Shadow Magic (39 page)

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Authors: Cheyenne McCray

BOOK: Shadow Magic
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“Mmmm …” The sound came out in a low rumble as he pressed his lips to her collarbone.
Hannah sucked in her breath as a glittery sensation radiated throughout her body all the way to the place between her thighs. “If I'm going to be queen …”—she let out another moan—“there are a few changes I'm going to make.”
“I thought so,” he murmured as he tugged at the blanket hiding her breasts.
“Starting with that squeaky door.”
“Done.” Garran laughed as he pulled the blanket down to her waist, exposing her breasts. He flicked her nipples, making them harder and harder and had a teasing glint in his gaze. “Anything you wish to add at this moment?”
Hannah squirmed, wanting more than his touch on her nipples. “N-not right now.” She cupped the back of his head to draw his mouth closer to her breasts.
He obliged, suckling one nipple then traveling with his tongue between the valley of her breasts before capturing her other warm nipple in his mouth.
“Don't wait,” she said, and he tilted his head up, his liquid silver gaze meeting hers. No matter what the color of his skin or hair, he was so beautiful to her. “Make love to me. Come inside me, now.”
He rolled her onto her back and slid his hips between her thighs, spreading her wide. She grasped his biceps as he braced his arms to either side of her breasts. He teased her by not entering her. Instead he pumped his hips, sliding his thick erection through her wet folds and rubbing her clit at the same time.
“Don't tease me.” She slid her fingers into his hair and clamped his hips between her thighs. “I just
need
you, please.”
Garran reached down and arranged his cock so that its head rested at the entrance to her core, slightly in, but not nearly enough. She wriggled in anticipation, thrills zinging from her belly to between her thighs.
With his eyes holding hers, he drove his erection deep inside her.
Hannah gasped as he stretched and filled her, reaching so deep he felt as if he were a part of her. He slowly began to thrust in and out of her slick core.
“If this is what it's always like to make love to a king,” Hannah said in a hoarse voice, “no wonder I'm addicted to you.”
His expression was intense as he pumped his hips harder. “For you, only this king.” He brought his mouth down against hers as he drove his cock in faster and faster.
He was claiming her, taking her for his own, and she loved it. For him she would give up control. Everything she had was his to take. Just as she intended to claim him and take everything he had to give her.
Hannah gripped his hair tighter in both fists to anchor herself as her mind spun from his kiss and the feel of him moving in and out. Driving her crazy, reaching every sweet spot she had.
Their kiss grew hungrier, more frantic as she moved her hips up to meet his. Her orgasm built and built until she felt as if she were in another world altogether.
Garran raised his head and her gaze met his just before her climax hit her so hard she cried out from the strength of it. The firefly lights seemed to spin around them and her own green magic glittered and sparkled above.
The orgasm took hold of her like magic sliding through her veins. It sizzled and crackled in her blood, traveling to every part of her body. She wanted more and he gave her more until she couldn't take any more. “Come, Garran, please come!”
A growl rumbled up from him and his eyes darkened from liquid silver to steel gray as he thrust several more times. He ground his hips against hers as he shouted his release in his language, a cry she didn't understand but recognized for what it was by the look in his eyes. Words that told her he loved her.
His cock throbbed inside her and her core clamped down on him, drawing out his release the way he was driving her
climax on and on until she felt as if she were nothing but a mass of sparkles and light.
With a final groan, Garran buried his face in the curve of her neck and repeated the words she was certain he had shouted before changing to her language. “I love you, my sweet one. I love you.”
THE WAREHOUSE'S KITCHEN WAS empty save for Jake, who tipped back his chair and took another swig of beer. The cool liquid flowed over his tongue and down his throat before he lowered the bottle from his lips.
What a goddamned mess
.
Martial law was back in full force, new leaders rising up in the government, law enforcement, and military to replace those who had “vanished.”
The Fomorii had taken over the bodies of so many men and women who had been in power.
But Garran had sent the Fomorii demon bastards back to Underworld.
“The sonofabitch really did it,” Jake said aloud feeling amazed, yet … not as surprised as he should have been.
