My Reaper's Daughter (48 page)

winked at him.

That had been all the comfort and support he had needed to march from the

courtyard. His steps might have been slow, measured, but he was keenly aware of his

teammates behind him and knew if he faltered, any one of them would step forward to

lend him aid.

All the way up the portico steps, he had been forced to bite his lip to keep from

moaning. The pain lancing his back, the blood dripping from the slowly closing

wounds was taking its toll on him. With every pull of his back muscles, he felt again the

sting of the lash, the gouge of the small metal barbs that had dragged down his tearing

flesh.

240

My Reaper’s Daughter

Down the corridor and to sickbay where he would spend the time it took for him to

heal, he held on to his iron will, pushing the agony aside. He walked with his head

high, shoulders back but once he was inside the cell, once the door closed and he’d

made sure the peephole was shut, he had dropped to the floor on his knees with a

grunt. He could go no farther—not even the few steps it would take to reach the cot. His

eyes had rolled back in his head and he’d pitched forward to land on his stomach,

cheek pressed to the floor, his arms beside him.

When he woke, it was to find the goddess kneeling beside him as he lay upon the

cot, Her cool hand smoothing the hair back from his forehead.

“Forgive me,
Mo Regina
,” he said, “but I’m afraid I can’t get up.”

“There is no need. I could not aid you in this for what you did was wrong, My

Reaper. Understandable and admirable but wrong. I could not make your punishment

any less harsh.”

“I understand,” he said with a sigh. He looked into Her vivid green eyes. “I had no

choice,
Mo Regina
.”

“It is not the choice you made that concerns me, my Reaper. Neither is it the woman

you took as your own. I grieve for the little girl for it is she who will bear the brunt of

the situation. And when the child of your union is born, he will straddle a fine line

between two very dissimilar cultures. It will be his burden to prove himself to both.”

“I will be there for him, milady,” he swore.

“As will I, but his will be a very trying life despite our help. Now you need to sleep,

Glyn Kullen. Long and deeply.”

With the stroke of Her hand, he slipped down into the sweet arms of unfeeling

slumber.

241

Charlotte Boyett-Compo

A day later as the hurricane moved inland—its winds and force diminishing

hourly—the inhabitants of the Citadel finally settled down for the night. The rain had at

last stopped.

The Prime Reaper held his wife gently to him as Danni snored softly and Arawn

listened with a gentle smile on his rugged face.

Lea Walsh lay spooned behind 2-I-C Bevyn Coure, both sound asleep, each lost in a

dream about the other.

Cynyr Cree was on his side, his head propped on his fist as he waited for his lady to

return from tucking their son Briton into bed. As soon as Aingeal turned out the light in

the nursery and came through their bedroom door, his gaze turned hot and heavylidded. He peeled back the cover on her side of the bed and patted the mattress in

invitation.

While Rachel nursed their firstborn, Owen Tohre gently rocked his younger son as

the little one waved a tiny fist and made satisfied cooing sounds. The infant showed no

sign of turning in for the night and the knowing look in his tiny amber eyes gave his

father fair warning that it might always be so.

Glyn Kullen and his lady-wife Mystery lay back to back as their little daughter sat

in a chair beside their bed and watched over them. On the child’s sweet, dark face, there

was a light of quiet peace and a sense of having come home at last. Curled in her lap

was the strangest-looking feline most of the Citadel’s inhabitants had ever seen.

The four bachelor Reapers—Kasid Jaborn, Eanan Tohre, Phelan Kiel and Iden

Belial—sat in the parlor playing cards with Giles D’Brickashaw and Healer Desden.

Penthe, the Amazeen, tossed and turned in her lonely bed and cried out from time

to time—fighting and losing a battle about which she would never speak to another

living soul.

All three Gatekeepers were abed—each dreaming of the new Reaper Eanan, who

had joined them and who had captured their attention as no man ever had.

Two of the Shadowlords slept peacefully and guilt-free while the third paced his

room and stared out into the night, his heart as heavy as the lowering clouds.

And far to the south, in the dark, dank, dismal swamplands at the base of the

Flagala Territory, a single bubble broke the surface of the brackish black waters. After a

long moment, another bubble rose to send a ripple spreading across the oily plane. That

bubble was followed by a third and then up from the wretched depths a mighty claw

was thrust toward the heavens. Long, jagged yellow talons arched from thickly scaled,

green-tinted flesh and far beneath the murky waves, twin crimson orbs began to glow.

242

About the Author

Charlee is the author of over thirty books. Married 40 years to her high school

sweetheart, Tom, she is the mother of two grown sons, Pete and Mike, and the proud

grandmother of Preston Alexander and Victoria Ashley. She is the willing house slave

to five demanding felines who are holding her hostage in her home and only allowing

her to leave in order to purchase food for them. A native of Sarasota, Florida, she grew

up in Colquitt and Albany, Georgia and now lives in the Midwest.

Charlee welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email

address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Tell Us What You Think

We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at

[email protected].

Also by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Ellora’s Cavemen: Dreams of the Oasis IV
anthology

Ellora’s Cavemen: Legendary Tails I
anthology

Ellora’s Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction II
anthology

Fated Mates
anthology

Ghost Wind

HardWind

Journey of the Wind

Passion’s Mistral

Shades of the Wind

WesternWind 1: WyndRiver Sinner

WesternWind 2: Reaper’s Revenge

WesternWind 3: Prime Reaper

WesternWind 4: Tears of the Reaper

WesternWind 5: Her Reaper’s Arms

WindVerse: Ardor’s Leveche

WindVerse: Hunger’s Harmattan

WindVerse: Phantom of the Wind

WindVerse: Pleasure’s Foehn

WindVerse: Prisoners of the Wind

WindWorld: Desire’s Sirocco

WindWorld: Longing’s Levant

WindWorld: Lucien’s Khamsin

WindWorld: Rapture’s Etesian

WyndRaider

And see Charlotte Boyett-Compo’s stories at Cerridwen Press

(www.cerridwenpress.com):

BlackWind: Sean and Bronwyn

BlackWind: Viraiden and Bronwyn

Desert Wind

In the Wind’s Eye

Taken By the Wind

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning

publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC

on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you

breathless.

www.ellorascave.com