Page 45 of Shannon in Sombra
Duke Haures’s pale skin glows just as brightly as his portal did beneath the sliver of the Sombra moon. He shakes his head royally, the light from Loki’s orb spell winking off of his crystal crown.
“I do not need travel magic,” he tells his former mage haughtily. “I am Sombra’s ruler. More than that, I am a bondmaster. My essence belongs to my mate, but I share a bond with every one of my people. When Lucian summoned me to tell me it was time, the duchess and I have answered his call.”
Wow. All this time, I thought people were, like, sending him the Sombra version of a letter. Or a magical email. But he has bonds with all of his people?
Well,that’sterrifying.
And duchess… no wonder I thought the woman clinging to him looked vaguely familiar. She looks similar enough to Amy that they could be sisters—or an aunt and her niece.
Dagon nods a greeting to the brunette clutching Haures’s arm.
She smiles warmly at him. “It’s good to see you again, Dagon.”
Sierra grabs her demon’s arm. “Hello, Susanna. Remember me?”
Her laugh is soft and sweet. “Of course, Sierra. Congratulations on the baby. I’m so glad the time has come that we don’t have to be afraid of the gold moon. That Alana is only the first of a new generation of Sombrans.”
Alana… she knows about my baby. I mean, duh. Of course she knows about my baby. I tell Mal everything, and now that he knows better than to try to protect me again, he does the same for me. Why wouldn’t the duke go home and tell his mate about the half-human, half-demon child that might lead to the end of the world he rules?
As if she knows what I’m thinking, she turns to me. “Shannon. It’s so good to finally meet you. Don’t worry. I got us into this. I’m going to get us out.”
Uh… what?
Before I can ask, Amy catches my attention. “Hey. Don’t worry. We got this.”
She sounds so sure, I want to believe her. And then I think: why not?
Just like the rest of us, maybe Lucian saw something else. He’s the one who summoned Haures. If he needed the duke, I honestly believe that the duke would never take his mate out of the safety of the capital unless the doppelseer saw her with him. Amy, too. Nox is a fierce hunter even if he lives in the human world. He wouldn’t take a trip to Sombra, then join Amy and the others unlesshehad to.
Because Haures threatened him with another stint in the dungeons… fourteen years were enough for the scowly, red-eyed hunter, I’m sure, and other than nodding at the other demons, he stays quiet.
I scoff, more amazed than anything else at this moment.
Fucking Fate.
You know, I thought something was up when Sierra and Hope visited Nuit at the same time that Billie was home, Kennedy was always there, and even Tandy came along with her mates. I know Susanna is always in Mavro. That meant we were only missing Amy… but something tells me she was here, too.
Is that what the gods were waiting for? Did we all have to be in Sombra to watch as the prophecy that began with Alana’s birth began to unfold?
Again, I think about my earlier realization.
Kennedy knows about life in the shadows, plus she has a pet ungez that saved the freaking day by helping us find a way around the block. Sierra, Billie, and Tandy needed to use their three-part harmony to quiet a savage shadow beast. Hope was a huge help when it came to finding the ashbalm.
We’re all here for a reason.
What about Amy and Susanna?
I have no doubt in my mind that the gods needed them here. Add that to Susanna’s comment about her getting ‘us’ into this mess…
“Susanna?”
Okay. Maybe I put a little too much accusation into her name because Haures bares his tusks at me, his vibrant blue eyes flaring in warning.
Right. I gentle my tone. “What are you…” Hm. How do I put this nicely? I try again. “Why are you all here?”
Susanna doesn’t look offended, even if her mate does. However, she doesn’t get the chance to answer before Lucian does.
“Susanna is the only one who has ever faced Yelios. Five decades have passed. It is finally time that she ends what began so long ago… I’ve seen it. I didn’t know what it meant then, though I understand now. Alana is the child of prophecy, but it began with Susanna.”
