Ever and always the blade in your sure hand.”
Max finished the mating mark over her heart, writing the words of his vow where they would glow as the two of them made love. He knelt before her and kissed her lips, careful not to mar any of his work before the ink dried. “I love you, Renata of Fatima.”
The air around them was heady with magic. He had marked his vow on her body as he would mark her own vow on his, using the sacred ivory needle to tattoo her promise over his heart. Every moment of passion would become a reminder of their pledge. Every time their magic rose, they would be linked.
Renata closed her eyes and let her head fall back in pleasure. She felt Max all around her, not only in his brush, but his scent and his magic. She was covered in him, covered in his extraordinary love and unwavering devotion.
Creator, I thank you for this man. Of all men, you have given him to me. Let me always guard this treasure.
When she could feel the henna cracking, feel the magic sink into her skin, she pushed her lover back onto the pillows she’d set before the fire. Rising over him, she joined their bodies together, placing both hands on his shoulders as she let her head fall back in pleasure.
She let go.
Sorrow had no place here. Joy was everything. Peace was in each touch.
“I love you,” she whispered. “You are the most beautiful man I have ever known.” Renata opened her eyes and saw the shine in his eyes. “Don’t you know that, Maxim? You brought me back to life.”
He brought his hand up to cup her cheek. His finger traced her lips. “Sing to me.”
Renata opened her heart and sang:
“Maxim of Riga, I name you
My beloved. Heart’s redeemer.
I heard your call as I wandered
In the wasteland.
You found me bloody from my enemies and
You spoke softly to me
Calling me back to life.
Beloved mate of my choosing
Steward of my heart
Ever faithful, always grateful
I will ever be yours.”
The magic surrounded them as they made love, and when they reached their release together, Max’s bright silver talesm shone in the darkness as Renata’s gold mating marks lit and came to life.
“We’re one.” She drew in the scent of smoke and magic in the air. “I didn’t know what that meant until now.”
“My mate.” Max smiled and kissed her face, pressing his lips to her cheeks and her chin and her nose until she was giddy with love and magic and power. “My mate, Renata.”
“My mate, Maxim.” She could have brought a generator to life with the power of his smile.
They were lying in their bed carved with stars and flowers, enjoying the moonlight that bathed them from the window.
“Are you happy here?” he asked her.
She rested her chin on his chest. “I am happy with you. So I am happy here.”
“I worried what it would be like to come back here once Thawra and Zana officially moved in. This was your home.”
“But now it’s not. It’s a home that I love. And I love that others will grow up in the safety of these walls. I love that Zana and Thawra will make this a living place again.”
“But?”
She laid her ear over his heart to hear the steady beat. “But my home is with you. Wherever we are. In a cave or in a five-star hotel. My home is with you.”
Though she’d held fiercely to her independence and Max had never argued, Renata had yet to spend a night away from him since they’d come together at Midwinter. She hadn’t needed to, so she hadn’t wanted to. No doubt there would be times in the future where they would be forced apart. They could have assignments that sent them to opposite corners of the world.
But she would always come home to him.
Always.
He was the sword at her side, her cleft in the rock, and her surest shelter in the storm.
About the Author
ELIZABETH HUNTER is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance, and paranormal mystery. She is a graduate of the University of Houston Honors College and a former English teacher. She currently lives in Central California with her family and two canine assistants who allow her to feed them and occasionally snuggle.
She’s the author of the Elemental Mysteries, Elemental World, and Elemental Legacy series, the Cambio Springs Mysteries, the Irin Chronicles, and other works of fiction. Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide.
If you want to connect with her online, please visit:
ElizabethHunterWrites.com
Also by Elizabeth Hunter
The Irin Chronicles
The Scribe
The Singer
The Secret
On a Clear Winter Night (short story)
The Staff and the Blade
The Silent
The Storm
The Elemental Mysteries Series
A Hidden Fire
This Same Earth
The Force of Wind
A Fall of Water
All the Stars Look Down (short story)
The Elemental World Series
Building From Ashes
Waterlocked
Blood and Sand
The Bronze Blade
The Scarlet Deep
Beneath a Waning Moon
A Stone-Kissed Sea
The Elemental Legacy Series
Shadows and Gold
Imitation and Alchemy
Omens and Artifacts
Midnight Labyrinth
The Cambio Springs Series
Shifting Dreams
Long Ride Home (short story)
Desert Bound
Five Mornings (short story)
Waking Hearts
Contemporary Romance
The Genius and the Muse
The Snows of Windroven
A Twelve Kingdoms/Uncharted Realms Novella
by
Jeffe Kennedy
As a blizzard batters the mountain keep of Windroven, Ami, Queen of Avonlidgh, and her unofficial consort Ash face their own storm. Their passion saved them from despair, but Ash knows a scarred, jumpy ex-convict isn’t the companion his queen needs. But just as they are moving apart, a surprise attack confines them together in their isolated sanctuary—with the feast of midwinter tempting Ash into childlike hope…
Acknowledgements
Thanks to my Santa Fe critique group for terrific and extensive feedback on this story: Ed Khmara, Matt Reitan, Jim Sorenson, Sage Walker, and Eric Wolf.
Much gratitude to Thea Harrison for inviting me to be a part of this anthology, and to Grace Draven and Elizabeth Hunter, for joining in and making this project so much fun to do. You gals are awesome!
And many thanks, always, to Carien and David, for weekly calls and all the work you do.
Copyright ? 2017 by Jennifer M. Kennedy
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or business establishments, organizations or locales is completely coincidental.
Thank you for reading!
Credits Content Editor: Peter Senftleben Line and Copy Editor: Rebecca Cremonese Back Cover Copy: Erin Nelsen Parekh
1