Woman of Silk and Stone (22 page)

They ended up being pretty popular.

Each day continued in the same vein; I would
be stressed from dealing with the council, or downhearted watching
Tam struggle with his ordeal, and then suddenly Adar would be
there, his loving presence soothing every part of me, whispering to
me in that language I didn't understand, but adored. And each day
got a little better, a little brighter.

Today was my first day away from the palace
in months. Tam was doing pretty well. The tragedy with his aunt had
marked him, matured him, which was a shame in many ways; but he was
still the same sweet kid, and he was trying so very hard now to be
a wise king. I loved him like crazy.

Adar had insisted we get away from
everything, and I agreed. Despite the fact that Efrim and I had
briefly been on the same side, he was as obnoxious and manipulative
as ever, so I could use the break.

"
Ti summu
, what are
you thinking?" Adar murmured, trailing his lips along my neck.

I smiled contentedly, happy on a level I
never dreamed possible. When I thought back to my dreary life in
D.C., the monotony of going every day to a job that I hated,
returning to a cramped apartment, the lack of true friends or
lovers, I thanked the
Ilati
or whoever was
responsible for dragging me through the void to this magnificent,
inspiring world.

And to this man.

"I was thinking that it's time for you to
live up to your promise," I said, running my hand over the smooth
skin of his chest. Adar nuzzled me and groaned as I dug my fingers
in just a bit.

"What promise was that?" he purred, his
tongue darting out to taste my skin, sending bolts of heat all the
way through me, setting me aflame with hardly any effort, as
always.

"The one where you promised to make my
rather painful journey through the void to be your mate worth my
while," I whispered, feeling him stiffen as he comprehended my
meaning.

Though we had spent most days together, and
he insisted on sleeping by me at night, he had never pushed our
physical relationship past my readiness. I had felt strongly about
it for a while now, but I wanted to wait until the time was
right.

"Honey-
sa
, I will
make it worth your while, I will make your every dream come true if
you allow it," he swore, his voice trembling with need.

A shaft of heat surged from him into me and
I arched in bliss. "Okay," I said.

And he did.

And let me just say, when the romance novels
claim, "he touched my heated core," they have no idea what they're
talking about.

Thank you for reading, and if you enjoyed Woman of
Silk and Stone, please leave a review, or email me! I love to hear
from my readers!

For more information on Mattie Dunman please visit
her website at
www.mattiedunman.com
or
like her on Facebook.

Honey's Playlist

Monday, Monday
—The Mamas
and the Papas

Brain Damage
—Pink Floyd

Somebody's Watching
Me
—Rockwell

People Are Strange
—The
Doors

Mo Money Mo
Problems
—Notorious B.I.G.

Royals
—Lorde

Viva La Vida
—Coldplay

Wouldn't It Be Loverly?
—My
Fair Lady

Knock On Wood
—Eddie
Floyd

Hit Me With Your Best
Shot
—Pat Benatar

Light My Fire
—The Doors

Eternal Flame
—The
Bangles

Helter Skelter
—The
Beatles

Revolution
—The Beatles

Poison Ivy
—Coasters

Good Woman Down
—Mary J.
Blige

All You Need Is Love
—The
Beatles

Ahatki—
Sister-mother;
aunt

Anu sepiya, a talamu sharaku; anu
ersu, a negeltu; anu irtu, a assata. Za din ilu gir Utu kanpir! Za
din ila gir Nanna kanpir! Irnini, a daris anu. A daris ana
sa—
Traditional Darisam mating vows: At your feet, I will
place treasures; in your bed, I will awake; at your breast, I will
succor. God of the sun, hear me! Goddess of the moon, hear me!
Sweet woman, I am yours forever. You are mine forever.

Arrami
—the life-mate and
wife of a male
Darisam
.

Arramu—
male version of
arrami

Beleti
—
woman, lady

Common Tongue
—
a common, somewhat limited language spoken throughout
Edin
.

Damu—
youth, a young boy

Darisam
—
a race of immortal beings. The males are
shape-shifting warriors with animalistic traits, including the
recognition of an
arrami,
or life-mate.
Only males are born; females become part of the race when chosen as
an
arrami
. Males are born with an affinity
to the elements and the ability to shape-shift into their elements,
and impart their immortality and affinity to the elements when they
complete the mating ritual with their
arrami
. A male can only know death through his
arrami
; if she is killed, the male will
not survive.

Edin
—
the world reached through
Ka
Harsag
. The planet is approximately half the size of earth,
with one known continent divided by geography into three separate
kingdoms:
Solis
, which is primarily a
plains and desert region;
Shuru
, which is
a coastal region; and
Hursag
, which is a
mountainous region known for its gems and precious metals.

Ekkalum
—
the royal house, palace.

Ensi
—"
righteous ruler," the king of
Solis
.

Eresh
—
"house of rest," a
Solish
spa

Golden City
—the capital, or
royal city of
Solis
.

Halqu
—
the 'lost ones,' those who pass through
Ka Harsag.

