The Warlord (Rise of the Warlords 1)

“Help me save her.” His chest cracked wide open. No more fissures—no more shields. Hurt like never before? Already there. “Love without action means nothing.”

A heavy pause, tension thick. “We must all make sacrifices, Roc.”

The words reverberated in the space between them, a new truth crystallizing, upending everything Roc had come to believe and admire about this man. He stumbled back. “You seek your own ascension.”

Disappointment glittered in the god’s dark eyes. “If you are not gaining power, you are losing it. I taught you this. Yes, I seek another ascension. Something you should have realized long before now.”

Betrayal gutted him, the blow nearly knocking him off his feet. “I’m to be your sacrifice.”

“In part. I will lose you or I will lose the harpy.”

“Will you hurt?” he snarled. Roc didn’t think about his next actions. He strode forward. No, he ran. He sprinted across the throne room. Blood would flow.

“Don’t,” Twila called.

Roc hadn’t heard her voice in so long, he skidded to a halt, his gaze shooting to her slight form. The petite beauty who looked so much like Ian projected abject sadness—the same sadness he remembered seeing in her eyes the night their parents had sold her.

A tear slicked down her cheek, razing what remained of his calm. “You are embroiled in one war right now, brother. Don’t start another.”

Aurora stepped forward. “The bride I met doesn’t need you to save her. She needs you to love her. So go. Love her while you can.”

While he could? Roc refocused on Chaos and took another step forward, only to lose sight of the throne room as he fell into another realm, then another and another, returning to Taliyah...to defeat?

* * *

Bad dreams sneaked up on Taliyah. At first, she floated in the light. But all too soon, darkness came. Though she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, she knew she stood in the midst of an army, one of thousands, pressed in from every side. Screams, so many screams. The same screams she heard when she removed her ring, and they sprang from the women crowding around her...women who made not a sound. The incongruity of it all confused her.

What am I seeing? What is this?

Whoever they were, they needed her help. Their desperation felt like acid on her skin.

“I’m here, Taya. I’m here. I won’t leave you again. Rest easy. You’re safe.”

Safe...yes. Roc’s voice chased away the darkness. The light returned, and Taliyah sighed, slipping away...

Minutes or hours or days later, she roused. Consciousness came slowly as she stretched, waking from the most amazing slumber of her life. She was all set to bask in it, and the incredible power flowing through her veins, when she detected a thrum of aggression. A vibration along her bones.

Remembering her nightmare, she came up swinging, heart pounding, gaze darting, seeing little. She noticed enough to realize she occupied the master bedroom. Where was that light coming from?

Frowning, she scanned herself. Okay. Oh, wow! The light came from her. Her skin emitted a soft glow. But...was a threat nearby?

Another scan. “Roc?”

“I’m here.” He sat in a chair by the dying hearth, and the sight of him nearly broke her brain.

He wore a shirt and a pair of leathers but no boots, and he looked devastated, as if everyone he’d ever loved had died at once. What had happened while she’d slept?

Taliyah leaped across the room, throwing herself against him. “What’s wrong? Tell me!”

He kept his head bowed as he coiled his arms around her. Her big, powerful Astra was trembling.

Panic surged. “Roc? Start talking before I start throwing fists.”

“I can’t lose you.” His narrowed gaze jerked up, landing on her. “I won’t lose you.”

Fear of losing her had reduced him to this? The realization eased some of her apprehension. “You won’t lose me, baby. There’s a way out of our predicament, I know it.” She’d just found him, had just altered the course of her life for him, and she wasn’t willing to lose him, either. “Maybe you can kill me without ashing me, fulfilling the sacrifice, and I’ll revive. Maybe Chaos knows a way? Let’s not dread anything until you’ve had your meeting with him.”

“No,” he croaked with a shake of his head. “Chaos won’t help us.”

Ohhh. He’d had the meeting, and it hadn’t ended well. Well, Pawpaw Chaos could choke on hairy balls.

Roc reached out to clasp the edge of a blanket draping the top of the chair. He drew the material around her and settled in with his arms wrapped around her. As she melted into him, resting her head upon his shoulder, different parts of her body ached, reminding her of everything they’d done.

After thousands of years, Taliyah Skyhawk had given up her V-card. To her husband and consort, no less. She had no regrets. Her satisfaction remained.