and by goodness I mean badness. I take back what I said about cats. You look scrumptious, puppy.”

  Neil shrugged but gave no obvious emotion. “I get that a lot.” He picked up his clothes from the floor as I turned my head, trying not to blush. I was never going to get used to random nakedness.

  “Please don’t. Not on my account.” The demon practically purred like the cats he purported to love.

  Neil laughed, though it held no humor, and I turned again as he was pulling his white dress shirt on. He left it and the top button of his pants open for effect, showing off his perfectly cut chest. He smiled his best male model smile. “It’s not on your account, Stewart. It’s totally on hers.”

  The demon gave me a tsk tsk sound. “Humans and their odd morality. Here you are, little girl, stealing an important thing from these seemingly pleasant faery creatures, but god forbid you see a very lovely penis. I have no comprehension of your people.”

  “Right back at ya, buddy.” I started to slowly shuffle my way backward as the demon seemed to be closing in on me.

  Stewart stopped his stalking of me long enough to look at Daniel and Dev. “And the two of you are panting after her? Someone is going to have to explain that to me. At least I can somewhat understand the vampire. She has that special blood you crave. She can make you strong. But you, faery, explain the fascination the human girl holds. I can see she’s vaguely attractive, but she’s certainly not in your league. Yet you fear for her. Even now I can feel your anxiety for her. You hope that I don’t break her. You and the vampire would exchange your lives for her pathetic human one. It doesn’t seem like a fair trade to me.” He looked between the men and then suddenly turned to Neil, frowning. “Not you, too, puppy. I thought better of you.”

  “In a heartbeat.” Neil crossed his arms over his muscled chest. “She’s my friend. I’ll do what I need to do.”

  Stewart looked back at Dev as though waiting for an answer.

  “I haven’t slept with her yet,” Dev said bluntly.

  I shot Dev the dirtiest look I had in my repertoire. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. I forgave him because I knew what he was doing. He was trying not to give the demon any emotion. It was already apparent this Stewart was an empath. He thrived on emotion, the nasty kind. We needed to stay as unemotional as possible, or he could use it against us. The menace was heavy in the air. All it would take was for one of us to panic and he would have us.

  And my panic was only inches from the surface.

  “And she’s the vampire’s whole world,” the demon said quietly as though he truly pitied Daniel. He studied Daniel for a moment. “But she doesn’t give you what you need, does she? You’re Vampire. She is obviously a companion. I can barely look at her, she’s so bright. It should be easy, but nothing is easy for you, is it? Everyone on the Hell plane is concerned with you, Mr. Donovan. You’re different, and different in the vampire world is bad. You could say you’re the talk of the town. So when I found out you happened to be involved with Brix, well, you understand I had to learn what was going on. And I had to find out why he wanted that box.”

  “Do you know what it does?” The longer I could keep him talking, the more time Daniel had to recover from being shot forty times. I glanced at him, waiting for some sign of what he wanted me to do. I planned the heists. Daniel got us out of hot water.

  Stewart never took his eyes off Neil. “Not a clue. I only know that if he wants it, I have to keep it from him. That really won’t do.”

  Dev raised his pistol and tried to fire. Stewart turned to him, and with a simple flick of his wrist, the pistol flew across the room. Dev looked down at his empty hand dumbly and then back to the demon. The demon smiled before flicking his wrist a second, more decisive time. This time it was Dev who flew across the room. He hit the far wall face first and slid down.

  I tried to run. I tried to get to him. I needed to make sure he was all right, but Stewart was standing before me with one hand held out, and I found that movement was impossible. I couldn’t get a single muscle to comply. My feet felt nailed to the floor, my hands at my sides. I had to concentrate in order to breathe.

  “Oh, are you stuck, dear? How much farther should I go? I could stop your lungs or your heart.” He turned to Daniel, a smug smile on his face. “You see, vampire. I am strong. I do what it takes to be strong. I don’t let insignificant things like a conscience keep me weak. You should have taken her whether she wanted to be taken or not. You are Vampire. She is chattel.”

  I glanced at Daniel, who stood staring at the demon with no emotion at all in his eyes. He was relaxed and still in a way only a vampire can be. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was ignoring all that went on around him.

  Neil helped Dev up. He stood on shaky limbs, a smear of blood on his face. I’d led everyone into this. They all depended on me, and I couldn’t move my feet.

  “Now, I will have that object on your back, bitch,” the demon said with a snarl that went against his gentlemanly persona. “After that, I will kill you, and there is nothing your weak-ass vampire can do about it.”

  My heart seized, and I worried he’d decided to stop it. He started to come toward me when Daniel moved. I didn’t so much see him move as felt the effect after he was done. One moment Stewart was coming toward me with a look of inexplicable evil on his face, and the next Daniel was behind him, turning his neck in a way the human neck doesn’t turn. There was a horrific crack, and the demon slid to the tile, his borrowed body limp.

  “Even weak ass, I’m still faster than you.”

  Thank You!

  Thank you for reading EVERBOUND. I hope you enjoyed it!

  If you liked this book — or any of my other releases — please consider rating the book at the online retailer of your choice. Your ratings and reviews help other readers find new favorites, and of course there is no better or more appreciated support for an author than word of mouth recommendations from happy readers. Thanks again for your interest in my books!

  Donna Grant

  www.DonnaGrant.com

  www.MotherofDragonsBooks.com

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  Book 1-3: Tall Dark Deadly Alpha (Bundle)

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  The Dragon King Coloring Book

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  Book 11.6: Constantine: A History (short story)

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  Book 8.5: Midnight’s Surrender

  Book 1-8.5: The Dark Warrior Series, The Complete Collection

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