Horde
—a nomadic tribe of
warriors allied with
Solis
who patrol the
borders.

Hursag
—"mountains of the
sky," the mountainous kingdom to the west of
Solis
.

Idimmu
—
demons, evil spirits

Ilu/Ilati
—
god/s; goddess/es

Ka Harsag
—
the high gate, the place between worlds.

Kashaptu—
witch, evil
woman

Litum
—
elite guards, the "secret service" of Solis

Melammu
—
the "bright blossom", a
Solish
flower known for its luminous beauty.

Namluh
—
"The Purification," the ritual by which a
Darisam
male claims his
Arrami
. The male shifts into his "pure" form, that of
fire, water, earth, or air, and engulfs his mate in the purifying
element, converting her into a female Darisam, ensuring she takes
on her male's immortality.

Nergal
—
'watcher,' a city guard.

Old Tongue
—
ancient language predating modern Solish or the
Common Tongue. Rumored to be the language of the
Ilu
and
Ilati
. Bears a
striking resemblance to ancient Sumerian of Earth.

Sa—
Mine (possessive n.)

Sisu
-horse-like creature
with leopard spots and long manes like Clydesdales. Main mode of
transportation in
Solis
.

Shinar
—the
Darisam's
land of origin, said to be a kingdom of
untold beauty and plenty that can only be found by the
Darisam
. Resembles descriptions of Earth's "garden of
Eden."

Shuru
—"land of utmost
well-being," the coastal kingdom to the east of
Solis
.

Solis
—the sun country, one
of the three ruling nations of
Edin
.

Solish
—the dialect spoken
in Solis

Sukkall
—royal advisor,
chief of staff

Ti arrami.
—Darisam
endearment: Lifemate.

Ti summu—
Darisam
endearment: Light of life.

Zagmi
—priest, holy one.
Possess some magical knowledge and abilities. Similar to a mage or
wizard.

Zi—
spirit; essence

There is no way this book would have been completed
without the help and support of my parents, especially my mom, who
helped me figure out how to fall in love with the story again.
Thank you both for everything you do for me, and for being the
complete opposite of poor Honey's parents!

Thanks also to the wonderful ladies at the Indie
Romance Convention, who inspired me and have shared so much
incredible advice that would have taken me years to figure out on
my own. There are many fantastic indie voices out there still
getting ready to be heard, and I can't wait to see what comes of
it.

And thank you readers, who take the time to download
an untried author and give a new voice a chance. You are the reason
I will keep writing.

Liz Hannigan has been on the run since she
was twelve years old.

Her mother is dead. Her father has lost his
job. And thanks to an experimental procedure, Liz is now able to
'download' the contents of every brain around her with a simple
touch. Forced to hide from both the federal government and a
darkling group of morally deficient scientists known as the
Coalition determined to exploit her abilities, she moves with her
father to the bucolic coal town of Pound, West Virginia.

But the hunt for Liz and her abilities
hasn't ended, and her hopes for peace are shattered when she
inadvertently downloads the enigmatic Carey Drake, whose unusual
good looks and charm conceal a secret as shocking as her own.
Stunned by the knowledge that she has found someone else who has
extraordinary abilities, Liz finds herself drawn to Carey,
discovering a deep attraction, and dares to hope for the first time
she might find love.

When an agent of the Coalition begins
stalking her, Liz must find a way to work with the government
agency she most mistrusts as she strives to build a longed-for
normal life and take down the agent who has tracked her down.
Caught up in a struggle to save herself and those she loves, the
girl who sees all is blind to true danger until it is too late.

Excerpt

I stood in front of the hallowed hall of
learning and looked down at my white ballet flats, now splashed
with mud and decorated by little smudges of green from the squishy
grass I had just trudged through. There was mud on the cuffs of my
jeans too. A great way to start the day.

"Elizabeth Hannigan! Welcome to Shank High!
I'm Preston. Preston Deene. I'm your student mentor and I'll be
helping you find your way around here today."

For a moment, I thought the overexcited boy
in front of me might implode with the thrill of his assignment.
Perhaps if I hadn't met about 15 other 'mentors' in the past couple
years, I would have been more impressed with his performance, but
as it was, I just wanted to find my classes and slink to the back,
remaining invisible for as long as possible.

Preston, Preston Deene's hand was
outstretched in friendly welcome, though as I continued to ignore
it the gesture became increasingly wilted. As his cheerful
expression faltered I sighed and gave in.

"Hi, Preston. Call me Liz." I placed my
gloved hand in his and shook, doing my best to reward his
persistence with a smile. He looked askance at the glove, but
didn't ask any of the usual awkward questions and just grinned
fiercely, probably relieved that I had finally responded.

"Ok, so...uh, Liz. Your locker. Let's hit
that first, and then I'll get you to your class." He gestured for
me to start walking and paced along at my side. We continued in
uneasy silence until my overly chipper guide halted in front of a
locker in the center of the hall. He chuckled at the number,
665.