Cassia had left San Francisco for Otherworld, suddenly, for God knew what reason. He couldn't help wondering about her, thinking about her. And damned if he didn't miss her. Why? He had no friggin' idea.
According to news Cassia had sent via an Elvin messenger, Garran and Hannah had both survived.
Thank God
.
And Kat. Jake blew out a harsh breath. She'd already been released from the hospital, the deep furrows in her side from Fomorii claws stitched and bandaged. She'd been so damn lucky that was all she'd suffered—as well as an egg on
her head from striking the asphalt so hard when the demon flung her to the ground.
Jake set his beer bottle on the table with a loud thunk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Right about now a good drunk sounded better and better, but he needed to keep his mind sharp. He needed to work harder than ever on those schematics for god-killing weapons.
An unknown remained in San Francisco.
Darkwolf with the power of two gods.
And the Fomorii queen at his side. As far as the Alliance knew, from the witches' scrying, Junga was the only demon left in the city.
What did that mean, and why did Darkwolf always keep her with him, and in human form? Was she his servant now? Or had he somehow become attached to her?
The thought was so idiotic that Jake thrust it out of his mind.
He narrowed his eyes as he scraped the beer bottle's label with his thumbnail and felt the cold glass against his palm. His muscles tightened causing the wound in his arm to ache.
A mess. A fucking mess
.
Jake took another swig of beer and this time slammed the bottle harder onto the tabletop.
The Alliance had lost so many men and women to the battle that the thought of it still made Jake's gut churn. Their numbers had thinned considerably, especially the PSF and the D'Danann. The Drow—they wouldn't be much good in a daytime fight, but they'd come in handy again if it was dark. If another battle blew their way.
And that's exactly what he was afraid of.
Darkwolf was out there.
They hadn't seen the end yet.
EXCITEMENT, HAPPINESS, AND LOVE filled Hannah with warmth as she and Garran arrived in San Francisco. They had waited to leave the realm of the Light Elves until darkness settled so that Garran didn't have to worry about the sun.
Hannah squeezed his hand and smiled up at him as they walked past the D'Danann guards and into the warehouse.
“You're back!” Silver ran up to Hannah and threw her arms around Hannah's neck the moment she and Garran entered the warehouse. “Thank Anu, you are safe and well.”
At first Hannah stiffened, old habits kicking in of keeping herself detached. But almost immediately she relaxed and released Garran's hand to return Silver's hug.
“I'm happy to be here with all of you,” Hannah said with a smile, and meant it.
“Come on.” Silver took Hannah by her hand and led her to the kitchen.
Hawk had been standing by Silver, and he and Garran followed Silver and Hannah. When they entered the kitchen, all of the other witches were there, along with several of the D'Danann and Jake.
They all stopped talking, and the witches immediately converged on Hannah, hugging her and telling her how happy they were that she and Garran had returned safe and well.
For the first time, Hannah didn't freeze up when her friends hugged her. She felt their love, and squeezed each one as tightly.
The old feelings left over from her childhood would never entirely go away, but Hannah felt a renewal in her heart. An abundance of joy and love and belonging warmed her entire body and a knot formed in her throat at the power of her feelings.
Not surprisingly, Rhiannon was the last to approach, and she and Hannah paused and looked at each other. “Thanks for saving my father,” Rhiannon said, then looked up at Garran before returning her gaze to Hannah's. “I'm glad you're both okay.”
Rhiannon hesitated and then they both reached out at the same time and gave each other a stiff hug before quickly parting. Rhiannon turned to Garran and hugged him. She was just as rigid at first with him, but when Garran enveloped her in a tight embrace she relaxed against him before they released each other.
Hannah found herself swept up with the witches and she was seated at the large kitchen table with Garran standing behind her.
To Hannah's pleasure, Banshee swooped down and landed on her shoulder. Hannah wore one of the Light Elves' white tunics and pants and her familiar gripped the soft cloth in his talons. The falcon made a few low sounds before taking off to circle overhead and giving a loud shriek before he flew into the rafters.
“So, what's next now that Ceithlenn's gone?” Hannah asked as she looked at her Coven sisters. They glanced at each other, and Hannah's heart thumped a little harder. “Don't tell me somehow she's still alive.”
“She's dead, all right.” Copper frowned as she shifted her broken ankle secured in the cast she had resting on a chair. “But after she died, the goddess's power was released.”
Hannah's skin itched, knowing some kind of bomb was going to be dropped.
Silver rested her hand on her slightly rounded belly. “While you were helping Garran, Darkwolf showed up.” She shook her head. “Somehow he absorbed all of Ceithlenn's power.”
Hannah widened her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“While you were gone, we scried,” Copper said.
“And Darkwolf is pretty damn powerful now.” Rhiannon scowled as she pushed her chin-length hair behind her ear. “Not only does he have Ceithlenn's power, but Balor's as well.”
Hannah shook her head, her skin feeling suddenly tight over her body. “You can't be serious.”
“Very serious,” Alyssa said in her gentle voice, an odd look in her eyes.
“The jerk is a freaking god now.” Mackenzie's cheeks flamed as anger sparked in her eyes. “And I don't think he intends to play nice.”
“Not at all.” Sydney pushed her chic glasses up the bridge of her nose, her lavender eyes intent, serious. “We're not sure
what
he plans, though.”
“But he's a god now!” Rhiannon clenched her hands on the tabletop. “Twice as powerful as Ceithlenn was.”
“Whoa.” Hannah tried to absorb the news, but was having a hard time computing it. Garran's tension radiated from behind her as he gripped her chair, his knuckles against her back. “What does this mean?”
Jake hitched his shoulder against one of the refrigerators. “It means that we've got to be prepared for whatever the hell he comes up with.”
“I thought it was all over.” Hannah took a deep breath, feeling suffocated by the new threat. Actually an old threat, considering what Darkwolf had done as a warlock in the past.
Silver, who had been affected by Darkwolf more than anyone, looked beyond frustrated. “I wish.”
“We all do,” Rhiannon grumbled.
Hannah frowned as memories of the battle churned in her
mind. A vivid image of Janis Arrowsmith attempting to save Ceithlenn burned in her thoughts. “What about Janis?”
“She disappeared.” Alyssa's quiet voice came from the corner. “After the battle Janis's entire Coven searched for her, but no one could find her.”
“Jake wanted to arrest her for interfering,” Mackenzie said with a half smirk.
“Was she eaten by one of the Fomorii?” Hannah asked, her chest hurting at the thought.
“I was with her when every last demon vanished.” Silver shook her head. “After I dropped my shield, I turned away from her. When I looked back she was gone.”
“I hope she's someplace safe,” Sydney said, and everyone was quiet for a moment.
Copper broke the silence with a grin. “A little birdie told me Garran and Hannah have news of their own.”
“Hannah and I will be joined,” Garran said from behind Hannah in his sexy Elvin accent, sending tingles down her neck. He gripped her shoulders in his warm hands. “She has agreed to be my queen.”
Heat flooded Hannah's cheeks as everyone looked at her and Garran with stunned expressions. Everyone but Copper, who continued to grin.
“Wow.” Silver glanced from Garran to Hannah. “I had no idea …”
Hannah brought her hand up to clasp one of Garran's that still rested on her shoulder. “I love Garran.” The words came easier than she expected.
“As I love Hannah.” Garran leaned down and pressed his lips to her hair and she shivered as he rose back up.
The joy flooding her because of her feelings for Garran made her smile and she was almost giddy with happiness. She'd never thought she'd ever be giddy about anything.
“We're going to live part of the time in the Drow realm.” Hannah glanced up at Garran and met his gaze before turning back to look at everyone else. “We'll spend the other half of our time here.”
“Congratulations,” Alyssa said, and that seemed to break everyone out of surprise mode.
“Yeah, definitely,” Copper said, and everyone else chimed in with lots of grins and chatter, telling Hannah and Garran how happy they were for the two of them.
Only one person in the room hadn't said a word—Rhiannon. She sat back in her chair, her expression unreadable, and her arms folded across her chest. Everyone stopped speaking as they looked at her.
Rhiannon twisted her lips and the corner of her mouth quirked before she said, “Welcome to the family. Mom.”
Mackenzie snorted and Hannah's other friends laughed and giggled.
Rhiannon met Hannah's eyes and smiled.
HANNAH MANAGED TO SLIP away from everything that was going on in the warehouse and headed to the room she and Garran had shared. So much planning and strategy were needed to be ready to fight Darkwolf and beat him at whatever game he had in mind.
They had taken out Ceithlenn. Surely they could handle Darkwolf and make San Francisco safe again.
Right now she needed a few minutes alone. When she walked into the bedroom she leaned back against the door after she shut it and closed her eyes.
It felt as though a great weight pressed against her chest because the Fire Dragon had joined sides with Ceithlenn. Still, the other three Dragon Elementals had answered Hannah's call and helped in the battle against the dark goddess.
So that was more than something, right?
Some of the tension eased from her shoulders. She opened her eyes, pushed away from the door, and went to the pack where she'd left it. The pack had remained undisturbed after Cassia had brought it back from the sacred beach.
For a moment she paused, wondering what had happened
to Cassia. Why had she returned to Otherworld? She'd only left a cryptic message with one of the D'Danann, nothing more.
Hannah knelt on the concrete floor in front of her pack and held her breath for no reason at all. She slowly forced air from her lungs as she reached the pack.
When she raised it, no glass tinkled as it shifted. Had someone removed the pieces of the mirror?
Her heart beat a little faster as she opened the pack. Scents of freshly turned earth, clean air, and rain flowed out of the pack. A knot formed in her throat and she slipped her hand inside.
Immediately, she felt something cool and smooth, and wrapped her fingers around what felt like a metal handle.
Her arm shook as she gripped the handle and drew out a large pewter-framed black mirror. It trembled in her hand as she gripped it tighter as if it might fly away.
On her mirror that had broken, only two Dragons had circled it, biting the tails of each other. This mirror had three two-dimensional Dragons that arced around the sides and the top of the frame.
Her eyes wide, she lightly ran her fingers over the one on the left, west—the Water Dragon. It bit the tail of the top Dragon, north—the Earth Dragon. She trailed her fingers along it and to the place where the Earth Dragon bit the tail of the one on the east—the Air Dragon.
Hannah's heart fell a little when her fingers reached the empty place at the bottom of the frame where the Fire Dragon should have been to make the circle complete.
The backs of her eyes stung as she touched the spot, which was surprisingly warm under her fingertips. The fact that the other Dragons were with her made the pain of losing the Fire Dragon only a little lighter.
Hannah bit the inside of her lower lip. She didn't fight the lone tear from escaping one of her eyes and it rolled down her cheek.
The tear plopped onto the empty space on the mirror's
frame. Steam rose up from the moisture and it sizzled, causing Hannah to draw her hand away. The mirror trembled in her hand as if she were shaking, but she wasn't. It was.
She gripped the handle tighter as the moisture from her tear vanished in the puff of steam. Unable to shift her gaze, she watched as the empty spot wavered, as if something were trying to get through.
In the next moment the molded form of a Dragon appeared on what had been an empty spot on the frame.
The Fire Dragon.
Hannah's heart pounded so hard now that she could hear it in her ears. The Fire Dragon opened its molded mouth and clamped its jaws over the tail of the Water Dragon. A movement to her left and the Air Dragon bit the Fire Dragon's tail.
The Dragons all went still.
So did Hannah's heart and her breathing.
She clasped the mirror and pressed it to her breasts as several more tears rolled down her cheeks. Now, not only did she catch the scents of freshly turned earth, clean air, and rain, but a touch of sulfur, too. All four Dragon Elementals.
A surge of warmth filled her along with all of her senses telling her what she already knew. She could scry again.
As Hannah clutched the mirror to her, she bent her head and said a silent prayer of thanks to the Ancestors, Anu, and the Dragon Elementals.

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